Kmong
Kmong operates South Korea's largest online freelance services marketplace, connecting individuals, SMBs, and 6,800+ enterprises annually with verified professionals across design, IT, marketing, and business services via a self-serve platform plus a managed enterprise outsourcing channel.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2016
- HeadquartersGyeongsan, South Korea
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B and B2C
- OfferingDigital Commerce or Content
What Kmong does
Kmong (크몽), founded in 2012 and headquartered in Seoul, operates South Korea's largest online freelance services marketplace, connecting individuals, SMBs, and enterprises with verified professionals across design, IT, marketing, video production, and business services. The platform has facilitated 6.9 million+ cumulative transactions and serves 6,800+ enterprise clients annually through a managed outsourcing channel that commissions projects valued at 1,617 billion KRW per year. Its technology stack includes an AI-powered search assistant (Kai), an escrow payment system, a freelancer verification and rating system with average 4.8+ scores, and cloud infrastructure hosted on AWS, with native iOS and Android apps supplementing the web marketplace.
Revenue is generated through four primary streams: marketplace commissions on individual freelance transactions, a 10-13% management fee on enterprise outsourcing contracts, paid advertising for freelancer visibility, and AI transformation consulting (Kmong AX) for enterprise automation projects. The company operates two GTM motions in parallel: a product-led self-serve marketplace for SMBs and individuals, and an enterprise field-sales motion with dedicated account managers for large corporations such as KB Financial Group, Naver, Kakao Games, Musinsa, Korean Air, and LG U+. Sub-brands include Kmong Enterprise (outsourcing), Kmong AX (AI consulting), and add-on verticals for phone fortune-telling and digital content (e-books/templates).
Strategic positioning is increasingly oriented toward AI and enterprise services, evidenced by the 2022 acquisition of developer recruitment platform Toktokhan.dev, the 2025 launch of Kmong AX AI transformation consulting, and a February 2026 MOU with education provider Eduwill to co-develop AI and digital training content. The company is led by co-CEOs Park Hyun-ho and Kim Tae-heon, has raised approximately $41M across four disclosed funding rounds since 2015, and holds ISMS, ISO/IEC 27001, and ISO/IEC 27017 certifications, though it remains domestically focused and has faced regulatory scrutiny from Korea's antitrust agency in October 2025 over contract terms.
Kmong firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Kmong
- Legal name
- 주식회사 크몽
- Website
- https://kmong.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2016
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Kmong operates South Korea's largest online freelance services marketplace, connecting individuals, SMBs, and 6,800+ enterprises annually with verified professionals across design, IT, marketing, and business services via a self-serve platform plus a managed enterprise outsourcing channel.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Where Kmong is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Gyeongsan
- HQ country
- South Korea
- HQ region
- Asia
Offices1 record
Markets served
Kmong business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B and B2C
- Offering type
- Digital Commerce or Content
- Cost components
- Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Marketplace Commission (Transaction Fee): Kmong earns a commission on each freelance service transaction completed through the platform. Freelancers pay a fee on completed sales, while buyers pay through the platform's payment system.
- Enterprise Outsourcing Management Fees: For enterprise outsourcing projects (상주), a usage fee of 10%-13% (excluding VAT) of the total contract value is charged to the client. This covers project management, expert matching, and ongoing support by dedicated account managers.
- Enterprise Consulting / AX Services: AI transformation consulting services for enterprises, including diagnostic, PoC, and full implementation phases. Revenue generated through project-based consulting engagements.
- Paid Advertising for Freelancers: Freelancers can purchase paid advertising to boost visibility of their services within the platform's search results and category listings.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Transaction based/ take rate | Pay-as-you-go | Individual marketplace transactions — price set by each freelancer |
| Transaction based/ take rate | Multi-year contract | Enterprise outsourcing (상주) management fee |
| Other | Multi-year contract | AI transformation (AX) consulting — custom pricing |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels6 records
Kmong product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Kmong operates Korea's largest online freelance services marketplace, connecting individual buyers, SMBs, and enterprise clients with verified independent professionals across design, IT/development, marketing, video production, and business consulting. The platform offers escrow-protected payments, AI-powered expert search, and dedicated enterprise account management. Additional offerings include an enterprise outsourcing arm (Kmong Enterprise) and an AI transformation consulting service (Kmong AX) for corporate clients adopting AI and process automation.
Product overview
Kmong operates as a multi-service freelancer marketplace platform with a core marketplace (크몽 마켓) connecting clients with independent professionals across design, IT/development, video/photo, marketing, and business services. The platform is complemented by enterprise outsourcing (크몽 엔터프라이즈) for large corporate projects with dedicated account management, an AI-powered search assistant (검색 어시스턴트) for expert discovery, AI transformation consulting (크몽 AX) for business automation, phone fortune-telling (전화 운세) for consultation services, and digital content (전자책·템플릿) for pre-made resources. The platform processed 6.9 million transactions and serves both individual clients and enterprise customers.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- 크몽 엔터프라이즈 (Kmong Enterprise): Enterprise outsourcing solution for large companies requiring external talent and short-term recruitment services.
