Security comparison

Both rich messaging platforms take security seriously, but they approach it differently:

• RCS uses transport encryption, ensuring safe delivery of messages. While secure, it does not offer the full end-to-end encryption that WhatsApp provides just yet, but it is planned.

• WhatsApp provides industry-leading end-to-end encryption, meaning only the sender and recipient can view the message. However, with WhatsApp for business, the end-to-end encryption applies only between the WhatsApp business partner, such as Vonage, and the end-user.

If security compliance is a top priority in your industry — such as financial services or healthcare — WhatsApp may fulfill more security requirements than RCS. However, while RCS is governed by carrier standards, WhatsApp is not.

Hosting locations have to take into account the platform features and CPaaS vendor hosting regions, which can vary. The processing regions are very much alike for both channels.

• Meta through Cloud API host WhatsApp servers: These can be deployed in either the U.S., EU, or APAC. WhatsApp business partners such as Vonage can process the incoming and outgoing messages in these and multiple selectable regions.

• Mobile carriers, with the help of the Google RCS business messaging backend, manage RCS: Google will process the data within the region of the respective mobile operator and any RCS agent (profile) related data will be processed in the available regions in the U.S., EU, or APAC. RCS business messaging providers such as Vonage can process the incoming and outgoing messages in these and multiple selectable regions.

Consent parameters

How users agree to terms and give consent differs by platform:

• RCS: By simply having a mobile phone number, users have already agreed to the terms and conditions of their operator — and Google servers being used by the operator — to process RCS messages.

• WhatsApp: Users must first install WhatsApp and agree to the terms. Only then, as a WhatsApp user, can they consent.

Pricing models

Understanding the costs associated with each platform is essential for businesses:

• RCS offers basic and single message options, as well as conversational, which allows unlimited message exchanges within a 24-hour window. Costs vary depending on the region and message type, and rich media messages may cost more than basic text. There may be other unique pricing options, such as monthly active user models in certain countries for RCS. Also, RCS agents may have a defined use case, but all messages have the same pricing and are not split into categories like WhatsApp.

• WhatsApp pricing changes will go into effect July 1, 2025, shifting from conversation-based pricing to per-message pricing only. Messages are put into exclusive categories — such as marketing, utility, authentication, and service — which can have different pricing.

Ultimately, depending on your messaging use cases and terminating regions, pricing can be a big factor in your decision and a Vonage representative can help you estimate costs using each platform.

Overall, RCS can offer more flexible pricing and often better ROI on marketing messages. WhatsApp has certain advantages with service and utility conversations being free or lower cost.

Market reach and user base

Market reach heavily influences platform choice:

• RCS has over 1.5 billion users, with a majority through Android devices, and a growing presence as it expands to iOS and more countries and mobile carriers.

• WhatsApp boasts 3 billion active users, with market dominance in regions like Brazil, India, and Europe. Adoption in the U.S. is more competitive due to alternatives like iMessage (supporting RCS) or Facebook Messenger.

For businesses prioritizing global or regional reach, WhatsApp offers a broad, well-established audience, while RCS is catching up with its seamless integration. RCS, however, is the fastest-growing channel and has already overtaken WhatsApp in reach in certain countries, such as Germany. Your Vonage account team can help you determine the best messaging strategy per country.

Business use cases

Both platforms shine in different business applications. Here's how each one adds value and can help you Own Your Brand:

RCS

• Interactive marketing: Run campaigns featuring carousels, images, and quick-reply buttons.

• Fast and reliable: Leverage quicker delivery times — over 20% faster than WhatsApp and over 30% faster than SMS — for critical notifications, marketing deals, one-time passwords, and appointments.

• Utility messaging: Share verified notifications like bills, payment confirmations, or alerts, and Google Wallet files for tickets, offers, or loyalty cards.

• Customer engagement: Conduct surveys and polls to gather real-time customer feedback.

• Authentication: Send branded one-time passwords with visual elements for additional trust.

WhatsApp

• Customer service: Offer real-time support with WhatsApp templates and chatbots.

• Personalized campaigns: Use WhatsApp Flows for engaging marketing promotions and capturing leads.

• Reminders and updates: Notify users of appointments or shipment updates with automated messages.

• Authentication: Deliver one-time passwords securely and with minimal user input on Android.

U.S. market consideration: Note the ban on WhatsApp marketing messages as of April 1, 2025. For marketing campaigns, businesses targeting U.S. customers might find RCS a more viable alternative.

Choosing the right platform for your business

RCS and WhatsApp are powerful tools, but the right choice depends on your business goals:

• If your target audience is widespread across the globe and prioritizes privacy, the advanced WhatsApp features and security make it a strong contender.

• If your business wants an all-in-one native messaging experience embedded in Android and iOS, RCS offers advanced capabilities without requiring app installations.

Luckily, you don’t have to choose

Forward-looking business strategies might also include using both platforms to deliver tailored customer experiences to meet your customers where they are. Seamlessly blend the global reach and security of WhatsApp with the interactive and native capabilities of RCS using a single messaging API.

Vonage Messages API offers a native failover between all messaging channels. So if you send a message on a channel that users don’t frequent — you can program the Vonage solution to automatically deliver the message to another channel. For example, you can try to send an RCS message and automatically fail over to WhatsApp or SMS/MMS.

Don't miss the impact conversational messaging can have on your business. Whether it’s RCS, WhatsApp, or a mix of both, investing in a robust messaging strategy will put customer experience at the forefront of your growth.

Ready to get started or expand your messaging strategy? Explore Vonage Messages API.