Message types

Each KakaoTalk service offers different message types. Different rules may apply to each message type.

This page provides a reference overview of KakaoTalk message types across supported services, including Brand Message, Alim Talk, and Sangdam Talk.

It explains:

Which message types are available for each service
The structural differences between message types (text, image, carousel, commerce, video, and others)
The constraints and validation rules that apply to each message type, such as character limits, media requirements, button limits, and coupon support

Brand Message

Kakao's Brand Message uses free-form message types. Each message type defines how content is structured and which validation rules apply.

Supported message types:

Each message type has specific constraints related to text length, media assets, buttons, and coupons.

Text

Text messages consist of a single text block and may include buttons and a coupon.

Category	Details
Content	Text only, single block Maximum 1,300 characters including spaces Up to 99 line breaks
Buttons	Up to 5 buttons (arranged vertically) Button label: Up to 14 characters including spaces Maximum 4 link buttons when a coupon-emphasis button is included
Coupon button	Up to 1

Image

Image messages include an image and a text block.

Category	Details
Image	Recommended aspect ratio: between 2:1 and 3:4 (vertical) Recommended size: 800 × 400 File format: .jpg, .png Maximum size: 5 MB
Content	Text only, single block Maximum 1,300 characters including spaces Up to 99 line breaks
Buttons	Up to 5 buttons (arranged vertically) Button label: up to 14 characters including spaces Maximum 4 link buttons when a coupon-emphasis button is included
Coupon button	Up to 1

Wide image

Wide image messages include a wide-format image and short text.

Category	Details
Image	Horizontal-to-vertical ratio: 2:1-1:1 or less Recommended size: 800 × 600 File format: .jpg, .png Maximum size: 5 MB
Content	Text only, single block Maximum 76 characters including spaces Up to 5 line breaks
Buttons	Up to 2 buttons (arranged horizontally) Button label: up to 8 characters, including spaces
Coupon button	Up to 1

Item list

Item list messages display multiple items with images and text in a structured list format.

Category	Details
Header	Text only, single block Maximum 20 characters including spaces Line breaks are not allowed
List 1 – Image and text	Recommended size: 800 × 400 Recommended ratio: 2:1 File format and size: jpg, png - up to 5 MB Text only, single block; maximum 25 characters including spaces Up to 1 line break
List 2–4 – Image and text	At least 3 images, up to 4 (including the first list item) Recommended ratio: 1:1 (square) Recommended size: 800 × 800 File format and size: jpg, png - up to 5 MB Text only, single block; maximum 30 characters including spaces Up to 1 line break
Buttons	Button label: up to 8 characters including spaces Up to 2 buttons (arranged horizontally)
Coupon button	Up to 1

Carousel

Carousel messages present multiple cards that users can swipe through.

Category	Details
Image	Recommended size: 800 × 600 or 800 × 400 Recommended aspect ratio: between 2:1 and 3:4 or less File format and size: jpg, png - up to 5 MB
Header	Text only, single block Maximum 20 characters including spaces Line breaks are not allowed
Content	Text only, single block Maximum 180 characters including spaces Up to 10 line breaks
Buttons	Button label: up to 8 characters including spaces For each carousel card: minimum 1 and maximum 2 buttons (arranged horizontally)
Coupon button	Up to 1 per carousel setting

Premium video

Premium video messages include video content hosted on KakaoTV.

Category	Details
Video	Only videos uploaded to KakaoTV can be used through video link Recommended horizontal-to-vertical ratios: 2:1 or 9:16 or less Recommended format and size: V1, FLV, MP4 - up to 1 GB
Header	Text only, single block Maximum 20 characters including spaces Line breaks are not allowed
Content	Text only, single block Maximum 76 characters including spaces Up to 5 line breaks
Button	Button label: up to 8 characters including spaces Maximum 1 button
Coupon	Up to 1

Commerce

Commerce messages are used to display product information, including pricing.

Category	Details
Description	Message displaying product and pricing information
Image	Recommended size: 800 × 600 or 800 × 400 Recommended aspect ratio: between 2:1 and 3:4 or less File format and size: jpg, png - up to 5 MB
Product name	Text only, single block Maximum 30 characters including spaces Line breaks not allowed
Price info	Enter as: regular price / regular price + discount rate OR discounted price + discount rate Only numbers and "." are allowed
Additional info	EN/KR applied equally Maximum 34 characters including spaces Up to 1 line break
Buttons	Button label: up to 8 characters including spaces Up to 2 buttons (arranged horizontally)
Coupon emphasis button	Up to 1 per commerce setting

Carousel commerce

Carousel commerce messages combine carousel layout with commerce content.

