WhatsAppvs
Zoom
Zoom: Video conferencing that's easy, reliable, and secure
Simple. Reliable. Private.
As of 30 August 2026, WhatsApp is free to use. WhatsApp is a free, multiplatform messaging app that lets you make video and voice calls, send text messages, and share files with friends and family. Softwr lists it under Communication. WhatsApp is made by Meta Platforms Inc, launched in 2009, available on Web, Windows, macOS, iOS.
Overview
What WhatsApp does
WhatsApp is a free, multiplatform messaging app that lets you make video and voice calls, send text messages, and share files with friends and family. With end-to-end encryption, your personal messages and calls are secured.
What people use it for
- Personal messaging
- Family communication
- Business communication
- Group coordination
- International calling
Related searches
The honest half
Where it falls short
Concrete and checkable, so you can decide whether any of them matter to you. This is the half of a review a vendor will not write about WhatsApp.
- Consumer app messaging and calling is free, but the vendor notes carrier data charges may apply
Cross-shopped
What people choose instead of WhatsApp
Each pairing was judged by two reviewers asking whether a buyer would genuinely weigh the two against each other. The ones that failed were deleted rather than published.
- WhatsAppvsMicrosoft Teams
Microsoft Teams: Meet, chat, call, and collaborate in just one place
- WhatsAppvsLoom
Loom: Record instantly, share anywhere
- WhatsAppvsRingCentral Video
RingCentral Video: Connected cloud communications
Pricing
What WhatsApp costs
Taken from the vendor's own pricing page. Prices move, so check before you buy.
Free
Free
- Unlimited messaging
- Voice and video calls
- Group chats up to 1024 people
- File sharing up to 2GB
- End-to-end encryption
Capabilities
Features
Text messaging
Voice calls
Video calls
Group chats
Status updates
File sharing
Voice messages
Location sharing
WhatsApp Business API
Integration with WhatsApp Business API
Meta Business Suite
Integration with Meta Business Suite
CRM integrations
Integration with CRM integrations
End-to-end encryption
End-to-end encryption security feature
Answered, with sources
Questions people ask
Each answer names the page it came from, so you can check it rather than take our word for it.
How much does WhatsApp cost for personal users?
WhatsApp messaging and calling are free for personal users. Data charges may apply depending on your mobile provider.
SourceDoes WhatsApp offer a business product?
Yes, WhatsApp Business exists to help companies reach customers, showcase products, and increase sales, though specific pricing for business messaging features is not detailed on the main website.
SourceBehind it
Who makes WhatsApp
- Company
- Meta Platforms Inc
- Based in
- Mountain View, California, USA
- Founders
- Brian Acton, Jan Koum
Timeline
WhatsApp over time
- Acquisition2014-02-19$16bn
Facebook acquires WhatsApp
Source
Keep looking
Where to go from WhatsApp
- WhatsApp alternativesEvery product people weigh against it
- WhatsApp pricingPlans, floors and what the tiers exclude
- WhatsApp badgesWhich rules it meets, and the figure behind each
- All Communication softwareThe full category
- Best Communication softwareThe shortlist, and how it was cut
Best Communication software for
Compare WhatsApp with
- Zoom
- Loom
- RingCentral Video
- Microsoft Teams
- Signal
- Telegram
- Webex by Cisco
- Slack
- Twist
- Chanty
- Courier
- Gupshup
- Sessions
- TeamViewer
- Textline
- Vowel
- Signal
- Twist
Other Communication software
Meet, chat, call, and collaborate in just one place
Free, then $4/mo13 researched notesPure instant messaging — simple, fast, secure, and synced across all your devices
Free, then $4.99/mo12 researched notesNotification infrastructure API for sending messages across channels
Free plan8 researched notesConversational messaging and CPaaS with a flat platform fee stacked on top of Meta per-message rates
From $0.001/message12 researched notesMeetings and webinars with a prepared agenda, interactive blocks and a recorded outcome
Free plan13 researched notesRemote access and support software from Germany, used for connecting to computers anywhere
Pricing on request8 researched notes
Softwr does not host reviews and shows no star rating for WhatsApp, because a rating we did not collect is not ours to publish. What is here is the pricing and platform detail from the vendor’s own pages, limitations we could state concretely, and alternatives a reviewer confirmed people weigh against it. Tell us if any of it is wrong.
More on WhatsApp
WhatsApp alternatives
What people switch to, and what they give up
WhatsApp pricing
Every tier, and where the cost actually lands
Compare WhatsApp
Put it head to head with anything we hold
WhatsApp badge
Its rating, and an embed for your own site
Best Communication software alternatives
Chinese super-app combining messaging, payments, mini programs and identity, effectively required infrastructure in mainland China
Free to download, transaction fees on payments
Messaging app with its strongest user base in Eastern Europe and the Philippines, owned by Japans Rakuten
Free to download, paid business messaging and out calls to landlines and mobiles
Meta's standalone messaging app for Facebook, with end to end encryption on by default since 2023
Free, funded by Meta's advertising business
Messaging app that dominates Japan, Taiwan and Thailand, now run by LY Corporation under joint SoftBank and Naver ownership
Free to download, paid stickers and business messaging tiers
The default messaging app in South Korea, bundled with payments, taxi hailing and other Kakao services
Free to download, paid emoticons, gifting and business messagingConversational messaging and CPaaS with a flat platform fee stacked on top of Meta per-message rates
Per message sent
Korean business messaging built on the KakaoTalk interface for domestic enterprise teams
Per user per month
White-label community apps published under your own brand on iOS, Android and web
Per month, flat fee with no transaction charge