Telegram
One of the top competitors of WhatsApp messenger has been Telegram with over 2 Lakh users. Telegram can be used on platforms across platforms like Android, iOS, Windows Phone, Windows, macOS, Linux, Web(Free).
Signal
It’s a messenger app found by the signal foundation that powers the end-to-end encryption technology in WhatsApp and Facebook messenger. Signal comes with a number of security benefits in comparison to WhatsApp. It can be used on platforms like Android, iPhone and desktop.
One of the unique features that Signal has is that the user can set up a timer for messages to be deleted. It is one of most downloaded messaging apps in the beginning of 2021.
Discord
Earlier, Discord was mainly used by the gamers for chatting while playing. Now, everyone can explore a variety of Discord servers and use the platform to engage with their interests. Same as WhatsApp one can use it for sending direct messages, make voice calls, video calls and even browse together after sharing the screen.
There are over 2.5 lakh users of Discord. It can be used on platforms like Android, iOS, Windows, macOS, Linux and Web.
Bridgefy
One of the major drawbacks online messaging like Whatsapp has is that it can’t be used without internet connection. But Bridgefy is an app which can be used by creating peer-to-peer Bluetooth mesh network or Wifi Direct –based network on phone and allow sending messages to nearby friends.
Bridgefy offers three types of messaging services: Person-to-Person mode, Broadcast mode and Mesh mode. It is one the best offline WhatsApp alternative. It can be downloaded both in Android and iOS.
Kik
Kik is a messaging app that does not require phone number of the user to operate the app. To use the service only email-id is required, it then creates a unique user name which can be shared with the other Kik users to chat.
Kik also supports bots which helps the users to play quizzes, get fashion tips, latest news and more. It can be downloaded in Android and iOS.
Snapchat
Snapchat is a social media app which was originally developed to share pictures has become a popular messaging app as it has some unique features like self-destructing messages after a set period of time and it also notifies when someone takes screenshots of the chats.
Snapchat has over 249 million users. It can be used both Android and iOS.
Skype
Skype is one of the best business chat application and it is best chatting app for the users who more often like to make video calls and voice calls. In 2020, Skype had active users over 100 million. It can be used in Android, iOS, macOS, Windows and web.
Keybase
Keybase is an open-source secure chat application which enables the users to chat securely. As it is an open-source app, no private company is looking at the users’ data. The data is end-to-end encrypted and it doesn’t allow taking screenshots of the chats. This app in supported in Android, iOS, macOS, Linux and Windows.
Viber
Viber is one of the best alternatives of Whatsapp as it comes with features which are very much similar to WhatsApp. And has a unique feature of multiple-device-support. It also has a feature of Viber games which helps the user to play games that are available in the app. It can be used in Android, iOS and Windows.
Line
Line can also be used as a messaging app as it comes with many interesting features like LINEOut which helps the users to make international calls to non-LINE users, LINE Pay for payments and more. It is supported in Android, iOS, macOS, Windows Phone, Windows, Chrome and Firefox.