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Kakao Talk vs WhatsApp
March 10, 2025 | Author: Adam Levine
4★
KakaoTalk is a multi-platform texting app that allows iPhone, Android, and BlackBerry users to send and receive messages for free. Talk around the clock, all around the world
with up to five friends at once — for free. Easily send photos, contact info, voice notes or your location.
27★
WhatsApp Messenger is a cross-platform mobile messaging app which allows you to exchange messages without having to pay for SMS. WhatsApp Messenger is available for iPhone, BlackBerry, Android, Windows Phone and Nokia and yes, those phones can all message each other! Because WhatsApp Messenger uses the same internet data plan that you use for email and web browsing, there is no cost to message and stay in touch with your friends.
KakaoTalk and WhatsApp, at first glance, appear to be essentially the same thing—messaging apps that allow humans to send text, voice and pictures of their lunch to each other with remarkable ease. Both let people form groups, make video calls and encrypt their messages, which is extremely useful for those who like their conversations to remain private (or at least, as private as the internet allows). They both exist on phones, computers and anywhere else you might reasonably (or unreasonably) try to send a message. And for the most part, they do their job splendidly, unless, of course, the Wi-Fi mysteriously stops working just when you need it most, which is an immutable law of the universe.
KakaoTalk hails from South Korea, where it has evolved far beyond mere messaging and into an ecosystem that lets users hail taxis, pay for coffee and probably, if you ask nicely, organize a small military operation. It has features like "Plus Friends," which lets users follow celebrities and brands, because clearly, stalking has never been more convenient. The app is essentially the Swiss Army knife of communication—especially if you live in Korea, where it is as unavoidable as kimchi and just as integral to daily life. However, step outside Asia and you might struggle to find anyone who has even heard of it, let alone uses it.
WhatsApp, on the other hand, was born in the USA and spread across the planet like an enthusiastic pandemic of green chat bubbles. Unlike its Korean cousin, it sticks to the basics: texting, calling and ensuring your relatives can bombard you with motivational GIFs and conspiracy theories. It’s particularly beloved for international communication, because let’s face it, nobody wants to pay for actual SMS anymore. WhatsApp Business even allows companies to automate customer messages, proving that even bots need a reliable way to remind you about that pizza you never actually ordered.
See also: Top 10 Business Messaging platforms
KakaoTalk hails from South Korea, where it has evolved far beyond mere messaging and into an ecosystem that lets users hail taxis, pay for coffee and probably, if you ask nicely, organize a small military operation. It has features like "Plus Friends," which lets users follow celebrities and brands, because clearly, stalking has never been more convenient. The app is essentially the Swiss Army knife of communication—especially if you live in Korea, where it is as unavoidable as kimchi and just as integral to daily life. However, step outside Asia and you might struggle to find anyone who has even heard of it, let alone uses it.
WhatsApp, on the other hand, was born in the USA and spread across the planet like an enthusiastic pandemic of green chat bubbles. Unlike its Korean cousin, it sticks to the basics: texting, calling and ensuring your relatives can bombard you with motivational GIFs and conspiracy theories. It’s particularly beloved for international communication, because let’s face it, nobody wants to pay for actual SMS anymore. WhatsApp Business even allows companies to automate customer messages, proving that even bots need a reliable way to remind you about that pizza you never actually ordered.
See also: Top 10 Business Messaging platforms
