Viber Alternatives for Chats, Group Calls and Cheap Phone Calls

Viber is a free chat and calling app owned by Rakuten, and it still works. It has more than 1 billion downloads on Google Play, group video calls for up to 60 people, group chats for up to 250, and Viber Out for calling landlines and mobiles abroad. The free app carries ads. Removing them takes Viber Plus, which the US App Store lists at $3.79 and which is sold only in some countries. In Russia, the regulator Roskomnadzor blocked Viber on December 13, 2024.

The usual reasons to leave are the ads, privacy, or friends who live on another app. Mozilla's 2021 Privacy Not Included review noted that Viber shares data with advertisers, Yandex and VK among them, and that group calls were then encrypted only in transit. Some apps people still name are gone or do a different job. Google Hangouts closed on November 1, 2022, and Slack and Mattermost are work tools, not a place for family chats. The eight picks below cover the three jobs Viber does: chat, group calls and calls to ordinary phone numbers.

For narrower needs, see our pages on WhatsApp alternatives, Telegram alternatives and private messengers like Signal.

Prices below are as of November 6, 2026. Our method is on How we review tools.

Quick comparison

WhatsApp

Your Viber contacts probably have WhatsApp installed already. The Play listing counts more than 10 billion downloads, so moving a family group often means creating a new chat, not asking anyone to install something. Calls are free, end-to-end encrypted and have no time limit, per the calling page. A group call holds 32 people, about half of Viber's 60.

Large groups fit better than on Viber. Since the Communities launch in November 2022, a group can hold 1,024 members, and a Community bundles several groups under one name, much like a Viber Community. Usernames are coming too. Reservations opened on June 29, 2026 and roll out by country, though you still register with a phone number.

Best for: Anyone who wants to move a family or friend group to the app those people already use.

Pricing:

• Free to message and call; mobile data charges may apply

Watch out for:

• Ads arrived on June 16, 2025, in the Status row of the Updates tab. Personal chats stay ad-free, but it is no longer an ad-free app.
• The calling page lists Mac, Windows and iPad apps plus the web, and no Linux app, which Viber does offer.

Official site: WhatsApp. Our listing: WhatsApp.

Telegram

If you ran or followed a Viber Community, Telegram is the closer match. The FAQ allows groups of up to 200,000 members and channels with no subscriber cap. Viber's plain groups stop at 250. Chats live in Telegram's cloud, so the same account works on as many phones, tablets and computers as you like, with history on each.

Calls got an upgrade on April 30, 2025: you can now pull up to 200 people into a running call, and that call is end-to-end encrypted. Official apps cover Android, iPhone, iPad, Windows, Mac and Linux, plus two web versions.

Best for: Viber Community admins and members who want bigger groups, public channels and bots.

Pricing:

• Free for messaging, groups, channels and calls
• Telegram Premium: $4.99 per month or $35.99 per year on the US App Store
• Premium prices vary by region and are lower through @PremiumBot

Watch out for:

• Normal chats and groups use server-client encryption. Only one-to-one Secret Chats are end-to-end encrypted, and they stay on the device that started them. Viber encrypts its personal chats and groups end to end by default.
• Accounts need a mobile number. The FAQ says landline numbers are not supported.

Official site: Telegram. Our listing: Telegram.

Signal

Signal drops both the ads and the data sharing. It is run by a nonprofit and carries no ads or trackers. Group calls now take 75 people, per a 2026 note on the call links post. A call link lets you start a call without making a group first, and by default you approve each person who asks to join.

Since February 20, 2024 you can add a username and hide your phone number from people who have not saved it. Apps cover Android, iPhone, iPad, Windows, Mac and Linux. Backups are encrypted, and a paid tier keeps all your photos and videos.

Best for: People leaving Viber over ads or data sharing who still want group calls.

Pricing:

• Free, funded by donations
• Secure Backups: text plus the last 45 days of media free; $1.99 per month for full media up to 100 GB

Watch out for:

• You still need a phone number to sign up, even with a username.
• The desktop app works only after Signal is set up on a phone.

Official site: Signal. Our listing: Signal.

Google Messages

Plenty of Android owners only used Viber to text people abroad for free. Google Messages now does that with no extra app. It runs on RCS, the standard that replaces SMS and MMS, and sends over data with group chats that include iPhone users, per its Play listing. The app has more than 10 billion downloads.

The big change came on May 11, 2026. Google and Apple began a beta of end-to-end encrypted RCS between Android and iPhone. The iPhone side needs iOS 26.5 and a supported carrier, and an encrypted chat shows a lock icon. Chats between two Google Messages users were already encrypted.

