Telegram Messenger vs WhatsApp Messenger
Telegram Messenger
Telegram FZ-LLC
App Store
$2.11M/mo
~$25.36M/yr · 41.0M installs
VS
WhatsApp Messenger
WhatsApp Inc.
App Store
$25.92M/mo
~$311.06M/yr · 1.6B installs
Revenue winner
WhatsApp Messenger wins
+1126% vs other
Installs winner
WhatsApp Messenger wins
+3892% vs other
MAU winner
WhatsApp Messenger wins
+176% vs other
Rating winner
WhatsApp Messenger wins
+17% vs other
Why WhatsApp Messenger is winning
Top 4 reasons - backed by the public App Store / Play Store numbers.
- WhatsApp Messenger earns roughly 12× more per month than Telegram Messenger - $25.92M vs $2.11M.
- Premium pricing. WhatsApp Messenger charges $21.99/mo vs Telegram Messenger's $3.00/mo - higher ARPU per converted user.
- Bigger install base. WhatsApp Messenger has ~1.6B lifetime installs vs Telegram Messenger's ~41.0M - 39.9× the funnel top.
- Better app store reviews. WhatsApp Messenger sits at 4.69★ vs 4.01★ - 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 Messenger
vs
WhatsApp Messenger
Monthly revenue (est.)?
$2.11M
▶
$25.92M
Annual revenue (est.)
$25.36M
▶
$311.06M
Lifetime installs (est.)
41.0M
▶
1.6B
Monthly active users (est.)?
13.0M
▶
36.0M
App Store rating
4.01★
▶
4.69★
Total ratings
273K
▶
18.2M
US grossing rank
#53
◀
-
Cheapest monthly sub
$3.00
▶
$21.99
IAP tiers detected
10 tiers
◀
3 tiers
- Category
- Social Networking
- Price
- Free
- Released
- Aug 14, 2013
- Last updated
- Jun 22, 2026
- File size
- 228.9 MB
- Content rating
- 12+
- Version
- 12.8.1
- Languages
- Arabic, BE, Catalan, Dutch, English, French +13 more
- Category
- Social Networking
- Price
- Free
- Released
- May 4, 2009
- Last updated
- Jun 30, 2026
- File size
- 360.1 MB
- Content rating
- 12+
- Version
- 26.25.74
- Languages
- Arabic, BN, Catalan, Croatian, Czech, Danish +33 more
Telegram Messenger trajectory
WhatsApp Messenger trajectory
FAQ
Which makes more money, Telegram Messenger or WhatsApp Messenger? v
WhatsApp Messenger earns about $25.92M per month, while Telegram Messenger earns about $2.11M. That is a 12.3× revenue gap (~$23.81M more per month for WhatsApp Messenger). Annual revenue: Telegram Messenger ≈ $25.36M/year, WhatsApp Messenger ≈ $311.06M/year. Estimates are derived from public App Store signals - grossing rank, scraped IAP tiers, ratings and category benchmarks.
Which has more downloads, Telegram Messenger or WhatsApp Messenger? v
WhatsApp Messenger leads with about 1.6B estimated downloads vs 41.0M for Telegram Messenger - a 39.9× gap. Telegram Messenger's App Store downloads are estimated from 273K ratings × the standard 1:75 ratio. WhatsApp Messenger's App Store downloads are estimated from 18.2M ratings.
Are Telegram Messenger and WhatsApp Messenger in the same App Store category and competing for the same money? v
Yes - both apps sit in the Social Networking 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 Messenger and WhatsApp Messenger offer? v
Telegram Messenger: IAP range 10 tiers detected. WhatsApp Messenger: IAP range 3 tiers detected. Telegram Messenger runs a "Subscription (~$3.00/mo) · calibrated by US grossing rank #53" monetization model; WhatsApp Messenger runs "Subscription (~$21.99/mo)". Scraped tier prices and detected subscription pricing drive the bulk of the per-app revenue estimate above.
Which has better ratings, Telegram Messenger or WhatsApp Messenger? v
WhatsApp Messenger edges ahead with ★ 4.7 vs ★ 4.0 (gap of 0.7 stars). Rating volume: Telegram Messenger 273K ratings, WhatsApp Messenger 18.2M ratings. Higher rating volume = stronger ASO signal even when star averages are close.
How accurate are these Telegram Messenger vs WhatsApp Messenger revenue estimates? v
Directional - typically within 2-3× of actual money earned for popular apps. The $2.11M for Telegram Messenger and $25.92M for WhatsApp Messenger are derived from App Store grossing rank, scraped IAP tiers, ratings volume and category benchmarks (Social Networking) - 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 Messenger or WhatsApp Messenger to a different App Store app? v
Use the search box at the bottom of this page or paste any two App Store 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.