10 Best Messaging Apps

WhatsApp (Android, iOS, WP8) (Free download, $0.99/year)

Remarkably easy setup, automatic syncing with your phone's contacts and a feature-rich, ad-free experience all combine to make WhatsApp (Android, iOS, WP8) a wildly popular mobile messaging app. Users can send text, photos, voice and short video messages to their WhatsApp contacts. The app does require phone functionality, so it won't work on all devices. WhatsApp is free to use for the first year, with a cost of $0.99 per year. The basic ease of use, wealth of features and ballooning user base of more than 450 million people explains why Facebook was willing to pay $19 billion to acquire it.

Viber (Android, iOS, WP8) (Free)

Viber (Android, iOS, WP8) is another messaging app that's easy to set up while still offering a variety of options. There's no need to mess around with PINs, as Viber uses your phone number as your login, and the app syncs with your phone in order to help you find Viber-using contacts. You can use this app to send text, stickers and emoticons, photos, voice and video messages for free to other Viber users, while the new Viber Out feature lets you call non-Viber numbers and landline phones worldwide (for a fee). The fee is considered an in-app purchase, and the amount depends on where you're calling. You will need a SIM card and phone functionality to set up Viber.

Send (iOS; Android & Windows coming soon) (Free)

Microsoft's Send is an interesting new messaging app that aims to combine the ubiquity of email with the simplicity of instant messaging apps. Doing away with email-isms like subject lines, salutations and signatures, Send is instead designed to send out quick, snappy messages to any of your email contacts, without any additional logins or signups required with creating or signing up to a new messaging app. People you send messages to can receive them in their normal email app, and can respond through email normally. Users only see email conversations begun in Send, rather than their entire Inbox, but they can also organize and review Send messages in their normal email app.

Telegram (Android, iOS) (Free)

A mobile messaging app for the post-Snowden age, Telegram (Android, iOS) is aimed squarely at the security conscious user. Telegram features fast, encrypted chat messaging, with client-server encryption for standard chats, while a Secure Chat mode provides end-to-end encryption so that only you and your intended recipient can read it. You can even set messages to self-destruct, so that it's only readable for a short time before disappearing from both phones. You can share videos, documents and participate in group chats of up to 200 users.

TextSecure (Android) (Free

TextSecure is an open source secure messaging app by Open Whisper Systems, the same team behind encrypted calling app RedPhone. TextSecure aims to provide users with fast, easy to use and secure end-to-end encrypted instant messaging that's accessible even to the everyday user. TextSecure allows users to send encrypted instant messages, group messages, photos and other attachments to other TextSecure users, while also functioning as a plain SMS and MMS app to your other phone contacts that don't use TextSecure. TextSecure's combination of ease of use (just like your normal SMS messaging app) and strong encryption makes it popular among security conscious users.

Blackberry Messenger (Android, iOS) (Free)

While BlackBerry long tried to keep its famed BlackBerry Messenger proprietary within their app ecosystem, it finally released BBM into Android and iOS in 2013. BBM is a particularly robust instant messaging app that allows you to send free text and voice calls, photo, file and location sharing, as well as including delivery and receipt tags for your messages. A PIN system allows you to share your BBM contacts without having to share phone or email details, while 2-way opt-in for communications allows you to control who can send you messages.

Facebook Messenger (Android, iOS) (Free)

Facebook's own foray into the mobile messaging field is Facebook Messenger (Android, iOS), a dedicated messaging app that builds on Facebook's existing chat network and adds more mobile messaging features. Users sign in with their Facebook accounts and can send other users the usual chat messages, as well as voice messages and voice calls to other Messenger users. On Android, Messenger has a neat "Chat Heads" feature that pops up in the screen to allow you to chat even when other apps are on-screen

Line (Android, iOS, WP8) (Free)

Line (Android, iOS, WP8) now boasts a worldwide reach with more than 300 million users. This messaging app features a combination of text and social network features, creating an interesting blend within a single app. Users can send free text and voice messages, shoot and share short movies, as well as make voice and video calls. A Facebook-like Timeline feature allows users to post text, stickers, photos and location info to other users, providing a running lifelog for your Line contacts.

Skype (Android, iOS, WP8) (Free)

While Microsoft's Skype (Android, iOS, WP8) is most known for its video and voice call functionality, the app also boasts a reasonably robust instant messaging system. Skype's instant messaging features allow you to send text, photos and even short video messages to other Skype users even when they're not online. Additionally, Skype users can use Skype Credits to make calls to mobile phones and landlines. While Skype's instant messaging isn't functionally ground-breaking, it covers the right bases and has well-established reach.]

WeChat (Android, iOS) (Free)

TenCent's WeChat (Android, iOS) might be the biggest messaging app you've never heard of. With 438 million users (more than 70 million outside of China), WeChat is dominating presence in the Chinese mobile Web and beyond. WeChat provides users with free mobile instant messaging, video and voice calls, group chat, and multimedia messaging (images, video, audio, stickers, etc). The app also includes quirky features such as "Friend Radar," "People Nearby" and "Shake" to quickly find new people to chat with nearby. Android Wear and Apple Watch apps are also available.