Kakaku.com
Japan's leading price-comparison and consumer review platform.
Kakaku.com at a glance
Kakaku.com is an e-commerce website and one of the most visited sites in Japan, currently ranked #5 in the country. It was founded in 1997 by Manabu Tsuda and is headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. Today Kakaku.com is owned by Kakaku.com, Inc. (Kakaku.com Group). Our estimates put its audience at ≈ 300 million visits per month. The business earns money mainly through referral fees from merchants listed in price comparisons, advertising on kakaku.com and affiliated sites, tabelog restaurant review platform advertising and reservation fees. Its closest rivals include Yahoo! Shopping, Rakuten, Gurunavi (restaurant reviews), Hot Pepper Gourmet.
Traffic statistics
Traffic history
| Period | Visits | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Q1 | ≈ 295 million / month | +1% |
| Q2 | ≈ 300 million / month | +2% |
| Q3 | ≈ 305 million / month | +2% |
| Q4 | ≈ 300 million / month | -2% |
Traffic sources
- Direct45%
- Organic search35%
- Referral10%
Affiliate and review-blog links
- Paid6%
- Social4%
Audience & demographics
- Men58%
- Women42%
- Age 18-249%
- Age 25-3422%
- Age 35-5445%
- Age 55+24%
Kakaku.com's audience skews male and research-oriented, popular among consumers comparing electronics, appliances and insurance plans before purchase.
Geographic reach
- Japan97%
- Other3%
SEO profile
- Organic keywords
- ≈ 2.8 million
- Estimated organic traffic
- ≈ 100 million monthly visits
- Strongest clusters
- Electronics comparison, restaurant reviews, insurance quotes
Top organic keywords
| Keyword | Position | Volume | Traffic share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 価格.com | 1 | Very high | — |
| 食べログ | 1 | Very high | — |
| 価格 比較 | 1 | High | — |
| パソコン 価格 | 1 | High | — |
Backlink profile
- Referring domains
- ≈ 1.1 million
- Link profile
- Strong links from tech blogs, restaurant blogs and news sites
Top referral sources
- Google Japan55%
- Direct navigation30%
- Affiliate and review blogs10%
- Other5%
Technology stack
Website technologies
Advertising & analytics technologies
Kakaku.com relies on a large-scale automated price-crawling and comparison engine combined with Elasticsearch-powered search across millions of product and restaurant listings.
Mobile app statistics
- Tabelog monthly active users
- ≈ 30 million
- Kakaku.com app sessions
- Millions monthly
Company information
- Website
- kakaku.com
- Sector
- E-commerce
- Owner
- Kakaku.com, Inc. (Kakaku.com Group)
- Owner type
- Public company
- Founders
- Manabu Tsuda
- Founded
- 1997
- Headquarters
- Tokyo, Japan
- Employees
- ≈ 2,000
- Ownership
- Publicly traded on the Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE: 2371)
- Valuation
- Market cap approximately JPY 800 billion
- Revenue
- ≈ JPY 100 billion annually
- Languages
- Japanese
- Top traffic sources
- Direct, organic search, affiliate blog referrals
Ownership, investors & funding history
| Date | Round | Amount | Investors |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | Founding | Undisclosed | Manabu Tsuda |
| 2003 | IPO | Listed on Tokyo Stock Exchange | Public shareholders |
Financials
- Revenue trend
- Stable growth from referral fees and Tabelog advertising
- Profitability
- Consistently profitable, high-margin referral business
- Cost base
- Engineering, sales, content moderation
Business model & revenue
Kakaku.com aggregates prices from thousands of online and offline retailers, earning referral commissions when users click through to buy, while also operating Tabelog, Japan's leading restaurant review site.
- Referral fees from merchants listed in price comparisons
- Advertising on Kakaku.com and affiliated sites
- Tabelog restaurant review platform advertising and reservation fees
- Insurance and telecom comparison referral commissions
Products & services
Electronics, appliance and general product price comparison.
