⚡ Instant Messaging in Korea

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. They can be broadly categorized into traditional chat services (WhatsApp), social media messengers (Facebook Messenger, Snapchat), privacy-focused messengers (Signal, Threema), and workplace collaboration tools (Slack, Microsoft Teams).

According to our statistics, messengers are detected on 17.1% of websites from Korea.

⭐ Most Popular in 2025

The following chart shows the top instant messaging apps in Korea in 2025, based on market share.

The most popular is KakaoTalk, which dominates the market with a substantial 72% share.
It is followed by Messenger with 35.4% and Telegram with 7.3%.

KakaoTalk 72%
Messenger 35.4%
Telegram 7.3%
Discord 0.8%
Line 0.7%
WhatsApp 0.3%
Slack 0.2%
Zalo 0.2%
QQ 0.1%
WeChat 0.1%
Snapchat 0.07%
Gitter 0.03%
Signal 0.03%

🚀 Highlights

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

1. KakaoTalk ^(-9)
2. Messenger ^(-1)
4. Discord ^(-2)
7. Slack ^(-5)
12. Gitter ^(-3)
13. Signal ^(-4)

✨ Best Instant Messaging Apps

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

Rank	Name	Market share
1	KakaoTalkJeju-si, Jeju-do, Korea A Korean instant messenger for chats and real-time voice and video calls. Free	72%
2	MessengerMenlo Park, California, United States An instant messaging service developed by Meta, available on Android, iOS, and web platforms. Free	35.4%
3	TelegramDubai, United Arab Emirates A cloud-based messaging app for mobile and desktop platforms focused on security, speed, and privacy. Free$$$	7.3%
4	DiscordSan 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+	0.8%
5	LineTokyo, 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	0.7%
6	WhatsAppMenlo Park, California, United States An instant messaging and Voice over IP service owned by Meta. Free	0.3%
7	SlackSan Francisco, California, United States A cloud-based team communication platform for business, which is currently owned by Salesforce. Free$8.75+/month	0.2%
8	ZaloHo Chi Minh City, Vietnam A Vietnamese mobile instant messenger and social media service. Free99,000 VND+/month	0.2%
9	QQShenzhen, China A Chinese instant messaging software platform. Free	0.1%
10	WeChatShenzhen, 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	0.1%
11	SnapchatSanta 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	0.07%
12	GitterLondon, United Kingdom An open source chat and networking platform for software developers based on the Matrix protocol. Free	0.03%
13	SignalMountain View, California, United States An open source, privacy-focused messaging app for instant messaging, voice calls, and video calls. FreeOpen source	0.03%

👉 See Also

🌎 Instant Messaging in other countries

Data is based on the analysis of 17,924 websites from Korea.
Statistics were last calculated on November 15, 2025.
For details, see our methodology and disclaimer.