Comparison of instant messaging clients

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The following tables compare general and technical information for a number of instant messaging clients. Please see the individual products' articles for further information. This article is not all-inclusive or necessarily up-to-date. External links lead to extensions that add a feature to a client.

General information

Basic general information about the real time communication services: creator/company, license/price, amongst others.

Author / Creator First public release Type Latest stable version License
Adium Adam Iser, Evan Schoenberg September 2001 Multi-protocol Template:Latest stable release/Adium (Mac OS X) GPL v2
AOL Instant Messenger (AIM) AOL May 1997 Single protocol 6.8.12.4 (Windows)
1.0.2 Build 110 Beta (Pro (Win))
1.3.30.1 (Triton (Win))
1.1 (Mac OS X)
1.5.286 (Linux) 		Template:Proprietary
aMSN The aMSN team May 2002 Single protocol 0.98.1 GPL
Ayttm[1] [2] Colin Leroy and Philip Tellis April 2003 Multi-protocol 0.6.1 (Linux)
0.4.6-17 (Windows) 		GPL
BitWise IM BitWise Communications, LLC 2002-03-17 Single protocol/Encrypted 1.7.2 Template:Proprietary
BitlBee Wilmer van der Gaast 2002-08-09 IRC Gateway, Multi-protocol Template:Latest stable release/BitlBee GPL
Brosix D-Bross June 2006 Single protocol/Encrypted 2.0.3
(June 2009) 		Template:Proprietary
Centericq Konstantin Klyagin 1999 Multi-protocol Template:Latest stable release/Centericq GPL
climm Mattew D. Smith (up to ICQv5); Rüdiger Kuhlmann 1997(?); 2001 Dual protocol 0.6.3 GPL v2
Coccinella[3] [4] [5] Mats Bengtsson 1999-12-01 Single protocol 0.96.16 (1 December 2009) GPL v3
Cspace Tachyon Technologies 2008-02-22 Single protocol 1.27 GPL
Digsby Steven Shapiro January 2008 Multi-protocol Beta Template:Proprietary
eBuddy Paulo Taylor 2003-03-09 Multi-protocol Beta v5.0.1 Template:Proprietary
eM Client E&S Software Ltd. November 2006 Single-protocol 2.5 Free
EQO EQO Communications 2006-02-06 Multi-protocol 1.4 Template:Proprietary
emesene Luis Mariano Guerra 2006-05-24 Single protocol 1.5.1 GPL
Empathy GNOME May 2007 Multi-protocol Template:Latest stable release/Empathy GPL
Exodus Peter Millard 2002 Single protocol 0.10.0.0 GPL
Fire Eric Peyton 1999-04-01 Multi-protocol Template:Latest stable release/Fire GPL
Fring Multi-protocol Template:Proprietary
Gabtastik Mesa Dynamics, LLC May 2008 HTTP 0.2 Template:Proprietary
Gadu-Gadu Łukasz Foltyn August 2000 Single protocol 8.0 build 8713(Now Gadu-Gadu) Template:Proprietary
Gajim Yann Le Boulanger 2004-05-21 Single protocol Template:Latest stable release/Gajim GPL
GCN Jason K. Resch 2000-11-18 Single protocol 2.9.1 Template:Proprietary
