The 5 best WhatsApp alternatives The 5 best WhatsApp alternatives WhatsApp is an excellent messenger, but these five great alternatives are too. More than a billion people around the globe use WhatsApp to stay in touch, and while people have been looking for alternatives in the wake of some recent controversies, it can be difficult to quit if your friends circle is already entrenched. Like most messaging apps of this type, you can only communicate with others who are also using WhatsApp—messaging apps aren't universal like text messages are. There’s no way to text someone from WhatsApp and have them receive it on Facebook Messenger, for example, or vice-versa. That’s what makes it so hard to leave services like WhatsApp. They only work if you take your friends with you.