Olvid vs Wire (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Olvid grades higher than Wire: 3.0 against 2.0 out of 4.0.
Checked Nov 9, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 · graded Oct 10, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
Olvid grades higher on value for money, the free plan, ease of use and platforms. They get the same grade on features.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Olvid
End-to-end encrypted messenger needing no phone number
Wire
End-to-end encrypted messaging and calls for organizations
Which one is for you
Pick Olvid if
- Fits if you want an encrypted messenger that needs no phone number
- Works for companies that want an admin console and phone-managed deployment
Look elsewhere if
- Pricey if you want outbound calls, at €4.99 a month for one person
- Watch out: prices are in euros only, with taxes included for individuals and excluded for business
- Watch out: the Enterprise plan adds a flat €4,990 a year on top of the per-user price
- Watch out: bots and AI add-ons have no published price
- Skip it if you need Linux, as it appears only on the pricing table and not the download page
Pick Wire if
- Fits if your messages, calls and files all have to be end-to-end encrypted
- Works for government bodies or regulated firms that need chat on their own servers
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you want your chat wired into other tools, as no integrations or public API are on record
- Tight if you're staying free, with 5 team members and no conference calls beyond 2 participants
- Not for you if a well-rated phone app matters, going by its 3.07 from 920 App Store ratings
- Watch out: browser calling works only in Chrome, and the Linux app is an experimental community build
- Pricey if you budget in dollars or pass 100 people, as prices are in euros only and bigger teams need an Enterprise quote
How we grade them
| 3.0GPAOlvidVery good | 2.0GPAWireFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | BThe free plan has no message limits. Calling out needs €4.99 a month for one person, or €9.90 for business, so the useful extras sit around the category middle. | CWire for SMB is €7.45 a person a month paid annually, €8.94 monthly, which is about what team chat costs, and single sign-on and SCIM are in from that first paid plan. Prices are published in euros only, and NGOs can apply for 40% off. |
| Free plan and trial | BFree forever for messages, attachments and groups. Outbound calls need a paid license after a one-month trial. | CWire for Free stops at 5 people, and the harder limit is that it cannot start a conference call with more than 2 participants. You do get the essentials on every platform and up to 8 devices. Past five of you, it's the paid plan, as there's no trial listed. |
| Features | CEncrypted messages, calls, edit and unsend, profiles and a management console. Outbound calls are paid. | CEverything is end-to-end encrypted on the MLS protocol, messages, calls and files alike, with conferences up to 150, Wire Drive for documents, guests joining from a browser and on-premises or hybrid deployment. The listing's own note: calling in a browser works only in Chrome. |
| Ease of use | BNo rating on record, but there is no phone number or account to set up. | D3.07 from 920 App Store ratings, which is poor by any reading: nearly as many reviewers left one star as five. The Linux desktop app is an experimental community build, and browser calling is Chrome-only, so somebody is sorting out what people run it on. |
| Platforms and integrations | AWeb, Windows, Mac, iPhone and Android, with bots and an enterprise management console. | BWeb, Mac, Windows, Linux, iPhone and Android, up to 8 devices each, and federation so separate Wire backends talk to each other. But there are no integrations on record at all and no public API listed, so it doesn't join up with the rest of your tools. |
| Best for | encrypted chat without a phone number | end-to-end encrypted chat and calls for organisations |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: Olvid and Wire. How we grade
Price against what you get
Olvid starts at about $5.57 a month for each person and scores 3.0 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Wire starts at about $8.32 a month for each person and scores 2.0.
Olvid scores higher and starts $2.75 a month lower. Of the other team communication apps on the chart, 3 score higher than Olvid for less, and 37 score higher than Wire for less.
Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
- The best score at each price
- Has a free plan
- No free plan
Where they differ
- Wire is self-hostable, according to its own site.
- Olvid also covers chatbots.
- Wire also covers file sharing.
At a glance
| Olvid | Wire | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free plan |
| Starts at | €4.99 per user / month, incl. taxes (in-app purchase) | €7.45 per person / month, paid annually |
| Free plan | Free forever: unlimited messages and attachments, group discussions, multiple profiles, Olvid Web and inbound audio and video calls. | Wire for Free: teams of up to 5 people with collaboration essentials on all platforms and up to 8 devices. It cannot start conference calls with more than 2 participants. |
| Free trial | The pricing table shows a 1-month free trial of outbound calls for free-plan users. | None listed |
| Web | ||
| macOS | ||
| Windows | ||
| Linux | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Olvid | Wire Swiss GmbH |
| Price read from | olvid.io | wire.com |
| Checked | Nov 13, 2026 | Nov 9, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Olvid
- Prices are published in euros only; the in-app price includes taxes and the business prices exclude them.