GOIM Herbert Poul 2005-08-16 Single protocol Template:Latest stable release/GOIM GPL
Goofey Tim Mackenzie 1990s (Early 1990s) Single protocol 2.08 Template:Proprietary
Google Talk Google, Inc. 2005-08-24 Dual protocol Template:Latest stable release/Google Talk Template:Proprietary
Gyachi 2006-01-26 Single protocol 1.1.35; June 15, 2008 GPL
iChat Apple Inc. August 2002 Multi-protocol 4.0.8 (619) Template:Proprietary
IBM Lotus Sametime IBM, Ubique 1998 Multi-protocol—proprietary T.120, SIP, XMPP 8.5; December 2009 Template:Proprietary
ICQ Mirabilis (AOL) November 1996 Single protocol 6.0 Template:Proprietary
IMVU Will Harveyfq July 2001 Single protocol 3.0 Template:Proprietary
InSpeak Communicator Mark Jaafar
GLobal Unicom, LLC 		2004 Multi-protocol 6.1.1 Template:Proprietary
Instantbird Florian Quèze and Quentin Castier 2007 Multi-protocol 0.1.3.1 GPL v2
Jabbin Jabbin Team December 2005 Single protocol jabbin 2.0 beta GPL v2
Kadu Kadu Team August 2001 Single protocol 0.6.5.3 GPL v2
KMess The KMess team April 2002 Single protocol 2.0.2 (December 2009) GPL v2
Konnekt Stamina 2002 Multi-protocol 0.6.22.137 Template:Proprietary
Kopete Kopete Team 2002-03-03 Multi-protocol 0.50.2 GPL
Licq Graham Roff (up to v1.0)
Jon Keating 		1998-06-22 Multi-protocol 1.3.6 GPL
Mail.ru Agent Mail.ru May 2003 Single protocol 5.0 (Windows)
1.0 (Windows Mobile)
2.1 (J2ME) 		Template:Proprietary
MCabber Mikael Berthe 2005-06-07 Single protocol Template:Latest stable release/MCabber GPL
MECA Messenger ? Multi-protocol 5.2 Template:Proprietary
meebo Meebo, Inc. 2005 Multi-protocol, web-based alpha v19 Template:Proprietary
Meetro Paul Bragiel & Samuel Stauffer 2005 Multi-protocol 0.96 Beta (Win)
0.53 Beta (Mac OS X) 		Template:Proprietary
Mercury Messenger Danny 2003 Single protocol Template:Proprietary
MindSpring EarthLink 2006-04-03 Multi-protocol 1.0 (v53.0) Template:Proprietary
Miranda IM Miranda IM project 2000-02-06 Multi-protocol Template:Latest stable software release/Miranda IM GPL
Microsoft Messenger for Mac Microsoft Corporation ? Single protocol 7.0 Template:Proprietary
MySpaceIM MySpace 2006-05-09 Single protocol 1.0.754.0 (February 7, 2008) Template:Proprietary
Naim Daniel Reed 1998-10-05 Multi-protocol 0.11.8.3.1 (2007-07-09) GPL
Ometheus Ometheus 2007 Multi-protocol, web-based alpha v0.1 Template:Proprietary
Omegler Flamefusion 2009 Single protocol 1.001.003 N/A
Pandion Dries Staelens, Sebastiaan Deckers 2002-08-05 Single protocol Template:Latest stable release/Pandion GPL
Palringo Palringo Ltd 2006 Multi-protocol Template:Proprietary
Paltalk Jason Katz 1998 Multi-protocol 9.0 Template:Proprietary