Category	Details
Description	Carousel message combined with commerce content
Image (common)	Recommended size: 800 × 600 or 800 × 400 Recommended aspect ratio: between 2:1 and 3:4 or less File format and size: jpg, png - up to 5 MB All carousel images must use the same aspect ratio.
Intro – Header	EN/KR applied equally Maximum 20 characters including spaces Line breaks are not allowed
Intro – Content	EN/KR applied equally Maximum 50 characters including spaces Up to 2 line breaks
Carousel – Product name	EN/KR applied equally Maximum 30 characters including spaces Emojis not allowed
Carousel – Price info	Enter as: regular price / regular price + discount rate OR discounted price + discount rate Only numbers allowed
Carousel – Additional info	EN/KR applied equally Maximum 34 characters including spaces Up to 1 line break
Carousel – Buttons	Button label: up to 8 characters including spaces For each carousel card: minimum 1 and maximum 2 buttons (arranged horizontally)
Carousel – Coupon emphasis button	Up to 1 per carousel setting

Alim Talk

To send a message using Alim Talk, you must use templates that are approved by Kakao Corp. Refer to the Deliverability and compliance for more information.

An Alim Talk message can consist of one of the following options:

Text only
Text + title
Text + image
Text + linked-type buttons
Text + title + linked-type buttons
Text + image + linked-type buttons

Text

Text messages support a maximum of 1,000 characters, including spaces, regardless of language. Supported languages are Korean and English.

Image

You can include images in an Alim Talk template.

To send an image using Alim Talk, follow these guidelines:

Do not include promotional content in the image.
Upload the image to the Kakao server during template registration.
After the template is approved, you cannot modify the image or use a different image for that template.

Images must follow the specifications shown in the table below:

Specification	Details
Recommended size	800 px x 400 px
Size limit	If the width is less than 500 px or if the aspect ratio is not 2:1, upload is not allowed
File format	.jpg, .png
File size (max)	500 KB

Linked-type button

You can include up to five buttons in each message. Each button can be of a different type. The following table provides information about the types of buttons that can be included in the text message.

Button name	Purpose	Description
WL	Web link	Launches a web page either in the KakaoTalk in-app browser or in an external browser if you add the relevant attribute
AL	App link	Runs the KakaoTalk app custom scheme
DS	Delivery tracking	Parses the name of the courier company and the invoice number from the message content, and launches the delivery inquiry page that the courier company provides
MD	Message delivery	Sends a text message, which contains the text on the button and the message body, from the end user
BK	Bot keyword	Sends a text message, which contains the text on the button, from the end user
BT	Chatbot switch	Switches from the current chatbot to a different one

Sangdam Talk

Outbound messages

Text

Text messages are limited to 1,000 characters, including spaces, regardless of language. Supported languages are Korean and English.

Image

To send either an image or an image for linked-type buttons, first upload the image to the Kakao server.

Images must follow the specifications shown in the table below.

Specification	Image	Image for linked-type button
Recommended size	—	720 px * 720 px
Size limit	—	If the width is less than 500 px, or if the aspect ratio is either less than 2:1 or exceeds 3:4, upload is not allowed
File format	.jpg, .png, .gif	.jpg, .png
File size (max)	5 MB	0.5 MB

Linked-type button

Button name	Purpose	Description
WL	Web link	Launches a web page either in the KakaoTalk in-app browser or in an external browser if you add the relevant attribute
AL	App link	Runs the KakaoTalk app custom scheme
MD	Message delivery	Sends a text message, which contains the text on the button and the message body, from the end user
BK	Bot keyword	Sends a text message, which contains the text on the button, from the end user

Inbound messages

An inbound Sangdam Talk message can consist of the following:

Text
Image
Video
Audio

Media must follow the specifications shown in the table below.

Specification	Image	Video	Audio
File format	.jpg, .jpeg, .gif, .bmp, .png, .tiff	.mp4, .m4v, .avi, .asf, .wmv, .mkv, .ts, .mpg, .mpeg, .mov, .flv, .ogv	.mp3, .wav, .flac, .tta, .tak, .aac, .wma, .ogg, .m4a
File size (max)	Mobile: 15 MB PC: 300 MB	300 MB	PC: 300 MB
Duration (max)	—	5 minutes when recording using KakaoTalk	Mobile: 5 minutes

(Deprecated) Chingu Talk

IMPORTANT

Chingu is no longer supported.

Customers must use Brand Messages (free-form) for all Kakao messaging use cases. Refer to our Kakao Chingu to Brand Message migration documentation for more information.

Deliverability and compliance Send a message with KakaoTalk