KakaoTalk : Messenger vs WhatsApp Messenger
KakaoTalk : Messenger
Kakao Corp.
Google Play
$3.12M/mo
~$37.39M/yr · 261.7M installs
VS
WhatsApp Messenger
WhatsApp LLC
Google Play
$56.85M/mo
~$682.24M/yr · 11.9B installs
Revenue winner
WhatsApp Messenger wins
+1725% vs other
Installs winner
WhatsApp Messenger wins
+4456% vs other
MAU winner
WhatsApp Messenger wins
+2178% vs other
Rating winner
WhatsApp Messenger wins
+80% vs other
Why WhatsApp Messenger is winning
Top 4 reasons - backed by the public App Store / Play Store numbers.
- WhatsApp Messenger earns roughly 18× more per month than KakaoTalk : Messenger - $56.85M vs $3.12M.
- Aggressive pricing. WhatsApp Messenger undercuts at $8.94/mo vs $13.28/mo - converts a higher % of free users.
- Bigger install base. WhatsApp Messenger has ~11.9B lifetime installs vs KakaoTalk : Messenger's ~261.7M - 45.6× the funnel top.
- Better app store reviews. WhatsApp Messenger sits at 4.69★ vs 2.61★ - store algorithms reward higher-rated apps with more impressions.
→ Find more apps with this revenue gap · Full WhatsApp Messenger report
Side-by-side metrics
Bars scale to whichever app is bigger on that row. Green = winner.
KakaoTalk : Messenger
vs
WhatsApp Messenger
Monthly revenue (est.)?
$3.12M
▶
$56.85M
Annual revenue (est.)
$37.39M
▶
$682.24M
Lifetime installs (est.)
261.7M
▶
11.9B
Monthly active users (est.)?
17.3M
▶
393.4M
App Store rating
2.61★
▶
4.69★
Total ratings
3.3M
▶
234.2M
US grossing rank
-
=
-
Cheapest monthly sub
$13.28
◀
$8.94
IAP tiers detected
0 tiers
=
0 tiers
- Category
- Communication
- Price
- Free
- Released
- Aug 23, 2010
- Last updated
- Apr 20, 2026
- File size
- -
- Content rating
- Teen
- Version
- VARY
- Languages
- -
- Category
- Communication
- Price
- Free
- Released
- Oct 18, 2010
- Last updated
- May 4, 2026
- File size
- -
- Content rating
- Everyone
- Version
- VARY
- Languages
- -
KakaoTalk : Messenger trajectory
WhatsApp Messenger trajectory
FAQ
Which makes more money, KakaoTalk : Messenger or WhatsApp Messenger? v
WhatsApp Messenger earns about $56.85M per month, while KakaoTalk : Messenger earns about $3.12M. That is a 18.2× revenue gap (~$53.74M more per month for WhatsApp Messenger). Annual revenue: KakaoTalk : Messenger ≈ $37.39M/year, WhatsApp Messenger ≈ $682.24M/year. Estimates are derived from public Google Play signals - grossing rank, scraped IAP tiers, ratings and category benchmarks.
Which has more downloads, KakaoTalk : Messenger or WhatsApp Messenger? v
WhatsApp Messenger leads with about 11.9B estimated downloads vs 261.7M for KakaoTalk : Messenger - a 45.6× gap. KakaoTalk : Messenger reports 100,000,000+ installs on Google Play. WhatsApp Messenger reports 10,000,000,000+ installs on Google Play.
Are KakaoTalk : Messenger and WhatsApp Messenger in the same Google Play category and competing for the same money? v
Yes - both apps sit in the Communication category, which means they compete directly for the same paying users and category-level wallet share. Direct competitors, head-to-head.
What in-app purchases and subscription pricing do KakaoTalk : Messenger and WhatsApp Messenger offer? v
KakaoTalk : Messenger: IAP range $0.49 - $359.99 per item. WhatsApp Messenger: IAP range $0.40 - $199.99 per item. KakaoTalk : Messenger runs a "Subscription (~$13.28/mo)" monetization model; WhatsApp Messenger runs "Subscription (~$8.94/mo)". Scraped tier prices and detected subscription pricing drive the bulk of the per-app revenue estimate above.
Which has better ratings, KakaoTalk : Messenger or WhatsApp Messenger? v
WhatsApp Messenger edges ahead with ★ 4.7 vs ★ 2.6 (gap of 2.1 stars). Rating volume: KakaoTalk : Messenger 38K ratings, WhatsApp Messenger 2.0M ratings. Higher rating volume = stronger ASO signal even when star averages are close.
How accurate are these KakaoTalk : Messenger vs WhatsApp Messenger revenue estimates? v
Directional - typically within 2-3× of actual money earned for popular apps. The $3.12M for KakaoTalk : Messenger and $56.85M for WhatsApp Messenger are derived from Google Play grossing rank, scraped IAP tiers, ratings volume and category benchmarks (Communication) - net of the 15-30% Apple/Google store cut. Real revenue depends on country mix, retention, refunds and ad fill rate, none of which Apple or Google publish.
How do I compare KakaoTalk : Messenger or WhatsApp Messenger to a different Google Play app? v
Use the search box at the bottom of this page or paste any two Google Play links into the homepage tool. We auto-generate a permanent comparison URL with revenue, downloads, IAP tiers, subscription pricing and grossing rank for both apps.