With the launch of Zoho Arattai, India’s messaging ecosystem is seeing increased competition in the instant messaging space. Designed as a homegrown alternative to Meta-owned WhatsApp, Arattai aims to address the specific needs of users in emerging markets, offering lightweight performance and a focus on privacy. But how does it truly stack up against WhatsApp? Here’s a detailed comparison based on performance, privacy, features, and usability.
A key strength of Zoho Arattai is its optimisation for low-bandwidth networks and entry-level smartphones. The app is lightweight and smooth, ensuring minimal lag even under constrained connectivity conditions. This efficiency reduces data consumption and provides a more reliable messaging experience where network coverage is inconsistent.
In contrast, WhatsApp is widely known for its universal compatibility across Android, iOS, and even select feature phones. While it delivers fast and stable performance on midrange and premium devices, entry-level devices sometimes experience slowdowns or higher data usage compared to Arattai. Despite these limitations, WhatsApp remains a trusted choice for millions of users worldwide, providing reliable texting, voice, and video communication.
Privacy is a critical factor in today’s messaging apps. WhatsApp has built its reputation on automatic end-to-end encryption (E2E), which protects messages, calls, and media from being accessed by third parties, including the company and the government. Users can communicate securely knowing their private chats remain confidential.
Zoho Arattai, however, follows a different approach. While Zoho promises not to share user data with third parties, E2E encryption is only applied to audio and video calls, leaving text messages without this level of protection. This limitation places Arattai at a privacy disadvantage compared to WhatsApp’s robust security framework.
Both Arattai and WhatsApp cover the essentials of modern messaging, including:
Text messaging
Voice calls
Video calls
Multimedia sharing
Arattai targets large-scale and organized communication, making it suitable for groups and communities. Its group chat limit is 1,000 participants, slightly below WhatsApp’s cap of 1,024 members, but it also supports dedicated Channels for structured discussions.
WhatsApp, on the other hand, provides additional features such as custom sticker creation from photos and videos, enhancing personalization and engagement. Both apps support multimedia sharing, but WhatsApp remains the benchmark for cross-platform reliability and feature maturity.
Arattai’s design emphasizes simplicity and efficiency, making it accessible to users on entry-level devices and slower networks. The lightweight nature ensures quick message delivery and minimal app crashes, which is a plus in regions with connectivity challenges.
WhatsApp excels in global accessibility, being available on Android, iOS, web, and even KaiOS devices. Its familiar interface and long-standing presence make it instantly recognizable and easy to adopt, especially among users accustomed to mainstream messaging apps.
The rapid rise of Arattai to the top of the Apple App Store in India demonstrates that users are willing to explore homegrown alternatives to WhatsApp. It signals a growing demand for localized messaging solutions that prioritize performance on lower-end devices while maintaining basic privacy protections.
WhatsApp, however, continues to dominate globally due to its established user base, security infrastructure, and wide feature set. It remains the go-to platform for users seeking reliability and trusted messaging across devices and networks.
Conclusion
While Zoho Arattai presents a compelling option for Indian users seeking lightweight performance and local support, WhatsApp remains the leader in security, features, and global reach. Arattai’s advantages lie in data efficiency and organized communication, but the lack of E2E encryption for texts is a notable drawback. Users will need to balance privacy, performance, and accessibility when choosing between the two apps.