- Outbound audio and video calls need a paid license after the 1-month trial.
- Olvid Web works with an Android-compatible device, and the Linux app is mentioned only on the pricing table, not the download page.
- Bots, Olvid x AI and a turnkey integration are options with no published price; a discount depends on the number of users.
Wire
- Prices are listed in euros only.
- Wire for Free stops at 5 team members and cannot start a conference call with more than 2 participants.
- The SMB plan covers teams of up to 100 people; larger organizations need a custom Enterprise quote.
- The Linux desktop app is a community-supported experimental build, and browser calling works only in Chrome.
Key features
Olvid
- No personal data to sign up
- The site says no phone number, email, name or address is required, and the app does not ask for the address book.
- Encrypted messages and calls
- Messages and attachments are end-to-end encrypted. Incoming calls are free for all users; outbound calls are a paid option.
- Edit, unsend and ephemeral messages
- Edit a sent message, delete it for the recipient or set automatic deletion by time or single read.
- Multiple profiles and devices
- Several profiles, including hidden ones, are on the free plan. The pricing page lists syncing all devices as a feature.
- Management Console
- The Enterprise offer adds SSO via OpenID Connect or SAML 2.0, CSV user import, group management and instant key revocation.
- Olvid Bots
- Information, command and chat bots automate messages and tools, sold as options on the business tiers.
Wire
- Encrypted messaging
- Group and 1:1 conversations with search, reactions, sketches, audio and video messages and self-deleting messages, all end-to-end encrypted with MLS.
- Calls and conferences
- Audio and video conferencing for up to 150 participants on web, desktop and mobile, with screen sharing and moderation tools such as muting participants.
- Wire Drive
- Integrated file management and online document collaboration, with files kept inside conversations tied to verified group membership.
- Guests and externals
- Externals are team members with limited access rights, while guests can join a conversation from a web browser without an account.
- Cloud, on-premises or hybrid
- Wire can be deployed in its cloud, on your own infrastructure or both, and federation lets separate Wire backends interact as if they were one.
- SSO, SCIM and admin controls
- Paid plans add SAML-based single sign-on, SCIM provisioning, administrative controls and feature configurations such as restricting file sharing.
Plans
Olvid
Free€0
forever
No limits on messages or attachment size, groups, edit and unsend, ephemeral messages and incoming calls.
In-app purchase€4.99
per user / month, incl. taxes, billed monthly
Individual license bought in the app through the App Store or Google Play, managed there. Outbound audio and video calls need a paid license.
Business€9.90
per user / month, excl. taxes, billed monthly
Bought on the Olvid Store; license activation links are handed to users. Outbound calls are included, with MDM deployment.
Enterprise€9.90
per user / month, excl. taxes, plus a flat €4,990 a year
Billed annually. Adds the Management Console, SSO, user and group management, instant revocation and MDM deployment.
Wire
Wire for Free€0
For small teams of up to 5 people: collaboration essentials on all platforms and up to 8 devices.
Wire for SMB€7.45
per person / month, paid annually (€8.94 paid monthly)
Teams of up to 100 people. Video conferences with up to 150 participants, SSO and SCIM, administrative controls, and external and guest roles.
Wire for EnterpriseCustom
More than 100 people. Federation with Wire Cloud, ID Shield, full deployment support, data sovereignty and multi-tenancy.
Ways to pay less
Olvid
No public discounts listed.
Wire
- Annual discount
About 17% less with annual payment
Wire for SMB costs €7.45 per person / month with annual payment against €8.94 with monthly payment.
- Nonprofit
40% discount for NGOs
Wire's pricing FAQ says it offers NGOs a 40% discount, applied for by contacting the company.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Olvid or Wire?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Olvid is cheaper to start with: about $5.57 a month for each person, against about $8.32 a month for each person for Wire. Olvid starts at €4.99 per user / month, incl. taxes (in-app purchase), and Wire starts at €7.45 per person / month, paid annually.
Which has a free plan, Olvid or Wire?
As of Nov 13, 2026, both Olvid and Wire have a free plan.
Which platforms do Olvid and Wire run on?
As of Nov 13, 2026, only Wire lists a Linux app. Both list a web app and macOS, Windows, iOS and Android apps. A platform missing from a listing is one its maker's pages did not mention.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.