WhatsApp Messenger vs Telegram X
WhatsApp Messenger
WhatsApp Inc.
App Store
$509.52M/mo
~$6.11B/yr · 1.6B installs
VS
Telegram X
Telegram FZ-LLC
Google Play
$0/mo
~$0/yr · 220.6M installs
Revenue winner
WhatsApp Messenger wins
+50951505000% vs other
Installs winner
WhatsApp Messenger wins
+628% vs other
MAU winner
WhatsApp Messenger wins
+5406% 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 509515050× more per month than Telegram X - $509.52M vs $0.
- Subscription model. WhatsApp Messenger runs a $21.99/mo subscription that compounds; Telegram X relies on one-shot IAP or ads.
- Bigger install base. WhatsApp Messenger has ~1.6B lifetime installs vs Telegram X's ~220.6M - 7.3× the funnel top.
- More monetization surfaces. WhatsApp Messenger runs 3 IAP tiers vs 0 - more chances to convert users at the right price.
→ 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.
WhatsApp Messenger
vs
Telegram X
Monthly revenue (est.)?
$509.52M
◀
$0
Annual revenue (est.)
$6.11B
◀
$0
Lifetime installs (est.)
1.6B
◀
220.6M
Monthly active users (est.)?
716.7M
◀
13.0M
App Store rating
4.69★
◀
3.92★
Total ratings
17.9M
◀
833K
US grossing rank
-
=
-
Cheapest monthly sub
$21.99
◀
No sub
IAP tiers detected
3 tiers
◀
0 tiers
- 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
- Category
- Social
- Price
- Free
- Released
- May 20, 2015
- Last updated
- Jan 6, 2026
- File size
- -
- Content rating
- Mature 17+
- Version
- VARY
- Languages
- -
WhatsApp Messenger trajectory
Telegram X trajectory
FAQ
Which makes more money, WhatsApp Messenger or Telegram X? v
WhatsApp Messenger earns about $509.52M per month, while Telegram X earns about $0. That is a ∞× revenue gap (~$509.52M more per month for WhatsApp Messenger). Annual revenue: WhatsApp Messenger ≈ $6.11B/year, Telegram X ≈ $0/year. Estimates are derived from public App Store / Google Play signals - grossing rank, scraped IAP tiers, ratings and category benchmarks.
Which has more downloads, WhatsApp Messenger or Telegram X? v
WhatsApp Messenger leads with about 1.6B estimated downloads vs 220.6M for Telegram X - a 7.3× gap. WhatsApp Messenger's App Store downloads are estimated from 17.9M ratings × the standard 1:75 ratio. Telegram X reports 100,000,000+ installs on Google Play.
Are WhatsApp Messenger and Telegram X in the same App Store category on each store and competing for the same money? v
No - WhatsApp Messenger is in Social Networking and Telegram X is in Social. They share screen-time attention but earn money in different niches: WhatsApp Messenger from social networking monetization patterns, Telegram X from social.
What in-app purchases and subscription pricing do WhatsApp Messenger and Telegram X offer? v
WhatsApp Messenger: IAP range 3 tiers detected. Telegram X: no IAP detected on the public listing. WhatsApp Messenger runs a "Subscription (~$21.99/mo)" monetization model; Telegram X runs "No App Store revenue (monetizes off-store)". Scraped tier prices and detected subscription pricing drive the bulk of the per-app revenue estimate above.
Which has better ratings, WhatsApp Messenger or Telegram X? v
WhatsApp Messenger edges ahead with ★ 4.7 vs ★ 3.9 (gap of 0.8 stars). Rating volume: WhatsApp Messenger 17.9M ratings, Telegram X 10K ratings. Higher rating volume = stronger ASO signal even when star averages are close.
How accurate are these WhatsApp Messenger vs Telegram X revenue estimates? v
Directional - typically within 2-3× of actual money earned for popular apps. The $509.52M for WhatsApp Messenger and $0 for Telegram X are derived from App Store grossing rank / Google Play install ranges, scraped IAP tiers, ratings volume and category benchmarks (Social Networking / Social) - 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 WhatsApp Messenger or Telegram X to a different App Store app? v
Use the search box at the bottom of this page or paste any two App Store or 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.