Tistory (tistory.com)
A veteran Korean blogging platform popular for its flexible customisation and ad monetisation.
Tistory at a glance
Tistory is a blogs & forums website and one of the most visited sites in South Korea, currently ranked #6 in the country. It was founded in 2006 by TNC Company (original developer) and is headquartered in Jeju/Seongnam, South Korea (Kakao). Today Tistory is owned by Kakao Corp. Our estimates put its audience at ≈ 45 million visits per month. The business earns money mainly through display advertising via kakao adfit, revenue-sharing programme for bloggers, sponsored content and affiliate links. Its closest rivals include Naver Blog, Brunch (Kakao), WordPress.com, Velog.
Traffic statistics
Traffic history
| Period | Visits | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Q1 | ≈ 46 million / month | -1% |
| Q2 | ≈ 45 million / month | -2% |
| Q3 | ≈ 44 million / month | -2% |
| Q4 | ≈ 45 million / month | +2% |
Traffic sources
- Organic search48%
- Direct30%
- Referral12%
- Social & other10%
Audience & demographics
- Men51%
- Women49%
- Age 18-2418%
- Age 25-3428%
- Age 35-5438%
- Age 55+16%
Tistory attracts long-form bloggers and readers interested in reviews, tech, finance and lifestyle content, with a strong base of hobbyist and semi-professional writers monetising via ad revenue share.
Geographic reach
- South Korea90%
- United States3%
- Other7%
SEO profile
- Organic keywords
- ≈ 1.2 million
- Estimated organic traffic
- ≈ 20 million visits / month
- Strongest clusters
- Reviews, technology, personal finance, recipes
Top organic keywords
| Keyword | Position | Volume | Traffic share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 티스토리 | 1 | Very high | — |
| tistory login | 1 | High | — |
| 티스토리 블로그 만들기 | 1 | Medium | — |
Backlink profile
- Referring domains
- ≈ 300,000
- Link profile
- Widely linked from Naver blogs, forums and news aggregators
Top referral sources
- Naver search35%
- Google30%
- Direct20%
- Other15%
Technology stack
Website technologies
Advertising & analytics technologies
Tistory runs on Kakao's shared cloud infrastructure and relies primarily on Kakao's own AdFit ad network for blogger monetisation.
Mobile app statistics
- App downloads (cumulative)
- ≈ 1 million+
Company information
- Website
- tistory.com
- Sector
- Blogs & Forums
- Owner
- Kakao Corp
- Owner type
- Subsidiary service of a public company (KRX: 035720)
- Founders
- TNC Company (original developer)
- Founded
- 2006
- Headquarters
- Jeju/Seongnam, South Korea (Kakao)
- Employees
- ≈ 50-100 (dedicated platform team within Kakao)
- Ownership
- Wholly owned and operated by Kakao Corp since its 2008 acquisition
- Valuation
- Not separately valued; operated as part of Kakao's portal and content division
- Revenue
- ≈ KRW 10-30 billion (≈ USD 10-25 million) annually, largely from ad revenue sharing
- Languages
- Korean, with limited support for other languages
- Top traffic sources
- Organic search, Naver/Google search results, direct blog bookmarks
Ownership, investors & funding history
| Date | Round | Amount | Investors |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Launched by TNC Company | N/A | — |
| 2008 | Acquired by Daum Communications | N/A | — |
| 2014 | Folded into Kakao after Daum-Kakao merger | N/A | — |
Financials
- Estimated annual revenue
- ≈ KRW 10-30 billion
Business model & revenue
Tistory offers free, customisable blog hosting to Korean users, generating revenue mainly through embedded Kakao AdFit advertising and a partner revenue-share scheme for popular bloggers.
- Display advertising via Kakao AdFit
- Revenue-sharing programme for bloggers
- Sponsored content and affiliate links
Products & services
Customisable free blogging platform.
Built-in ad monetisation for bloggers.
Seller ecosystem
- Monetised bloggers
- Hundreds of thousands via AdFit revenue share
International presence
- Reach
- Almost entirely domestic to South Korea
Employee statistics
Customer statistics
API & developer information
- Tistory Open API
- API for posting, comments and blog management
Website rankings
- South Korea blogging platforms
- Among the top two, alongside Naver Blog
Main competitors
Website comparisons
| Website | Monthly visits | Rank | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Naver Blog | Larger overall traffic | — | Tistory favoured for ad revenue share and customisation |
Overview
Tistory is a long-established South Korean blogging platform operated by Kakao, known for its flexible customisation options and embedded ad monetisation for bloggers.
Traffic Statistics
Tistory.com attracts an estimated 45 million monthly visits, with sessions averaging around three and a half minutes across nearly four pages.
Traffic Sources
Nearly half of traffic arrives via organic search, reflecting Tistory's strength in long-form, SEO-friendly blog content, with direct visits also significant.
Audience & Demographics
Tistory's audience skews toward users aged 25-54 interested in reviews, technology, finance and lifestyle content, including many semi-professional bloggers.
