HexChat Alternatives for Mac

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

More about HexChat

HexChat alternatives page was last updated Feb 19, 2024

Pidgin
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
Application types
Instant Messenger
Group Chat
Origin
United States
Platforms
Mac
Windows
Linux
BSD
Flathub
PortableApps.com
+4
Is Pidgin a good alternative to HexChat?

|
3comments
Pidgin vs HexChat Comments

AntumDeluge
Positive commentDec 11, 2017
3
It has a fully featured IRC client functionality.
artyhedgehog
Negative commentMar 2, 2017
1
Pidgin is more for IM protocols in general like XMPP, ICQ etc., while HexChat is for IRC chat.
Guest
Negative commentOct 7, 2020
1
Pidgin has IRC features, but it is a very poor implementation due to the entire program being focused on Instant Messaging
Review by a new / low-activity user.
Pidgin is Free and Open SourceHexChat is also Free and Open Source
SeaMonkey
241 likes
Web-browser, advanced e-mail, newsgroup and feed client, IRC chat, and HTML editing in one application. Itis built on the open source Mozilla Gecko engine, the same code which underlies Thunderbird and is the base for the Firefox browser.
185 SeaMonkey alternatives
Cost / License
Free
Open Source
Application type
Web Browser
Origin
United States
Platforms
Mac
Windows
Linux
BSD
PortableApps.com
+3
Is SeaMonkey a good alternative to HexChat?
Adium
338 likes
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...
69 Adium alternatives
Cost / License
Free
Open Source
Application type
Instant Messenger
Origin
United States
Alerts
Discontinued
Platforms
Mac
Is Adium a good alternative to HexChat?

|
2comments
Adium vs HexChat Comments

twisted_code
Negative commentMar 2, 2022
2
Hexchat is an IRC client, this is not and is useless to anyone trying to connect to an IRC server (i.e., an overwhelming majority of HexChat users)... the matching algorithm seems to be oblivious to this detail.
Guest
Negative commentOct 7, 2020
1
Is an instant messenger, not an IRC client
Review by a new / low-activity user.
Adium is Free and Open SourceHexChat is also Free and Open Source
Adium is CustomizableHexChat is not according to our users
WeeChat
38 likes
WeeChat is a free chat client, fast and light, designed for many operating systems. It is highly customizable and extensible with scripts.
54 WeeChat alternatives
Cost / License
Free
Open Source (GPL-3.0)
Application types
IRC Client
Instant Messenger
Origin
France
EU
Platforms
Mac
Linux
BSD
Haiku
Xfce
Is WeeChat a good alternative to HexChat?
Quassel IRC
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
IRC Client
Origin
International
Platforms
Mac
Windows
Linux
Is Quassel IRC a good alternative to HexChat?

|
1comment
Quassel IRC vs HexChat Comments

AntumDeluge
Positive commentDec 11, 2017
1
It is a full IRC client, just like HexChat.
Quassel IRC is Free and Open SourceHexChat is also Free and Open Source
irssi
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
IRC Client
Origin
International
Platforms
Mac
Windows
Linux
BSD
Cygwin
Is irssi a good alternative to HexChat?
KVIrc
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
Free
Open Source (GPL-2.0)
Application type
IRC Client
Origin
Italy
EU
Platforms
Mac
Windows
Linux
BSD
PortableApps.com
Is KVIrc a good alternative to HexChat?
Smuxi
31 likes
Smuxi is an irssi-inspired, flexible, user-friendly and cross-platform IRC client for sophisticated users, targeting the GNOME desktop.
Cost / License
Free
Open Source (GPL-2.0)
Application type
IRC Client
Origin
Germany
EU
Platforms
Mac
Windows
Linux
+2
Is Smuxi a good alternative to HexChat?
LimeChat
16 likes
LimeChat is an IRC client for Windows, Mac OS X and iOS.

Features

Can connect to multiple servers in a window By key operation was rich, achieve a sense of comfortable operation Customization capabilities over the details Stable operation at light Search and comfortable log in.
Cost / License
Free
Open Source
Application type
IRC Client
Origin
Japan
Platforms
Mac
Windows
iPhone
iPad
+5
Is LimeChat a good alternative to HexChat?
ScrollZ IRC Client
4 likes
ScrollZ is an advanced IRC client based on ircII. It incorporates many useful features found in all sorts of scripts. The main difference between these scripts and ScrollZ is the code - whereas ircII scripts take a lot of disk and memory space and run slow, ScrollZ only takes a...
Cost / License
Free
Open Source
Application type
IRC Client
Platforms
Mac
Windows
Linux
BSD
Is ScrollZ IRC Client a good alternative to HexChat?
Textual
22 likes
Textual is the world's most popular application for interacting with Internet Relay Chat (IRC) chatrooms on macOS.
54 Textual alternatives
Cost / License
Paid
Proprietary
Application type
IRC Client
Origin
United States
Platforms
Mac
Is Textual a good alternative to HexChat?

|
1comment
Textual vs HexChat Comments

Jack Vegas
Positive commentApr 12, 2020
0
If you have a Mac, Textual is the best IRC experience you can get, hands down. The UI is extremely polished and beautiful, and the program is perfectly stable and rock-solid.
Textual is Paid and ProprietaryHexChat is Free and Open Source
Colloquy
34 likes
Traditionally, chat clients on the Mac have been anything but glamorous. Colloquy is an advanced IRC, SILC & ICB client which aims to fill this void. By adhering to Mac OS X interface conventions, Colloquy has the look and feel of a quality Mac application.
Cost / License
Free
Open Source
Application type
IRC Client
Origin
Estonia
EU
Platforms
Mac
Is Colloquy a good alternative to HexChat?