Feature details
WhatsApp standard
WhatsApp Plus
Stickers
Stickers
Standard sticker packs
Premium sticker packs with animated overlay effects
App themes and accent colors
App themes and accent colors
Default green theme only
18 accent colors including Vibrant Blue, Royal Purple, Forest Green, and Fuchsia Pink
App icons
App icons
Default green WhatsApp icon
14 custom app icons (minimal pastels, nebula, sparkle designs)
Pinned chats
Pinned chats
Pin up to 3 chats
Pin up to 20 chats
Ringtones
Ringtones
Standard system ringtones
10 exclusive premium ringtones for calls and contacts
Custom chat lists
Custom chat lists
Default Unread, Groups, and Favorites filters
Build custom lists (Work, Family, Trip) with their own theme and ringtone
Bulk chat customization
Bulk chat customization
Customize chats one at a time
Apply themes and ringtones across grouped chats in bulk
End-to-end encryption
End-to-end encryption
Always on for chats and calls
Same end-to-end encryption, no upgrade
Voice and video calls
Voice and video calls
Unlimited and free
Same calls, no upgrade
Status updates
Status updates
Photo, video, and text statuses
Same statuses, no upgrade
Status ads
Status ads
Sponsored ads may appear between status updates
Plus does not remove status ads
Channels
Channels
Browse, follow, and react to channels
Same Channels experience, Plus does not change it
Sponsored channels
Sponsored channels
Promoted channels may surface in the directory
Plus does not remove sponsored channel placements
Group chats
Group chats
Up to 1,024 members per group
Same group size, no upgrade
File sharing
File sharing
Up to 2 GB per file
Same file size limit
Read receipts and visibility
Read receipts and visibility
Standard read receipts, last seen, online, and profile controls
Same privacy controls, Plus does not add new visibility options
Communities
Communities
Create and join communities with announcement groups
Same communities, no upgrade
Multi-device support
Multi-device support
Up to 4 linked companion devices
Same device limit, no upgrade
Chat backup
Chat backup
Free encrypted backup to Google Drive or iCloud
Same backup options, no upgrade
Account support
Account support
Help Center and in-app support
Same support, priority help is part of Meta Verified, not Plus
WhatsApp Plus availability
•United States ($2.99)
•France (€2.49)
•Germany (€2.49)
•Italy (€2.49)
•Spain (€2.49)
•Netherlands (€2.49)
•Belgium (€2.49)
•Ireland (€2.49)
•Portugal (€2.49)
•Mexico (MXN 29)
•India (₹79)
•Pakistan (PKR 229)
WhatsApp Standard vs WhatsApp Plus Feature Comparison
A complete, side-by-side look at every feature available in free WhatsApp and WhatsApp Plus, including the personalization features Plus adds and the features many users request that are still not part of Plus today. Swipe the table to scroll horizontally on mobile.
Included Not includedOther notes appear as short text in the same cell.
| Feature | Free | Plus | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|
| Text messages | No need to upgrade | ||
| Voice messages | No need to upgrade | ||
| Photo sharing | No need to upgrade | ||
| Video sharing | No need to upgrade | ||
| Document sharing | No need to upgrade | ||
| Contact sharing | No need to upgrade | ||
| Location sharing | No need to upgrade | ||
| Live location sharing | No need to upgrade | ||
| Polls in chats | No need to upgrade | ||
| Stickers | No need to upgrade | ||
| Premium stickers | Upgrade only if you want exclusive stickers | ||
| GIFs | No need to upgrade | ||
| Emojis | No need to upgrade | ||
| Message replies | No need to upgrade | ||
| Message reactions | No need to upgrade | ||
| Forward messages | No need to upgrade | ||
| Starred messages | No need to upgrade | ||
| Delete messages | No need to upgrade | ||
| Edit sent messages | No need to upgrade | ||
| Search inside chat | No need to upgrade | ||
| Message info | No need to upgrade | ||
| Disappearing messages | No need to upgrade | ||
| View once photos | No need to upgrade | ||
| View once videos | No need to upgrade | ||
| Chat lock | No need to upgrade | ||
| Locked chats folder | No need to upgrade | ||
| Secret code for locked chats | No need to upgrade | ||
| Archive chats | No need to upgrade | ||
| Mute chats | No need to upgrade | ||
| Clear chat | No need to upgrade | ||
| Export chat | No need to upgrade | ||
| Block contact | No need to upgrade | ||
| Report contact | No need to upgrade | ||
| Pin chats | Limited | Expanded in Plus | Useful for heavy WhatsApp users |
| Pin up to 20 chats | One of the main Plus benefits | ||
| Pin messages inside chats | No need to upgrade | ||
| Mark as unread | No need to upgrade | ||
| Chat filters | No need to upgrade | ||
| Unread filter | No need to upgrade | ||
| Group filter | No need to upgrade | ||
