Is Line or Messenger better?

Neither clearly leads. Line starts at Free and Messenger at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.

Which is cheaper, Line or Messenger?

Line starts at Free and Messenger at Free.

Does Line or Messenger run on more platforms?

Line runs on iOS, Android, Windows, macOS, Web. Messenger runs on iOS, Android, Web.

Can I use Line for free?

Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.

What is Line best used for?

Line is most often used for a business selling to consumers in japan that needs an official account rather than email or sms to reach customers, an individual keeping in touch with contacts in japan, taiwan or thailand where line, not whatsapp, is the default, a brand running promotions through line stickers or timeline content aimed at a japanese audience, a company processing consumer payments in japan through line pay integration. Of those, a business selling to consumers in japan that needs an official account rather than email or sms to reach customers and an individual keeping in touch with contacts in japan, taiwan or thailand where line, not whatsapp, is the default are not what Messenger is typically brought in for.

What can Line do that Messenger cannot?

Line covers Line Pay, Official Accounts, Stickers and themes, Line News. Messenger covers End-to-end encrypted chats, Voice and video calling, Marketplace messaging, Disappearing messages.

Communication · head to head

Line vs Messenger

Line

Communication

Messaging app that dominates Japan, Taiwan and Thailand, now run by LY Corporation under joint SoftBank and Naver ownership

From: Free
Rated: -

Full review Website

Messenger

Communication

Meta's standalone messaging app for Facebook, with end to end encryption on by default since 2023

From: Free
Rated: -

Full review Website

The short version

Each has a real cost: Line line has negligible market share outside Japan, Taiwan and Thailand, so it is the wrong choice for reaching contacts in most other regions.; Messenger while message content is end-to-end encrypted by default since December 2023, metadata such as who messaged whom and when is not encrypted and remains visible to Meta.
They diverge on capability: Line covers Line Pay, Messenger covers End-to-end encrypted chats.
Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Line and Messenger actually diverge.

Attributes where Line and Messenger differ
Attribute	Line	Messenger
Pricing model	Free to download, paid stickers and business messaging tiers	Free, funded by Meta's advertising business
Platforms	iOS, Android, Windows, macOS, Web	iOS, Android, Web

Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Communication).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Line

Line Pay
Official Accounts
Stickers and themes
Line News
Group and open chat
Timeline

Only in Messenger

End-to-end encrypted chats
Voice and video calling
Marketplace messaging
Disappearing messages
Cross-app chat with Instagram
Business messaging

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Line

A business selling to consumers in Japan that needs an Official Account rather than email or SMS to reach customersnot Messenger
An individual keeping in touch with contacts in Japan, Taiwan or Thailand where Line, not WhatsApp, is the defaultnot Messenger
A brand running promotions through Line stickers or Timeline content aimed at a Japanese audiencenot Messenger
A company processing consumer payments in Japan through Line Pay integrationnot Messenger

Messenger

Messaging friends and family who primarily use Facebook rather than a phone number based appnot Line
Coordinating a buy or sell exchange through Facebook Marketplace messagingnot Line
Making free video or voice calls to contacts without needing their phone numbernot Line
Messaging a business through its Facebook Page for customer servicenot Line

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Line

Line has negligible market share outside Japan, Taiwan and Thailand, so it is the wrong choice for reaching contacts in most other regions.
A 2021 incident exposed that some user data had been accessible from servers operated in China, which led to a formal restructuring of data governance and remains a reference point for privacy sensitive users.
Standard chats are not end to end encrypted by default in the way Signal is; Letter Sealing, an opt-in encryption feature, has to be manually enabled per chat.
Business messaging through Official Accounts becomes expensive quickly once a company exceeds the free monthly message allowance and moves to a metered plan.
Ownership sits inside a SoftBank and Naver joint venture with a history of governance disputes between the two partners, which creates strategic uncertainty for enterprise customers relying on the platform long term.

Messenger

While message content is end-to-end encrypted by default since December 2023, metadata such as who messaged whom and when is not encrypted and remains visible to Meta.
Full functionality generally assumes a linked Facebook account, which ties messaging to a broader social profile many users would rather keep separate.
Cloud chat backups, if enabled, are protected by a PIN the user sets, and losing that PIN without a recovery key can mean losing access to backed-up chat history.
As a Meta product, its business model depends on the surrounding Meta advertising ecosystem, and account-level data outside message content still feeds that system.
Group chat and calling features have historically launched later or with more limitations on Messenger than on some competing apps built encryption-first from the start.

Pricing, plan by plan

Line

Free

LineFree
- Free messaging, voice and video calling
- Individual sticker sets typically cost a few hundred yen each
- Line Official Account has a free tier with message volume limits, then paid tiers by monthly message count

Messenger

Free

FreeFree
- Unlimited messaging, calling and group chats
- No subscription tier

Which should you pick?

Choose Line if

You need line pay.
You want to start without paying.
You work on iOS, Android, Windows, macOS, Web.
You also want official accounts.

Line review

Choose Messenger if

You need end-to-end encrypted chats.
You want to start without paying.
You work on iOS, Android, Web.
You also want voice and video calling.

Messenger review

Questions people ask

Is Line or Messenger better?: Neither clearly leads. Line starts at Free and Messenger at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Line or Messenger?: Line starts at Free and Messenger at Free.
Does Line or Messenger run on more platforms?: Line runs on iOS, Android, Windows, macOS, Web. Messenger runs on iOS, Android, Web.
Can I use Line for free?: Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Line best used for?: Line is most often used for a business selling to consumers in japan that needs an official account rather than email or sms to reach customers, an individual keeping in touch with contacts in japan, taiwan or thailand where line, not whatsapp, is the default, a brand running promotions through line stickers or timeline content aimed at a japanese audience, a company processing consumer payments in japan through line pay integration. Of those, a business selling to consumers in japan that needs an official account rather than email or sms to reach customers and an individual keeping in touch with contacts in japan, taiwan or thailand where line, not whatsapp, is the default are not what Messenger is typically brought in for.
What can Line do that Messenger cannot?: Line covers Line Pay, Official Accounts, Stickers and themes, Line News. Messenger covers End-to-end encrypted chats, Voice and video calling, Marketplace messaging, Disappearing messages.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Line: Is Line encrypted by default?

Chats use standard transport encryption, but full end to end Letter Sealing encryption must be turned on manually per conversation, it is not the default.

Messenger: Is Messenger encrypted by default now?

Yes, since December 2023 personal chats and calls are end-to-end encrypted by default, moving on from the earlier opt-in Secret Conversations mode.

Line: Does Line work well outside Japan, Taiwan and Thailand?

Technically yes, but almost nobody uses it as their primary messenger outside those markets, so it is the wrong choice to reach most other audiences.

Messenger: What can Meta still see if chats are encrypted?

Metadata such as who is messaging whom, when, and group membership is not encrypted and remains visible to Meta, even though message content is.

Line: Who owns Line now?

LY Corporation, formed from a merger of Line and Yahoo Japan businesses, controlled by A Holdings, a joint venture between SoftBank and Naver.

Messenger: Do I need a Facebook account to use Messenger?

In some markets Messenger can be used with just a phone number, but most features assume a linked Facebook account.

Line vs Messenger

Line

Messenger

The short version

Where they differ

What each one covers

Only in Line

Only in Messenger

What people use each for

Line

Messenger

Where each one falls short

Line

Messenger

Pricing, plan by plan

Line

Messenger

Which should you pick?

Choose Line if

Choose Messenger if

Questions people ask

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Related pages

More on Line

More on Messenger

Keep looking

Other head to heads