Communication · head to head
Line vs Naver Works
Line
Communication
Messaging app that dominates Japan, Taiwan and Thailand, now run by LY Corporation under joint SoftBank and Naver ownership
- From
- Free
- Rated
- -
Naver Works
Communication
Korean and Japanese business messaging with mail, drive and approval workflows in one licence
- From
- Free
- Rated
- -
The short version
- Each has a real cost: Line line has negligible market share outside Japan, Taiwan and Thailand, so it is the wrong choice for reaching contacts in most other regions.; Naver Works the integration ecosystem is small by comparison with Slack or Microsoft Teams, so any workflow that depends on a long tail of third-party apps will need custom development against the Works API.
- They diverge on capability: Line covers Line Pay, Naver Works covers Messaging with LINE reach.
- Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Line and Naver Works actually diverge.
| Attribute | Line | Naver Works |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | Free to download, paid stickers and business messaging tiers | Per user per month |
| Platforms | iOS, Android, Windows, macOS, Web | Web, iOS, Android, Windows, macOS |
Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Communication).
What each one covers
Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.
Only in Line
- Line Pay
- Official Accounts
- Stickers and themes
- Line News
- Group and open chat
- Timeline
Only in Naver Works
- Messaging with LINE reach
- Business mail
- Drive
- Electronic approval
- Calendar and board
- Clova Note
- Admin and audit
What people use each for
The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.
Line
- A business selling to consumers in Japan that needs an Official Account rather than email or SMS to reach customersnot Naver Works
- An individual keeping in touch with contacts in Japan, Taiwan or Thailand where Line, not WhatsApp, is the defaultnot Naver Works
- A brand running promotions through Line stickers or Timeline content aimed at a Japanese audiencenot Naver Works
- A company processing consumer payments in Japan through Line Pay integrationnot Naver Works
Naver Works
- A Japanese retailer whose customer service happens over LINE and needs those conversations inside an auditable corporate systemnot Line
- A Korean company that needs electronic approval workflows in the local style rather than a generic chat tool with a form bolted onnot Line
- The Seoul or Tokyo office of a multinational that needs a local-language collaboration tool alongside head office Microsoft 365not Line
- A small team of under 30 people that wants free business messaging with a real upgrade path rather than a message history capnot Line
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
Line
- Line has negligible market share outside Japan, Taiwan and Thailand, so it is the wrong choice for reaching contacts in most other regions.
- A 2021 incident exposed that some user data had been accessible from servers operated in China, which led to a formal restructuring of data governance and remains a reference point for privacy sensitive users.
- Standard chats are not end to end encrypted by default in the way Signal is; Letter Sealing, an opt-in encryption feature, has to be manually enabled per chat.
- Business messaging through Official Accounts becomes expensive quickly once a company exceeds the free monthly message allowance and moves to a metered plan.
- Ownership sits inside a SoftBank and Naver joint venture with a history of governance disputes between the two partners, which creates strategic uncertainty for enterprise customers relying on the platform long term.
Naver Works
- The integration ecosystem is small by comparison with Slack or Microsoft Teams, so any workflow that depends on a long tail of third-party apps will need custom development against the Works API.
- Documentation, support and most community knowledge are in Korean and Japanese; an English-speaking administrator will spend a lot of time in machine translation.
- Pricing is published in Korean won and the buying experience assumes a Korean or Japanese business entity, which complicates procurement for a company incorporated elsewhere.
- The Lite tier omits business email, so the plan that looks cheap is messaging only and the realistic entry point for most companies is Standard at more than double the price.
- Clova Note transcription and several AI features are sold as separate line items rather than bundled, so the quoted per-user figure understates what a team using the full suite actually pays.
Pricing, plan by plan
Line
Free- LineFree
- Free messaging, voice and video calling
- Individual sticker sets typically cost a few hundred yen each
- Line Official Account has a free tier with message volume limits, then paid tiers by monthly message count
Naver Works
Free- FreeFree
- Up to 30 members
- 5GB shared storage
- Limited administration and audit features
- Lite$3000/month
- Unlimited members
- 10GB storage per user
- Messaging, calendar, board and address book
- Standard$7000/month
- 100GB storage per user
- Business email included
- Fuller administration and audit controls
- Standard Plus$11000/month
- 1TB drive per user
- Larger mail quota
- Monthly billing is 13,000 KRW
Which should you pick?
Choose Line if
- You need line pay.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on iOS, Android, Windows, macOS, Web.
- You also want official accounts.
Choose Naver Works if
- You need messaging with line reach.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Web, iOS, Android, Windows, macOS.
- You also want business mail.
Questions people ask
- Is Line or Naver Works better?
- Neither clearly leads. Line starts at Free and Naver Works at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Line or Naver Works?
- Line starts at Free and Naver Works at Free.
- Does Line or Naver Works run on more platforms?
- Line runs on iOS, Android, Windows, macOS, Web. Naver Works runs on Web, iOS, Android, Windows, macOS.
- Can I use Line for free?
- Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
- What is Line best used for?
- Line is most often used for a business selling to consumers in japan that needs an official account rather than email or sms to reach customers, an individual keeping in touch with contacts in japan, taiwan or thailand where line, not whatsapp, is the default, a brand running promotions through line stickers or timeline content aimed at a japanese audience, a company processing consumer payments in japan through line pay integration. Of those, a business selling to consumers in japan that needs an official account rather than email or sms to reach customers and an individual keeping in touch with contacts in japan, taiwan or thailand where line, not whatsapp, is the default are not what Naver Works is typically brought in for.
- What can Line do that Naver Works cannot?
- Line covers Line Pay, Official Accounts, Stickers and themes, Line News. Naver Works covers Messaging with LINE reach, Business mail, Drive, Electronic approval.
Answered from the vendors’ own pages
Line: Is Line encrypted by default?
Chats use standard transport encryption, but full end to end Letter Sealing encryption must be turned on manually per conversation, it is not the default.
Naver Works: Can Naver Works really message ordinary LINE users?
Yes. External connection with consumer LINE accounts is the feature that most differentiates it, and it is the main reason it sells in Japan.
Line: Does Line work well outside Japan, Taiwan and Thailand?
Technically yes, but almost nobody uses it as their primary messenger outside those markets, so it is the wrong choice to reach most other audiences.
Naver Works: Is Naver Works the same as LINE WORKS?
They are the same lineage under Works Mobile, marketed as Naver Works in Korea and LINE WORKS in Japan and other markets. Feature sets and pricing pages differ by region.
Line: Who owns Line now?
LY Corporation, formed from a merger of Line and Yahoo Japan businesses, controlled by A Holdings, a joint venture between SoftBank and Naver.
Naver Works: Is there a genuinely free tier?
Yes, capped at 30 members with 5GB of shared storage and reduced administration features. It does not expire.
Naver Works: Does it work for a company outside Korea and Japan?
Technically yes, but you are buying a regional product. Expect Korean or Japanese support, local billing and few connectors to Western SaaS.
Related pages
More on Naver Works
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