mIRC AlternativesTop IRC Clients and other similar apps like mIRC

mIRC is described as 'Popular Internet Relay Chat client used by individuals and organizations to communicate, share, play and work with each other on IRC networks around the world' and is a popular IRC Client in the social & communications category. There are more than 50 alternatives to mIRC for a variety of platforms, including Linux, Windows, Mac, Web-based and Self-Hosted apps. The best mIRC alternative is Pidgin, which is both free and Open Source. Other great apps like mIRC are HexChat, WeeChat, KVIrc and irssi.

More about mIRC

mIRC alternatives page was last updated Apr 22, 2025

Pidgin
1529 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.
118 Pidgin alternatives
Cost / License
Free
Open Source
Application types
Instant Messenger
Group Chat App
Origin
United States
Platforms
Mac
Windows
Linux
BSD
Flathub
PortableApps.com
+4
Is Pidgin a good alternative to mIRC?

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13users say it's a good alternative
Most users think Pidgin is a great mIRC alternative.
Pidgin is the most popular Windows, Mac & Linux alternative to mIRC.
Pidgin is the most popular Open Source & free alternative to mIRC.
Pidgin is Free and Open SourcemIRC is Paid and Proprietary
HexChat
220 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
Free
Open Source
Application types
IRC Client
Instant Messenger
Alerts
Discontinued
Platforms
Windows
Linux
BSD
PortableApps.com
MacPorts
XQuartz
Is HexChat a good alternative to mIRC?

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2comments
25users say it's a good alternative
Comments about HexChat as an Alternative to mIRC

Guest
Positive commentDec 15, 2018
3
Open source, light and customizable, i recommend it
Review by a new / low-activity user.
Guest
Positive commentMar 24, 2020
0
Similar to Mirc but less complex
Review by a new / low-activity user.
Almost everyone thinks HexChat is a great mIRC alternative.
HexChat is Free and Open SourcemIRC is Paid and Proprietary
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.
Cost / License
Free
Open Source
Application types
IRC Client
Instant Messenger
Origin
France
EU
Platforms
Mac
Linux
BSD
Haiku
Xfce
Is WeeChat a good alternative to mIRC?
KVIrc
47 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
Application type
IRC Client
Origin
Italy
EU
Platforms
Mac
Windows
Linux
BSD
PortableApps.com
Is KVIrc a good alternative to mIRC?

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2comments
10users say it's a good alternative
Comments about KVIrc as an Alternative to mIRC

Guest
Positive commentApr 17, 2016
1
It's free, has certain nice extra features and a better scripting language.
Review by a new / low-activity user.
Guest
Positive commentFeb 19, 2019
0
Good features, very stable and free, aside from mIRC there's nothing better out there.
Review by a new / low-activity user.
Almost everyone thinks KVIrc is a great mIRC alternative.
KVIrc is Free and Open SourcemIRC is Paid and Proprietary
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 mIRC?
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...
53 Quassel IRC alternatives
Cost / License
Free
Open Source
Application type
IRC Client
Origin
International
Platforms
Mac
Windows
Linux
Is Quassel IRC a good alternative to mIRC?
XChat for Linux
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.
59 XChat for Linux alternatives
Cost / License
Free
Open Source
Application type
IRC Client
Origin
Australia
Alerts
Discontinued
Platforms
Windows
Linux
Is XChat for Linux a good alternative to mIRC?
AdiIRC
30 likes
c#/csharp IRC CLient. AdiIRC stores all its settings in text files, this way you can grab the adiirc folder and put in on a usb device or external harddrive. Take all your settings and servers with you everywhere!
Cost / License
Free
Proprietary
Origin
Norway
Platforms
Windows
Wine
+3
Is AdiIRC a good alternative to mIRC?
Empathy
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
Application types
Instant Messenger
Video Calling App
Origin
United States
Alerts
Discontinued
Platforms
Linux
BSD
Is Empathy a good alternative to mIRC?
Kiwi IRC
28 likes
A hand-crafted IRC client that you can enjoy. Designed to be used easily and freely. More friendly than other webirc clients giving the general public an easy option to connect to any IRC network.
63 Kiwi IRC alternatives
Cost / License
Free
Open Source
Application type
IRC Client
Origin
United Kingdom
Platforms
Online
Self-Hosted
Google Chrome
Is Kiwi IRC a good alternative to mIRC?

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1comment
Comments about Kiwi IRC as an Alternative to mIRC

jcrben
Positive commentJul 30, 2015
0
It's clearly an IRC application. Just because it can be self-hosted doesn't change that.
Kiwi IRC is the most popular Web-based & Self-Hosted alternative to mIRC.
Kiwi IRC is Free and Open SourcemIRC is Paid and Proprietary
Konversation
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
IRC Client
Origin
Germany
EU
Platforms
Linux
Haiku
Flathub
Snapcraft
Is Konversation a good alternative to mIRC?
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
Application type
IRC Client
Origin
Germany
EU
Platforms
Mac
Windows
Linux
+2
Is Smuxi a good alternative to mIRC?

12 of 60 mIRC alternatives

mIRC AlternativesTop IRC Clients and other similar apps like mIRC

Alternatives list

Pidgin

Cost / License

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HexChat

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Alerts

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Comments about HexChat as an Alternative to mIRC

WeeChat

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KVIrc

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Comments about KVIrc as an Alternative to mIRC

irssi

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Quassel IRC

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XChat for Linux

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Alerts

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AdiIRC

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Empathy

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Origin

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Kiwi IRC

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Comments about Kiwi IRC as an Alternative to mIRC

Konversation

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Smuxi

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