This is the best WhatsApp alternative

Everyone knows it, everyone uses it: WhatsApp. Messenger is now an integral part of German smartphones. But does it really always have to be WhatsApp? In a comparison by Stiftung Warentest, WhatsApp even made it into the top 5. The test winner is another messenger.

Not everything was necessarily better in the past, but at least it was simpler: Anyone who wanted to write a message to their friends on their cell phone used SMS – for average users there was no way around the short message with a maximum of 160 characters.

Today things are a bit more complicated: there are as many messengers as there are sand on the sea and the user can choose between WhatsApp, Telegram, Facebook Messenger, Threema and many more. But which chat service is the best? That’s what Stiftung Warentest wanted to find out.

Stiftung Warentest names Signal the best WhatsApp alternative

Was able to prevail in the current test Signal rated Good (2.3) (Source: Stiftung Warentest). The messenger is also used by the product testers recommended as a WhatsApp alternativeas it is “functionally better” and offers more settings and security options.

Just behind is a real classic: Skype. The messenger, which now belongs to Microsoft, has a rating of “Good (2.5)” and is suitable according to Stiftung Warentest ideal for video calling. On the other hand, there were deductions for the fact that users had to activate end-to-end encryption manually.

industry leader WhatsApp, on the other hand, only ends up in the middle. It wasn’t enough for more than a “satisfactory (2.6)”. The popular messenger thus creates sixth place Stiftung Warentest praises the phone quality: “The only app with which calling worked to some extent even with poor reception.”

WhatsApp alternatives at a glance:

Telegram has not been rated

Notable: one Note for Telegram was not awarded. “We didn’t give a quality rating because the service is no longer just a messenger, but also a social network according to the Federal Ministry of Justice,” said the product testers, with a view to the fact that Telegram also allows groups with up to 200,000 members. Technically, however, Telegram was convincing and, according to Stiftung Warentest, is particularly suitable for telephony.

For the comparison, Stiftung Warentest tested 16 messengers. The final judgment is based on three criteria: functions (35 percent), setup and use (35 percent) and protection of privacy (30 percent).