The cheapest way to export WhatsApp from an iPhone in 2026
Twelve options with their real prices, read off each vendor's own store page rather than a review site. The free one is first, because for a lot of people it is the correct answer.
Short answer
Free: WhatsApp's own Export Chat, one conversation at a time as a text file. For your whole history with media in a readable format, the cheapest paid tool we found is Chatcove at $9 once, followed by Decipher Chat at $19.99 once.
Disclosure: we make Chatcove, which appears in this table. Every price below was checked on the vendor's own checkout page, so you can verify any row yourself, including ours.
Start here: the free option
WhatsApp exports a conversation for free. Open the chat, tap the contact or group name, choose Export Chat, and pick whether to include media. You get a text file.
It handles one conversation at a time, and the media it includes is capped by the size of the export, so a long history gets truncated. But if you want one chat and you can live with a text file, stop reading and use it. Nothing on this page is worth paying for if that covers you.
The paid tools, cheapest first
| App | Cheapest Mac price | Model |
|---|---|---|
| WhatsApp's built-in export | Free | One chat at a time, text only |
| Chatcove | $9 | One time, 2 devices |
| Decipher Chat | $19.99 | One time, 2 iPhones |
| Backuptrans | $24.95 | One time, 3 phones |
| iMazing | $29.99 a year | Subscription only, 1 device ($49.99 for 5) |
| Dr.Fone | $39.95 | One time, or $29.95/yr, 2 Macs |
| AnyMP4 WhatsApp TransferPrice as read on 2 September 2026 | $39.96 | One time, 1 computer |
| iMyFone iMyTransPrice as read on 2 September 2026 | $49.99 | One time, or $39.99/yr |
| MobileTrans | $59.99 | One time, or $44.99/yr, 1 computer |
| AnyTransPrice as read on 2 September 2026 | $59.99 | One time, or $39.99/yr |
| iCareFone | $69.95 | One time, or $59.95/yr, 1 Mac |
| EaseUS ChatTransPrice as read on 2 September 2026 | $69.95 | One time, or $29.95/yr |
Prices are the cheapest tier that exports WhatsApp on a Mac, in US dollars before tax, read on each vendor's own store page on 8 October 2026, except where a row says otherwise. Prices change and these may have moved since. All trademarks belong to their owners. Sources are listed on the comparison page.
The prices above are not always what you pay
Several checkout pages in this category add something to the cart that you did not ask for. This is not a claim about anyone's character; it is printed on their own checkout pages, and you can go and look. We saw these on 2 September 2026; the Tenorshare trial terms were still on its store page on 8 October 2026.
- Wondershare shows a pre-ticked box next to the buy button adding an app trial that converts to $6.99 a month.
- Tenorshare offers a seven-day free trial that renews at $29.95 a month if you do not cancel.
- Backuptrans states in its own documentation that a “Registration Backup Service” item is added to the cart and selected by default.
- Several vendors display permanent strikethrough “was” pricing, or a countdown timer that resets when you reload the page.
Before you buy anything here, including ours, look at the cart total rather than the advertised price, and untick whatever you did not choose.
Cheap is not the only axis
Three things matter as much as the number:
- Can you check it works before paying? The most common complaint about tools in this category is spending a long time on a backup and only then discovering the price, or discovering the output is not what you wanted. Look for a trial that runs on your real data.
- Where does your data go? A desktop app that reads a local backup never sends your conversations anywhere. A website that offers to do this for free needs you to upload them. Think about what is actually in your chat history before you do that.
- Does the output survive? A PDF or HTML file you own outlives any subscription. Prefer tools that give you a file rather than a viewer you must keep paying for.
Our honest recommendation
- One conversation, text is fine: WhatsApp's built-in export. Free.
- Whole history, readable, on an Apple Silicon Mac with macOS 12 or later, or a PC on Windows 10 22H2 or later: Chatcove, $9 once. Browsing is free, so you can confirm your data looks right before paying.
- On an Intel Mac, or macOS 11 or earlier: we cannot help you. Decipher Chat at $19.99 one-time is the cheapest credible option, and iMazing if you also want a full device manager.
- You need a whole device manager: iMazing, and the subscription is the price of that breadth.
Common questions
What is the cheapest way to export WhatsApp from an iPhone?
Free, using WhatsApp's own Export Chat feature, if one conversation as a text file is enough for you. For exporting your whole history with media in a readable format, the cheapest paid tool we found is Chatcove at $9 once, followed by Decipher Chat at $19.99 once.
Is there a free WhatsApp export tool for Mac?
WhatsApp's built-in export is free but handles one chat at a time and caps media. Free websites that offer to convert or view your export are best avoided, because they require uploading your private conversations to someone else's server.
Why did iMazing get more expensive?
iMazing discontinued its one-time device licence in June 2025 and moved to subscriptions only. Its own licensing policy page says so.
Are lifetime licences in this category really lifetime?
Read the terms. Several vendors in this category use lifetime to mean the current major version, with paid upgrades afterwards. It is worth checking before you compare a lifetime price against a yearly one.