Best Voice Messaging Apps in 2021

A voice messaging app can be a game changer for your business. No longer are team members relegated to typing lengthy emails or playing phone tag to get quick answers. Now, it’s all about using the power of voice to keep teams connected, inside and outside the office.


Looking to add a voice messaging app to your tech stack? Read on to discover our selection of the best voice messaging apps and why they deserve your attention.

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Not All Voice Messenger Apps are Created Equal

Before we get into the rankings, it’s fair to point out that not all voice message apps are quite alike. For starters, you might find an app you love, only to find out that it’s a voice messaging app for Android and not available on iOS (or vice versa).

There’s also a matter of purpose. Some apps are designed for the casual user, while others are purpose-built for business. This makes a difference in terms of features and functionality, something that might not matter until you implement it into your workflow.

The best practice: explore your options before making the switch.

Best Voice Messaging App: The Results are In

We’ve done some of the hard work for you in testing some of the top voice messaging apps for Android and iOS. Here are our top picks that are worth a try:

1. Echo

Overall Rating: 5/5

Price: $0 with paid plans starting at $5 per person per month

About: Purpose built for business (namely remote teams), Echo strikes the perfect balance between sending a text and making a call.

What We Love: Because Echo is made for remote teams, there are a lot of helpful features included in the app. For starters, users can click and record messages to send to teammates or entire channels. This is the equivalent of having your side of a conference call that others can listen to at their convenience, helping to keep productivity high and make sure everyone is on the same page. The voice feature also saves your thumbs from excessive typing and tapping.

You can see when your messages are read or listened to, and you can also create transcriptions of your messages for easy, faster, digestion. We love this feature because you can quickly scan a message, then listen to it to hear a person’s tone.

It’s also one of many tech tools that opened up its service to remote teams for free in 2020 to help with the transition to work-from-home.

What We’d Like to Change: Echo’s transcription feature is pretty spot on, but every now and then a word will be misunderstood. This is the case with pretty much any AI voice tool, though, which will hopefully improve over time.

2. Voxer

Overall Rating: 4.4/5

Price: $6 per user per month for businesses

About: Voxer is like having a walkie-talkie on your smartphone that lets you record and send messages in just a couple of steps.

What We Love: Voxer’s push-to-talk interface is easy to use and gives you the option of listening to messages in real time or saving them for later. In addition, the app includes a texting feature where you can send SMS texts, photos, videos, and GIFs.

Though it’s commonly used by individuals, businesses have access to a range of features for easier app management. Admin control lets you set up new users and chat groups and will integrate with Dropbox for faster file sharing. There’s also a voice to text transcription feature to add clarity to conversations.

What We’d Like to Change: Some features such as enabling your device’s microphone may feel intrusive.

3. Marco Polo

Overall Rating: 4.7/5

Price: $0 with paid plans starting at $5 per user per month

About: Marco Polo is all about keeping people connected in a way that’s fun and memorable, including voice effects, camera filters, and the ability to record your reactions during playback.

What We Love: Marco Polo is a super fun messaging app that adds a lot of visual appeal to your messages. You can record your message as a video without having to “go live” like other video apps.

Also, you can speed up video playback to save time when listening to messages, which can be a major time saver.

Though it’s not designed for businesses, the free version allows you to create as many chats and groups as you need, which is perfect for businesses on a budget.

What We’d Like to Change: This messaging app focuses more on visuals than text, which means you may have to listen to a video more than once to pick out key details. A transcription feature would certainly help. Also, some features that were formerly part of the free version are now only available in the paid version (e.g. playback speeds, reactions, etc.).

4. LINE

Overall Rating: 3.8/5

Price: $0

About: A truly free messaging app, LINE voice messaging app offers unlimited voice and video calls and text messages, making it a good choice for businesses on a budget.

What We Love: LINE’s user-friendly, intuitive interface makes it a popular option, especially if tech just isn’t your thing. Once you download it, it’s easy to start using right away. LINE works on a variety of devices, including iOS, Android, Blackberry, Windows Phone, and your PC.

What We’d Like to Change: LINE is a great tool for casual users, but it’s not really made for businesses or teams. The features are limited and are more for talking and texting with family or friends. You’ll also need to put up with ads every time you want to make a call, and calls are limited to five minutes.

Find Your New Favorite Voice Messaging App!

The best voice messaging app for iPhone or Android is the one that works the way you do. Some people want a free voice messaging app, while others prefer certain features.

“Best” is highly subjective, so don’t be afraid to take all of our top apps for a test drive to see which one suits you!

Best Voice Messaging Apps - FAQs

What is the best app for messaging?

For video or text, group chats or one-on-one, Echo packs some powerful features that are hard to beat. This app was designed as a workhorse and is extremely user friendly and intuitive.

Why is it better for teams to use voice messenger apps?

Voice messenger apps streamline response times. Instead of trying to schedule a call or hope that someone reads your email in time, you can send a quick message to a group or individual. Plus, voice features mean less typing!

What are the best voice messaging apps for Mac?

Echo is designed to work great on Mac. It will also complement your existing tools, such as Slack or Zoom, so you don’t have to completely reinvent the wheel.

How can I benefit from using a voice messenger app?

A voice messenger app is the perfect solution for typing on the small screen. It offers the convenience of a mobile app and the speed of an instant message to improve how you communicate at work. As a result, you might find yourself more productive, more informed, and more engaged with your team.

Team Echo

Updated on Mar 18, 2021

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