⚡ Instant Messaging Apps in China

Instant messaging apps allow users to communicate in real time via text, voice, and video, often with group chats, file sharing, and end-to-end encryption.

China is an East Asian country with a population of around 1.4 billion people.

According to our statistics, instant messaging apps are detected on 19% of websites from China.

⭐ Most Popular in 2026

The following chart shows the top instant messaging apps on websites in China in 2026, based on market share.

The most popular is QQ with an impressive share of 46.3%, followed by WeChat with 43.7% and WhatsApp with 16%.

QQ 46.3%
WeChat 43.7%
WhatsApp 16%
Telegram 8.7%
Messenger 1%
Discord 0.8%
Line 0.2%
Microsoft Teams 0.04%
Slack 0.03%
Viber 0.03%
Snapchat 0.03%
Zalo 0.01%
Matrix 0.006%
Gitter 0.006%

🚀 Highlights

Here is a list of the top apps that are more popular in China than worldwide.
Differences between global and country rankings are shown in parentheses.

1. QQ ^(-6)
2. WeChat ^(-4)
8. Microsoft Teams ^(-5)
9. Slack ^(-3)
13. Matrix ^(-2)
14. Gitter ^(-2)

✨ Best Instant Messaging Apps

Below is a more detailed list of 15 instant messaging apps used on sites from China, ranked by their market share.

Rank	Name	Market share
1	QQ Shenzhen, China A Chinese instant messaging software platform. Free	46.3%
2	WeChat Shenzhen, China A Chinese instant messaging, social media, and mobile payment app that has evolved into a super-app combining communication, commerce, and everyday services. Free	43.7%
3	WhatsApp Menlo Park, California, United States An instant messaging and Voice over IP service owned by Meta. Free	16%
4	Telegram Dubai, United Arab Emirates A cloud-based messaging app for mobile and desktop platforms focused on security, speed, and privacy. Free$$$	8.7%
5	Messenger Menlo Park, California, United States An instant messaging service developed by Meta, available on Android, iOS, and web platforms. Free	1%
6	Discord San Francisco, California, United States An instant messaging and VoIP social platform that allows users to communicate via text chat, voice, and video. Free$2.99+	0.8%
7	Line Tokyo, Japan A Japanese instant messaging and social networking app often described as a super-app because it integrates services such as a digital wallet, news feed, digital comics, media streaming, and shopping. Free	0.2%
8	Microsoft Teams Redmond, Washington, United States A proprietary business collaboration platform built for hybrid work, offering chat, video conferencing, file storage, and application integration. Free$9.99+/month	0.04%
9	Slack San Francisco, California, United States A cloud-based team communication platform for businesses, currently owned by Salesforce. Free$8.75+/month	0.03%
10	Viber Tokyo, Japan A free, cross-platform instant messaging and calling application owned by Rakuten. Free	0.03%
11	Snapchat Santa Monica, California, United States A messaging and social networking app that lets users send photos and videos ("Snaps") that disappear after being viewed by default. Free	0.03%
12	Zalo Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam A Vietnamese mobile instant messenger and social media service. Free99,000 VND+/month	0.01%
13	Matrix London, United Kingdom A set of open APIs for open-federated Instant Messaging, Voice over IP and Internet of Things communication. Free	0.006%
14	Gitter London, United Kingdom An open source chat and networking platform for software developers based on the Matrix protocol. Free	0.006%
15	KakaoTalk Jeju-si, Jeju-do, Korea A Korean instant messenger for chats and real-time voice and video calls. Free	0.006%

👉 See Also

🌎 Instant Messaging in other countries

Data is based on the analysis of 81,201 websites from China.
Statistics were last calculated on January 28, 2026.
For details, see our methodology and disclaimer.