Top 10 Apps for Instant Messaging (Infographic) A look at the features and popularity of web applications including the likes of WeChat, WhatsApp and Snapchat.

By Catherine Clifford

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

If you are still using text messages, you are officially old school.

In the brave new smartphone-obsessed world that we live in, more and more people are sending messages through web-based applications like WeChat, WhatsApp and Snapchat. These apps allow consumers to send messages from their mobile devices to other mobile devices without paying for wireless service.

Across the world, instant message apps are surging in popularity. In China alone, the number of mobile instant messaging accounts approached 1.5 billion in 2013, according to this infographic from Paris-based Social Media Agency KRDS.

One such instant messaging service, Snapchat, must be pretty confident in the trend. The company's co-founder Evan Spiegel recently caused a bit of a kerfuffle in the startup community when he turned down a $3 billion buyout from Facebook.

Related: This Is the 23-Year-Old Entrepreneur Who Just Turned Down $3 Billion From Facebook

Check out the infographic below for stats on the top instant message apps around the globe, as compiled by European social-media agency KRDS.

Click to Enlarge+

Top 10 Apps for Instant Messaging (Infographic)

Wavy Line
Catherine Clifford

Senior Entrepreneurship Writer at CNBC

Catherine Clifford is senior entrepreneurship writer at CNBC. She was formerly a senior writer at Entrepreneur.com, the small business reporter at CNNMoney and an assistant in the New York bureau for CNN. Clifford attended Columbia University where she earned a bachelor's degree. She lives in Brooklyn, N.Y. You can follow her on Twitter at @CatClifford.

Editor's Pick

She's Been Coding Since Age 7 and Presented Her Life-Saving App to Tim Cook Last Year. Now 17, She's on Track to Solve Even Bigger Problems.
Lock
I Helped Grow 4 Unicorns Over 10 Years That Generated $18 Billion in Online Revenues. Here's What I've Learned.
Lock
Want to Break Bad Habits and Supercharge Your Business? Use This Technique.
Lock
Don't Have Any Clients But Need Customer Testimonials? Follow These 3 Tricks To Boost Your Rep.
Why Are Some Wines More Expensive Than Others? A Top Winemaker Gives a Full-Bodied Explanation.

Related Topics

Business News

California Woman Arrested For $60 Million Postal Service Scam

Lijuan "Angela" Chen faces two charges that each carry a maximum sentence of five years in prison.

Business News

Apple Just Unveiled Its VR Headset. What You Need to Know.

The Vision Pro is Apple's first major product launch since AirPods.

Marketing

5 Things You Can Do Now to Improve Email Marketing

Abide by these simple tricks to help your campaigns gain more visibility and generate revenue in the process.

Science & Technology

'We Were Sucked In': How to Protect Yourself from Deepfake Phone Scams.

Phone fraudsters are using AI to clone the voices of loved or trusted people to rip them off. Here's how to detect if the phone is real or robot.

Leadership

The Return to Office Movement is Causing a Mental Health Crisis. Employers Are Part of The Problem — But They Can Be Part of The Solution.

Employee mental health substantially worsened with the return to office demands, and it's causing disengagement and low morale. The solution demanded by employees is the answer.