Facebook and Facebook Lite are two versions of the popular social media platform Facebook. While they share core functionality, there are some key differences between the two apps.
What is Facebook?
Facebook is a social media platform launched in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg. It allows users to connect with friends and family, share photos and videos, join groups, play games, and more. Some key features of Facebook include:
- News Feed – A customized feed of posts from friends, family, groups, and pages you follow
- Profile – A webpage displaying information about yourself that you can customize
- Messenger – An instant messaging service for communicating with Facebook friends
- Groups – Online communities organized around common interests
- Events – Tools for creating and managing real-world events
- Pages – Profiles that businesses, organizations, celebrities, etc. can create
- Ads – An advertising platform for businesses to reach Facebook users
As of October 2022, Facebook reported having over 2.96 billion monthly active users worldwide. It’s available on iOS, Android, and the web.
What is Facebook Lite?
Facebook Lite is a stripped down version of Facebook designed for areas with limited internet connectivity and for low-end smartphones. It was released in 2015. Facebook Lite lacks some non-essential features but maintains core social networking functionality. Key features of Facebook Lite include:
- News Feed
- Status Updates
- Photos
- Messenger Lite
- Notifications
Facebook Lite takes up less than 1MB of space and is designed to work well on 2G networks or weak internet connections. As of March 2022, Facebook reported that more than 300 million people use Facebook Lite each month, predominantly in developing countries.
Main Differences Between Facebook and Facebook Lite
While Facebook and Facebook Lite share core features like News Feed, profiles, and messaging, there are some notable differences between the two apps:
Size and Data Usage
The Facebook mobile app can take up over 100MB of storage space, while Facebook Lite is less than 1MB. Facebook Lite is designed to use much less mobile data than the main Facebook app.
| App | Size | Data Usage |
|---|---|---|
| Over 100MB | High – can use 100s of MB per month | |
| Facebook Lite | Under 1MB | Low – optimized for areas with limited data |
Supported Devices
The main Facebook app requires a smartphone with ample storage space, memory, and processing power. Facebook Lite is designed to work on low-end smartphones with limited resources.
| App | Supported Devices |
|---|---|
| High-end smartphones, tablets | |
| Facebook Lite | Low-end smartphones, basic feature phones |
Features
Facebook offers many more features than Facebook Lite, including advanced profile customization, dozens of frame and sticker options, many more ad formats, and access to games.
| Feature | Facebook Lite | |
|---|---|---|
| Advanced Profile Customization | Yes | Limited |
| Stickers & Frames | Many | Few |
| Full Messenger App | Yes | Messenger Lite only |
| Games | Yes | No |
| Ads | All formats | Limited formats |
Performance
The Facebook Lite app is designed to load pages faster and crash less often than main Facebook in areas with slow networks and on devices with limited resources.
| App | Page Load Speed | Crashes/Stability |
|---|---|---|
| Can be slow on weak connections | More crashes on low-end devices | |
| Facebook Lite | Optimized for fast loads | Designed for stability on all devices |
Conclusion
In summary, the key differences between Facebook and Facebook Lite are:
- Facebook Lite is much smaller in size and uses less data
- Facebook Lite supports low-end smartphones that Facebook does not
- Facebook has many more features and customization options
- Facebook Lite is optimized for speed and stability on weaker devices and networks
For users with high-end smartphones on strong wireless networks, the full Facebook app provides the richest experience with the most features. For those with older phones, limited data plans, or living in areas with slow internet speeds, Facebook Lite provides the core Facebook experience in a lighter package optimized for their situation.