Textlore vs iMazing, for your iMessages.

Short answer

Pick iMazing if your texts are only on an iPhone, you use Windows, you need WhatsApp chats from an iPhone backup, or you want to back up and manage the whole phone. Pick Textlore if your messages are already on your Mac through Messages in iCloud or WhatsApp for Mac, and you want to see what friends told you to try and what you promised, and search, keep and export it all without making a backup each time, for a one-time price.

Textlore and iMazing at a glance

Feature	Textlore	iMazing
What it is	A Mac app for your Messages history	An iPhone and iPad manager for Mac and Windows
Where messages come from	The Messages history on your Mac	A backup of your iPhone or iPad
Runs on	Mac, macOS 26 or later	Mac and Windows
Works without Messages in iCloud	Needs it for iPhone texts
What friends told you to try, in their words	Recs
Promises you made, and which are still open	Promises
Export to PDF
Export to CSV or Excel	CSV	Excel and CSV
Export to text	Plain text and Markdown
Export to HTML or an image		Not listed on its site
Hide names, phone numbers and emails in exports	Numbers and emails hidden by default	Not listed on its site
Search every year as you type, with filters	from:, before:, has:photo and more	Not listed on its site
Keeps photos after Messages clears space	Its own archive	When you back upOnly what is on the iPhone at the time
WhatsApp	From WhatsApp for Mac	From iPhone backups
Moves messages to a new iPhone
Backs up and manages the whole iPhone		Photos, music, apps and more
Your texting years as stats and share cards	Your Lore
Ask questions about your messages	On Macs with Apple Intelligence
Price	$20 until 28 October, then $39$39Once, for 2 Macs. 14 days free.	Yearly subscriptionAbout $30 a year for 1 device at the time of writing. Free version with limits.

Not listed on its site means we couldn't find the feature on iMazing's website, not that it's missing. iMazing's Messages page lists PDF, Excel, CSV and text exports, printing with page numbers and timestamps, and bulk export of attachments. Check imazing.com for its current features and prices.

Where iMazing is the better choice

• It works from the iPhone. iMazing reads messages from a backup of your iPhone or iPad, so it doesn't matter whether Messages in iCloud is on, or whether you own a Mac at all.
• It runs on Windows. Textlore is Mac only.
• It does far more. iMazing backs up the whole phone, transfers photos, music and files, manages apps, and moves your messages to a new iPhone. Textlore does none of that.
• WhatsApp from the iPhone. iMazing exports and transfers WhatsApp chats from an iPhone backup. Textlore reads WhatsApp for Mac instead, so it sees the chats WhatsApp for Mac has on your Mac.
• Excel files and print layout. iMazing exports straight to Excel, and its print options include paper size, page numbers and a timestamp.

Where Textlore is the better choice

Textlore is a Mac app that reads your Messages and WhatsApp for Mac history. Recs lists what friends told you to try, with their exact words, and Promises lists what you said you'd do for people, both found by Apple's on-device model on Macs with Apple Intelligence. It also searches every year as you type, keeps its own archive of messages and photos, exports to 6 formats with names and numbers hidden, and adds Your Lore, your texting years as tree rings, and Ask AI. It never sends, edits or deletes a message, and nothing leaves your Mac.

• Recs and Promises. Every book, show, restaurant and app friends told you to try, with who said it and their words, and every promise you made, with how many days late it is. iMazing doesn't list anything like them.
• No backup step. Textlore reads your Mac's Messages history directly and updates within seconds when a new text arrives. iMazing works from a backup, so you back up again to see new messages.
• Search built for messages. Type and results narrow with every letter, with filters such as from:, in:, before:, during: and has:photo. ⌥Space searches from any app.
• Private exports. Phone numbers and emails are hidden unless you switch them on, and names can show in full, as initials, or not at all, with a live preview of the file.
• More formats. PDF, HTML, plain text, Markdown, CSV, or an image of a few messages.
• An archive that keeps going. Textlore saves every message and photo while it's on your Mac, so they stay after Messages deletes them or clears space.
• Paid once. $20 until 28 October, then $39$39 for 2 Macs, with every 1.x update included. iMazing is a yearly subscription.

What Textlore doesn't do

• It is Mac only, and needs macOS 26 or later.
• It reads the Messages history on your Mac, so your iPhone texts need Messages in iCloud switched on to get there.
• It reads Messages (iMessage, SMS and the other texts in it) and WhatsApp for Mac. It can't read an iPhone backup.
• Recs, Promises and Ask AI need a Mac with Apple Intelligence.

Which one should you pick?

• Your texts are only on an iPhone, or you use Windows: iMazing.
• You need WhatsApp chats from an iPhone backup, or a full phone backup and transfer tool: iMazing.
• You want to see what friends told you to try and what you promised: Textlore.
• Your iMessages and WhatsApp for Mac chats are on your Mac and you want to find, keep and export them fast: Textlore.
• You want to pay once, not every year: Textlore.

The 2 work fine side by side: iMazing for phone backups, and Textlore for everyday searching and exporting on the Mac. If you're still deciding how to get texts off your phone, our guide on saving text messages from your iPhone to your Mac covers the free ways first.

Comparing more options? See all iMazing alternatives, or the Textlore pricing.

Try Textlore free on your own messages. Every feature is free for 14 days. No account, no email, no card.

Download free14 days, no account Buy Textlore, $39 $20Buy Textlore, $39Launch price until 28 OctoberOnce, for 2 Macs