Geographic Reach
Around 90% of traffic originates in South Korea, with small overseas audiences largely made up of the Korean diaspora.
SEO Profile
Tistory ranks for roughly 1.2 million Korean keywords, particularly strong in reviews, technology and personal finance content clusters.
Technology Stack
Tistory runs on PHP-based infrastructure hosted on Kakao's cloud, integrated tightly with the Kakao AdFit advertising network.
Social Media Statistics
Tistory maintains a modest official presence on Twitter/X, with most engagement occurring within individual blogs rather than a central social account.
Mobile App Statistics
The Tistory app has surpassed 1 million cumulative downloads, offering mobile blog management and reading.
Company Information
Originally launched in 2006 by TNC Company, Tistory has been operated by Kakao since the 2014 Daum-Kakao merger, with a dedicated team of roughly 50-100 people.
Ownership & Investors
Tistory is wholly owned and operated by Kakao Corp, a publicly traded Korean technology conglomerate.
Financials
Tistory generates an estimated KRW 10-30 billion annually, primarily through Kakao AdFit display advertising and revenue-sharing with bloggers.
Business Model
Tistory provides free, customisable blog hosting, monetising through embedded advertising and a revenue-share programme that rewards popular bloggers.
Products & Services
Core offerings include the Tistory blogging platform itself and its built-in Kakao AdFit monetisation integration.
Competitors
Key competitors include Naver Blog, Kakao's own Brunch platform, WordPress.com and Velog.
Company History & Milestones
From its 2006 launch through its 2008 acquisition by Daum and 2014 integration into Kakao, Tistory has remained a stable, if slower-growing, part of Korea's blogging landscape.
Latest News
Kakao continues to expand AdFit monetisation tools available to Tistory bloggers.
User Reviews & Ratings
Long-time Korean bloggers value Tistory for its customisation and monetisation options, though it is seen as less actively developed than Naver Blog.
Pros & Cons
Pros: highly customisable, established revenue-share programme, stable Kakao backing. Cons: smaller user base than Naver Blog, slower feature development, limited international reach.
Key Statistics
≈45 million monthly visits, founded in 2006, and owned by Kakao Corp.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who owns Tistory? Kakao Corp, a publicly traded Korean technology company. Is it free? Yes, with optional monetisation through Kakao AdFit.
Data Sources
Kakao Corp Annual Report and Similarweb estimates.
Last Updated
September 2026
Related Websites
Naver Blog, Kakao and Brunch.
Website Rankings
Among the top two blogging platforms in South Korea, alongside Naver Blog.
Revenue & Funding History
Tistory was launched in 2006, acquired by Daum Communications in 2008, and became part of Kakao following the 2014 Daum-Kakao merger.
Employee Statistics
Tistory is run by a dedicated team of approximately 50-100 people within Kakao's broader organisation.
Customer Statistics
Tistory hosts over 1 million active blogs and reaches around 6 million monthly active users.
Backlink Profile
Tistory.com has around 300,000 referring domains, widely linked from Naver blogs, forums and news aggregators.
Top Organic Keywords
Leading keywords include "티스토리", "tistory login" and "티스토리 애드핏".
Top Referral Sources
Naver search and Google together drive the majority of referral traffic, with direct visits also notable.
Website Technologies
PHP-based services hosted on Kakao Cloud, integrated with Nginx and Kakao AdFit.
Advertising & Analytics Technologies
Kakao AdFit serves as the primary in-house ad network, with legacy support for Google AdSense on some blogs.
API & Developer Information
The Tistory Open API supports posting, comment management and blog administration for developers.
Company history & milestones
- 2006
Tistory launched by TNC Company
- 2008
Acquired by Daum Communications
- 2014
Daum and Kakao merge; Tistory becomes a Kakao service
- 2020
Kakao AdFit revenue-share programme expanded for bloggers
- 2026
Continues as a niche but stable long-form blogging destination
Latest news
- Kakao expands AdFit monetisation tools for Tistory bloggersKakao Newsroom · 2026
Pros & cons
Pros
- Highly customisable design and custom domain support
- Established ad revenue-share programme for bloggers
- Backed by Kakao's stable infrastructure
- Strong SEO performance for long-form content
Cons
- Smaller user base than Naver Blog
- Slower feature development in recent years
- Limited international reach
- Ad-heavy pages criticised by some readers
Key statistics
Frequently asked questions
Who owns Tistory?
Tistory is owned and operated by Kakao Corp, a publicly traded Korean technology company.
Is Tistory free to use?
Yes, blog hosting is free, with optional monetisation through Kakao AdFit.
Popular searches
Data sources & confidence
- Kakao Corp Annual ReportKakao
- Similarweb estimatesSimilarweb
- Data confidence
- High for ownership and history; traffic and revenue figures are third-party approximations.
- Last updated
- September 2026
Traffic figures are modelled estimates based on public industry reports and third-party analytics tools.
Social media profiles & statistics