ICQ AlternativesInstant Messengers & Video Calling Apps like ICQ
ICQ is described as 'Is one of the oldest instant messengers. First developed by the Israeli company Mirabilis, sold to AOL, sold again and currenly owned by the Russian "mail.ru" group (known for one of the largest social networks)' and is a popular instant messenger in the social & communications category. There are more than 100 alternatives to ICQ for a variety of platforms, including Android, Mac, Windows, Linux and iPhone apps. The best ICQ alternative is Signal, which is both free and Open Source. Other great apps like ICQ are Telegram, Element, Skype and Tox.
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ICQ alternatives are mainly Instant Messengers but may also be Video Calling Apps or Group Chat Apps. Filter by these or use the filter bar below if you want a narrower list of alternatives or looking for a specific functionality of ICQ.- Instant Messenger
- Free • Proprietary
216 Signal alternativesSignal is a messaging app with an unexpected focus on privacy, combined with all the features expected from a modern IM app. Signal has received a lot of praise from all around the world for its security and privacy-respecting technologies.
License model
- Free • Open Source
Application types
Platforms
- Mac
- Windows
- Linux
- Android
- iPhone
- iPad
- Flathub
- Ubuntu
- Debian
Top Signal Features
- End-to-End Encryption
- Encrypted Chat
- Privacy focused
- Security focused
- Ad-free
- Video Calling
- Instant Messaging
- Self Destructing Messages
- Private messaging
- No Tracking
- Encrypted Connection
- Mobile friendly
Signal VS ICQ
Is Signal a good alternative to ICQ?
277 Telegram alternativesTelegram is a messaging app with a focus on speed and security. It’s superfast, simple, and free. It is like SMS, but more powerful.
License model
- Freemium • Proprietary
Application types
Platforms
- Mac
- Windows
- Linux
- Online
- Android
- iPhone
- Android Tablet
- HUAWEI AppGallery
- Windows Phone
- iPad
- Apple Watch
- Linux Mobile
- Android Wear
- PortableApps.com
- FreeBSD
Top Telegram Features
- Encrypted Chat
- Lightweight
- Stickers
- Chat Bot
- Large File Transfer
- Ad-free
- Instant Messaging
- End-to-End Encryption
- Privacy focused
- Multi Device Support
- Video Calling
- Channels
Telegram VS ICQ
Is Telegram a good alternative to ICQ?
282 Element alternativesElement is a secure collaboration and messaging app based on the Matrix protocol. It’s decentralised to deliver digital sovereignty, and based on an open standard for easy connections and interoperability. It is end-to-end encrypted by default.
License model
- Freemium • Open Source
Application types
Platforms
- Mac
- Windows
- Linux
- Online
- Android
- iPhone
- Android Tablet
- iPad
- Self-Hosted
- Matrix.org
- Flathub
- F-Droid
- Cloudron
Top Element Features
- End-to-End Encryption
- Decentralized
- Federated
- Team Collaboration
- Privacy focused
- Encrypted Chat
- Video Calling
- Instant Messaging
- Matrix Protocol
- Voice Chat
- Federation
- Direct Messaging
Element VS ICQ
Is Element a good alternative to ICQ?
305 Skype alternativesSkype is the most popular free voice-over IP and instant messaging service globally. It allows users to text, video and voice call over the internet. Users can also call landlines and mobiles at competitive rates using Skype credit, premium accounts and subscriptions.
License model
- Freemium • Proprietary
Application types
Platforms
- Mac
- Windows
- Linux
- Online
- Android
- iPhone
- Chrome OS
- Android Tablet
- BSD
- Windows Phone
- iPad
- Android Wear
- PortableApps.com
Top Skype Features
- Video Calling
- Screen Sharing
- VoiP Calls
- Microsoft Office integration
- Lightweight
- Video Conferencing
- Ad-free
- Dark Mode
- IFTTT Integration
- Live Captions Translation
- Voice messages
- Multiple languages
Skype VS ICQ
Is Skype a good alternative to ICQ?
202 Tox alternativesWith 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.
License model
- Free • Open Source
Application types
Platforms
- Mac
- Windows
- Linux
- Android
- Android Tablet
- BSD
- F-Droid
Top Tox Features
- Encrypted Chat
- Decentralized
- Privacy focused
- Peer-To-Peer
- End-to-End Encryption
- Security focused
- No registration required
- Multiplatform
- Screen Sharing
- Lightweight
- No Tracking
- AES-256 Encryption
Tox VS ICQ
Is Tox a good alternative to ICQ?