Japan's leading restaurant review and reservation platform.
Insurance plan comparison and quotes.
Mobile phone plan comparison service.
Related deals on Amazon
As an Amazon Associate, Global Site Index earns from qualifying purchases.
Seller ecosystem
- Listed merchants
- Thousands of e-commerce and retail partners
- Tabelog restaurant partners
- ≈ 900,000+ listed businesses
International presence
- Primary market
- Japan (domestic focus)
- Tabelog international listings
- Limited coverage of some overseas cities
Employee statistics
Customer statistics
API & developer information
- Merchant data feed API
- Allows retailers to submit pricing and inventory data
Website rankings
- Japan price-comparison rank
- #1
- Japan overall rank
- #5
Main competitors
Website comparisons
| Website | Monthly visits | Rank | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gurunavi | Smaller | — | Tabelog leads restaurant review traffic over Gurunavi |
| Yahoo! Shopping | Comparable niche | — | Kakaku.com focuses on comparison, not direct sales |
Overview
Kakaku.com is Japan's leading price-comparison platform, helping consumers find the best deals on electronics, appliances, insurance and more. Founded in 1997 by Manabu Tsuda, it also owns Tabelog, Japan's most influential restaurant review site.
Traffic Statistics
Kakaku.com attracts roughly 300 million monthly visits and about 45 million monthly unique visitors, with users averaging around 5.5 pages per session while comparing products.
Traffic Sources
Nearly half of traffic is direct, with organic search from Google Japan also driving a substantial share, alongside referrals from affiliate and review blogs.
Audience & Demographics
The audience skews male and research-oriented, with the heaviest usage among consumers aged 35 and above comparing electronics, appliances and insurance products.
Geographic Reach
Traffic is concentrated almost entirely in Japan, consistent with the platform's domestic retail and dining focus.
SEO Profile
Kakaku.com ranks for roughly 2.8 million organic keywords, with its strongest visibility in electronics comparisons, restaurant reviews via Tabelog, and insurance quotes.
Technology Stack
The platform is built on PHP and MySQL with Elasticsearch powering product and restaurant search, running on AWS infrastructure alongside a custom price-crawling engine.
Social Media Statistics
Kakaku.com and Tabelog maintain active accounts on X, Facebook and YouTube, collectively reaching hundreds of thousands of followers.
Mobile App Statistics
The Tabelog app has surpassed 20 million downloads and reaches roughly 30 million monthly active users, while the Kakaku.com app adds millions of additional monthly sessions.
Company Information
Headquartered in Tokyo, Kakaku.com was founded in 1997 by Manabu Tsuda and employs approximately 2,000 people.
Ownership & Investors
Kakaku.com, Inc. is an independent public company listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange.
Financials
The company generates roughly JPY 100 billion in annual revenue, primarily from merchant referral fees and Tabelog advertising, and is consistently profitable.
Business Model
Kakaku.com aggregates and compares prices from thousands of retailers, earning referral commissions on click-throughs, while Tabelog monetises through restaurant advertising and reservation fees.
Products & Services
Core products include the Kakaku.com price comparison engine, Tabelog restaurant reviews, insurance comparison and mobile plan comparison services.
Competitors
Kakaku.com competes with Yahoo! Shopping and Rakuten in comparison shopping, and with Gurunavi and Hot Pepper Gourmet in restaurant reviews.
Company History & Milestones
Since launching as a PC price-comparison site in 1997, Kakaku.com went public in 2003, acquired Tabelog in 2006, and later expanded into insurance, travel and mobile-plan comparisons.
Latest News
Kakaku.com Group continues to report steady advertising revenue growth while Tabelog expands its restaurant reservation features.
User Reviews & Ratings
Consumers trust Kakaku.com and Tabelog for research and reviews, though some note the referral-based model could favour certain merchants.