Pidgin (formerly Gaim) Mark Spencer November 1998 Multi-protocol Template:Latest stable release/Pidgin GPL
PopNote Mike Raymond July 2004 Single Protocol 3.6 GPL v2
pork Ryan McCabe 2006-12-06 AIM, IRC Gateway 0.99.8.1 GPL v2
Proteus Justin Wood, et al. November 2001 Multi-protocol Template:Latest stable release/Proteus GPL
Psi Justin Karneges 2001 Single protocol Template:Latest stable release/Psi GPL
psyced psyced.org Project 1997 IRC+XMPP+PSYC Gateway, Multi-protocol 0.99 GPL
QIP Ilgam Zyulkorneev 2004 Multi-protocol 9030 (Windows)
2120 (Windows Mobile)
2000 (Symbian S60 and UIQ3) 		Template:Proprietary
Qnext Qnext Corp. 2004-06-28 Multi-protocol 3.0.1.36 (Beta) (March 1, 2007) Template:Proprietary
QuteCom QuteCom 2004 Multi-protocol 2.1.2 GPL
qutIM[6] [3] Rustam Chakin, Ruslan Nigmatullin June 2008 Multi-protocol 0.2 GPL
Tencent QQ Tencent February 1999 Single protocol 2008 贺岁版 Template:Proprietary
RealTimeQuery realtimequery.com 2005-2007 Single protocol v3.0 - 2007 Template:Proprietary
Scrapboy Scrapboy Digital Media Corporation 2006-05-26 Single protocol 2.1.17 N/A
Sim-IM Sim-IM Team ? Multi-protocol Template:Latest stable release/SIM Instant Messenger GPL
Solixa www.solixa.com ? Single protocol GPL
Skype Niklas Zennström and Janus Friis 2003 Single protocol Template:Latest stable release/Skype Template:Proprietary
talk Kipp Hickman 1982 Single protocol 1.7 (BSD version) BSD
Trillian Cerulean Studios 2000-07-01 Multi-protocol Template:Latest stable release/Trillian Template:Proprietary
Trillian Pro Cerulean Studios 2002-09-10 Multi-protocol Template:Latest stable release/Trillian Template:Proprietary
Trillian Astra Cerulean Studios ? Multi-protocol Beta Template:Proprietary
VZOchat Visicron Systems 2005-02-14 Single protocol Template:Latest stable release/VZOchat Template:Proprietary
Windows Live Messenger (formerly MSN Messenger) Microsoft Corporation July 1999 Dual protocol 8.5.1302 (Windows XP/Vista)
1.0.6141 (Windows Live for Nokia S60) 		Template:Proprietary
Windows Messenger Microsoft Corporation 2001-10-25 Multi-protocol 5.1.0701 (Windows XP SP2) Template:Proprietary
Microsoft Office Communicator Microsoft Corporation 2005 Single protocol 2007 R2 (Windows) Template:Proprietary
Xfire Xfire Inc. 2004 Dual protocol Template:Latest stable release/Xfire Template:Proprietary
Yahoo! Messenger Yahoo! 1999-06-21 Dual protocol 10.0.0.1102 (Win)
2.5.3 (Mac)
1.0.4 (Unix) 		Template:Proprietary
Zephyr Project Athena 1987 Single protocol 2.0 MIT
Sococo Social Communications Company 2008 Multi protocol 0.77.2.409 Template:Proprietary
Author / Creator First public release date Type Latest stable version License