| Favorites filter | No need to upgrade | ||
| Custom lists | Available in basic form | Improved in Plus | Useful if you manage many chats |
| Apply custom settings to chat lists | Useful for advanced organization | ||
| Search all chats | No need to upgrade | ||
| Search media, links, docs, and audio | No need to upgrade | ||
| Broadcast lists | No need to upgrade | ||
| New chat button | No need to upgrade | ||
| Contact list | No need to upgrade | ||
| Favorites | No need to upgrade | ||
| Create group | No need to upgrade | ||
| Add group members | No need to upgrade | ||
| Remove group members | No need to upgrade | ||
| Group admin controls | No need to upgrade | ||
| Group invite link | No need to upgrade | ||
| Group description | No need to upgrade | ||
| Group icon | No need to upgrade | ||
| Group permissions | No need to upgrade | ||
| Mention group members | No need to upgrade | ||
| Reply privately in groups | No need to upgrade | ||
| Group polls | No need to upgrade | ||
| Group voice calls | No need to upgrade | ||
| Group video calls | No need to upgrade | ||
| Group events | No need to upgrade | ||
| Group event reminders | No need to upgrade | ||
| Group member tags | No need to upgrade | ||
| Group media gallery | No need to upgrade | ||
| Mute group notifications | No need to upgrade | ||
| Exit group | No need to upgrade | ||
| Report group | No need to upgrade | ||
| Post status | No need to upgrade | ||
| View status | No need to upgrade | ||
| Reply to status | No need to upgrade | ||
| React to status | No need to upgrade | ||
| Delete status | No need to upgrade | ||
| Status privacy | No need to upgrade | ||
| Text status | No need to upgrade | ||
| Photo status | No need to upgrade | ||
| Video status | No need to upgrade | ||
| Voice status | No need to upgrade | ||
| Status views | No need to upgrade | ||
| Mute status updates | No need to upgrade | ||
| Share status to Facebook | No need to upgrade | ||
| Status ads | Available in Updates tab | Plus does not remove ads | |
| Promoted Channels | Available in Updates tab | Plus does not remove promoted content | |
| Channel subscriptions | Available for selected channels | Separate from WhatsApp Plus | |
| Voice calls | No need to upgrade | ||
| Video calls | No need to upgrade | ||
| Call links | No need to upgrade | ||
| Call history | No need to upgrade | ||
| Missed call alerts | No need to upgrade | ||
| Mute microphone during calls | No need to upgrade | ||
| Switch camera during video calls | No need to upgrade | ||
| Turn video on or off | No need to upgrade | ||
| Speaker mode | No need to upgrade | ||
| Add people to calls | No need to upgrade | ||
| Standard ringtones | No need to upgrade | ||
| Premium ringtones | Upgrade only if you want extra personalization | ||
| App themes | Limited | Main Plus benefit | |
| Unique app icons | Main Plus benefit | ||
| Custom chat themes | Limited | Main Plus benefit | |
| Advanced appearance customization | Useful for users who want a personalized app look | ||
| Create community | No need to upgrade | ||
| Join community | No need to upgrade | ||
| Community announcement group | No need to upgrade | ||
| Add groups to community | No need to upgrade | ||
| Manage community members | No need to upgrade | ||
| Community admin controls | No need to upgrade | ||
| Community info | No need to upgrade | ||
| Leave community | No need to upgrade | ||
| Follow channels | No need to upgrade | ||
| View channel updates | No need to upgrade | ||
| Search channels | No need to upgrade | ||
| React to channel posts | No need to upgrade | ||
| Forward channel posts | No need to upgrade | ||
| Create channel | No need to upgrade | ||
| Manage channel followers | No need to upgrade | ||
| Channel notifications | No need to upgrade | ||
| Unfollow channel | No need to upgrade | ||
| Last seen privacy | No need to upgrade | ||
| Online status privacy | No need to upgrade | ||
| Profile photo privacy | No need to upgrade | ||
| About privacy | No need to upgrade | ||
| Status privacy controls | No need to upgrade | ||
| Read receipts control | No need to upgrade | ||
| Two-step verification | No need to upgrade | ||
| Fingerprint lock | No need to upgrade | ||
| Face ID lock | No need to upgrade | ||
| End-to-end encrypted personal chats | No need to upgrade | ||
| End-to-end encrypted personal calls | No need to upgrade | ||
| End-to-end encrypted backups | No need to upgrade | ||
| Security code notifications | No need to upgrade | ||
| Blocked contacts list | No need to upgrade | ||
| Silence unknown callers | No need to upgrade | ||
| Protect IP address in calls | No need to upgrade | ||
| Advanced chat privacy | No need to upgrade | ||
| Strict Account Settings | No need to upgrade | ||
| Block media from unknown contacts in strict mode | No need to upgrade | ||
