Kakao is planning a unified paid membership that bundles core Kakao services—KakaoTalk, Mobility, Entertainment, and Shopping—into a single monthly subscription.

The bundle could include KakaoTalk emoticons and Gift, Kakao Mobility taxis, Melon, Webtoon, and Webnovel from Kakao Entertainment, and Kakao Style fashion, offering free access or discounts for a monthly fee.

Members would pay a monthly fee in exchange for discounts and reward points across Kakao’s ecosystem, spanning KakaoPay, Kakao Shopping, Kakao Style Zigzag, Kakao VX, and potential partners like Coupang Eats.

Pricing is not finalized, but benchmarks from competitors, such as Naver Plus at 4,900 won per month (or 46,800 won per year), hint at a similar tiered model including rewards and external services.

Kakao faces competition from established Korean paid memberships like Naver Plus and Coupang Wow and must differentiate itself as a late entrant.

A major hurdle will be navigating copyright revenue-sharing for music and webtoons, which has hindered similar bundling efforts in the past.

Industry insiders note Kakao’s advantage in Talk’s user base, and differentiated pricing and benefits could enable Kakao Membership to challenge current leaders.

A beta version centered on Kakao AI is planned for release as early as next month, with a broader Kakao Membership beta potentially launching in October, though specifics remain undecided.

The plan mirrors Naver Plus Membership, aiming to use KakaoTalk as the subscription platform to tap into its 49 million users.

Kakao’s finances show growth potential for subscriptions, with solid YoY gains across platform revenue, Talk Biz, advertising, and commerce in the latest quarter.

The membership could tie into existing integrations like ChatGPT for Kakao and Kakao Tools partnerships, expanding recurring revenue across the group.