KakaoTalk : Messenger vs Telegram Messenger

KakaoTalk : Messenger

Kakao Corp.
App Store
$480.0K/mo
~$5.76M/yr · 2.7M installs
VS

Telegram Messenger

Telegram FZ-LLC
App Store
$2.68M/mo
~$32.12M/yr · 50.0M installs
Revenue winner Telegram Messenger wins +458% vs other
Installs winner Telegram Messenger wins +1757% vs other
MAU winner Telegram Messenger wins +826% vs other
Rating winner Telegram Messenger wins +0% vs other

Why Telegram Messenger is winning

Top 4 reasons - backed by the public App Store / Play Store numbers.

  1. Telegram Messenger earns roughly 6× more per month than KakaoTalk : Messenger - $2.68M vs $480.0K.
  2. Aggressive pricing. Telegram Messenger undercuts at $3.00/mo vs $12.99/mo - converts a higher % of free users.
  3. Bigger install base. Telegram Messenger has ~50.0M lifetime installs vs KakaoTalk : Messenger's ~2.7M - 18.6× the funnel top.
  4. Charts placement. Telegram Messenger ranks #49 on the US grossing chart (the other app is unranked) - chart placement is a self-reinforcing flywheel.

Find more apps with this revenue gap · Full Telegram Messenger report

Side-by-side metrics

Bars scale to whichever app is bigger on that row. Green = winner.

KakaoTalk : Messenger
vs
Telegram Messenger
Monthly revenue (est.)?
$480.0K
$2.68M
Annual revenue (est.)
$5.76M
$32.12M
Lifetime installs (est.)
2.7M
50.0M
Monthly active users (est.)?
1.1M
10.6M
App Store rating
4.01★
4.01★
Total ratings
24K
266K
US grossing rank
-
#49
Cheapest monthly sub
$12.99
$3.00
IAP tiers detected
10 tiers
=
10 tiers

KakaoTalk : Messenger

Kakao Corp.
App Store
Category
Social Networking
Price
Free
Released
Mar 18, 2010
Last updated
Apr 28, 2026
File size
548.3 MB
Content rating
4+
Version
26.3.5
Languages
English, French, German, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese +9 more
View full KakaoTalk : Messenger report →

Telegram Messenger

Telegram FZ-LLC
App Store
Category
Social Networking
Price
Free
Released
Aug 14, 2013
Last updated
May 6, 2026
File size
156.2 MB
Content rating
12+
Version
12.7
Languages
Arabic, BE, Catalan, Dutch, English, French +13 more
View full Telegram Messenger report →

KakaoTalk : Messenger trajectory

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Telegram Messenger trajectory

JunJulAugSepOctNovDecJanFebMarAprMay

FAQ

Which makes more money, KakaoTalk : Messenger or Telegram Messenger? v
Telegram Messenger earns about $2.68M per month, while KakaoTalk : Messenger earns about $480.0K. That is a 5.6× revenue gap (~$2.20M more per month for Telegram Messenger). Annual revenue: KakaoTalk : Messenger ≈ $5.76M/year, Telegram Messenger ≈ $32.12M/year. Estimates are derived from public App Store signals - grossing rank, scraped IAP tiers, ratings and category benchmarks.
Which has more downloads, KakaoTalk : Messenger or Telegram Messenger? v
Telegram Messenger leads with about 50.0M estimated downloads vs 2.7M for KakaoTalk : Messenger - a 18.6× gap. KakaoTalk : Messenger's App Store downloads are estimated from 24K ratings × the standard 1:75 ratio. Telegram Messenger's App Store downloads are estimated from 266K ratings.
Are KakaoTalk : Messenger and Telegram Messenger in the same App Store category and competing for the same money? v
Yes - both apps sit in the Social Networking 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 Telegram Messenger offer? v
KakaoTalk : Messenger: IAP range 10 tiers detected. Telegram Messenger: IAP range 10 tiers detected. KakaoTalk : Messenger runs a "Subscription (~$12.99/mo)" monetization model; Telegram Messenger runs "Subscription (~$3.00/mo) · calibrated by US grossing rank #49". Scraped tier prices and detected subscription pricing drive the bulk of the per-app revenue estimate above.
Which has better ratings, KakaoTalk : Messenger or Telegram Messenger? v
Telegram Messenger edges ahead with ★ 4.0 vs ★ 4.0 (gap of 0.0 stars). Rating volume: KakaoTalk : Messenger 24K ratings, Telegram Messenger 266K ratings. Higher rating volume = stronger ASO signal even when star averages are close.
How accurate are these KakaoTalk : Messenger vs Telegram Messenger revenue estimates? v
Directional - typically within 2-3× of actual money earned for popular apps. The $480.0K for KakaoTalk : Messenger and $2.68M for Telegram Messenger are derived from App Store grossing rank, scraped IAP tiers, ratings volume and category benchmarks (Social Networking) - 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 Telegram Messenger to a different App Store app? v
Use the search box at the bottom of this page or paste any two App Store 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.