mIRC Alternatives for Linux

mIRC is not available for Linux but there are plenty of alternatives that runs on Linux with similar functionality. The best Linux alternative is Discord, which is free. If that doesn't suit you, our users have ranked more than 50 alternatives to mIRC and many of them are available for Linux so hopefully you can find a suitable replacement. Other interesting Linux alternatives to mIRC are Pidgin, HexChat, WeeChat and KVIrc.

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Alternatives list

  1. Discord icon
     1114 likes

    An integrated platform for text and voice communications. Offers tailored channels for different topics, customizable moderation tools, low latency for fluency, and managed user roles for optimal community facilitation.

    188 Discord alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Freemium
    • Proprietary

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Online
    • Android
    • iPhone
    • Android Tablet
    • iPad
    • Snapcraft
    • Epic Games Store
    • Flathub
    • Electron
    • Playstation
    • Xbox
     
  2. Pidgin icon
     1530 likes

    Pidgin is a chat program which lets you log into accounts on multiple chat networks simultaneously. This means that you can be chatting with friends on XMPP and sitting in an IRC channel at the same time.

    120 Pidgin alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • BSD
    • Flathub
    • PortableApps.com
     
  3. HexChat icon
     222 likes

    HexChat is an IRC client based on XChat for Linux , but unlike XChat it’s completely free for both Windows and Unix-like systems.

    65 HexChat alternatives

    Cost / License

    Alerts

    • Discontinued

    Platforms

    • Windows
    • Linux
    • BSD
    • PortableApps.com
    • MacPorts
    • XQuartz
     
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    2
    HexChat vs mIRC Comments
    Guest
    Positive
    3

    Open source, light and customizable, i recommend it

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    Guest
    Positive
    0

    Similar to Mirc but less complex

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    • HexChat is Free and Open SourcemIRC is Paid and Proprietary
  4. KVIrc icon
     45 likes

    Free open-source IRC client offering cross-platform support, Qt interface, rich scripting, customizable themes, Unicode, SSL encryption, logging, multi-server connectivity, DCC file transfers, plugin system, event automation, proxy and IPv6 compatibility, and localization.

    Cost / License

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • BSD
    • PortableApps.com
     
    |
    2
    KVIrc vs mIRC Comments
    Guest
    Positive
    1

    It's free, has certain nice extra features and a better scripting language.

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    Guest
    Positive
    0

    Good features, very stable and free, aside from mIRC there's nothing better out there.

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    • KVIrc is Free and Open SourcemIRC is Paid and Proprietary
  5. irssi icon
     86 likes

    Irssi is a terminal based IRC client for UNIX systems. It also supports SILC and ICB protocols via plugins.

    58 irssi alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • BSD
    • Cygwin
     
  6. Quassel IRC icon
     51 likes

    Quassel IRC is a modern, cross-platform, distributed IRC client based on the Qt5 framework. Distributed means that one (or multiple) client(s) can attach to and detach from a central core that stays permanently online -- much like the popular combination of screen and a...

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
     
  7. XChat for Linux icon
     103 likes

    XChat is an IRC chat program for both Linux and Windows. It allows you to join multiple IRC channels (chat rooms) at the same time, talk publicly, private one-on-one conversations etc. Even file transfers are possible.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Alerts

    • Discontinued

    Platforms

    • Windows
    • Linux
     
  8. Empathy icon
     157 likes

    Empathy is a messaging program which supports text, voice, video chat, and file transfers over many different protocols. You can tell it about your accounts on all those services and do all your chatting within one application.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Alerts

    • Discontinued

    Platforms

    • Linux
    • BSD
     
  9. Konversation icon
     27 likes

    Konversation is an IRC client which gives you speedy access to Freenode network's channels, where you will find support for most distributions.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Linux
    • Haiku
    • Flathub
    • Snapcraft
     
  10. Smuxi icon
     31 likes

    Smuxi is an irssi-inspired, flexible, user-friendly and cross-platform IRC client for sophisticated users, targeting the GNOME desktop.

    Cost / License

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
     
  11. Ergo icon
     Like

    Ergo (formerly known as Oragono) is a modern IRC server written in Go. Its core design principles are:

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source (MIT)

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • BSD
    • Self-Hosted
    • FreeBSD
    • Docker
    • OpenBSD
     
12 of 31 mIRC alternatives