Collaboration is essential for companies of all sizes and in all industries. But in a world where more and more employees are leaving remotely, how do companies encourage online communication among colleagues without compromising digital privacy? This is where products like Wire come into play. Wire claims to be a secure and comprehensive way to increase team collaboration and productivity. In our Wire review, we looked at the pricing, features, interface, support, and security of this encrypted messaging service to see if it might be the right choice for your business.
Wire offers two plans for its messaging service (Image credit: Wire)
Packages and prices
Wire's basic plan is called Wire Pro and costs $5.83 per user per month when billed annually. With Wire Pro, users will have access to personalized messaging (both standard and ephemeral), video conferencing for up to 12 users, audio calls for up to 25 people, and file sharing. Wire Pro can also be billed monthly or semi-annually and comes with a 30-day free trial. Wire Enterprise, also known as Wire Ent, is designed for large organizations or those with more stringent security needs, such as government agencies. Wire Enterprise costs €9.50 per user per month when billed annually and includes all the benefits of Pro, plus additional security features and custom deployment options. Wire Enterprise can only be billed annually or semi-annually; there is no monthly payment option. The platform is available for iOS, Android, Windows, Mac, and as a web browser. Each user can access Wire on up to eight devices with any plan. There is a free personal version of Wire, but the website makes little mention of it, so it sounds like the company is focusing more on business options.
Wire has features that allow for more efficient collaboration (Image credit: Wire)
Features
Wire is a tool designed to make collaboration between colleagues more efficient, replacing tedious emails with simple messages. Wire makes it easy to send a message to a colleague or create a group for specific teams or projects. Plus, everything sent to the platform is end-to-end encrypted, making it a secure option for sharing sensitive documents between teams. Wire comes with the features you'd expect from a standard email service, but it also offers some unique tools. For users who want to be sure that their messages won't be read by the wrong person, they can set messages to disappear after a certain period of time, anywhere from ten seconds to four weeks. One of Wire's most unique features is the ability to send a secure link and add guests to a particular group. This is a useful feature for companies that work with third-party contractors and want a way to communicate securely without giving third parties access to all communication channels. It could also be used as a secure way to conduct job interviews or communicate with clients. Guest users can create a free Wire Personal account or join a chat without an account for XNUMX hours. There's no need to switch apps to make a phone or video call with Wire. It allows users to call or video conference with each other directly from their messaging screen. This is convenient for geographically dispersed businesses where calling is not always an easy solution.
Wire's interface is standard for messaging apps, making it easy to navigate (Image credit: Wire)
Interface and in use
We found it relatively easy to set up and start using the Wire's Pro plan. Within minutes of signing up for a free trial, we were able to create an account and start inviting other users. Wire's interface is fairly standard for a messaging service, with a panel on the left listing all the users available to send messages to and most of the screen taken up by message history. The familiar layout makes it easy to navigate even for new users. Sending images, files, and disappearing messages was intuitive and worked well. Wire also offers a mobile app that is familiar and easy to use. The app offers some features in messages that aren't available in a web browser, such as the ability to send voice messages and GIFs.
Wire has a Help Center with answers to frequently asked questions and guides to get started (Image credit: Wire)
Support
Wire's Help Center provides answers to frequently asked questions, as well as some pretty comprehensive guides to getting started with the platform. For troubleshooting, it is also possible to contact Wire's support team via a help form. There are no phone or live chat support options. Wire Enterprise users have access to a higher level of customer support than Wire Pro users, called Customer Success. However, the website is quite vague about the differences between the two support levels.
Wire uses end-to-end encryption to protect your messages (Image credit: Wire)
Security
Wire is end-to-end encrypted, which means that only you and the user you're messaging can read what you're sending. Wire can't see your messages. The company even takes security a step further by using a new encryption key for each message. This means that if someone were to break a key, it would be of little use in terms of hacking. Since Wire is completely open source, its source code is available for anyone to independently view and audit. More people reviewing the code means there is a greater chance that security issues will be found and fixed.
Competition
Although Wire offers a free personal plan, it is clear from their website that the goal is to provide business solutions. Users looking for a way to send personal messages instead of communicating between teams at work should look to free competitors like WhatsApp or Signal.
Final verdict
Wire is a solid choice for businesses looking for a secure way to collaborate across teams. The biggest drawback is that it focuses on paid business users rather than personal users looking for a free service. This makes it significantly less attractive to budget-constrained small businesses looking for a secure collaboration tool. However, since Wire offers a 30-day free trial, it's worth checking out to see if it might work for your team.