Chat Clients
The ability to send text, voice, and video messages to anywhere in the world has never been easier. Simply fire up the messaging app of your choice, find the intended recipient that uses the same service, and start typing, attaching, and recording away.
If privacy and security are of the utmost importance, secure end-to-end encrypted messaging services such as Signal can ensure that the only people that know the contents of your conversations are exactly who you want.
- Free • Open Source
- Instant Messenger
- Video Calling App
- IRC Client
118 Pidgin alternatives- Mac
- Windows
- Linux
- BSD
- PortableApps.com
- Xfce
Pidgin is an easy to use, multi-protocol chat client client used by millions. Connect to AIM, MSN, Yahoo, XMPP, and more chat networks all at once. It has built-in support for NSS, offering client-to-server message encryption for protocols that support it.
Pidgin Features
Top 3 alternatives
- Free • Open Source
- Instant Messenger
- Encrypted Chat App
- Group Chat App
189 Tox alternatives- Mac
- Windows
- Linux
- Android
- Android Tablet
- BSD
- F-Droid
With the rise of widespread government monitoring programs, Tox is an easy to use application that allows you to connect with friends and loved ones without anyone else listening in.
Tox Features
Top 3 alternatives
- Free • Open Source
- Video Calling App
- Group Chat App
- Instant Messenger
131 Jitsi Meet alternatives- Online
- Android
- iPhone
- Android Tablet
- iPad
- Self-Hosted
- Apple Watch
- F-Droid
Go ahead, video chat with the whole team. In fact, invite everyone you know. Jitsi Meet is a fully encrypted, 100% open source video conferencing solution that you can use all day, every day, for free — with no account needed.
Jitsi Meet Features
Top 3 alternatives
- Free • Open Source
- IRC Client
65 HexChat alternatives- Windows
- Linux
- BSD
- PortableApps.com
- Xfce
- MacPorts
- XQuartz
HexChat is an IRC client based on XChat for Linux , but unlike XChat it’s completely free for both Windows and Unix-like systems.
Top 3 alternatives
- Paid • Open Source
- Encrypted Chat App
- Instant Messenger
- Group Chat App
104 Threema alternatives- Mac
- Windows
- Linux
- Online
- Android
- iPhone
- Android Tablet
- HUAWEI AppGallery
- iPad
Threema is a new mobile messaging app that puts security first. With true end-to-end encryption, you can rest assured that only you and the intended recipient can read your messages.
Threema Features
Top 3 alternatives
Free and Cross Platform messaging and emailing app that combines common web applications into one.
Rambox Features
Top 3 alternatives
Adium is a free and open source instant messaging application for Mac OS X, written using Mac OS Xs Cocoa API, released under the GNU GPL and developed by the Adium team. Based on the libpurple protocol library, Adium can connect you to any number of messaging accounts on any...
Adium Features
DiscontinuedThe last update is from March 2021.
Top 3 alternatives
- Freemium • Proprietary
- Instant Messenger
- Team Collaboration Tool
145 Trillian alternatives- Mac
- Windows
- Linux
- Online
- Android
- iPhone
- Blackberry
- iPad
- Software as a Service (SaaS)
Trillian is an instant messaging app that works on phones, tablets, and desktops while keeping your chats neatly synchronized between all of them! We think conversation should be easily shared between all of your devices, not trapped as text messages on your phone.
Trillian Features
Top 3 alternatives
- Free • Open Source
- Instant Messenger
- Video Calling App
- Encrypted Chat App
65 Gajim alternatives- Mac
- Windows
- Linux
- BSD
- Xfce
The goal of Gajim is to provide a full featured and easy to use XMPP client. Gajim works nicely with GNOME, but does not require it to run. It is released under the GNU General Public License.
Gajim Features
Top 3 alternatives
- Free • Proprietary
- Instant Messenger
- Group Chat App
- Encrypted Chat App
207 Telegram X alternatives- Android
- Android Tablet
- Telegram
An alternative Telegram client based on TDLib, with higher speed, slicker animations and experimental features.
Telegram X Features
Top 3 alternatives
- Freemium • Proprietary
- Instant Messenger
- Group Chat App
- Encrypted Chat App
129 imo alternatives- Mac
- Windows
- Android
- iPhone
- Android Tablet
- HUAWEI AppGallery
- iPad
Imo is a free, simple,secure and faster international video call & instant messaging app.
Top 3 alternatives
- 106 ChatSecure alternatives
- Free • Open Source
- Instant Messenger
- Encrypted Chat App
- iPhone
- iPad
ChatSecure is a free and open source messaging app that features OTR encryption over XMPP. You can connect to your existing accounts on Facebook or Google, create new accounts on public XMPP servers(including via Tor), or even connect to your own server for extra security.
ChatSecure Features
Top 3 alternatives
Open source Jabber (XMPP) client with multi-account support, clean and simple interface. Being both free (as in freedom!) and ad-free, Xabber is designed to be the best Jabber client for Android .
Xabber Features
DiscontinuedThe project seems no longer developed since 2019. Last version, 2.6.6, released in October 2019, can be still downloaded from F-Droid, it's no longer available on Google Play Store
Top 3 alternatives
- Freemium • Proprietary
- Encrypted Chat App
92 Wickr alternatives- Mac
- Windows
- Linux
- Android
- iPhone
- Android Tablet
- iPad
Wickr is a free end-to-end encrypted text, video, picture and voice messenger with full sender control.
Wickr Features
DiscontinuedWickr will not accept user registrations for Wickr Me after December 31, 2022, and will discontinue Wickr Me on December 31, 2023.
Top 3 alternatives
- Free Personal • Proprietary
- Group Chat App
- Instant Messenger
158 Ripcord alternatives- Mac
- Windows
- Linux
- Discord
- Slack
Ripcord is a desktop chat client for group-centric services like Slack and Discord. It provides a traditional compact desktop interface designed for power users. It's not built on top of web browser technology: it responds quickly to input, sips gently from computer...
Top 3 alternatives