| Profile photo | No need to upgrade | ||
| Display name | No need to upgrade | ||
| About section | No need to upgrade | ||
| Phone number account | No need to upgrade | ||
| QR code | No need to upgrade | ||
| Linked devices | No need to upgrade | ||
| Account settings | No need to upgrade | ||
| Change number | No need to upgrade | ||
| Delete account | No need to upgrade | ||
| Two accounts on one phone | No need to upgrade | ||
| Media auto-download | No need to upgrade | ||
| Storage management | No need to upgrade | ||
| Per-chat storage management | No need to upgrade | ||
| Chat media gallery | No need to upgrade | ||
| Save to gallery or camera roll | No need to upgrade | ||
| HD photo sharing | No need to upgrade | ||
| HD video sharing | No need to upgrade | ||
| WhatsApp camera | No need to upgrade | ||
| Media captions | No need to upgrade | ||
| Draw on photos | No need to upgrade | ||
| Crop photos | No need to upgrade | ||
| Add text to images | No need to upgrade | ||
| Add stickers to images | No need to upgrade | ||
| Sticker suggestions | No need to upgrade | ||
| Text stickers | No need to upgrade | ||
| Message notifications | No need to upgrade | ||
| Group notifications | No need to upgrade | ||
| Call notifications | No need to upgrade | ||
| Custom notification tones | No need to upgrade | ||
| Premium notification tones | Upgrade only if you want more personalization | ||
| Mute notifications | No need to upgrade | ||
| Notification preview | No need to upgrade | ||
| Badge count | No need to upgrade | ||
| In-app notifications | No need to upgrade | ||
| WhatsApp Web | No need to upgrade | ||
| Link device | No need to upgrade | ||
| Multi-device support | No need to upgrade | ||
| Desktop app | No need to upgrade | ||
| Sync messages across linked devices | No need to upgrade | ||
| Log out from linked devices | No need to upgrade | ||
| Google Account backup on Android | No need to upgrade | ||
| iCloud backup on iPhone | No need to upgrade | ||
| Local Android backup | Available on Android | No need to upgrade | |
| Backup restore | No need to upgrade | ||
| End-to-end encrypted backup password | No need to upgrade | ||
| End-to-end encrypted backup 64-digit key | No need to upgrade | ||
| Custom WhatsApp cloud backup instead of Google Drive or iCloud | Do not buy Plus for this feature | ||
| Extra WhatsApp-owned backup storage | Not a Plus benefit today | ||
| Business profile | Business app only | Use WhatsApp Business | |
| Product catalog | Business app only | Use WhatsApp Business | |
| Quick replies | Business app only | Use WhatsApp Business | |
| Business hours | Business app only | Use WhatsApp Business | |
| Business location | Business app only | Use WhatsApp Business | |
| Click-to-chat links | No need to upgrade | ||
| Greeting messages | Business app only | Use WhatsApp Business | |
| Away messages | Business app only | Use WhatsApp Business | |
| Product or order messages | Business app only | Use WhatsApp Business | |
| Payments | Region-based | Plus does not unlock payments | |
| Remove Status ads | Plus does not remove ads | ||
| Remove Promoted Channels | Plus does not remove promoted content | ||
| Hide typing indicator | Not an official Plus feature | ||
| Hide recording indicator | Not an official Plus feature | ||
| Freeze last seen | Not an official Plus feature | ||
| Hide second tick | Not an official Plus feature | ||
| Read messages without blue ticks for selected chats only | Read receipts are controlled globally | ||
| See deleted messages | Not an official feature | ||
| Anti-delete messages | Not an official feature | ||
| Anti-delete status | Not an official feature | ||
| Download status directly | Not an official feature | ||
| Schedule messages | Not an official Plus feature | ||
| Auto-reply in normal WhatsApp | Available only in WhatsApp Business | ||
| Hide chats without locked chats | Use Chat Lock instead | ||
| Custom fonts | Not an official Plus feature | ||
| Unlimited media sharing | WhatsApp limits still apply | ||
| Unlimited file size | WhatsApp limits still apply | ||
| Native call recording | Not an official feature | ||
| Username-only account without phone number | Do not buy Plus for this | ||
| Full backup without Google Drive or iCloud | Do not buy Plus for this | ||
| Advanced spam blocking controls | Limited | Plus does not add stronger spam controls | |
| Hide online status from selected people while showing others | Available with privacy controls | No need to upgrade | |
| App lock for selected chats only | Available through Chat Lock | No need to upgrade | |
| Extra privacy features from WhatsApp mod apps | Not part of official WhatsApp Plus |
219 features tracked.
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