My wife has an iPhone, I have an Android phone, our kid has Android, his wife has iPhone... there have been zero problems using the native apps singly or in groups.
In fact, I had more problems trying a low-rent provider (Mint) than I ever did the various stock messaging apps.
What is the other person has a phone with different app preinstalled? What if you change your phone?
My wife has an iPhone, I have an Android phone, our kid has Android, his wife has iPhone... there have been zero problems using the native apps singly or in groups.
In fact, I had more problems trying a low-rent provider (Mint) than I ever did the various stock messaging apps.