123 Pidgin alternativesPidgin 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.
License model
- Free • Open Source
Application types
Platforms
- Mac
- Windows
- Linux
- BSD
- Flathub
- PortableApps.com
Top Pidgin Features
- Support for Multiple protocols
- Extensible by Plugins/Extensions
- Supports XMPP
- Multiple Account support
- IRC
- Portable
- No Tracking
- Ad-free
- VoiP Calls
- Multiple languages
- Xmpp
- Multiple chat protocols
Pidgin VS ICQ
Is Pidgin a good alternative to ICQ?
248 WhatsApp alternativesWhatsApp is an iPhone and Android messaging app which allows you to exchange messages without having to pay for SMS.
+2
License model
- Free • Proprietary
Application types
Platforms
- Mac
- Windows
- Online
- Android
- iPhone
- Android Wear
Top WhatsApp Features
- Mobile friendly
- End-to-End Encryption
- Dark Mode
- Custom Backgrounds
- Stickers
- Picture in Picture
- Ad-free
- Two-factor Authentication
- Screen Sharing
- VoiP Calls
- Expiring Stories
- Support for @mentions
WhatsApp VS ICQ
Is WhatsApp a good alternative to ICQ?
52 SimpleX Chat alternativesSimpleX - the most private and secure chat and applications platform - now with double ratchet E2E encryption! Built on Haskell with Love and Coffee.
License model
- Free • Open Source
Application types
Platforms
- Mac
- Windows
- Linux
- Android
- iPhone
- Self-Hosted
- F-Droid
- Flathub
- Flatpak
Top SimpleX Chat Features
- Instant Messaging
- Encrypted Chat
- Privacy focused
- End-to-End Encryption
- Decentralized
- Ad-free
- No registration required
- Video Calling
- Dark Mode
- Multiple Account support
- Self Destructing Messages
- VoiP Calls
SimpleX Chat VS ICQ
Is SimpleX Chat a good alternative to ICQ?
224 Zulip alternativesZulip is the only modern team chat app that is designed for both live and asynchronous conversations. Zulip topics create a separate space for each discussion, so different conversations will never get in each other's way.
License model
- Free Personal • Open Source
Application types
Platforms
- Mac
- Windows
- Linux
- Online
- Android
- iPhone
- Android Tablet
- BSD
- iPad
- Self-Hosted
Top Zulip Features
- Threaded Conversations
- Team Collaboration
- Support for Hotkeys
- Community-based
- Support for MarkDown
- Syntax Highlighting
- Integrated File Sharing
- Chat Bot
- GitHub Integration
- Secure Chat
- Third party integrations
- Chat organizer
Zulip VS ICQ
Is Zulip a good alternative to ICQ?License model
- Freemium • Proprietary
Application types
Platforms
- Windows
- Mac
- iPhone
- iPad
- Android
- Android Tablet
- Samsung Galaxy Store
- HUAWEI AppGallery
- Android Wear
Top Viber Features
- Desktop Sharing
- Phone calls
- VoiP Calls
- Animated stickers
- End-to-End Encryption
- Dark Mode
- Support for @mentions
- Cloud Sync
- Privacy focused
- Voice Chat
- Call Transfer
- Secret chats
Viber VS ICQ
Is Viber a good alternative to ICQ?
149 Conversations alternativesConversations is a privacy focused, open source XMPP Texting [Jabber] client for Android 4.0+ smart phones with wife-approved easy encryption [OTR, OMEMO, or GPG].
License model
- Free • Open Source
Application types
Platforms
- Android
- Android Tablet
- F-Droid
Top Conversations Features
- Decentralized
- End-to-End Encryption
- Encrypted Chat
- Image Sharing
- OpenPGP
- Lightweight
- GPG Encryption
- Dark Mode
- Ad-free
- Self Destructing Messages
- Multiple Account support
- Privacy focused
Conversations VS ICQ
Is Conversations a good alternative to ICQ?
67 Adium alternativesAdium 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
- Support for Themes
- Support for Multiple protocols
- Xmpp
- Supports XMPP
- Multiple languages
- Tabbed interface
- Messages
- OTR
DiscontinuedThe last update is from March 2021.
Adium VS ICQ
Is Adium a good alternative to ICQ?
Comments about Signal as an Alternative to ICQ
Signal is linked to your phone number, unlike ICQ where you obtain an independent number that identifies your account. If I didn't mind sharing personal information like that, I'd just use SMS instead.