Comparison

NAVER Maps, Navigation vs KakaoMetro

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

NAVER Maps, Navigation

Navigate South Korea with this comprehensive GPS app. Discover new places, book services, and plan your journeys with real-time traffic and transit information. Features include street view, bookmarking, and multi-language support.

Highlights
  • Comprehensive search bar
  • Integrated booking for businesses and tickets
  • Location discovery with rankings and coupons
  • Real-time traffic navigation
  • Multi-modal transit directions
  • Street and aerial views
  • Bookmark and share locations
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

South Korea's GPS navigation Get started right away * Experience the completely new NAVER Map. ※ Are you traveling Korea? Don't miss the smart tips to use NAVER Map: https://naver.me/GfCSj5Ut [Key features] - Map Home Menu Tab You can now conveniently use the Discover, Bookmark, Transit, Navigation, and MY tabs on the Home. - Simplified search Search locations, buses, subway, and more in a comprehensive search bar. - Booking Explore a new Booking tab, a space that brings together businesses and products available for booking on NAVER. From nearby restaurants, hair salons, amusement parks, one-day classes to even train tickets, you can find them all in one place on the booking tab. - Discover Helps you find new places nationwide and nearby. Enjoy real-time rankings, recommendation feeds, trending spots, bookmarked lists, and coupon offers. - Navigation Fast and accurate navigation with real-time traffic info and optimized usability for any driving condition. - Vector map 360 degrees rotation-enabled vector map with 3D view of key landmarks via tilting. - Transit You can easily reach your destination by using transit directions for various modes of transportation, real-time departure and arrival times, and notifications for when to get on/off. - Street view Seamless street and aerial views provided for location search and route planning. - Bookmark Easily save your best restaurants and must-visit tourist spots on NAVER Map and share them with others. - MY View all your maps, reviews, and bookings in one place and write reviews with ease. - Instant search View useful info about your query, such as opening/closing times for supermarkets while you search. - Language Korean/English/Japanese/Chinese maps and English navigation provided. *Requires iOS 16.0 or later *Find out more tips on how to use NAVER Map - NAVER Map customer service: http://naver.me/GYywEiT4 - NAVER Map blog: https://blog.naver.com/naver_map - Email: naver_market@naver.com - Tel: 1588-3820 - Address: 95, Jeongjail-ro, Bundang-gu, Seongnam-si, Gyeonggi-do, Republic of Korea * Permissions for using NAVER Maps - Location: Used to show your location on the map so you can get directions and use navigation. - Microphone: Used for voice search and Clova voice commands. - Camera: Used for suggesting edits to place information, verifying MY Place receipts, providing AR directions, scanning QR codes, and verifying passports. - Contacts: Used to make calls with Clova voice commands and to save phone numbers from place search results. - Photos: Used to select photos for suggesting edits to place information and writing MY Place reviews. - Motion & Fitness: Used to detect steps for AR directions and walking directions. - Notifications: Used to send important notices, events, and promotional information. - Allow Tracking: Used to deliver content and ads that match your interests and to limit inappropriate ads.

About

KakaoMetro

Navigate subways with real-time arrival information and smart route planning. Discover station layouts, find the best carriage to board, and access transit maps based on actual station locations. Get the fastest routes and helpful transit details for major South Korean cities.

Highlights
  • Real-time arrival information
  • Subway maps based on real locations
  • Carriage boarding guidance
  • Fastest route calculation
  • Landmark indicators on maps
  • Nearby station detection
Features
Read full description

Better and smarter way to take subway, KakaoMetro. Subway Navigation has been reborn as KakaoMetro. Switch to KakaoMetro and enjoy a neat screen and lots of useful Subway information. ◈ Try our subway maps reflecting real locations. Subway maps have been created based on real subway station locations in Seoul Metropolitan, Busan, Daegu, Gwangju and Daejeon. Also, landmarks indicated on the maps will help you understand the maps more easily. ◈ Take advantage of useful information only available at KakaoMetro. “What is the carriage nearest to Exit No. 5?” KakaoMetro can tell you which carriage to board to arrive adjacent to the stairs leading to the ticket gate. ◈ Check out the fastest routes. KakaoMetro shows you the fastest routes to your destination as of the current time. ◈ Information on Service Access Permissions [Optional Access Permissions] - Location: To check nearby stations - Push notification: To activate the arrivial alarm with sound and an icon badge - Camera: To attach a newly taken photo when reporting incorrect information - Photo: To attach a saved photo when reporting incorrect information * You can use the service without allowing optional permissions. * KakaoMetro’s route search service is based on the timetables provided by Seoul Metro and other Transit Corporations. * Continued use of GPS running in the background can dramatically decrease battery life.

