--- title: "Messaging apps: Which are searched most?" description: "Compare the messaging apps people chat on. Share of Search among WhatsApp, Discord, Messenger, Signal, Viber and WeChat, the messaging apps Brandwave compares worldwide, using the same methodology, market, and reporting period. Branded searches tell you how often people look for a brand by name or related terms. Comparing these searches across competitors helps you see how popular each brand is over time." canonical: "https://gobrandwave.com/demand/global-en/categories/messaging-apps" publisher: "Brandwave" --- # Messaging apps: Which are searched most? Compare the messaging apps people chat on. Share of Search among WhatsApp, Discord, Messenger, Signal, Viber and WeChat, the messaging apps Brandwave compares worldwide, using the same methodology, market, and reporting period. Branded searches tell you how often people look for a brand by name or related terms. Comparing these searches across competitors helps you see how popular each brand is over time. ## Key facts - **Competitive set**: Messaging apps - **Market**: Global - **Brands compared**: 6 - **Month measured**: Sep 2026 - **Highest Share of Search**: WhatsApp, 85.5% ## Which brand is most popular in search among messaging apps worldwide? - In September 2026, WhatsApp was the most searched among messaging apps worldwide, with an estimated 277M branded searches and 85.5% estimated Share of Search within this set. - Discord is in 2nd place, 76.2 percentage points behind at 9.4% Share of Search. - Across the 12 months ending September 2026, WhatsApp’s estimated Share of Search among messaging apps worldwide increased from 79.7% to 85.5%. - Across the 12 months ending September 2026, Discord’s estimated Share of Search among messaging apps worldwide decreased from 13.1% to 9.4%. - Across the 12 months ending September 2026, Messenger’s estimated Share of Search among messaging apps worldwide decreased from 5.9% to 4.2%. - Across the 12 months ending September 2026, WhatsApp’s estimated Share of Search among messaging apps worldwide peaked at 85.5% in September 2026 and was lowest at 77.4% in December 2025. - Across the 12 months ending September 2026, Discord’s estimated Share of Search among messaging apps worldwide peaked at 15.6% in December 2025 and was lowest at 9.4% in September 2026. - Across the 12 months ending September 2026, Messenger’s estimated Share of Search among messaging apps worldwide peaked at 5.9% in February 2026 and was lowest at 4.2% in September 2026. - Across the 12 months ending September 2026, Signal rose from 5th to 4th among messaging apps worldwide. - Across the 12 months ending September 2026, Viber fell from 4th to 5th among messaging apps worldwide. - Across the 12 months ending September 2026, WeChat held steady: its estimated Share of Search among messaging apps worldwide moved less than 0.5 percentage points. ## Compare search popularity between leading brands - [WhatsApp vs Discord: compare search popularity](/demand/global-en/compare/discord-vs-whatsapp): 85.5% against 9.4% Share of Search. - [WhatsApp vs Messenger: compare search popularity](/demand/global-en/compare/messenger-vs-whatsapp): 85.5% against 4.2% Share of Search. - [Discord vs Messenger: compare search popularity](/demand/global-en/compare/discord-vs-messenger): 9.4% against 4.2% Share of Search. ## How did search popularity change for messaging apps worldwide in September 2026? - In September 2026, WhatsApp gained estimated Share of Search among messaging apps worldwide, from 80.8% to 85.5%. - In September 2026, Discord lost estimated Share of Search among messaging apps worldwide, from 13.3% to 9.4%. - In September 2026, Messenger lost estimated Share of Search among messaging apps worldwide, from 4.9% to 4.2%. - Estimated monthly branded searches for Viber worldwide fell 33.3% over 12 measured months, from 1.5M to 1M in September 2026. - Estimated monthly branded searches for Signal worldwide fell 18% over 12 measured months, from 1.2M to 1M in September 2026. - Estimated monthly branded searches for WeChat worldwide fell 17.7% over 12 measured months, from 1M to 823K in September 2026. ## Share of Search ranking | Rank | Brand | Share of Search | Estimated monthly branded searches | Change vs prior month | Owned by | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 1 | WhatsApp | 85.5% | 277M | +22.6% | Meta | | 2 | Discord | 9.4% | 30.4M | -18.3% | Discord | | 3 | Messenger | 4.2% | 13.6M | 0.0% | Meta | | 4 | Signal | 0.31% | 1M | 0.0% | Signal | | 5 | Viber | 0.31% | 1M | 0.0% | Viber | | 6 | WeChat | 0.25% | 823K | 