Signal vs Wire (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Signal grades higher than Wire: 3.2 against 2.0 out of 4.0.
Checked Nov 9, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 · graded Oct 10, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
Signal grades higher on value for money, the free plan and ease of use. They get the same grade on features and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Wire
End-to-end encrypted messaging and calls for organizations
Which one is for you
Pick Signal if
- Fits if you want private messaging with friends, family or a small group
- Works for people who want no ads and no tracking
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you need a workplace tool, as it has no channels, roles or admin console
- Not for you if you want a desktop app on its own, since it needs linking from a phone
- Too light for support, because no paid or business tier is listed
- Watch out: no integrations or bots are listed, so it will not plug into your other tools
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
| 3.2GPASignalVery good | 2.0GPAWireFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | AFree outright with no ads or trackers, paid for by grants and donations. | 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 | AThe whole app is free, with no cap and no paid tier to be pushed toward. | 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 | CText, voice, files, group chats and calls. For a team-chat tool it has no channels, roles or admin controls. | 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 you install it and start texting with nothing 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 | BiOS, Android, Windows, Mac and Linux. No web app, and desktop depends on a linked phone. | 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 | private one-to-one and group messaging | 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: Signal and Wire. How we grade
Price against what you get
Signal has no paid plan and scores 2.7 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.
Signal scores higher and starts $8.32 a month lower. Of the other team communication apps on the chart, none scores higher than Signal for less, and 26 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 open source and self-hostable, according to its own site.
- Wire also covers file sharing.
At a glance
| Signal | Wire | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free | Free plan |
| Starts at | Free | €7.45 per person / month, paid annually |
| Free plan | None | 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 | None listed | None listed |
| Web | ||
| macOS | ||
| Windows | ||
| Linux | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Signal Technology Foundation | Wire Swiss GmbH |
| Price read from | signal.org | wire.com |
| Checked | Nov 12, 2026 | Nov 9, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Signal
- Built as a personal messenger: the pages describe no admin console, roles, channels or workspace controls.
- The desktop apps work only after Signal is installed and linked from a phone.
- No paid plan or business support tier is listed; the app is funded by donations.
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
Signal
- End-to-end encryption by default
- Signal says every message and call is end-to-end encrypted using the open source Signal Protocol, with no optional secure mode.
- Text, voice and files
- Send text, voice messages, photos, videos, GIFs and files over the phone's data connection instead of SMS or MMS.
- Voice and video calls
- Make voice and video calls to other Signal users with no long-distance charges.
- Group chats
- Group chats keep family, friends or coworkers in one conversation.
- Desktop apps
- Apps for Mac, Windows and Linux; Signal must first be installed on a phone before a desktop app can be used.
- No ads or tracking
- Signal says it carries no ads, no affiliate marketers and no tracking, and cannot be acquired by a major tech company.
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
Signal
Free$0
The whole app is free, with no ads or trackers; development is funded by grants and donations.
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
Signal
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, Signal or Wire?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Signal is cheaper to start with: it is free, against about $8.32 a month for each person for Wire. Signal is free, and Wire starts at €7.45 per person / month, paid annually.
Which has a free plan, Signal or Wire?
As of Nov 12, 2026, both Signal and Wire have a free plan.
Which platforms do Signal and Wire run on?
As of Nov 12, 2026, only Wire lists a web app. Both list macOS, Windows, Linux, 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.