Symphony vs Wire (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Symphony grades higher than Wire: 2.2 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
Symphony grades higher on features, ease of use and platforms. Wire grades higher on the free plan. They get the same grade on value for money.
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
Free plan · from €7.45/mo
Which one is for you
Pick Symphony if
- Fits if you work at a regulated financial firm that needs compliant chat
- Makes sense if you need to message other firms through federation
Look elsewhere if
- Not for you if you want to see a price, as none is published
- Skip it if you want to sign up yourself, as logins are set up by the firm or its IT team
- Not for you if you want a free plan or trial
- Watch out: Federation Virtual Numbers come from Umony, a separate company
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
| 2.2GPASymphonyFair | 2.0GPAWireFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | CNo price is published, so it sits at the middle by default; the site directs buyers to a demo. | 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 | FNo free plan or trial; the site offers a demo request. | 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 | BMessaging, federation between firms, Teams interoperability, voice, directory, analytics and APIs. The listing shows no gap in the core job. | 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 | CAccounts are provisioned by a firm or IT team and use a company-specific pod name, so there is set-up before use. No store rating on record. | 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 developer APIs and links to Microsoft Teams, WhatsApp, WeChat and LINE. | 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 | secure messaging for regulated firms | 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: Symphony and Wire. How we grade
Where they differ
- Wire is open source and self-hostable, according to its own site.
- Symphony also covers workflow automation and whatsApp messaging.
- Wire also covers video calls and file sharing.
In commonWebWindowsmacOSiOSAndroidEnd-to-end encryptedTeam chat
At a glance
| Symphony | Wire | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Paid | Free plan |
| Starts at | Not published | €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 | Symphony | Wire Swiss GmbH |
| Price read from | Not confirmed | wire.com |
| Checked | Nov 13, 2026 | Nov 9, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Symphony
- No prices are published on the site; buyers are directed to request a demo or contact the company.
- Pricing is unverified here, and Federation Virtual Numbers are provided by Umony, a separate company.
- Logins use a company-specific pod name, so accounts are set up by the customer's firm or its IT team.
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
Symphony
- Messaging for regulated firms
- Secure chat and workflow software with information barriers, auditability and data archiving, aimed at financial services.
- Federation
- Lets staff message clients on WhatsApp, SMS, Microsoft Teams, LINE and WeChat in a compliance-enabled way, using a single virtual number.
- Embedded mode and Teams interoperability
- Messaging can be embedded in other applications, and Symphony Messaging can be connected to Microsoft Teams.
- Voice, directory and analytics
- Cloud9 trader voice, an Enhanced Directory of market counterparties and an analytics platform sit beside messaging.
- Developer APIs
- The site links API documentation and training from its developer relations team.
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
Symphony
Pricing could not be confirmed. See symphony.com.
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
Symphony
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, Symphony or Wire?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Symphony has no price we could confirm, and Wire starts at €7.45 per person / month, paid annually.
Which has a free plan, Symphony or Wire?
As of Nov 13, 2026, only Wire has a free plan. Symphony does not.
Which platforms do Symphony 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.