Telegram vs WhatsApp Messenger
Telegram
Telegram FZ-LLC
Google Play
$13.21M/mo
~$158.52M/yr · 2.9B installs
VS
WhatsApp Messenger
WhatsApp LLC
Google Play
$56.85M/mo
~$682.24M/yr · 11.9B installs
Revenue winner
WhatsApp Messenger wins
+330% vs other
Installs winner
WhatsApp Messenger wins
+318% vs other
MAU winner
WhatsApp Messenger wins
+345% vs other
Rating winner
WhatsApp Messenger wins
+20% vs other
Why WhatsApp Messenger is winning
Top 4 reasons - backed by the public App Store / Play Store numbers.
- WhatsApp Messenger earns roughly 4× more per month than Telegram - $56.85M vs $13.21M.
- Aggressive pricing. WhatsApp Messenger undercuts at $8.94/mo vs $9.48/mo - converts a higher % of free users.
- Bigger install base. WhatsApp Messenger has ~11.9B lifetime installs vs Telegram's ~2.9B - 4.2× the funnel top.
- Better app store reviews. WhatsApp Messenger sits at 4.69★ vs 3.89★ - store algorithms reward higher-rated apps with more impressions.
→ Find more apps with this revenue gap · Full WhatsApp Messenger report
Side-by-side metrics
Bars scale to whichever app is bigger on that row. Green = winner.
Telegram
vs
WhatsApp Messenger
Monthly revenue (est.)?
$13.21M
▶
$56.85M
Annual revenue (est.)
$158.52M
▶
$682.24M
Lifetime installs (est.)
2.9B
▶
11.9B
Monthly active users (est.)?
88.4M
▶
393.4M
App Store rating
3.89★
▶
4.69★
Total ratings
16.9M
▶
234.2M
US grossing rank
-
=
-
Cheapest monthly sub
$9.48
◀
$8.94
IAP tiers detected
0 tiers
=
0 tiers
- Category
- Communication
- Price
- Free
- Released
- Sep 6, 2013
- Last updated
- May 8, 2026
- File size
- -
- Content rating
- Mature 17+
- Version
- 12.7.2
- Languages
- -
- Category
- Communication
- Price
- Free
- Released
- Oct 18, 2010
- Last updated
- May 4, 2026
- File size
- -
- Content rating
- Everyone
- Version
- VARY
- Languages
- -
Telegram trajectory
WhatsApp Messenger trajectory
FAQ
Which makes more money, Telegram or WhatsApp Messenger? v
WhatsApp Messenger earns about $56.85M per month, while Telegram earns about $13.21M. That is a 4.3× revenue gap (~$43.64M more per month for WhatsApp Messenger). Annual revenue: Telegram ≈ $158.52M/year, WhatsApp Messenger ≈ $682.24M/year. Estimates are derived from public Google Play signals - grossing rank, scraped IAP tiers, ratings and category benchmarks.
Which has more downloads, Telegram or WhatsApp Messenger? v
WhatsApp Messenger leads with about 11.9B estimated downloads vs 2.9B for Telegram - a 4.2× gap. Telegram reports 1,000,000,000+ installs on Google Play. WhatsApp Messenger reports 10,000,000,000+ installs on Google Play.
Are Telegram and WhatsApp Messenger in the same Google Play category and competing for the same money? v
Yes - both apps sit in the Communication category, which means they compete directly for the same paying users and category-level wallet share. Direct competitors, head-to-head.
What in-app purchases and subscription pricing do Telegram and WhatsApp Messenger offer? v
Telegram: IAP range $0.31 - $289.99 per item. WhatsApp Messenger: IAP range $0.40 - $199.99 per item. Telegram runs a "Subscription (~$9.48/mo)" monetization model; WhatsApp Messenger runs "Subscription (~$8.94/mo)". Scraped tier prices and detected subscription pricing drive the bulk of the per-app revenue estimate above.
Which has better ratings, Telegram or WhatsApp Messenger? v
WhatsApp Messenger edges ahead with ★ 4.7 vs ★ 3.9 (gap of 0.8 stars). Rating volume: Telegram 183K ratings, WhatsApp Messenger 2.0M ratings. Higher rating volume = stronger ASO signal even when star averages are close.
How accurate are these Telegram vs WhatsApp Messenger revenue estimates? v
Directional - typically within 2-3× of actual money earned for popular apps. The $13.21M for Telegram and $56.85M for WhatsApp Messenger are derived from Google Play grossing rank, scraped IAP tiers, ratings volume and category benchmarks (Communication) - net of the 15-30% Apple/Google store cut. Real revenue depends on country mix, retention, refunds and ad fill rate, none of which Apple or Google publish.
How do I compare Telegram or WhatsApp Messenger to a different Google Play app? v
Use the search box at the bottom of this page or paste any two Google Play links into the homepage tool. We auto-generate a permanent comparison URL with revenue, downloads, IAP tiers, subscription pricing and grossing rank for both apps.