Published on Apr 12, 2025 6 min read

Stay Connected: The 6 Best Texting Apps for Group Chats and Instant Messaging

In the 21st century, when almost everyone owns a mobile device or PC, messaging has become an easy, quick, and reliable way of communication. In addition to messaging, most of the available texting applications offer additional features and access to popular social media platforms to enhance the user experience.

But when choosing the best app for personal texts and multimedia messaging from over a hundred different texting applications, pick the secure one that has no price tags and supports group tags. Such apps include WhatsApp, Viber, Telegram, Facebook Messenger, Discord, and Signal, among many others. If you want to learn more about these applications, their features, and more before downloading apps, keep reading!

What Should You Look For In Messaging Apps?

Several apps can be used for messaging, both personal and business. But what qualities decide which app will land on your mobile screen or desktop? These are some key features that the best messaging apps should have like:

1. Privacy and Security: The best texting apps have end-to-end encryption by default. However, this is not always possible, such as in group chats and some business communications.
2. Availability on Android and iOS: Texting apps should be available on Android, iOS, and, ideally, desktops. The more accessible apps are convenient and used by everybody for seamless communication.
3. Free of Cost: Most people are not willing to pay to text their friends and family. However, it is easy for companies to communicate with customers and reach a larger population, especially in large businesses.
4. Allows Multimedia Messages: You should be able to send images, videos, PDFs, voice notes, YouTube links, and other multimedia.
5. Supports Group Chats: Group chats enable users to communicate with multiple people simultaneously. Most texting apps allow this feature as it is very common and important.

The 6 Best Texting Apps

Here are the top 6 best apps for group chats and instant messaging:

Whatsapp

WhatsApp is one of the most widely used texting apps worldwide, and it's free. WhatsApp was launched in 2009 to send WiFi or data connection messages. In 2014, Facebook (now Meta) acquired WhatsApp; its features and users have grown since then. It has over two billion users, and the channels in WhatsApp allow broadcasting. It also integrates with meta AI, allowing you to chat with the bot or generate AI images. You can also sign in to WhatsApp on multiple devices and use the app on a desktop or web app. You can send any message and make Audio and Video calls. WhatsApp has end-to-end encryption for all conversations, including all the links and PDFs.

Viber

Viber has over a million users across the world. Unlike in communities or channels, it offers end-to-end encryption in private conversations, where any new member can read old messages. With Viber, you can make free video and audio calls to other Viber users, and a paid feature allows you to make calls on other devices or landlines in any part of the world. Viber has an old feature called communities. Communities are formed based on your location or hobbies, where you can start a conversation about your favorite topic. Since the groups can be busy, Viber offers robust controls and moderation of the chats to the admins.

Telegram

Telegram offers audio and video calls, sending images and video links, and other multimedia like other apps we discussed. Telegram offers secret one-to-one conversations where you can enable end-to-end encryption, ensuring privacy. It also offers an option of self-deleting based on your preference. However, Telegram stores your chat on its servers in supergroups and channels. Group chats can be formed with over 200,000 users and channels with unlimited subscribers. It allows logging in from other devices, including through desktop apps. Telegram has an open API for building your unofficial apps. There are free and paid versions available of the app.

Facebook Messenger

If you have a Facebook account, you can go to your inbox and start texting your friends and family; you have automatically signed up for Messenger. Messenger allows all the basic features, including texting, calling, and other multimedia. There's also meta AI, which you can chat with and generate AI images. Facebook lacks end-to-end encryption in community chats and marketplace chats. Facebook has scanned all images in the past to prevent ideas or projects that could potentially harm people. However, the company claims that they don't scan your private one-to-one conversations; there are still ways to scan messages on the device before encryption.

Discord

Gamers usually use Discord to communicate over audio calls while playing games. You can also make video calls on Discord. You can create your server and invite others to join; make it private or public; it is your call. A server is generally made based on the creator's interests, such as gaming, education, and whatnot. You can set settings for who can join other private servers and set permissions for administrating the server. You can DM and chat one-on-one with any other person using the app. It is free, and premium plans are also available.

Signal

Signal is one of the best alternatives to WhatsApp. It is similar to WhatsApp, including double ticks indicating the message has been delivered. You can send messages in multimedia or any form with end-to-end encryption. The app also allows the expiration date of messages, which cannot be recovered after the expiration date. There is also a "note to self" contact that you can use to write down your thoughts. It's like a personal digital diary. You can use the app on your desktop for Windows, Mac, and Linux. You can also send signal messages and SMS to non-signal users via a single interface.

Conclusion:

Choosing the app that best meets your needs is difficult with so many apps. You should never compromise your security, and luckily, almost all texting apps provide end-to-end encryption on one-to-one private chats. The required services from any app can vary from person to person; you can look into the qualities that best meet your needs. Some common apps include WhatsApp, Viber, Telegram Signal, discord, and Facebook Messenger. These apps offer end-to-end encryption on private chats and allow sending multimedia messages, audio and video calls, and group chats.