Threads vs WhatsApp Messenger
Threads
Instagram, Inc.
App Store
$103.56M/mo
~$1.24B/yr · 327.8M installs
VS
WhatsApp Messenger
WhatsApp Inc.
App Store
$510.06M/mo
~$6.12B/yr · 1.6B installs
Revenue winner
WhatsApp Messenger wins
+393% vs other
Installs winner
WhatsApp Messenger wins
+391% vs other
MAU winner
WhatsApp Messenger wins
+392% vs other
Rating winner
WhatsApp Messenger wins
+1% vs other
Why WhatsApp Messenger is winning
Top 2 reasons - backed by the public App Store / Play Store numbers.
- WhatsApp Messenger earns roughly 5× more per month than Threads - $510.06M vs $103.56M.
- Bigger install base. WhatsApp Messenger has ~1.6B lifetime installs vs Threads's ~327.8M - 4.9× the funnel top.
→ 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.
Threads
vs
WhatsApp Messenger
Monthly revenue (est.)?
$103.56M
▶
$510.06M
Annual revenue (est.)
$1.24B
▶
$6.12B
Lifetime installs (est.)
327.8M
▶
1.6B
Monthly active users (est.)?
145.9M
▶
717.4M
App Store rating
4.64★
▶
4.69★
Total ratings
1.9M
▶
17.9M
US grossing rank
-
=
-
Cheapest monthly sub
$21.99
=
$21.99
IAP tiers detected
3 tiers
=
3 tiers
- Category
- Social Networking
- Price
- Free
- Released
- Jul 5, 2023
- Last updated
- May 5, 2026
- File size
- 187.8 MB
- Content rating
- 12+
- Version
- 428.0
- Languages
- Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish +25 more
- Category
- Social Networking
- Price
- Free
- Released
- May 4, 2009
- Last updated
- May 7, 2026
- File size
- 330.4 MB
- Content rating
- 12+
- Version
- 26.17.74
- Languages
- Arabic, BN, Catalan, Croatian, Czech, Danish +33 more
Threads trajectory
WhatsApp Messenger trajectory
FAQ
Which makes more money, Threads or WhatsApp Messenger? v
WhatsApp Messenger earns about $510.06M per month, while Threads earns about $103.56M. That is a 4.9× revenue gap (~$406.50M more per month for WhatsApp Messenger). Annual revenue: Threads ≈ $1.24B/year, WhatsApp Messenger ≈ $6.12B/year. Estimates are derived from public App Store signals - grossing rank, scraped IAP tiers, ratings and category benchmarks.
Which has more downloads, Threads or WhatsApp Messenger? v
WhatsApp Messenger leads with about 1.6B estimated downloads vs 327.8M for Threads - a 4.9× gap. Threads's App Store downloads are estimated from 1.9M ratings × the standard 1:75 ratio. WhatsApp Messenger's App Store downloads are estimated from 17.9M ratings.
Are Threads 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 Threads and WhatsApp Messenger offer? v
Threads: IAP range 3 tiers detected. WhatsApp Messenger: IAP range 3 tiers detected. Threads runs a "Subscription (~$21.99/mo)" 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, Threads or WhatsApp Messenger? v
WhatsApp Messenger edges ahead with ★ 4.7 vs ★ 4.6 (gap of 0.1 stars). Rating volume: Threads 1.9M ratings, WhatsApp Messenger 17.9M ratings. Higher rating volume = stronger ASO signal even when star averages are close.
How accurate are these Threads vs WhatsApp Messenger revenue estimates? v
Directional - typically within 2-3× of actual money earned for popular apps. The $103.56M for Threads and $510.06M 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 Threads 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.