Not exactly.....

Whatsapp requires phone number to sign up. If and when you swap to another number, which occurs often when I travel, they give you option [not sure if option or requirement, can't remember???] to switch to new number. If that occurs, then folks that ping your original number have to wait for you to swap back to original sim card AND update back to original number.

Wechat requires phone number to sign up but also gives you option to choose a unique ID. Once you're logged on, you can remain signed-in with just the unique ID. It also gives you option to assign/associate an email address. You can give the ID out and if you swap sim cards, folks can still get you with the correct ID. I have weChat set up on two different iPhones, each with unique mobile numbers but both using the same weChat ID.

Whatsapp does search your address book but weChat does not.

At least that's how it works for me. Also, with whatsapp, the other side always knows the mobile number they're pinging. Whereas with weChat, your mobile number can be hidden.

Touringguy: you can also consider another app -- line.