Best for: Android users who want free texting by phone number without asking anyone to install an app.

Pricing:

• Free; RCS needs mobile data or Wi-Fi, and a data plan may be required

Watch out for:

• RCS features vary by region and carrier, per the Play listing, and Android to iPhone encryption is still labelled beta.
• There is no iPhone app. iPhone owners join through Apple's own Messages app, so this does not replace Viber's calls or Communities.

Official site: Google Messages.

Messenger

Some relatives will never install a new app, because Facebook already gave them one. Messenger reaches them, and the Android app has passed 5 billion downloads. Since December 2023, personal chats and one-to-one calls are end-to-end encrypted by default.

The computer side shrank. Meta shut the Windows and Mac desktop apps on December 15, 2025. On a laptop you now use Messenger inside Facebook in a browser. On phones, the app still handles voice calls, video calls and group chats.

Best for: Keeping in touch with people whose only messaging app came with Facebook.

Pricing:

• Free; in-app purchases available

Watch out for:

• When Meta made encryption the default in December 2023, group chats were left opt-in.
• No desktop app remains for Windows or Mac after December 15, 2025.

Official site: Messenger.

Rebtel

Viber Out is the one Viber feature no chat app here copies. Rebtel fills that gap. It calls mobile and landline numbers abroad and connects over the regular phone network. Its company profile on Trustpilot says the person you call needs no app, no data plan and no good signal. You can also send mobile top-ups to any phone, smart or not.

Prices are public, unlike Viber Out, whose rates do not appear on Viber's public pages. The Rebtel homepage lists Global Unlimited at $12 a month for unlimited calls to mobiles and landlines in 50 countries. New users see one-off offers, such as $1 for 60 minutes to Nigeria, and the first call is free.

Best for: Calling grandparents on a landline or basic phone, the job Viber Out used to do.

Pricing:

• Global Unlimited: $12 per month, unlimited calls to 50 countries, mobile and landline
• New-user offers: 20 minutes to Cuba for $5, 60 minutes to Nigeria for $1; first call free
• Other destinations: per-minute rates in the pricing guide

Watch out for:

• Reviews are mixed. Trustpilot shows 3.2 out of 5 from 10,592 reviews, and several 2026 reviews describe charges after a cancellation request.
• Coverage has gaps. Reviewers in August 2026 said calls would not connect in Turkey or Panama.

Official site: Rebtel.

Threema

Threema asks for no phone number and no email. You get a random Threema ID and share it with the people you want to reach. The company is Swiss, and its ownership FAQ says the headquarters and servers stay in Switzerland after the move to Comitis Capital at the start of 2026.

You pay once and own it. The app has no subscription and no paid extras. Groups hold 256 members and group calls take 16 people, per the FAQ, so it suits close family more than a 60-person Viber call. Besides the phone apps, there are desktop apps for Windows, Mac and Linux and a web version.

Best for: Small private groups who want chat without a phone number, ads or a monthly fee.

Pricing:

• Threema private: 6.00 CHF, EUR or USD one-time; the price depends on the store and country
• US App Store: $6.99
• Threema Work: 3.00 (Core) or 5.00 (Professional) per user per month, billed yearly

Watch out for:

• Licences do not move between app stores, so going from Android to iPhone means paying again.
• One Threema ID cannot run on two phones at the same time.

Official site: Threema. Our listing: Threema.

LINE

Viber fans who live in stickers will feel at home in LINE, where sticker packs are bought with LINE Coins. Calls scale far past Viber. The LINE help page says up to 500 people can join a voice or video call, with six faces on screen at once. Calls are free, and only mobile data costs money.

Sign-up works differently outside Asia. Phone number registration is offered only in Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, Taiwan and Thailand. Elsewhere, from version 13.11.0, new accounts sign in with Apple or Google. A desktop app covers computers.

Best for: Sticker-heavy friend groups and very large group calls, especially with contacts in Japan, Taiwan or Thailand.

Pricing:

• Free to chat and call
• LINE Coins from $2.39 for 120 coins on the US App Store

Watch out for:

• OpenChat, LINE's public rooms, works only in Japan, Taiwan and Thailand, so there is no Viber Communities equivalent in Europe or the US.

Official site: LINE.

How to choose

When to stay with Viber

Stay on Viber if your people are there and Viber Out rates suit the countries you call. It offers things the big rivals do not combine: 60-person group video calls, Communities and Channels, and desktop apps for Windows, Mac and Linux, including a 32-bit Windows build for old PCs. The ads are the main cost, and Viber Plus removes them where it is sold.

Frequently asked questions