Threema Work vs Wire (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Threema Work grades higher than Wire: 2.4 against 2.0 out of 4.0.
Checked Nov 9, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 · graded Oct 10, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 by ToolGPA
Threema Work grades higher on value for money, features and ease of use. Wire grades higher on the free plan. They get the same grade on platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Threema Work
Encrypted business messenger from Switzerland
Wire
End-to-end encrypted messaging and calls for organizations
Which one is for you
Pick Threema Work if
- Fits if your company wants chat with servers in Switzerland and no phone number needed
- Makes sense if you want central user management for up to 200 people
Look elsewhere if
- Tight if you have more than 200 users, as Core stops at 200
- Pricey if you want broadcast, automation or the API, which need Professional at $5
- Watch out: syncing users with Azure AD costs extra
- Watch out: the page converts CHF and EUR figures one-to-one into USD
- Watch out: self-hosting (OnPrem) is sold through sales with no published price
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
| 2.4GPAThreema WorkFair | 2.0GPAWireFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | BCore is $3.00 per user a month billed annually, inside the cheapest quarter of team-chat tools, which starts at $3.50. Professional is $5.00. | 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 | DA 30-day free trial is offered, but the page doesn't say whether it needs a card. There is no free plan. | 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 | BUser management, calls and group chats, broadcast messaging, automation and an API. Nothing in the listing shows a missing core piece, though broadcast and API need Professional. | 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 | CNo store rating on record. An admin has to set up users, so there is some setup. | 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 | BWeb, iPhone and Android, plus an API on Professional and an Azure AD link. No desktop app is listed in the data. | 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 team messaging hosted in Switzerland | 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: Threema Work and Wire. How we grade
Price against what you get
Threema Work starts at $3 a month for each person 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.
Threema Work scores higher and starts $5.32 a month lower. Of the other team communication apps on the chart, 2 score higher than Threema Work 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.
At a glance
| Threema Work | Wire | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free trial | Free plan |
| Starts at | $3.00 per user / month, billed annually | €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 | 30-day free trial | None listed |
| Web | ||
| macOS | ||
| Windows | ||
| Linux | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Threema | Wire Swiss GmbH |
| Price read from | threema.com | wire.com |
| Checked | Nov 12, 2026 | Nov 9, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Threema Work
- Core is limited to 200 users; Broadcast, automation and API access need Professional.
- Syncing users with Azure AD costs extra, according to the feature table on the pricing page.
- Pricing is shown per user; the page marks it annual payment and says USD figures are converted one-to-one from CHF and EUR.
- The pricing page names the app, web client and a desktop app but lists no platform detail beyond iOS, Android and web.
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
Threema Work
- Central user management
- A management cockpit lets admins preconfigure contact lists, revoke IDs, see active users and manage people with tags.
- Calls and group chats
- Text and voice messages, voice, video and group calls, group chats, polls and emoji reactions are listed on every business plan.
- Broadcast messaging
- Threema Broadcast sends one-to-many messages through distribution lists, feeds and bots; Professional includes it, with the Broadcast API.
- Privacy design
- Usage without a phone number, SIM card or email address is listed, and Threema says it is GDPR-compliant and avoids metadata.
- Automation and API
- Professional adds an API for automated administration and for the Threema Gateway, with unlimited gateway credits.
- Self-hosted option
- Threema OnPrem runs on your own infrastructure with full control of data, and the OnPrem plan adds air-gapped operation and white-labeling.
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
Threema Work
Core$3.00
per user / month, billed annually
Central user management for up to 200 users, 99.5% availability SLA and 24-hour support response.
Professional$5.00
per user / month, billed annually
Unlimited users, Threema Broadcast, automation and API access, 99.9% SLA and 6-hour support response.
OnPremCustom
Self-hosted Threema with full white-labeling, air-gapped operation and premium support. Sold through sales.
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
Threema Work
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, Threema Work or Wire?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Threema Work is cheaper to start with: $3 a month for each person, against about $8.32 a month for each person for Wire. Threema Work starts at $3.00 per user / month, billed annually, and Wire starts at €7.45 per person / month, paid annually.
Which has a free plan, Threema Work or Wire?
As of Nov 12, 2026, only Wire has a free plan. Threema Work does not, though it has a free trial.
Which platforms do Threema Work and Wire run on?
As of Nov 12, 2026, only Wire lists macOS, Windows and Linux apps. Both list a web app and 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.