Brandwave

Messaging apps in New Zealand:Which brands are most popular in search?

In August 2026, WhatsApp was the most searched among messaging apps in New Zealand, with an estimated 194K branded searches and 58% estimated Share of Search within this set.

Share of Search, August 2026
  1. WhatsApp58%
  2. Discord35.9%
  3. WeChat2.4%
  4. Messenger1.8%
  5. Viber1.2%
  6. Signal0.73%

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Share of SearchLeaderboard

Compare the messaging apps New Zealanders chat on. 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.

Share of Search among messaging apps in New Zealand, by month

Share of Search by month for WhatsApp, Discord, WeChat. The figures are in the table below the chart.

View monthly share of search table
MonthWhatsAppDiscordWeChatMessengerViberSignal
Oct 202551.3%42.2%2.7%1.7%1.4%0.69%
Nov 202549.8%44.1%2.3%1.8%1.5%0.54%
Dec 202549%43.7%2.4%2.2%1.9%0.79%
Jan 202653.1%39.6%2.5%1.9%1.9%0.88%
Feb 202653.8%39.8%2.4%1.6%1.6%0.78%
Mar 202653.7%40.3%2.4%1.6%1.3%0.67%
Apr 202651.4%42.5%2.4%1.7%1.3%0.7%
May 202654%40.4%2.1%1.4%1.4%0.79%
Jun 202658%35.7%2.4%1.8%1.4%0.76%
Jul 202655.4%38.1%2.5%1.9%1.3%0.81%
Aug 202658%35.9%2.4%1.8%1.2%0.73%
Sep 2026——————

This month’s ranking, August 2026

  1. 1.WhatsApp

    58%

    held 1st · 194K estimated branded searches · +11.2% vs prior month · +2.6 points

  2. 2.Discord

    35.9%

    held 2nd · 120K estimated branded searches · +0.08% vs prior month · -2.2 points

  3. 3.WeChat

    2.4%

    held 3rd · 8K estimated branded searches · +0.76% vs prior month · -0.1 points

  4. 4.Messenger

    1.8%

    held 4th · 5.9K estimated branded searches · -2.5% vs prior month · -0.2 points

  5. 5.Viber

    1.2%

    held 5th · 4.2K estimated branded searches · +4.3% vs prior month · 0 points

  6. 6.Signal

    0.73%

    held 6th · 2.4K estimated branded searches · -5.1% vs prior month · -0.1 points

Compare search popularity between leading brands

Which brand is most popular in search among messaging apps in New Zealand?

In August 2026, WhatsApp was the most searched among messaging apps in New Zealand, with an estimated 194K branded searches and 58% estimated Share of Search within this set. Discord is in 2nd place, 22.2 percentage points behind at 35.9% Share of Search.

New Zealand messaging apps, last 12 months ending September 2026
BrandShare of SearchPeakLowRank
WhatsApp51.3% → 58%58%Aug 202649%Dec 20251st
Discord42.2% → 35.9%44.1%Nov 202535.7%Jun 20262nd
WeChat2.7% → 2.4%2.7%Oct 20252.1%May 20263rd
Messenger1.7% → 1.8%2.2%Dec 20251.4%May 20264th
Viber1.4% → 1.2%1.9%Dec 20251.2%Aug 20265th
Signal0.69% → 0.73%0.88%Jan 20260.54%Nov 20256th

Each finding as a sentence

  • Across the 11 months ending August 2026, WhatsApp’s estimated Share of Search among messaging apps in New Zealand increased from 51.3% to 58%.
  • Across the 11 months ending August 2026, Discord’s estimated Share of Search among messaging apps in New Zealand decreased from 42.2% to 35.9%.
  • Across the 11 months ending August 2026, WhatsApp’s estimated Share of Search among messaging apps in New Zealand peaked at 58% in August 2026 and was lowest at 49% in December 2025.
  • Across the 11 months ending August 2026, Discord’s estimated Share of Search among messaging apps in New Zealand peaked at 44.1% in November 2025 and was lowest at 35.7% in June 2026.
  • Across the 11 months ending August 2026, WeChat, Messenger, Viber and Signal held steady: their estimated Share of Search among messaging apps in New Zealand each moved less than 0.5 percentage points.

How did search popularity change for New Zealand messaging apps in August 2026?

  1. In August 2026, WhatsApp gained estimated Share of Search among messaging apps in New Zealand, from 55.4% to 58%.

  2. In August 2026, Discord lost estimated Share of Search among messaging apps in New Zealand, from 38.1% to 35.9%.

  3. Estimated monthly branded searches for WeChat in New Zealand fell 13.1% over 11 measured months, from 9.2K to 8K in August 2026.

  4. Estimated monthly branded searches for Viber in New Zealand fell 11.5% over 11 measured months, from 4.7K to 4.2K in August 2026.

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