Pros & Cons
Pros include extensive trusted comparisons and strong restaurant review content. Cons include a data-heavy interface and reliance on merchant referral fees.
Key Statistics
~300 million monthly visits, over 900,000 Tabelog restaurant listings and the #5 overall website ranking in Japan.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who owns Kakaku.com? Kakaku.com, Inc., an independent public company. What is Tabelog? Its restaurant review and reservation subsidiary. Does it sell products directly? No, it compares prices and earns referral commissions.
Data Sources
Kakaku.com Group public filings, Similarweb estimates and the Kakaku.com Newsroom.
Last Updated
September 2026
Related Websites
Amazon Japan, Rakuten, Yahoo! Japan, Mercari and Tabelog.
Website Rankings
#1 price-comparison site and #5 overall website in Japan by traffic.
Revenue & Funding History
Kakaku.com was founded independently in 1997 and went public on the Tokyo Stock Exchange in 2003, funding subsequent acquisitions such as Tabelog from operating cash flow.
Employee Statistics
Kakaku.com employs approximately 2,000 people across engineering, sales and merchant partnerships.
Customer Statistics
Roughly 45 million monthly unique visitors use Kakaku.com and its Tabelog subsidiary to research purchases and dining options.
Backlink Profile
Kakaku.com has approximately 1.1 million referring domains, with strong links from technology blogs, restaurant blogs and news outlets.
Top Organic Keywords
Top queries include "価格.com パソコン", "食べログ 東京" and "価格.com 保険".
Top Referral Sources
Google Japan, direct navigation and affiliate or review blogs drive the majority of referral traffic.
Website Technologies
PHP, MySQL, Elasticsearch, AWS infrastructure and a custom price-crawling engine.
Advertising & Analytics Technologies
Kakaku.com Ads, Tabelog Ads and an internal affiliate tracking system support monetisation.
API & Developer Information
A merchant data feed API allows retailers to submit pricing and inventory information for listing on the platform.
International Seller Opportunities
While primarily domestic, Kakaku.com allows international retailers with a Japan storefront to list pricing data for comparison by local shoppers.
Company history & milestones
- 1997
Manabu Tsuda launches Kakaku.com as a PC price-comparison site
- 2003
IPO on the Tokyo Stock Exchange
- 2005
Acquires Kakaku.com Insurance comparison business
- 2006
Acquires Tabelog restaurant review platform
- 2015
Expands into travel and mobile plan comparison verticals
Latest news
- Kakaku.com Group reports steady advertising revenue growthKakaku.com Investor Relations · 2026
- Tabelog expands restaurant reservation featuresKakaku.com Newsroom · 2026
Pros & cons
Pros
- Extensive, trusted price comparisons across categories
- Tabelog is a go-to resource for restaurant reviews
- Helps consumers find the best deals easily
- High-quality user review content
Cons
- Reliant on merchant referral fees, creating potential bias risk
- Interface can feel data-heavy for casual users
- Comparison focus means no direct fulfilment or delivery service
- Faces competition in restaurant reviews from Gurunavi and Hot Pepper
Key statistics
Frequently asked questions
Who owns Kakaku.com?
Kakaku.com, Inc. is an independent public company listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange.
What is Tabelog?
Tabelog is Kakaku.com's restaurant review and reservation platform, one of the most used in Japan.
Does Kakaku.com sell products directly?
No, it compares prices across retailers and earns referral commissions rather than selling directly.
Popular searches
Data sources & confidence
- Kakaku.com Group public filingsKakaku.com Investor Relations
- Similarweb estimatesSimilarweb
- Kakaku.com NewsroomKakaku.com, Inc.
- Data confidence
- High for ownership, revenue segments and public milestones; traffic estimates are third-party approximations.
- Last updated
- September 2026
Traffic and revenue figures are rounded estimates compiled from public reports and third-party analytics.
Social media profiles & statistics