Messaging apps are changing the way we communicate with each other. Every year, more and more people have access to the best messaging apps. They are certainly an important part of our personal and business relations. We have done our yearly research on the most popular messaging apps in the world to offer answers to some common questions: What are the most popular messaging apps in 2021? Which ones are my customers using? You’ll learn everything about the top messaging apps in this article.
Most Popular Messaging Apps by Monthly Active Users
Monthly Active Users (MAU) refers to the number of people who use a platform per month. It is a good indicator of a messaging app's health and relevance. Here are the top five messaging apps ranked by their MAU in July 2021:
- Top Messaging Apps: WhatsApp
- Top Messaging Apps: Facebook Messenger
- Top Messaging Apps: WeChat
- Top Messaging Apps: QQ
- Top Messaging Apps: Telegram
Surprised to see Telegram in the Top 5? As we will explain later on, this text app has been one of the protagonists in 2021. In fact, Telegram has recently reached the 1 billion downloads milestone.
1. Top Messaging Apps: WhatsApp
So, what is the most used messaging app in the world? It's WhatsApp, with overwhelming popularity in Europe, Asia, America, Africa, and Oceania. Moreover, it remains the top popular messaging app in countries such as India, Brazil, and Pakistan.
WhatsApp is consistently in the top 3 communication apps in every country except for South Korea, Taiwan, Japan, China, and Myanmar. With over 2b MAU, WhatsApp is far ahead of the rest of the competitors.
Speaking about competitors, there is another close competitor belonging to the same umbrella company. This means Facebook owns the two most popular messaging apps in terms of MAU.
2. Top Messaging Apps: Facebook Messenger
Facebook Messenger takes the second spot on the ranking. In January 2021, 1.3b people used Facebook Messenger or Messenger Lite regularly every month. For both the US and Canada, it has become the most popular iOS messaging app in the App Store.
In both countries, Facebook Messenger is the second most popular app for Android users after WhatsApp. To put it simply, North American iOS users prefer Facebook Messenger. And WhatsApp seems to be a preferred choice among Android users.
The US is one of the main Facebook Messenger markets. In fact, 9 out of 10 citizens choose it as their primary messaging app. In Canada, half of the entire population uses Facebook Messenger. That makes a total of 18,490,000 users.
However, Facebook Messenger is seldom the most popular app in the rest of the world. Only the US, Canada, Hungary, Mongolia, Madagascar, and Vietnam use it as their primary chat app.
What comes next? Unsurprisingly, the two most popular instant messengers in China make it into the global ranking once again. Let's jump straight to the China market.
3. Top Messaging Apps: WeChat
When it comes to messaging apps, China has always been a special case. Popular text apps like WhatsApp, Line, Telegram, Facebook Messenger, or Viber are banned in the country.
Tencent's WeChat is the most popular Chinese app. It accounts for 1242 million Monthly Active users around the world. Not only it is used to communicate with your contacts -the app has more to offer.
WeChat Pay is now a common digital payment method in China, which also features many popular mini-programs. These are apps within WeChat that include e-commerce, games, rentals, and many more.
WeChat is by far the most efficient way of online communication in the country. Although it is not always the go-to option for the young Chinese. Other messaging apps like QQ or DuoShan are becoming more appealing to them.
4. Top Messaging Apps: QQ
QQ is still very successful in China. And Chinese youngsters are their main target market since QQ users don’t need a phone number to sign up. With 606 million MAU, it is the fourth most-used messenger app in the global ranking.
Before the release of WeChat, QQ was the main messaging app in China. Nowadays, people use it mainly as a communication tool for offices. It is used as a common desktop messenger which allows transfers of heavy files.
It's time to talk about the last spot on the list. Despite its position, it is the fastest-growing app of them all. Telegram's MAU keep increasing consistently. And it has already surpassed some of the most popular chat apps such as Viber or Line.