0.0% | WeChat | ## Historical estimated branded-search demand | Month | Brand | Estimated monthly branded searches | Share of Search | Rank | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Oct 2025 | WhatsApp | 226M | 79.7% | 1 | | Oct 2025 | Discord | 37.2M | 13.1% | 2 | | Oct 2025 | Messenger | 16.6M | 5.9% | 3 | | Oct 2025 | Viber | 1.5M | 0.53% | 4 | | Oct 2025 | Signal | 1.2M | 0.43% | 5 | | Oct 2025 | WeChat | 1M | 0.35% | 6 | | Nov 2025 | WhatsApp | 226M | 80.7% | 1 | | Nov 2025 | Discord | 37.2M | 13.3% | 2 | | Nov 2025 | Messenger | 13.6M | 4.9% | 3 | | Nov 2025 | Signal | 1.2M | 0.44% | 4 | | Nov 2025 | Viber | 1.2M | 0.44% | 5 | | Nov 2025 | WeChat | 823K | 0.29% | 6 | | Dec 2025 | WhatsApp | 185M | 77.4% | 1 | | Dec 2025 | Discord | 37.2M | 15.6% | 2 | | Dec 2025 | Messenger | 13.6M | 5.7% | 3 | | Dec 2025 | Signal | 1.2M | 0.51% | 4 | | Dec 2025 | Viber | 1.2M | 0.51% | 5 | | Dec 2025 | WeChat | 823K | 0.34% | 6 | | Jan 2026 | WhatsApp | 185M | 77.4% | 1 | | Jan 2026 | Discord | 37.2M | 15.6% | 2 | | Jan 2026 | Messenger | 13.6M | 5.7% | 3 | | Jan 2026 | Signal | 1.2M | 0.51% | 4 | | Jan 2026 | Viber | 1.2M | 0.51% | 5 | | Jan 2026 | WeChat | 823K | 0.34% | 6 | | Feb 2026 | WhatsApp | 185M | 79.7% | 1 | | Feb 2026 | Discord | 30.4M | 13.1% | 2 | | Feb 2026 | Messenger | 13.6M | 5.9% | 3 | | Feb 2026 | Signal | 1.2M | 0.53% | 4 | | Feb 2026 | Viber | 1.2M | 0.53% | 5 | | Feb 2026 | WeChat | 673K | 0.29% | 6 | | Mar 2026 | WhatsApp | 226M | 80.7% | 1 | | Mar 2026 | Discord | 37.2M | 13.3% | 2 | | Mar 2026 | Messenger | 13.6M | 4.9% | 3 | | Mar 2026 | Signal | 1.2M | 0.44% | 4 | | Mar 2026 | Viber | 1.2M | 0.44% | 5 | | Mar 2026 | WeChat | 823K | 0.29% | 6 | | Apr 2026 | WhatsApp | 226M | 82.8% | 1 | | Apr 2026 | Discord | 30.4M | 11.1% | 2 | | Apr 2026 | Messenger | 13.6M | 5% | 3 | | Apr 2026 | Viber | 1.2M | 0.45% | 4 | | Apr 2026 | Signal | 1M | 0.37% | 5 | | Apr 2026 | WeChat | 823K | 0.3% | 6 | | May 2026 | WhatsApp | 226M | 80.8% | 1 | | May 2026 | Discord | 37.2M | 13.3% | 2 | | May 2026 | Messenger | 13.6M | 4.9% | 3 | | May 2026 | Viber | 1.2M | 0.44% | 4 | | May 2026 | Signal | 1M | 0.36% | 5 | | May 2026 | WeChat | 823K | 0.29% | 6 | | Jun 2026 | WhatsApp | 226M | 82.8% | 1 | | Jun 2026 | Discord | 30.4M | 11.1% | 2 | | Jun 2026 | Messenger | 13.6M | 5% | 3 | | Jun 2026 | Viber | 1.2M | 0.45% | 4 | | Jun 2026 | Signal | 1M | 0.37% | 5 | | Jun 2026 | WeChat | 823K | 0.3% | 6 | | Jul 2026 | WhatsApp | 226M | 82.9% | 1 | | Jul 2026 | Discord | 30.4M | 11.1% | 2 | | Jul 2026 | Messenger | 13.6M | 5% | 3 | | Jul 2026 | Viber | 1M | 0.37% | 4 | | Jul 2026 | Signal | 823K | 0.3% | 5 | | Jul 2026 | WeChat | 823K | 0.3% | 6 | | Aug 2026 | WhatsApp | 226M | 80.8% | 1 | | Aug 2026 | Discord | 37.2M | 13.3% | 2 | | Aug 2026 | Messenger | 13.6M | 4.9% | 3 | | Aug 2026 | Signal | 1M | 0.36% | 4 | | Aug 2026 | Viber | 1M | 0.36% | 5 | | Aug 2026 | WeChat | 823K | 0.29% | 6 | | Sep 2026 | WhatsApp | 277M | 85.5% | 1 | | Sep 2026 | Discord | 30.4M | 9.4% | 2 | | Sep 2026 | Messenger | 13.6M | 4.2% | 3 | | Sep 2026 | Signal | 1M | 0.31% | 4 | | Sep 2026 | Viber | 1M | 0.31% | 5 | | Sep 2026 | WeChat | 823K | 0.25% | 6 | ## What is being compared - **Discord**: Measured on the search term “discord”. - **Messenger**: Measured on the search term “messenger”. - **Signal**: Measured on the search term “signal”. - **Viber**: Measured on the search term “viber”. - **WeChat**: Measured on the search term “wechat”. - **WhatsApp**: Measured on the search term “whatsapp”. - [Discord](/demand/global-en/brands/discord) - [Messenger](/demand/global-en/brands/messenger) - [Signal](/demand/global-en/brands/signal) - [Viber](/demand/global-en/brands/viber) - [WeChat](/demand/global-en/brands/wechat) - [WhatsApp](/demand/global-en/brands/whatsapp) ## Methodology - [How is branded search demand measured?](/demand/methodology): Where the figures come from, what they compare, and how they may be reused. ## Frequently asked questions ### Which brand is most popular in search among messaging apps worldwide? In September 2026, WhatsApp was the most searched among messaging apps worldwide, with an estimated 277M branded searches and 85.5% estimated Share of Search within this set. These are worldwide searches for English-language branded terms. ## Cite this page Brandwave. "Messaging apps: Which are searched most?". https://gobrandwave.com/demand/global-en/categories/messaging-apps This page is also available as HTML at https://gobrandwave.com/demand/global-en/categories/messaging-apps. Brandwave publishes an index of its Markdown pages at https://gobrandwave.com/llms.txt.