Competitor comparison
iMazing vs iExplorer: saving a text conversation in each
iExplorer is still on sale for $39.99, but its release notes haven't had a new entry since October 2022. iMazing's latest version came out in September 2026, and it costs $49.99 a year. For your texts, the free versions split too: iMazing's trial saves 25 messages, and iExplorer's demo lets you view your messages but won't export one.
Our take
In both, reading your messages is free and saving a whole conversation is what you pay for. And before you read a single one, you set up a Mac or PC, connect your iPhone and wait for a backup. TextPort for iPhone skips all of that. It imports your Messages chats 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 you can print or send. You can import your first three conversations for free. Want your whole Messages history on a computer instead? TextPort for Mac and TextPort for Windows are free.
Step by step
One conversation, in each tool
iMazing makes and keeps backups of your iPhone and exports messages and WhatsApp chats from them. iExplorer is a file browser for a connected iPhone or its backups. Here's the road to one saved conversation in each, as of October 22, 2026.
-
1. Install it on your computer
iMazing
Runs on a Mac with macOS 10.12 or later, or a PC with Windows 7 or newer.
iExplorer
Runs on a Mac with macOS 10.10 or later, or a PC with Windows 7, 8, 10 or later, and needs iTunes or the Apple Music app on the computer. It can't be installed on the iPhone.
-
2. Get the messages off your iPhone
iMazing
Connect over USB or Wi-Fi. iMazing makes a backup to read your messages, either messages only or a full backup you can restore, and the first one can take 30 minutes or more. If your backups are encrypted, it asks for the backup password.
iExplorer
Connect with a USB cable. iExplorer reads your messages through an iTunes backup, and if the last one is more than 24 hours old, it asks whether to use it or back up now. Encrypted backups need the backup password. On macOS 10.14 and later it needs Full Disk Access to open backups made in iTunes or Finder.
-
3. See what the free version lets you keep
iMazing
The trial never expires and lets you browse everything, but it transfers only 25 messages and 25 WhatsApp messages. Anything more needs a subscription.
iExplorer
The demo lets you browse and view your messages in its window, with no time limit. The Export buttons stay locked until you buy a license.
-
4. Export the conversation
iMazing
PDF, Excel or CSV, TXT, or print, with attachments. A date range limits what's exported, and two settings put the contact details and the time on every message. Its guide says to turn both on for legal exports.
iExplorer
PDF, CSV or TXT, with the original time stamps and photos inside the PDF's message bubbles. There's a date range too. To print, you open the file in another app and print from there. If the PDF export fails on a long or photo-heavy thread, Macroplant's help center says to export it in 2 or 3 date ranges, then combine the PDFs if you need one file.
-
5. Pay
iMazing
Personal is $49.99 a year for up to 5 devices, on any Mac or PC. It renews every year until you cancel. One-time licenses ended in June 2025.
iExplorer
Basic is $39.99 once for one license on a Mac or a PC, and $49.99 buys two. Updates within version 4 are free. The next big version would need a new license code.
iMazing counts the Apple devices you connect. iExplorer counts the computers you install it on.
iExplorer today
What happened to iExplorer?
It's still on sale, and the product page says "iPhone 17 and iOS 26 Ready" and "Updated for macOS Tahoe". Its release notes end at version 4.6.0, from October 14, 2022, with the note "iOS 16 compatibility". Its help center articles carry a February 2019 date. iMazing, for comparison, is on version 3.6.5 and lists support up to iOS 27.
Buying it for an iPhone on iOS 26? Open your conversation in the free demo first.
The third option
No computer? Save the chat on your iPhone
TextPort for iPhone also reads Messenger, Instagram, Signal and Telegram chats. Neither maker's message-export pages list those. It reads WhatsApp too, which Macroplant's site never mentions. In October 2026 it's rated 4.4 out of 5 from more than 1,400 ratings on the US App Store.
Saving messages for a case? See exporting text messages for court. Also compared: the iMazing alternative and iExplorer alternative pages, iMazing vs TouchCopy and iMazing vs AnyTrans.
TextPort is for you if you need:
- •A PDF of a conversation without a computer
- •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 iExplorer questions
-
If you'd rather skip the computer, yes. TextPort saves the conversation on your iPhone, as a PDF, CSV or TXT file. Messages chats come in through a Shortcut on iOS 26.4 or later.
-
iExplorer comes with a 30-day, 100% money-back guarantee. iMazing asks for a written request to its support team within 30 days of purchase, and it may say no.
-
Only on Windows. Macroplant's help center says the Windows version searches all conversations and the Mac version searches only the one you have open.
-
iMazing lists RCS along with SMS, MMS and iMessage. Macroplant's pages list SMS, MMS and iMessage, and don't mention RCS.
-
Neither describes a way to get Messages from iCloud. iMazing reads the iPhone or its backups, and attachments the iPhone has moved to iCloud show as "Attachment stored in iCloud" until they're back on the phone. iExplorer lists iCloud access only for app folders, on Mac. If Messages in iCloud is on, TextPort for Mac reads your history once it has synced to the Mac.
Start exporting your messages
Available for iPhone, Mac, and Windows. No computer required.
