What Is WhatsApp Plus and Who Can Get It?
Meta is testing a new WhatsApp Plus subscription, bringing a paid tier to what has long been a free, no‑frills messaging app. After early experiments on Android, the rollout is now reaching select iOS users through the App Store, though availability is still limited and not officially detailed. The WhatsApp Plus subscription is described as optional and focused on “more ways to organize and personalize” the app, rather than changing its core messaging experience. Crucially, end‑to‑end encrypted chats, calls, video and Status updates remain identical for paying and non‑paying users. For now, billing is handled monthly via Apple’s storefront, and business accounts are excluded from the test, even though power users might be the most willing to pay. With the subscription quietly expanding to more users over the coming weeks, many iPhone owners are starting to wonder whether these premium touches justify signing up.
WhatsApp Premium Features: What Do You Actually Get?
The WhatsApp Plus subscription is all about aesthetics and minor convenience tweaks. Subscribers can swap WhatsApp’s signature green for a selection of accent colors, pick from multiple alternative app icons, and access premium animated sticker packs. They also gain 10 exclusive call ringtones and the ability to set unified themes and alert tones across entire chat lists, letting you apply the same look and feel to groups of conversations in one go. The one practical upgrade is chat management: instead of pinning only three chats, WhatsApp Plus lets you pin up to 20, which could matter if you juggle many active conversations. Importantly, these changes do not alter how messages are sent, received, or secured. They are cosmetic upgrades layered on top of the same underlying WhatsApp experience that remains free for everyone else.
Price Versus Value: Does €2.49 a Month Make Sense?
In European markets, WhatsApp Plus is priced at about €2.49 per month, billed via the App Store, with limited free trials in some regions. For that recurring fee, all the headline benefits are cosmetic: themes, app icons, stickers, ringtones, and expanded chat pinning. There are no boosts to file size limits, speeds, or productivity tools, and no exclusive privacy or security upgrades. That stands in contrast to how many people think about subscriptions: ongoing payments are usually easier to justify when they unlock powerful features or save meaningful time. Because WhatsApp keeps its core experience identical for paying and free users, the value proposition is narrow. Unless you care deeply about visual customization or need to pin far more chats than average, it is difficult to argue that these perks meaningfully improve daily messaging enough to warrant a monthly fee.
Telegram vs WhatsApp: Free Power Features Beat Paid Cosmetics
When you compare Telegram vs WhatsApp, the contrast in how each app approaches upgrades is stark. Telegram has long offered extensive chat background customization, theme tweaks, and dark/light modes for free. Its optional Telegram Premium tier, priced at USD 4.99 (approx. RM23), focuses on functional gains: higher file upload limits, voice message transcription, faster downloads, live chat translation, and the ability to join far more channels. These upgrades fundamentally change how heavy users can work and share content. By comparison, WhatsApp premium features in WhatsApp Plus do little beyond changing how the app looks and slightly improving chat organization. Telegram shows that even its paid extras can add tangible productivity benefits, while core personalization tools remain free. For users who want more power without paying for mere aesthetics, Telegram presently offers a far stronger value proposition.
Signal vs WhatsApp: Free Privacy and Customization Win Out
Signal is often mentioned in discussions of Signal vs WhatsApp for its strong privacy stance, but it also undercuts WhatsApp Plus on customization. Signal lets users set custom chat wallpapers and personalize conversations without any subscription. Its recently introduced paid tier is aimed at practical needs like extended cloud backups, not cosmetic themes. In other words, you do not have to pay to make Signal feel personal or visually distinct. WhatsApp Plus, by contrast, asks for a monthly fee primarily to access features that Signal and other competitors treat as table stakes. Since WhatsApp’s security and messaging capabilities remain unchanged whether or not you subscribe, free apps like Signal can feel more generous: they give you both robust encryption and visual tweaks at no cost. For most people, that combination makes a stronger everyday choice than paying for WhatsApp’s premium cosmetics.