Screenshots

NAVER Maps, Navigation4 screens
KakaoMetro4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: NAVER Maps, Navigation at 4.0 against KakaoMetro's 2.5. NAVER Maps, Navigation also leads on ads (none vs shown) and update cadence (every 10 days vs every 2 months). KakaoMetro's advantage is monetization model (ad-supported vs free with in-app purchases). On price, review sentiment, in-app purchases and device support there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

NAVER Maps, Navigation holds the better App Store score, 4.0 against 2.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: NAVER Maps, Navigation has 2.9K ratings behind it against 107, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 23% of NAVER Maps, Navigation's written reviews are positive against 21% of KakaoMetro's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

NAVER Maps, Navigation ships an update every 10 days, KakaoMetro every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on October 29, 2026 and October 30, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 4 level
NAVER Maps, Navigation versus KakaoMetro: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterNAVER Maps, NavigationKakaoMetro
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.0 (2.9K ratings) — better2.5 (107 ratings)
Positive reviews22.7% of reviews — better20.6% of reviews
Number of ratings2.9K — better107
Update frequencyEvery 10 days — betterEvery 2 months
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesAd-supported — better
Best chart rank#24 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS16.0 — better18.0
Further details — not scored
Size453 MB101 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperNAVER Corp.Kakao Mobility Corp.

Customer experience

NAVER Maps, Navigation

All ratings2,760 ratings
Positive72.6%
Neutral3.4%
Negative23.9%
Written reviews453 reviews
Positive22.7%
Neutral9.1%
Negative68.2%

KakaoMetro

All ratings107 ratings
Positive26.2%
Neutral13.1%
Negative60.7%
Written reviews102 reviews
Positive20.6%
Neutral11.8%
Negative67.6%

User reviews

NAVER Maps, Navigation

From 2.9K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Essential navigation for foreigners in Korea
  • 🚀 Works better than others
  • 🚀 Great for navigating Seoul as an American
  • 🚀 Very helpful for a foreigner living in Korea

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Slow and frustrating
  • 🐛 Buggy
  • 🐛 Don't download, won't work
  • 🐛 Useless
  • 🐛 Impossible to use as a foreigner

KakaoMetro

From 107 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Easy to use interface
  • 🗺️ Detailed route information
  • 📍 Real-time location tracking
  • ⬆️ Useful transfer guidance
  • 🗺️ Exit and escalator information

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Inaccurate schedules
  • 🐛 Station direction mismatch
  • 🐛 Incorrect arrival times
  • 🐛 Route calculation issues
  • 🐛 Crashes frequently

Bugs and requests

NAVER Maps, Navigation

Reported bugs

5 issues
  • Saved places randomly deleted
  • Search and login issues
  • Inconsistent language display
  • GPS and location tracking problems
  • Frequent crashes and freezes

Requested features

5 requests
  • Copy Korean address
  • Allow searching using Hangul in English mode
  • Option to switch between Korean and English
  • Show subway station numbers
  • Siri Shortcut support

KakaoMetro

Reported bugs

14 issues
  • Schedules are inaccurate
  • Station directions are incorrect
  • Real-time information is unreliable
  • App crashes when accessing settings
  • iOS widgets disappear after update
Show 9 more
  • Dark mode icon not applied on iOS
  • Daegu subway appears as Busan subway
  • English search functionality broken
  • Location tracker resets when minimized
  • App crashes when selecting next station
  • Real-time location tracker points to next station
  • Arrival alerts are inaccurate
  • App crashes when searching for stations
  • Widget disappears after being added

Requested features

8 requests
  • Add dark mode for iOS icons
  • Support iOS widgets
  • Re-enable English search and results
  • Add Apple Watch support
  • Display route on the subway line visually
Show 3 more
  • Allow offline timetable viewing
  • Add horizontal mode support for iPad
  • Implement GPS for iPhone arrival alerts

In-app purchases

None

NAVER Maps, Navigation

No in-app purchases

None

KakaoMetro

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is NAVER Maps, Navigation free?
NAVER Maps, Navigation is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is KakaoMetro free?
KakaoMetro is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, NAVER Maps, Navigation or KakaoMetro?
NAVER Maps, Navigation is rated higher. NAVER Maps, Navigation averages 4.0 out of 5 from 2.9K ratings, while KakaoMetro averages 2.5 from 107 ratings.
Do NAVER Maps, Navigation or KakaoMetro have ads?
KakaoMetro shows ads; NAVER Maps, Navigation does not.
Which is updated more often, NAVER Maps, Navigation or KakaoMetro?
NAVER Maps, Navigation ships an update every 10 days, and KakaoMetro every 2 months. Most recently, NAVER Maps, Navigation was updated on October 29, 2026 and KakaoMetro on October 30, 2026.

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