Instant messaging (IM) apps have become inseparably linked to people’s everyday life. Messengers help people instantly connect with their friends, family, and colleagues so easily, affordably, and even for free. IM apps have brought a real revolution in the way people communicate these days. They enable people using different devices to connect on one platform via text and multimedia.
How Free IM Apps Make Money
Recent studies in the field show that today messaging apps have become more popular than social media networks. Based on the study, messaging apps have 20% more monthly active users as compared to social networks. So messengers have turned into multimedia platforms geared to individual users’ needs.
Moreover, it’s estimated that 20% of consumers are using 2 messaging apps, and 16% are using 3 or more. 64% of consumers are using at least 1 messaging app.
By 2020, the average revenue generated from messaging apps is anticipated to account for more than $15 per user, driven primarily by chatbots. What about how messaging apps like WhatsApp, Viber, Telegram, and Pinngle make money since you know they offer free services like voice and video calling, instant messaging, file sharing, and more, and these are their main services. Of course, you might be thinking they have other sources of revenue. What are these sources?
Below you can find several already established messaging apps and information on how they get revenue.
Pinngle
Pinngle was developed in 2016 by Zigma Telecom and has already been downloaded by almost 5 million people all over the world. The app offers free messaging, calling, and file sharing and services to its users. Moreover, you can use Pinngle to make 100% free international calls to any landline and mobile number around the world.
However, the company has several sources of getting revenue. First, the app offers a feature called “Pinngle Out,” which you can use to make cheap calls to those who don’t use Pinngle.
Second, Pinngle offers a rich sticker store to its users where they can buy interesting and fun stickers to send to each other.
Advertisements are the third source for generating revenue. The app offers a feature called “Pinngle Out,” which you can use to earn credits on the app so to make 100% free international calls. One of the options offered by “Pinngle Credits” is to watch video Ads from which Pinngle gets income.
Telegram
Telegram has an interesting business model. Telegram doesn’t offer paid services. The company provides services that are free to use and free to integrate. Telegram’s free strategy is a philosophy companies like Google’s Android and Linux follow.
Currently, Telegram gets donations from people who share its vision and strategy. Telegram has also a wide range of private and public apps, software the operation of which is based on the company’s technology.
Viber
In 2013, the Japanese Internet giant Rakuten acquired Viber for $900 million. According to Rakuten, in 2013 Viber made more than $1.5 million of revenue. Anyway, Viber Out is Viber’s main revenue source. The service offers more affordable international calls as compared to those offered by a GSM operator.
Call termination is another source of revenue for Viber. When you get a call from abroad, the call to you comes on Viber. The Viber app on your mobile device will allow you to get ordinary calls, and Viber will get revenue from call termination.
Viber also offers stickers and extended advertisement and promotional services. Viber sells its stickers not only to users but also companies and other third parties who are interested in promoting a product or event through promotional thematic stickers.
Now, Viber also displays an advertisement to its users after each call is made on the app. In this case, Viber receives payment from an Ad client in exchange for Ad banner views and, more importantly, clicks.
In 2016, it was confirmed Facebook had acquired WhatsApp. In the past, WhatsApp charged $1 per year from its users to use the app. Currently, the company gets revenue via connection termination like Viber. When you receive an SMS from abroad, you can receive it on your WhatsApp. In 2016, WhatsApp announced it’d be testing new tools and features to allow for communication with businesses and organizations
Instant messaging apps mainly offer free services, however, they have sources for getting revenue. The revenue streams may vary from a messenger to messenger. If you’re interested in how 4 already established messaging apps get income, go through the information provided above.
