Until recently, the search for sites to send free SMS from the PC was very frequent and limited and unreliable online opportunities and services flocked.
In recent years, text messages have practically disappeared and thanks to smartphones it has become possible to chat and text with friends, family and colleagues through the apps.
Everyone who owns an Android smartphone or iPhone knows perfectly well that they can send messages for free via Whatsapp .
Released in 2009, it quickly became the number one in the messenger category, with a global use of 1.5 billion users in 180 countries around the world.
While Whatsapp is the most used app, it is not the best one ever, especially if there are different and specific needs such as group chats, sending files, anonymity and privacy.
In this article, therefore, we see the best apps for messaging on mobile (and also available via website on PC), starting from Whatsapp and discovering all the alternative chats to the most important Whatsapp and with special functions.Whatsapp
WhatsApp owes its great success not so much to the functions, but because it was the first that introduced the registration via mobile phone number.
Previous apps such as MSN Messenger and Skype required to log in with the typical username / email address and password registration and you could add contacts only knowing their name and asking for authorization.
In Whatsapp, however, there is not that passage of having to ask for friendship or contact and you only need to have the number of a person to be able to send him messages.
The result is that, those who install WhatsApp, can see in the address book all the friends who use the application to which they can send messages for free.
Whatsapp is the best application to send messages for free based on the number of people who use it.
In the statistics of Whatsapp we can see that it is used by a billion users every day, which is the most used in Europe and in Italy, where it is estimated that it is installed by 85% of people who have a smartphone.
With this application there are no limits on the number of messages per day to be sent for free, you can also send photos, videos and voice messages, you can have group conversations and there is no additional cost if the recipients are abroad.
WhatsApp receives the received messages as soon as the mobile phone is connected to the internet and can also make phone calls.
You can use Whatsapp to text on Android, iPhone and via the Whatsapp Web site.
READ ALSO: Whatsapp tricks and secrets
Facebook Messenger is the first alternative to Whatsapp and is, practically, the chat of Facebook users with billions of registered users. Facebook Messenger is therefore the ideal app for texting friends on Facebook. The functions are always the same, with chats, messages, groups and also audio calls and video calls and sending photos and videos. The application focuses a lot on the fun and social sides, there are therefore many games to play on the chat with friends and then also the possibility to share stories and many funny "live" camera effects to be used to take funny pictures and dress up. Facebook has two versions of its chat, Facebook Messenger full chat and Facebook Messenger Lite, lighter version with only chat and messaging features. You can use Messenger on Android, iPhone and also from the Messenger website on PC.
READ ALSO: Facebook Messenger tricks and secrets
Telegram is among the most popular messaging apps in terms of privacy.
The messages exchanged in Telegram are encrypted and impossible to read by those who have not received them.
This makes it one of the safest messaging services around.
The app has many more features than Whatsapp: file sharing, cross-platform support, group chats without limitations, cloud space, bots and automatic responders to sign up, self-destructing expiring messages and much more.
You can download Telegram for Android PC and iPhone and even if it is much less than Whatsapp for the number of active users, for the functions it includes it can be considered the best of the apps for messaging.
READ ALSO: Telegram tricks and secrets
Skype is the oldest of the messaging apps, from Microsoft, available on PC, Android and iPhone.
In reality, however, the primary purpose of Skype is not that of chat, but rather that of phone calls and video calls.
Skype, unlike Whatsapp and Telegram, works with standard email and user registration or with a Microsoft account.
This application is a novelty of the last year, which has quickly become the favorite communication platform of online video game players.
Discord is among the best messenger apps for players, with cross-platform support available via the web, PC, Android and iPhone.
The app has text chat, group voice chat, support for GIFs and above all it has an excellent organizational system different than normal chats or message apps, much appreciated by those who play online.
It's also completely free, with no in-app purchases or ads.
If you want, we could say that a return to the past, a traditional chat that with the success of Kik has returned to being current and highly appreciated.
The app is particularly used by players on smartphones and by those who love casual chats even with strangers.
Kik Messenger can be downloaded for Android and iPhone.
READ ALSO: 10 App for anonymous chat and messages even with random people
It still remains among the most popular messaging apps of all time, complete with every function including self-destructing messages, group chat, video messages, video chat, stickers and other functions.
While it is little used as chat, it is still good for phone calls.
READ ALSO: Call and text for free with Viber from PC and mobile phone
Snapchat, the photo and selfie app is also an excellent application to chat in a fun way, send photos, videos, make calls, video calls and much more.
As a chat app it is very special, it supports voice calls, video messages, photo messages and text messages.
The service deletes messages after viewing so it is used a lot by young people and for the exchange of private content.
Many of the functions of this application have been imitated by Instagram.
Those who want a message app that is truly armored against any possibility of espionage, can use Signal, which has the main function of secret and untraceable chat, not even by the CIA.
Signal can be used for free on Android, iPhone and the Web and is the safest app you can find.WeChat
WeChat is the main competitor of Whatsapp in Asia, the most used in China to send free SMS messages also with photos.
Although it is now a somewhat dated article, we had previously written a comparison between Whatsapp, WeChat and Viber.
Although it is the third largest chat room in the world as a number of users, it is rarely used in Italy.
READ ALSO: Best Apps for free video calling and video chat on Android and iPhone .
In recent years, text messages have practically disappeared and thanks to smartphones it has become possible to chat and text with friends, family and colleagues through the apps.
Everyone who owns an Android smartphone or iPhone knows perfectly well that they can send messages for free via Whatsapp .