5. Top Messaging Apps: Telegram
Unlike Line or Kakao, Telegram is not a regional phenomenon. In fact, it has become a strong contender in multiple geographical areas. In 2020, it was the messaging app of choice for 14 countries. One year after, that number has increased to 25.
Currently, the app has 550 million Monthly Active Users. We have also observed that Telegram has been growing its userbase 25% year after year since 2018. It is expected to reach 1b MAU by 2022.
We have dealt with the global numbers. But now it is time to take a closer look at the different geographical areas. It's here where we discover new trends and find out the best markets for every messaging app.
Most Popular Messaging Apps by Country
We have visited the Play Store and the App Store of 230 countries and territories to find out which messaging apps for Android and iOS are featured at the top of the communication category. This helped us discover the most popular messaging app in every country.
The ranking algorithms are not fully disclosed. Nevertheless, it's known that factors such as downloads, engagement, rating, and reviews influence an app's rank. And here are our findings on the top mobile messaging apps by country this year.
Top Chat Apps in Europe
WhatsApp is the most popular messaging app in West Europe. But for the first time, Telegram has taken the second spot from Messenger. Signal has been this year's surprise. It has quickly become the third favorite for Android users in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland.
In Central Europe, WhatsApp is also at the head of the list. But in this case, Messenger is still the second preferred option, leaving Telegram in the third position. Viber is also a popular choice for some central European countries such as Greece or Serbia.
Telegram has become one of the most popular instant messaging apps in East Europe. In 2021, both Russia and Ukraine choose it as their primary messaging app, followed by WhatsApp and Viber.
Top Chat Apps in Asia
In South Asia, WhatsApp is at the head of the list. It is followed by Telegram and Facebook Messenger. India is WhatsApp's biggest market with 390.1 MAU, but the app is very successful in countries like Bangladesh and Pakistan too.
The same happens in Southeast Asia, where these three are the top messaging apps. This region has other competitive options that vary by country. MiChat is trendy in Indonesia, as Line is in Thailand. In Vietnam, Viber and Zalo are two popular options too.
In the Middle East, WhatsApp, Messenger, and Telegram are the most popular messengers. However, in countries such as Saudi Arabia or Yemen, IMO is a common choice.
As mentioned, WeChat is the most popular app in China, and also the third most popular messaging app in the world. Similarly, QQ is the second preferred option for Chinese users and the fourth most popular text app in the world.
Japanese users stick to Line as their main messaging app. It’s followed by Kakao Talk and Google Messages. In Japan, Line grows progressively every year. However, the number of global Line users had no significant growth in the last five years.
When it comes to South Korean messaging apps, Kakao Talk takes the first spot in its home country, followed by Telegram and Line.
Top Chat Apps in America
What are the most popular messaging apps in USA 2021? Facebook Messenger is one the most popular messengers in USA for iOS, which accounts for 53% of the Operative System market share. It’s closely followed by WhatsApp and to a lesser extent, Telegram.
Interestingly, WhatsApp is the preferred option by Android users, accounting for 46% of the mobile OS market in North America. In 2020 Messenger was the most popular messaging app 2021 among USA Android users, but not among Canadian Android users.
In most Central and South American countries, WhatsApp still reigns as the top messaging app. This includes highly populated countries like Brazil, Colombia, and Mexico. Meanwhile, Telegram takes the second spot in many of these countries.
Messenger is still an important contender and the third in the ranking. The powerful app trio has very little competition in this region.
Top Chat Apps in Africa
Like in the previous year, the top three messaging apps for Africa are WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, and Telegram. It is one of the few regions where Messenger hasn't been displaced by Telegram's boom.
It is worth mentioning that other messenger apps like Gem4Me or Ayoba are very popular in certain African countries. Their user base is growing consistently. However, they are still far from making it to the top three in the African continent.
