Pidgin Alternatives
Pidgin is described as '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' and is a leading instant messenger in the social & communications category. There are more than 100 alternatives to Pidgin for a variety of platforms, including Linux, Windows, Mac, Web-based and Android apps. The best Pidgin alternative is Element. It's not free, so if you're looking for a free alternative, you could try Element or Matrix. Other great apps like Pidgin are Jami, Beeper, SeaMonkey and Element X.
Alternatives list
- 19 Finch alternatives
Finch is a console-based IM program that lets you sign on to AIM, Jabber, MSN, IRC, Yahoo!, and other IM networks. It runs on Unixes. It uses GLib and ncurses.

Kaidan is a simple, user-friendly Jabber/XMPP client providing a modern user interface using Kirigami and QtQuick. The back-end of Kaidan is written in C++ using the QXmpp XMPP client library and Qt 5.
Cost / License
- Free
- Open Source
Application type
Platforms
- Linux
- Android
- Ubuntu Touch
- Plasma Mobile
- Flathub

Utopia P2P Ecosystem. Utopia is a feature-rich platform that is specifically designed to protect privacy of communication, confidentiality, and security of personal data. Utopia is a decentralized network, with no central server involved in data transmission or storage.
Cost / License
- Free
- Proprietary
Application types
Platforms
- Mac
- Windows
- Linux


+4
Instantbird is an instant messaging client based on Mozilla XULRunner and the open source library libpurple created by the software developers of Pidgin . Over 250 add-ons allow user customization of, and addition of, features.
Cost / License
- Free
- Open Source
Application type
Alerts
- Discontinued
Platforms
- Mac
- Windows
- Linux
- PortableApps.com


+6
jami-commander (jc for short) is a simple but convenient CLI-based Jami client app for setting up accounts and swarms as well as sending.
Cost / License
- Free
- Open Source (GPL-3.0)
Platforms
- Linux
qutIM - free open-source multiprotocol ( ICQ, Jabber/GTalk/Ya.Online/LiveJournal.com, Mail.Ru, IRC )
Cost / License
- Free
- Open Source
Application type
Alerts
- Discontinued
Platforms
- Mac
- Windows
- Linux
- Symbian S60
- BSD
- Haiku


Cost / License
- Free
- Open Source
Application types
Alerts
- Discontinued
Platforms
- Online
- Android
- F-Droid


+1
BitlBee brings IM (instant messaging) to IRC clients. It's a great solution for people who have an IRC client running all the time and don't want to run an additional MSN/AIM/whatever client.

Cost / License
- Free
- Open Source (MIT)
Application type
Alerts
- Discontinued
Platforms
- Mac
- Windows
- Linux
- Hangouts



Spark is an Open Source, cross-platform IM client optimized for businesses and organizations. It features built-in support for group chat, telephony integration, and strong security. It also offers a great end-user experience with features like in-line spell checking, group chat...


+6



































Modern interface for XMPP communications. Implements OMEMO:2. Works fine.