Chat Application Showdown - WeChat KakaoTalk and Line

Chat Apps (application) has been a new level of communication between friends and new acquaintances. And with their multiple features, makes chatting or calling more fun and interesting. Trying out three of the major Chat Applications namely WeChat, KakaoTalk (Korea), and Line (NHN Korea) has entered the Philippine market and now is competing for a share of the social-loving Filipinos.

First let us take a quick look at these applications and how do they fare against each other.

Line (NHN Korea)

Originated in Korea, and the first Chat App to officially launched in the Philippines. Relaunched in the past few months with Matteo Guidicelli, Jessy Mendiola, and even Abra as their celebrity endorsers, Line boast to be one of the pioneers in the Chat App market for smartphones. Highly popular in Korea and Japan, It made a statement with its four major characters (Brown, Moon, Cony and James).  Line initially has the chat feature, group messaging, audio recording, video recording, location share, and picture and note sharing, stickers, themes, and games (external app). 

With its launch, it also had a catchy theme song sung by Matteo and Jessy. It is also running contests where one can win a mini cooper and limited edition Line Dolls.

KakaoTalk (Korea) 

Also from Korea, KakaoTalk is another Chat App that is endorsed by many KPOP groups such as EXO etc. Here in the Philippines, Sarah Geronimo is their local counterpart. It also has features such as chat feature, group messaging audio recording, video recording, location share, and picture and note sharing, stickers, themes, and games and other external social apps. It also has a "walkie talkie" function where you can group call with up to 5 of your friends.

KakaoTalk is also on its promotion stage with contests giving away limited edition Character dolls (Kakao Friends) and gadgets.

WeChat (China)

WeChat may not have been the pioneer among the three but it has the biggest number of users in the world and even in the Philippines. Launched in May with Drew Arellano and Iya Villana as its celebrity endorsers in the Philippines and Football star Messi for the international market. It grew in the market not just because of the endorsers but the function that sets its apart from the first two. Aside from chat feature, call feature, audio recording, video recording, location share, and picture and note sharing, and stickers is the "Shake" and "People Nearby" feature that opens the vast sea of members near the area and the ones who are shaking their phones at thsa same time. 

Though Line and KakaoTalk also have the shake feature, it is limited to just share contact detail with nearby devices. Thus, WeChat is the choice of people who wants to meet new friends. Others might see it as a dating app now than a chat app.  

Now that we had a quick overview of the three applications, let us now see which is the best among the three. We list the top pros and cons of these chat apps.

Line

• Has a great line of stickers
• Characters (Brown, Cody, Moon, James) are very well known the most popular among other apps
• Sticker sets have country limitations which keeps exclusivity of use within a specific teritory
• External apps target more of kids and women market.

KakaoTalk

• Animated Stickers are cute but sometimes freaky
• Themes for Kakao are the best among the three
• A wider variety of characters
• External apps are focuced in social media (KakaoStory, KakaoAlbum

WeChat

• Moments feature
• "Shake" and "Look Around" feature 
• Animated Stickers but not as stunning as the other two
• Largest number of users

As we have seen the battle of the 3 Chat Apps, each one of them have their own strengths and flaws. I would have to share my opinion which among the three is my favorite.

For me I have to choose LINE beacuse it has the most user friendly interface with the great line of stickers and theme. More users versus KakaoTalk, yet less functions versus WeChat. And who would not love the four main characters like Brown, Cody, Moon, and James.

You might have a different opinion, as it would depend on your preference or network. The important thing is that you choose that Chat app that suits you!