KakaoTalk
South Korea's near-universal messenger, with Open Chat communities, a friends feed and built-in AI.
- Verified facts
- 4 of 4
- Alternatives ranked
- 4
- Approved reviews
- 0
- Visits sent from here
- 0
About KakaoTalk
KakaoTalk, made by Kakao, is used by almost everyone in South Korea, much as WhatsApp is elsewhere. It covers chats, voice and video calls, group chats that can be sorted into folders, a large emoticon shop and Open Chat, which lets people join topic-based public rooms without sharing their profile. Recent updates added a feed of friends' updates, short-form videos you can watch and discuss together, voice-call recording shown as chat bubbles and ChatGPT-powered assistants. Around the messenger sit Kakao's services, including KakaoPay, gifting and business channels. The app is free, with paid emoticons and subscriptions for extras. It runs on Android and iPhone, with PC and Mac apps. Its content and features are built around the Korean market, and its interface has become busy as Kakao adds feeds and commerce, so it mainly makes sense when your contacts, school or work in Korea run on it.
Best for: Anyone living in Korea or keeping in touch with Korean friends, family and colleagues.
Pros and cons
What works
- Used by nearly everyone in South Korea
- Open Chat rooms for communities and interests
- Payments, gifting and business channels built in
Why people leave
- Little used outside Korea
- Interface is crowded with feeds and shopping
- Chats are not end-to-end encrypted by default
Top KakaoTalk alternatives
See all 4- 1
LINE66.5A very similar sticker-and-services messenger dominant in Japan, Taiwan and Thailand.
- 2
WhatsApp62.6The global default if your contacts are outside Korea.
- 3
Telegram59.6Public groups and channels with a cleaner app and strong desktop support.
- 4
Signal57.2Encrypted by default, for private conversations without feeds or shopping.
Why people left KakaoTalk
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Reviews
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KakaoTalk: common questions
Is KakaoTalk free?
KakaoTalk has a free plan and paid plans.
Is KakaoTalk open source?
No, KakaoTalk is not open source. Open-source alternatives include Signal.
What platforms does KakaoTalk run on?
KakaoTalk is available for Windows, macOS, iOS and Android.
What are the best alternatives to KakaoTalk?
The highest-ranked KakaoTalk alternatives right now are LINE, WhatsApp and Telegram. See the full ranked list for pricing, platforms and verified facts.