Best Chat Apps for 2021

Chat apps make it easy to stay connected. However, there are many options. You want to make sure that the app you choose will be a good fit for your needs and not add clutter to your device. These are the important questions to ask yourself:

• Is it possible to use this app for voice and video chat?
• Can I use it on my computer?
• It will be filled with annoying ads
• Can I have group chats?
• Can I send and accept files?
• What security will my conversations be?
• Is it available for free?

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Let’s now take a look at some of the top chat apps this year.

1. WhatsApp – The Most Used App in the Globe

WhatsApp is a popular messaging app that most people have heard of. WhatsApp allows you to make free voice calls and video calls and send instant messages using an intuitive interface that works on both iOS and Android devices.

WhatsApp Web can be used on any browser. You can also download a desktop version of WhatsApp Web for Windows or Mac.

WhatsApp is used by more people than any other chat application, so chances are that some of your business contacts and friends already have it installed. You can automatically connect to someone you have saved as a contact via the app if they have an account.

Use WhatsApp to…
Do you have a friend or family member that you love to talk to? WhatsApp lets you create shortcuts to start a conversation from your home screen with the person or group you choose.

It is necessary to communicate with large numbers of people. You can broadcast messages to up to 256 people at once with the broadcast feature.
Group chats are something you enjoy, but you don’t want to be disturbed. WhatsApp lets you mute group chats for up to one year, eight hours or one week.
You live or do business in Saudi Arabia, and WhatsApp is used by 73%.

2. More Americans Use Facebook Messenger

Facebook is the most popular social network worldwide, but it’s also the 2nd largest messaging app by monthly active users. Facebook Messenger is the most used chat app in the United States with 105 million users.

Messenger allows you to connect free of cost with any person who has a Facebook profile. To use the app, you don’t need to be a Facebook user. Simply download it and make a Messenger account.

Messenger allows you to text, voice, and video call anyone using the same messaging platform as WhatsApp. You can call another person’s computer from your phone, and vice versa. This allows you to stay connected regardless of what device you are using.

Choose Facebook Messenger When…
You are looking for fun ways to communicate with your contacts. Messenger offers many games. You can play with your friends or solo if that’s more your style.
You may want to share flight details, recipes, and other details. Messenger’s integrated third-party apps extensions make this easy.
You like cool new technology. You can scan the unique codes of other Messenger users to add them to your Facebook account using Facebook’s code scanner feature.

3. Line – Wide Range of Features

Line has established a solid reputation in East Asia. This chat app is a favorite in Thailand, Taiwan and Japan with more than 200,000,000 users.

Although not as popular than Facebook Messenger or WhatsApp, this chat app is packed with many value-adding features. These include Line Games that you can play with friends; Line Pay, to send and receive money; Line Taxi,to call a taxi; and Line Today,with the latest news.

Select Line When…
You are an emoticon addict. Line offers a wide range of stickers that aren’t offered by other chat apps.
If you like to send high-quality photos, Line lets you share them in full resolution. You can also choose to send images at a lower resolution if that is not an option for you.
A chat app that supports social media is what you want. Line gives you a dedicated timeline that allows you to post updates and share posts with all your contacts.

4. Snapchat – Loads Of Fun Filters

Snapchat is another useful and fun messenger for Android and iOS. Snapchat is unique because you can send multimedia “snaps”, which are only stored for a short time and then disappear forever.

Snaps can be privately sent to a specific recipient or viewed only by a selected group of followers. You can also use this app to chat with your friends via voice and live video.

Snapchat was the first app to allow you to add augmented reality filters over images that you send. These filters allow you to make yourself look alien, place animated storm clouds behind you, and even create an animated avatar.

Snapchat when…
Are you a business looking to create a sponsored lenses to promote your brand? This method has been proven effective by brands such as Kraft and Taco Bell and is a great way for younger audiences to get involved.

If you want to send your Bitmoji avatars to friends and family,as Snapchat lets you include them in your multimedia messages.
Share your day with friends, family and customers using Snapchat Stories.

5. WeChat – China’s Most Popular Chat App

WeChat has more than one billion users in China and is the third most used messaging app worldwide. Many other chat apps in China are blocked, sothis could be one of the best ways to reach people in China.

WeChat is often referred to “the app that does it all.”Its features go beyond just simple chat capabilities. These features include location sharing, broadcasting to multiple recipients and mobile payment.

WeChat’s mobile payment capabilities are so strong that it has been called a top contender to Mastercard, Visa and American Express.