Released in 2009, it quickly became the number one in the messenger category, with a global use of 1.5 billion users in 180 countries around the world.
While Whatsapp is the most used app, it is not the best one ever, especially if there are different and specific needs such as group chats, sending files, anonymity and privacy.
In this article, therefore, we see the best apps for messaging on mobile (and also available via website on PC), starting from Whatsapp and discovering all the alternative chats to the most important Whatsapp and with special functions.
Article Index
- Facebook Messenger
- Telegram
- Skype
- Discord
- Kik Messenger
- Viber
- Snapchat
- Signal
Best Messenger apps
WhatsApp owes its great success not so much to the functions, but because it was the first that introduced the registration via mobile phone number.
Previous apps such as MSN Messenger and Skype required to log in with the typical username / email address and password registration and you could add contacts only knowing their name and asking for authorization.
In Whatsapp, however, there is not that passage of having to ask for friendship or contact and you only need to have the number of a person to be able to send him messages.
The result is that, those who install WhatsApp, can see in the address book all the friends who use the application to which they can send messages for free.
Whatsapp is the best application to send messages for free based on the number of people who use it.
In the statistics of Whatsapp we can see that it is used by a billion users every day, which is the most used in Europe and in Italy, where it is estimated that it is installed by 85% of people who have a smartphone.
With this application there are no limits on the number of messages per day to be sent for free, you can also send photos, videos and voice messages, you can have group conversations and there is no additional cost if the recipients are abroad.
WhatsApp receives the received messages as soon as the mobile phone is connected to the internet and can also make phone calls.
You can use Whatsapp to text on Android, iPhone and via the Whatsapp Web site.
READ ALSO: Whatsapp tricks and secrets
Facebook Messenger
Facebook Messenger is the first alternative to Whatsapp and is, practically, the chat of Facebook users with billions of registered users. Facebook Messenger is therefore the ideal app for texting friends on Facebook. The functions are always the same, with chats, messages, groups and also audio calls and video calls and sending photos and videos. The application focuses a lot on the fun and social sides, there are therefore many games to play on the chat with friends and then also the possibility to share stories and many funny "live" camera effects to be used to take funny pictures and dress up. Facebook has two versions of its chat, Facebook Messenger full chat and Facebook Messenger Lite, lighter version with only chat and messaging features. You can use Messenger on Android, iPhone and also from the Messenger website on PC.
READ ALSO: Facebook Messenger tricks and secrets
Telegram
Telegram is among the most popular messaging apps in terms of privacy.
The messages exchanged in Telegram are encrypted and impossible to read by those who have not received them.
This makes it one of the safest messaging services around.
The app has many more features than Whatsapp: file sharing, cross-platform support, group chats without limitations, cloud space, bots and automatic responders to sign up, self-destructing expiring messages and much more.
You can download Telegram for Android PC and iPhone and even if it is much less than Whatsapp for the number of active users, for the functions it includes it can be considered the best of the apps for messaging.
READ ALSO: Telegram tricks and secrets
Skype
Skype is the oldest of the messaging apps, from Microsoft, available on PC, Android and iPhone.
In reality, however, the primary purpose of Skype is not that of chat, but rather that of phone calls and video calls.
Skype, unlike Whatsapp and Telegram, works with standard email and user registration or with a Microsoft account.
Discord
This application is a novelty of the last year, which has quickly become the favorite communication platform of online video game players.
Discord is among the best messenger apps for players, with cross-platform support available via the web, PC, Android and iPhone.
The app has text chat, group voice chat, support for GIFs and above all it has an excellent organizational system different than normal chats or message apps, much appreciated by those who play online.
It's also completely free, with no in-app purchases or ads.
Kik Messenger
This is the most free chat, the one that is also used for online dating, because it allows you to remain anonymous and covered by a nickname without necessarily having to provide a phone number.If you want, we could say that a return to the past, a traditional chat that with the success of Kik has returned to being current and highly appreciated.
The app is particularly used by players on smartphones and by those who love casual chats even with strangers.
Kik Messenger can be downloaded for Android and iPhone.
READ ALSO: 10 App for anonymous chat and messages even with random people
Viber
For several years Viber has been the best alternative to Whatsapp and also to Skype because it works both as a chat and as an app to make free calls.It still remains among the most popular messaging apps of all time, complete with every function including self-destructing messages, group chat, video messages, video chat, stickers and other functions.
While it is little used as chat, it is still good for phone calls.
READ ALSO: Call and text for free with Viber from PC and mobile phone
Snapchat
Snapchat, the photo and selfie app is also an excellent application to chat in a fun way, send photos, videos, make calls, video calls and much more.
As a chat app it is very special, it supports voice calls, video messages, photo messages and text messages.
The service deletes messages after viewing so it is used a lot by young people and for the exchange of private content.
Many of the functions of this application have been imitated by Instagram.
Signal Messenger
Those who want a message app that is truly armored against any possibility of espionage, can use Signal, which has the main function of secret and untraceable chat, not even by the CIA.
Signal can be used for free on Android, iPhone and the Web and is the safest app you can find.
WeChat is the main competitor of Whatsapp in Asia, the most used in China to send free SMS messages also with photos.
Although it is now a somewhat dated article, we had previously written a comparison between Whatsapp, WeChat and Viber.
Although it is the third largest chat room in the world as a number of users, it is rarely used in Italy.
READ ALSO: Best Apps for free video calling and video chat on Android and iPhone .