- 크몽 AX (AX Consulting)
Products and services
- Kmong Market (크몽 마켓) Core online marketplace platform connecting individual buyers, SMBs, and enterprise clients with verified independent professionals across design, IT, marketing, video production, and business services. Includes escrow-protected payments, AI-powered search, ratings, and over 6.9M+ cumulative transactions.
- Kmong Enterprise (크몽 엔터프라이즈) Dedicated enterprise outsourcing service that matches large Korean corporations with vetted professional service providers. Includes project registration, manager consultation, expert matching, meetings, and contracting. Charges 10%-13% usage fee on total contract value, serves 6,800+ enterprises annually, and achieves 99% project completion with average 4-day matching time.
- Kmong AX (크몽 AX - AI Transformation) AI transformation consulting service for enterprise clients seeking to implement automation and AI solutions. Provides a 3-stage methodology (diagnostic/PoC, full implementation, measurement & optimization), including AI chatbot development, RAG-based architectures, workflow automation, ERP/CRM/groupware integration, and process optimization. Target outcome is 20%+ operating cost reduction.
Quantifiable outcome
- 99% contract project completion rate for enterprise clients
- +5 more outcomes
Companies that use Kmong
Customer profileNamed customers14 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Kmong technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
AI capability6 records
Feature4 records
Kmong partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
One partnership is on record.
- EduwillcoreEduwill (a leading Korean education service provider) signed an MoU with Kmong on February 2, 2026, at Eduwill's Seoul headquarters to jointly develop AI and digital education content. The partnership combines Eduwill's curriculum design expertise with Kmong's pool of working professionals to create practice-oriented training programs aligned with Korea's national AI and digital transformation agenda. Pilot courses will be launched first, followed by full-scale expansion.
Scale indicators8 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Kmong competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Soomgo: Korean home and lifestyle services marketplace. Soomgo is Kmong's most direct domestic competitor and was named alongside Kmong in the October 2025 KFTC action, indicating a closely overlapping marketplace model and regulatory exposure.
- Wanted: Korean talent matching platform connecting companies with professionals for both full-time hiring and project-based work. Overlaps with Kmong Enterprise in the project/talent matching use case and targets similar Korean enterprise buyers.
- Taling: Korean marketplace for tutoring and lessons across hobbies, languages, and professional skills. Taling was named alongside Kmong in the October 2025 KFTC action and operates a comparable two-sided services marketplace model in Korea.
- Toptal: Premium freelance marketplace focused on vetted top-tier developers, designers, and finance experts. Toptal's 'top 1%' vetting and enterprise focus closely mirrors Kmong Enterprise's value proposition for high-stakes corporate projects.
Broad incumbents
- Fiverr: Global freelance services marketplace with massive scale and brand recognition. Fiverr competes with Kmong for Korean SMBs and enterprises seeking cross-border talent and serves as the global benchmark for category breadth and pricing.
- Upwork: Global freelance marketplace with strong enterprise presence. Upwork's enterprise tier directly competes with Kmong Enterprise for large corporate project outsourcing and offers Korean enterprises access to international talent.
- Freelancer.com: Global freelance marketplace with broad category coverage and auction-style project bidding. Competes with Kmong for international and cross-border project work and represents the lower-cost end of the global marketplace spectrum.
Emerging players
- 99designs: Design-focused freelance marketplace (logos, web design, branding). 99designs competes with Kmong in the design category, which is one of Kmong's highest-transaction verticals, though Kmong operates more broadly.
- Comeet: Talent acquisition and matching platform with AI-assisted candidate matching. Adjacent to Kmong's enterprise matching use case and represents the broader trend of AI-powered talent platforms.
Regional players
- CrowdWorks (Japan): Japan's largest freelance services marketplace with a similar category breadth and enterprise channel to Kmong. CrowdWorks represents the closest regional comparable for marketplace dynamics, take-rate economics, and enterprise adoption in Northeast Asia.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Kmong social profiles
Digital presenceKmong compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance3 records
Kmong financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Kmong leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles3 records
Kmong funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds4 records
Investors10 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Kmong M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A1 record
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Kmong
What does Kmong do?
Kmong operates Korea's largest online freelance services marketplace, connecting individual buyers, SMBs, and enterprise clients with verified independent professionals across design, IT/development, marketing, video production, and business consulting. The platform offers escrow-protected payments, AI-powered expert search, and dedicated enterprise account management. Additional offerings include an enterprise outsourcing arm (Kmong Enterprise) and an AI transformation consulting service (Kmong AX) for corporate clients adopting AI and process automation.
Is Kmong a public or private company?
Kmong is a private company. It is classified as venture growth investor backed and is currently operating.
When was Kmong founded?
Kmong was founded in 2016. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Kmong based?
Kmong is headquartered in Gyeongsan, South Korea, in the Asia region.
How does Kmong make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. Marketplace Commission (Transaction Fee) is the primary driver. The others are enterprise Outsourcing Management Fees, enterprise Consulting / AX Services and paid Advertising for Freelancers.
Who are Kmong's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Soomgo, Wanted, Taling and Toptal. Broad incumbents are Fiverr, Upwork and Freelancer.com. Emerging players are 99designs and Comeet. CrowdWorks (Japan) is listed as a regional player.
Does Kmong have an API?
No public API is recorded for Kmong.