Messenger is a great app for staying in touch with your friends from Facebook as well as sending and receiving SMS. Millions of users are using Messenger and it’s quite a good option. However, there are tons of messaging apps that you can use and they provide a solid user experience. You don’t want to limit yourself to a single app, don’t you? If that’s the case, then let’s check the best messenger alternative apps for messaging.
1. WhatsApp
WhatsApp is probably the most popular chatting app next to messenger. How many times has somebody asked you if you have WhatsApp? For me, it’s a lot of times! This universal chatting app allows you to do literally anything you want when communicating with your friends. Sending pictures, videos and voice messages is reduced to just a few simple taps to the screen, and with a great community, you’ll enjoy this app to the fullest. The great news is that this app is free, so you can grab it right now.
2. Viber
Viber is a very simple, yet effective app. It’s available on almost every platform including desktop, for easier syncing. If you don’t see your message on a smartphone, then you’ll see it on your PC. It works in a similar manner like WhatsApp and relies on the phone number to sign new contacts into your list. On top of that, Viber offers very cool stickers and even beautiful themes that you can apply to your chatroom.
3. Snapchat
When you hear about Snapchat, people often compare it to Instagram, but Shapchat is really gaining popularity and it could surpass Instagram. So, what the hell is this app?! Well, Shapchat is here to provide you with a unique way of chatting and that’s by sending videos and pictures. Those pictures and videos last for 24 hours and can be seen by the people whom you send it to. You can chat with multiple friends and send them your video or picture and they can engage in conversation. It’s so much fun that I would very gladly pay for it, even though it’s free!
4. Line
With more than 600 million users, Line took the community by storm and it’s now a very popular app in Asia. It offers a Facebook-like experience where you can utilize your timeline, post various stuff and let your friends comment on your pictures, videos or other updates. Basically, it’s an all-in-one app, and that’s great for all purposes. Furthermore, Line offers free video and voice calls, plus you can organize a group chat for up to 200 participants! But, I wouldn’t recommend it unless you are a really patient person.
5. Hangouts
If you own an Android device, you probably know about Hangouts. It’s the app installed on every Android smartphone, and before you delete it because you already have your default messaging app, let me tell you something. This app is great! It’s versatile, so you can have it on your iOS device or PC. By taking advantage of your Google account, Hangouts allows you to make video calls, use text messages, organize group chats, share photos or GIFs and much more. Needless to say, it’s an amazing app for your needs.
6. Skype
This legendary app needs no introduction. I mean, how it is possible that you don’t know about Skype? Skype writes a story of its own with its feature-rich nature that involves free video calls, voice calls, texting, great stickers, amazing emojis and even a possibility to call a phone number. However, this is the paid feature, so I wouldn’t recommend it. If you decide to install Skype on Android, you can also do it on PC, for better synchronization. It’s a free app and free stuff is always good, especially if it’s Skype. That one has a golden value!
7. Google Allo
Google Allo is a brand new chat app developed by Google. So, if it’s from Google it must be great, right? Google Allo is here to offer you standard messaging features like emojis, photo sharing, stickers, text chats, etc, but the main feature here is Assistant. That means that you can have a chat with Assistant which works similar to Cortana or Siri. I’m glad that Google decided to release this app for both iOS and Android, so the iOS users can enjoy this great app.
8. Mood Messenger
Mood Messenger is another new app for chatting that resembles Facebook Messenger both in features and design. Truly, this app looks like a reskinned Messenger, but that’s not anything bad, although I would like it to be more authentic. Feature-wise, Mood Messenger has those cool features like image sharing, sending GIFs, theming, location sharing and similar. On top of that, Mood Messenger supports SMS messaging, so you can ditch your default SMS app in favor of this one.
9. Signal
Signal isn’t anything special when it comes to features. It’s much like your typical messenger app with the standard features that include photo sharing, voice calls, etc. However, Signal is for people who value security. Featuring the end-to-end encryption, Signal is one of the safest messenger apps today, and it relies on your phone number. That means that when your contact doesn’t have the app installed, the message will be sent as a text message. Due to its open-source nature, I bet that Signal will continue to improve and I’m really looking forward to it.
10. WeChat
WeChat is an amazing app that gained a huge popularity in China. But, even if you aren’t from China, you can enjoy this amazing app. Aside from standard chatting features of this app, it also offers some unique features like People Nearby and Friend Radar. Those features can help you locate the people/friends nearby, so you can meet in real life and leave your phones aside. The best of all is that the app is available for both Apple Watch and Android Wear. It’s all about having fun, so let’s meet!