WeChat When…
You are a marketer trying to reach Chinese people. Many other social networks and chat apps are not available in China, including WhatsApp and Snapchat. WeChat’s websites and ads help brands reach this huge market.

Send customizable ecards. These personalized messages can be sent out via WeChat for any occasion including birthdays, valentines days, and Chinese New Year.

6. Skype – Great for Calling Landlines

Skype is another popular option. It’s one of the oldest and most well-known chat applications on the market. This app lets you text, video chat and voice call other users for no cost.

There are some premium features available in addition to the free Skype features. Traditional phone calls can be made to regular numbers (both to landlines and cell phones). This feature is not free and can cost you more depending on where you are calling.

Do you want to speak to multiple people at once? You can have a conference call with up 25 people using the free version.

Skype when…
You want to increase your business’s reach by using Skype’s international numbers. This feature can be used to make it easier for customers to contact you from any of the 27 countries that have it. It can also be useful for keeping in touch friends who live overseas.

If you would like to share your screen, either with a friend or family member, or with an associate from work, Skype’s screen sharing function allows you to show someone what you are working on or walk them through a process.

7. Google Hangouts: Interesting Enterprise-Focused Apps

Google announced recently that Google Hangouts would be ending by October 2019 for G Suite customers (businesses who pay Google’s apps). Regular users have not yet been informed of the retirement timeline, although many believe it will occur in 2020.

Although this might seem to be the end of “classic” Google Hangouts it is not. Google is rebranding Hangouts as two business-focused apps, Hangouts Meet and Hangouts chat.

These apps are only currently available to Google Suite customers. Google announced that the free version of Meet and Chat will become available to all users once they have switched to the new apps. However, the new hangouts are designed for enterprises.

Google will also keep Google Messengers, a text-based messaging app, as well as Google Duo , a video-based chat app, Google Duo to stay in touch with family and friends. Google assures users that Google Hangouts will be supported until the migration is completed. Google Hangouts “classic” is still an option.

Use Google Hangouts to…
If you are an organisation and want to hold business meetings with up 100 people, this is a brand new function in the newly released Hangouts Meet.
It’s important to stay in touch with customers who don’t use the Hangouts chat app. Google announced that you can invite people who don’t use Hangouts Chat to your Hangouts Chat chats with the new version. This means you will soon be able to communicate with clients, vendors, partners, and other users of Hangouts from the same place.
You’d like to communicate with family and friends from Gmail. With “classic” Hangouts, you can message, voice chat or video chat with other Gmail users or Hangouts users right from your browser. All this while still checking your email.
You would like to video chat with up 10 friends simultaneously. With the classic Hangouts app you can video message as many as ten people at once.

8. Viber – Widely used across Eastern Europe

While Viber is not as well-known in the West, it is one the most popular chat apps in Eastern Europe. Viber offers free voice chat, video chat and instant messaging over WiFi.

Viber Out is one of the paid premium features that Viber offers. Viber credit must be purchased to make this possible.

Use Viber to…
Are you a marketer looking to crowdsource information in group chats? Viber’s polling tool allows you to gather opinions from your group members through custom polls.
You want to send holiday wishes and holiday wishes to your family and friends using holiday stickers. Viber’s Sticker Market allows you to download holiday greetings that you can send to the people who are most important in your life.

9. Telegram – The Ad Free Chat App

This less-known app is popular with over 200 million users around the world. It is also one of Uzbekistan’s most used chat apps.

Telegram, another free app, allows users to send text, voice and video messages to others around the globe. Although the app claims it can send secure messages, only its “Secret Chat” function uses end-to-end encryption. Although they are not encrypted from the end, other chat functions use different encryption methods and are considered to be quite secure.

Use Telegram to…
Want to connect with thousands? Telegram lets you create large groups of up to 200k members. This is far more than other chat apps.
You don’t want to pay any fees or ads for other apps. Telegram claims that the app will be free from ads and cost-free for the foreseeable future.
This is the app you’re looking to use on almost every platform.

10. KakaoTalk – The Best KPop Fun

Although this chat app isn’t as popular outside of South Korea it still provides many of the same great features as other chat apps. It offers free voice, video and messaging.

KakaoTalk also offers some unique functions such as KakaoTV which allows you connect with your favorite KakaoTV celebrities. This app is great for fans of Korean culture as you can watch live broadcasts from these stars. You can also share the app with your friends using KakaoFriends, a collection of cute emoticons.

Use KakaoTalk when…
If you’re on a trip or conducting business in South Korea, it’s already installed on 93% of smartphones!
You are a fan of Korean pop music and want other Kpop music fans to chat with. This app has many groups where you can share any news about this music.