⚡ Instant Messaging Apps in Japan

Instant messaging apps allow users to communicate in real time via text, voice, and video, often with group chats, file sharing, and end-to-end encryption.

Japan is an East Asian country with a population of around 125 million people.

According to our statistics, instant messaging apps are detected on 10.2% of websites from Japan.

⭐ Most Popular in 2026

The following chart shows the top instant messaging apps on websites in Japan in 2026, based on market share.

The most popular is Line, which dominates the market with an overwhelming 97% share.
It is followed by Discord with 1.1% and Messenger with 0.7%.

Line 97%
Discord 1.1%
Messenger 0.7%
WhatsApp 0.5%
Telegram 0.3%
Zoom 0.3%
KakaoTalk 0.2%
WeChat 0.2%
Slack 0.2%
QQ 0.06%
Viber 0.06%
Zalo 0.03%
Microsoft Teams 0.02%
Snapchat 0.02%
Webex 0.02%

🚀 Highlights

Here is a list of the top apps that are more popular in Japan than worldwide.
Differences between global and country rankings are shown in parentheses.

1. Line ^(-3)
2. Discord ^(-3)
6. Zoom ^(-6)
7. KakaoTalk ^(-3)
9. Slack ^(-4)
13. Microsoft Teams ^(-1)
15. Webex ^(-5)
16. Gitter ^(-1)
17. Signal ^(-4)
18. IRC ^(-1)

✨ Best Instant Messaging Apps

Below is a more detailed list of 21 instant messaging apps used on sites from Japan, ranked by their market share.

Rank	Name	Market share
1	Line Tokyo, Japan A Japanese instant messaging and social networking app often described as a super-app because it integrates services such as a digital wallet, news feed, digital comics, media streaming, and shopping. Free	97%
2	Discord San Francisco, California, United States An instant messaging and VoIP social platform that allows users to communicate via text chat, voice, and video. Free$2.99+	1.1%
3	Messenger Menlo Park, California, United States An instant messaging service developed by Meta, available on Android, iOS, and web platforms. Free	0.7%
4	WhatsApp Menlo Park, California, United States An instant messaging and Voice over IP service owned by Meta. Free	0.5%
5	Telegram Dubai, United Arab Emirates A cloud-based messaging app for mobile and desktop platforms focused on security, speed, and privacy. Free$$$	0.3%
6	Zoom San Jose, California, United States A cloud-based communications platform that enables video meetings, audio conferencing, phone calls, and team chat across devices. Free$15.99+/user/month	0.3%
7	KakaoTalk Jeju-si, Jeju-do, Korea A Korean instant messenger for chats and real-time voice and video calls. Free	0.2%
8	WeChat Shenzhen, China A Chinese instant messaging, social media, and mobile payment app that has evolved into a super-app combining communication, commerce, and everyday services. Free	0.2%
9	Slack San Francisco, California, United States A cloud-based team communication platform for businesses, currently owned by Salesforce. Free$8.75+/month	0.2%
10	QQ Shenzhen, China A Chinese instant messaging software platform. Free	0.06%
11	Viber Tokyo, Japan A free, cross-platform instant messaging and calling application owned by Rakuten. Free	0.06%
12	Zalo Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam A Vietnamese mobile instant messenger and social media service. Free99,000 VND+/month	0.03%
13	Microsoft Teams Redmond, Washington, United States A proprietary business collaboration platform built for hybrid work, offering chat, video conferencing, file storage, and application integration. Free$9.99+/month	0.02%
14	Snapchat Santa Monica, California, United States A messaging and social networking app that lets users send photos and videos ("Snaps") that disappear after being viewed by default. Free	0.02%
15	Webex San Jose, California, United States A cloud-based video conferencing and collaboration solution that enables users to hold online meetings, video calls, webinars, and team conversations with integrated chat and collaboration features. Free$14.50+/user/month	0.02%
16	Gitter London, United Kingdom An open-source chat and networking platform for software developers based on the Matrix protocol. Free	0.01%
17	Signal Mountain View, California, United States An open-source, privacy-focused messaging app for instant messaging, voice calls, and video calls. FreeOpen source	0.01%
18	IRC A text-based chat system for instant messaging supported by many clients such as mIRC, XChat, ChatZilla and others. Free	0.01%
19	XMPP Parker, Colorado, United States A set of open technologies for instant messaging, presence, multi-party chat, voice and video calls, and collaboration.	0.01%
20	Matrix London, United Kingdom A set of open APIs for open-federated Instant Messaging, Voice over IP and Internet of Things communication. Free	0.006%
21	RingCentral Belmont, California, United States A business communications platform that includes contact center and AI-powered phone, video, event management, and automation solutions. $20+/user/month	0.006%

👉 See Also

🌎 Instant Messaging in other countries

Data is based on the analysis of 157,205 websites from Japan.
Statistics were last calculated on March 21, 2026.
For details, see our methodology and disclaimer.