The 7 best apps for all your group chats

You may have joined more group chats than you would love to participate in. There are countless old college friends, neighbors, basketball teams, children’s school parents, people they met on a ski vacation last year, and so on.

While most messaging apps have group chat capabilities—as do social media platforms such as Instagram and Twitter—you will find that some apps are better at managing conversations between multiple people than others.

Selecting the right app for your next group chat requires you to consider your needs, including extra features such as maximum number of participants, available customization options, and video calls.

Google Chat

Google's messaging app strategy is not easy to follow as app names and logos change or disappear completely, but now the company seems to be committed to Google Chat. The platform is simple and fast, good at finding past conversations and is tightly integrated with other apps like Gmail, so you will often find it within your reach.

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Group chats can contain up to 150 participants, covering all basic features, including file sharing. The platform also offers more advanced group chat options, called "spaces", where you can assign tasks to people, use threaded conversations like Slack, and customize group names. It's better for the work team, but you can still use it for anything you like.

Google Chat Free to use on the Internet, Android and iOS.

WhatsApp

WhatsApp is a truly powerful tool when it comes to regular one-to-one chats. But group chat is also one of its advantages. In terms of constantly launching new features, this Meta platform is one of the best. WhatsApp contains a wealth of tools—including chat, video calls, voice notes, location sharing, and end-to-end encryption.

After building a WhatsApp group chat, you can add up to 512 people, which is enough for even the busiest discussions. In addition to sharing files, in group chat, you can create votes, make audio and video calls with all participants, set up self-destruct messages, and customize chats with your own names and icons.

WhatsApp is available for free on the Internet, Android and iOS.

Snapchat

Snapchat is not the first messaging app you think of, but if you already like it, it is great for group chats because you can quickly share self-destruct photos, videos, and text.

Snapchat group chats can accommodate up to 100 members, and can also select a shared location and initiate audio or video calls from these chats. If you want to enhance your chat experience, Snapchat now offers a $4 monthly subscription service that offers access to web apps and some additional benefits, including custom mobile app icons and story replays.

Snapchat is available for free on the Internet, Android and iOS. A $4 monthly subscription unlocks extra features.

Discord

Discord is similar to Slack because it offers public and private channels for more open discussions, as well as closed one-on-one chats and group chats with up to 10 participants. But if you need a broader discussion, you can set up a server that can handle thousands of people and dozens of custom channels.

Group chats and channels can include audio and video calls, file sharing, and other cool features such as mentioning users and pinning messages to the top of a chat. You can also pay a Nitro subscription starting at $3 per month to access more features such as custom stickers and the ability to share larger files.

Discord Free to use on the Internet, Android and iOS. Extra features are available on Nitro subscriptions (from $3 per month).

Facebook Messenger

Even though Facebook is declining, many of us are still retaining our accounts. This means that if you use Facebook Messenger for group chats, you don’t need to convince all friends and family to migrate to the new app. That said, there are many other reasons to use it.

Group chats can contain up to 250 people, and you can customize them in a variety of ways, including group names and colors. File sharing is simple, and we especially like the media library, which tracks all the photos and videos you share in the group. Features such as end-to-end encryption and disappearing messages are also available, but optional.

Facebook Messenger Free to use on the Internet, Android and iOS.

iMessage

The iMessage service built into the Apple Messages app has many impressive features, and one big drawback: It is only available on Apple devices. If someone in your group uses an Android device, this will limit how group chats work, so if you have many Android users in your friends and family, it is better to choose a different app.

Suppose everyone is using Apple products and plans to continue using it, you can accommodate up to 32 people in a single group chat, with end-to-end encryption by default. You can start FaceTime for video calls, share photos, videos, audio messages and locations, and rename groups as needed.

iMessage Suitable for iOS and macOS, free to use.

GroupMe

If you are looking for a platform that is specially built for group chats, try GroupMe. It has almost everything you need to create and manage multiple group chats, including simple photo and video sharing, as well as some handy extras, such as the ability to set events within a group, with RSVP included.

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On this app, your group chat can accommodate up to 5,000 people, so it’s nearly impossible for you to reach this limit unless you live in a very densely populated area. You can easily create votes for groups, reply to specific messages, and mention other users. In addition, you can invite new users to join via email, SMS and QR code.

GroupMe is available for free on the Internet, Android and iOS.

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