Comparison

LINE vs chatcoal

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

Head to head
About

LINE

Connect with friends and family through free voice and video calls, messages, and a wide array of stickers and themes. This communication platform offers a seamless experience across mobile, desktop, and smartwatches, with enhanced privacy features and content discovery options.

Highlights
  • Free voice and video calls
  • Messaging
  • Stickers and emojis
  • Customizable themes
  • Cross-platform compatibility
  • Encrypted messages
  • Keep Memo for storage
Features
Read full description

LINE is transforming the way people communicate, closing the distance between family, friends, and loved ones—for free. With voice and video calls, messages, and a limitless variety of exciting stickers, you’ll be able to express yourself in ways that you never thought possible. Available all around the world on mobile, desktop, and Apple Watch, the LINE platform continues to grow, always offering new services and features that make your life more fun and convenient. ◆ Messages, Voice calls, Video calls. Enjoy voice and video calls and exchanging messages with your LINE friends. ◆ LINE stickers, emojis, and themes Express yourself just the way you want with stickers and emojis. Also, find your favorite themes to customize your LINE app. ◆ Home Gives you easy access to your friends list, birthdays, the sticker shop and various services and contents offered by LINE. ◆ Seamless connection on mobile, Apple Watch, and desktop Chat anytime and anywhere. Whether you’re on the go or working at the office or remotely, use LINE via your iPhone, Apple Watch, or desktop. ◆ Store your personal information with Keep Memo My own chatroom to temporarily store messages, photos, and videos. ◆ Messages protected with Letter Sealing Letter Sealing encrypts your messages, call history and location information. Always be assured of your privacy when using LINE. *We recommend using a data plan or connecting to Wi-Fi as you may incur data usage fees otherwise. *Please check the recommended specifications from LINE settings > “Help center” > “LINE usage environment/Settings” > "System requirements for LINE” when installing/updating the LINE app. In addition, if you're using an old version of iOS, we recommend updating it to the latest version. ▼Click here to see how to update your iOS version. https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204204 ********** If your network speed is too slow or you don't have enough device storage, LINE may not install properly. If this happens, please check your connection and try again. **********

About

chatcoal

Features
Read full description

chatcoal is a community chat platform with servers, channels, voice, forums, and direct messages, built for groups that want a space of their own. Servers & Channels Create servers for your team, friend group, or community. Organize conversations with text channels, forum channels for threaded discussions, and voice channels to talk live. Voice Chat Drop into voice channels for real-time conversations. Mute, deafen, and see who's connected, all with low-latency audio powered by LiveKit. Forums Start threaded discussions with forum channels. Create posts, reply in threads, and keep longer conversations organized. Direct Messages Message anyone directly. Share files, react with emoji, and pick from a built-in GIF library. Rich Messaging Send text, images, files, and GIFs. React to messages with emoji. See typing indicators, link previews, and read receipts across channels and DMs. Presence & Notifications See who's online. Get notified about new messages, or mute individual channels and servers to stay focused. Customization Switch between light, dark, and system themes. Adjust font size to your preference. Edit your profile with a custom display name, username, status, and avatar. Server Management Invite members with shareable links. Manage roles, ban disruptive users, and reorder channels, all from your phone. Federation Connect across instances. chatcoal supports federation, so you can join servers hosted elsewhere and chat with users on other instances without creating a new account. Deep Links & Invites Tap an invite link to preview and join a server instantly. Share invite links with configurable expiry and usage limits.

Screenshots

LINE4 screens
chatcoal4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: chatcoal at none against LINE's 14. chatcoal also leads on ads (none vs shown). LINE's advantage is update cadence (every 9 days vs every 5 weeks) and chart position (#38 vs unranked). On price, device support and iOS requirement 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. LINE sells 13 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per month. chatcoal asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

LINE ships an update every 9 days, chatcoal every 5 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 17, 2026 and October 1, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 7 level
LINE versus chatcoal: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterLINEchatcoal
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.2 (18K ratings) — better—
Positive reviews14.2% of reviews—
Number of ratings18K — better—
Update frequencyEvery 9 days — betterEvery 5 weeks
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases—
Best chart rank#38 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Apple Watch — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS18.017.6 — better
Further details — not scored
Size401 MB34 MB
Age rating12+12+
DeveloperLINE CorporationLuis Miranda

Bugs and requests

LINE

Reported bugs

5 issues
  • Unable to log in or sign up
  • Messages not sending or receiving
  • Notifications not working properly
  • App crashing after updates
  • Incompatibility with new devices and OS versions

Requested features

5 requests
  • See who is online and typing
  • Ability to translate messages
  • Automatic chat history backup and sync
  • Easier sticker management and organization
  • More ways to earn free stickers and points

chatcoal

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

13 purchases

LINE

Subscriptions2
  • スタンダード1 Month trial$3.991 Month
  • Monthly Plan1 Month trial2 variants$4.991 Month
One-time11
  • 50 LINE Coin$0.99
  • 70 LINE Coin$1.39
  • LINE Characters: All the Love$1.99
Show 8 more
  • Brown & Cony's Secret Date!$1.99
  • Brown & Cony's Lovey Dovey Date$1.99
  • 100 LINE Coin$1.99
  • 150 LINE Coin$2.99
  • 200 LINE Coin$3.99
  • 500 LINE Coin$7.99
  • 800 LINE Coin$11.99
  • 1600 LINE Coin$22.99
None

chatcoal

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is LINE free?
LINE is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is chatcoal free?
chatcoal is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do LINE or chatcoal have ads?
LINE shows ads; chatcoal does not.
Which is updated more often, LINE or chatcoal?
LINE ships an update every 9 days, and chatcoal every 5 weeks. Most recently, LINE was updated on October 17, 2026 and chatcoal on October 1, 2026.

Other comparisons