Competitor comparison
iMazing vs AnyTrans for text messages: 5 differences that matter
If you're comparing these two to save your text messages, not to back up a whole phone or switch to a new one, five things set them apart: printing only some dates, paying once, what one license covers, getting a spreadsheet, and which chat apps they read.
Our take
If saving messages is the whole job, you can skip both. iMazing and AnyTrans are full iPhone managers, so you'd be paying for backups, photos, music and phone transfers you may never touch. TextPort for Mac and TextPort for Windows do the messages part for free: any date range, every conversation, PDF, CSV or TXT, with no license and no account. If the chat is in WhatsApp, Instagram, Messenger or Signal, the TextPort iPhone app handles it.
The 5 differences
Which one fits your situation
What each one does, according to each company's own website and store pages on October 19 and 20, 2026.
| Your situation | iMazing | AnyTrans | TextPort |
|---|---|---|---|
| You need only some dates printed | A date range limits what's shown and exported | Has a date filter, but printing takes the whole conversation, even with a date range set | Export a PDF of just those dates on iPhone, Mac or Windows, then print it |
| You want to pay once | Not possible: yearly subscription only since June 2025 | A one-time license, or a monthly or yearly subscription | Mac and Windows apps: free. iPhone app: a weekly, monthly or annual subscription through the App Store |
| What one license covers | Personal: up to 5 devices, on any Mac or PC | 1 computer, any number of devices | None needed on Mac or Windows, and no account |
| You need a spreadsheet | Excel or CSV, plus PDF, TXT and print | PDF, TXT, HTML and print. CSV isn't on its list of message formats | CSV, PDF and TXT. Print on iPhone and Mac |
| The chat is in WhatsApp, LINE or Viber | WhatsApp and WhatsApp Business, from a backup | WhatsApp, LINE and Viber: back up, restore and transfer them, and export WhatsApp to HTML | iPhone app: WhatsApp from its own export file, and LINE, Viber or any other chat from screenshots or a screen recording |
Cost
What each one costs
iMazing Personal is $49.99 a year for up to 5 devices, and it renews each year until you cancel. If it renews at today's price, that's $99.98 by the end of year two. AnyTrans's store shows $35.99 a month, $39.99 a year or $59.99 once for one computer, with a 60-day money-back guarantee. AnyTrans calls those sale prices and shows a countdown timer, but the timer started over every time we reloaded the page. Its Mac and Windows versions cost the same.
The third option
No computer? Do it on your iPhone
iMazing and AnyTrans both need a Mac or PC and a backup of your iPhone. TextPort for iPhone needs neither, and it reads chats that aren't on either tool's list, like Messenger, Instagram, Signal and Telegram. In October 2026 it's rated 4.4 out of 5 from more than 1,400 ratings on the US App Store. Import your first three conversations for free.
Saving messages for a case? See exporting text messages for court. Also compared: the iMazing alternative and AnyTrans alternative pages, iMazing vs TouchCopy and Decipher TextMessage vs iMazing.
TextPort is for you if you need:
- •A PDF of only the dates that matter
- •A chat from WhatsApp or any app you can screenshot or record
- •A link that sends the file to your lawyer or mediator
FAQ
iMazing vs AnyTrans questions
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In iMazing, only if you turn on its export setting that shows a time on every message. AnyTrans's pages don't say either way. TextPort's PDF puts the sender, date and time on every message by default.
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Yes. AnyTrans says one license code activates on one computer, so a Mac and a PC need two licenses or its Family Plan, which covers 5 computers. iMazing counts phones instead, so one Personal subscription works on both. TextPort's Mac and Windows apps need no license at all.
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AnyTrans reads messages from a backup of the iPhone, not from the phone itself. Its guide says to click Back up Now if there's no backup yet, and to turn off encrypted backup first so it can find your data. TextPort for Mac reads the Messages already on your Mac, so there's no backup to make.
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Only as trials. AnyTrans's trial transfers 30 items within 3 days for each type of data. iMazing's trial has no time limit, but its premium features need a license. TextPort's Mac and Windows apps are free, with no trial limit.
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Its own pages disagree. AnyTrans's messages page says it can export messages from an iCloud backup, and its FAQ says it can't export Messages or iMessage from iCloud to your computer. If Messages in iCloud is on, TextPort for Mac sees your iPhone's history once it syncs to the Mac.
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Yes, TextPort for iPhone. It imports iMessage and SMS with a Shortcut, WhatsApp chats from WhatsApp's own export file, and any other app from screenshots or a screen recording, then saves a PDF, CSV or TXT file.
Start exporting your messages
Available for iPhone, Mac, and Windows. No computer required.