Top Chat Apps in Oceania
Messenger used to be the chat app of choice for Australians and New Zealanders. In 2021 this is no longer the case. Recently WhatsApp has taken the first position in both the Play Store and the App Store.
In Papua New Guinea, BiP is the most popular messaging app, but internet penetration still remains low in the country. For that reason, the total amount of users are not enough to include it in the top 3.
As you can see, different countries show a preference for different apps. Asia shows a wide diversity of messaging apps, whereas WhatsApp, Telegram, and Messenger are rarely disputed in Central and South America.
Now it's time to move on to the final section, where we discuss the main trends we have noticed this year.
Most Popular Messaging Apps Trends in 2021
Since our last Messaging App Research in July 2020, some important things have happened. We have talked about MAU and regional preferences. But, what key points can we make from this year's results?
Best Messaging Apps: WhatsApp Stays on Top
Is WhatsApp the most used app? Our Top App by Country research for 2021 shows that WhatsApp is the most popular messaging app in 188 countries/territories out of 230.
If we ignore WeChat and QQ which are most relevant in China, and Facebook Messenger, which also belongs to Facebook, WhatsApp's next big competitor would be Telegram. At this point, Telegram has four times fewer users than WhatsApp.
But, why do people use WhatsApp? Well, there are various reasons: It is the most popular app in the world, so your contacts are probably already using it. It was right there when the smartphone fever started almost a decade ago, and it benefited from that too.
It's also easy to use since WhatsApp users are identified via phone numbers. This makes adding new Contacts quite simple compared to other methods like usernames. Users can text their contacts on WhatsApp just by having their phone number -assuming that both sides have WhatsApp installed.
This is not the only app experiencing a sweet moment. 2021 has been particularly positive for Telegram and Signal. Despite having a smaller base of users, they are quickly becoming more and more relevant in the instant messaging game.
Best Messaging Apps: Telegram and Signal on the Rise
Telegram is the second most popular messaging app in the Google PlayStore for more than a hundred countries. In the App Store, it’s only for 25 countries. The app's success is due to its innovative features and people's growing concern over internet privacy.
In fact, in early 2021 both Telegram and Signal saw a huge increase in their downloads at 98% and 1192%, respectively. This was caused by WhatsApp's new policy which involved sharing users' data with Facebook.
But there was one more thing that prompted Signal to skyrocket in such a short time span: In January of this year, Elon Musk tweeted "Use Signal" to his 42 million followers. Signal peaked at 51M downloads in the same month, becoming one of the most popular messengers 2021 in certain European countries.
The first month of the year was prosperous for Telegram too. The app got 64M new downloads and became the most downloaded app of January worldwide.
Is Telegram vs WhatsApp already a thing? Well, that's not likely, at least for the time being. But Telegram has become one of the most popular messaging apps 2021. Time will tell if this is just temporary or a new trend.
Messenger pushed down by Telegram
In our 2021 research, we have noticed an interesting pattern: In many geographical areas, Telegram is substituting Messenger as the second most popular messaging app. This phenomenon is often seen among Android users, but not among iOS Users.
In almost a hundred countries, Telegram has replaced Messenger as the second top messaging app in the Play Store, while the latter falls to third place. This suggests that Telegram has finally turned the tables, becoming a serious competitor for Messenger.
This raises an important question: Why is Messenger and not WhatsApp paying for Telegram's success? The truth is, Telegram is still far from WhatsApp’s figures. Yet it is expanding quickly enough to challenge Messenger in multiple countries.
Nonetheless, Messenger still remains very relevant in 8 of the 10 most populated countries on earth. But if Telegram keeps growing at this pace, it could become the second non-Chinese app in terms of MAU in only a few years.
Further Reading
Interested to know more about the best messaging apps? Then we recommend you to read the following three articles:
- Instant Messaging for Business: Your 10 Best Options
- All-in-One Messengers You Should Start Using Today
- Shortening The B2B Sales Cycle Using Instant Messaging