Operating system support

The operating systems the clients can run on without emulation or compatibility layers.

Client Windows Mac OS X Linux BSD Unix Windows Mobile Android BlackBerry iPhone OS Other
Adium No Yes No No No No No No No No
AIM Yes Yes [7] Dropped (1.5.286) No No Yes Yes Yes Yes Palm OS, webOS
aMSN Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No No No No Nokia 770, N800, N810, N900
Ayttm Obsolete Yes Yes Yes Yes No No No No No
BayanICQ No No No No No No No No No Symbian OS S60
Beejive No No No No No Yes No Yes Yes No
BitlBee Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No No No No AmigaOS
BitWise IM Yes Yes Yes No No No No No No No
Brosix Yes No No No No No No No No No
Carrier (formerly Funpidgin) Yes No Yes No No No No No No No
Centericq Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No No No No No
climm Yes2 Yes Yes Yes Yes No No No No AmigaOS, BeOS
Coccinella Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No No No No
Digsby Yes in development in development No No No No No No No
eBuddy Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes PlayStation Portable,Nintendo DS,Palm OS
eM Client Yes No No No No No No No No No
emesene Yes No Yes No No No No No No No
Empathy No No Yes Yes Yes No No No No No
EQO No No No No No Yes No Yes No Symbian OS S60, Java ME
Exodus Yes No No No No No No No No No
Fire No Yes No No No No No No No No
Fring No No Yes No Yes Yes Yes No Yes Symbian OS S60 and UIQ 3, Java ME
Gadu-Gadu Yes No No No No No No No Yes Symbian OS S60, Java ME, web-based
Gajim Yes Yes1 Yes Yes Yes No No No No No
GCN Yes No No No No No No No No No
GOIM Yes Yes Yes No No No No No No No
Goofey6 No Yes7 Yes Yes Yes No No No No No
Google Talk (standalone) Yes No No No No Yes Yes Yes Yes webOS
Google Talk (Gmail) Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No No
Gyachi No No Yes No No No ? No No No
IBM Lotus Sametime Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yes Symbian OS S60 and UIQ 3 [8]
iChat No Included No No No No No No No No
ICQ Yes Dropped (3.4.23) No No No Yes No Yes No web-based, Mac OS
imeem Yes Yes No No No No Yes No No No
imo.im Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No No No Yes No
InSpeak Communicator Yes No No No No No No No No No
IMVU Yes No No No No No No No No No
Instan-t Yes ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
Instantbird Yes Yes Yes No No No No No No No
Jabberwocky No No No No No No No No No AmigaOS, MorphOS
JClaim Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No No No No Java
Kadu No (unofficial) Yes Yes Yes Yes No No No No No
KMess Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No No No No No
Kopete No Yes1 Yes Yes Yes No No No No No
Licq No No Yes Yes Yes No No No No No
Mail.ru Agent Yes No No No No Yes No No No Java ME, Symbian OS S60
MCabber No Yes Yes Yes Yes No No No No No
MECA Messenger Yes No No No No No No No No No
meebo Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes No Yes No
Meetro Yes Yes No No No No No No No No
Mercury Messenger Yes Yes Yes No (Unofficially, Java) No (Unofficially, Java) No No No No No
Microsoft Messenger for Mac No3 Yes No3 No3 No3 No No No No No
Microsoft Office Communicator Yes No No No No No No No No No
MindSpring Yes No No No No No No No No No
Miranda IM Yes No No No No No No No No No
MSNP-Sharp Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No No No No No
Mundu IM No No No No No Yes Yes Yes Yes Symbian OS S60, Palm OS, J2ME(Sony Ericsson Phones)
MySpaceIM Yes No No No No No No No No No
naim Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No No No No No
Nimbuzz Yes Yes No No No Yes Yes Yes Yes Java, Symbian OS S60, Palm OS
OctroTalk Yes No No No No Yes No No Yes Symbian S60
ooVoo Yes Beta No No No No No No No No
Palringo Yes Yes Yes9 No No Yes Yes Yes Yes Symbian S60, Java
Paltalk Yes No No No No No No No No No
Pandion Yes No No No No No No No No No
Pidgin formerly Gaim Yes Yes1 Yes Yes Yes No No No No AmigaOS
PlayXpert Yes No No No No No No No No No
PopNote Yes No No No No No No No No No
pork No Yes Yes Yes Yes No No No No No
Proteus No Yes No No No No No No No No
Psi Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No No No No No
psyced Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No No No No No
QIP Yes No No No No Yes No No No Symbian OS S60/ UIQ3
Qnext Yes Yes Yes No No No No No No No
QQ Yes Beta preview No No No No No Yes Symbian S60 3rd Edition
Quicksilver No No No No No No No No Yes No
QuteCom Yes Yes5 Yes No No No No No No No
qutIM[9] Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No No No No No
RealTimeQuery Yes No No No No No No No No No
Sim-IM Yes Yes Yes Yes ? (possible) No No No No OS/2
Steam Friends Yes No No No No No No No No No
Skype Yes Yes Yes No No Yes Yes No Yes PlayStation Portable 2000, 3000
Sococo Yes No No No No No No No No No
talk Yes4 Yes Yes Yes Yes No No No No No
Trillian Yes No No No No No No No No No
Trillian Pro Yes No No No No No No No No No
Trillian Astra Yes Yes No Yes Yes No No No Yes No
VZOchat Yes No No No No Yes No No No No
Windows Live Messenger Yes No No No No Yes No Yes No Xbox 360, SymbianS60
Windows Messenger Included (XP) Yes8 No No No Yes No No No SymbianS60
Xfire Yes No No No No No No No No No
VoxOx Yes Yes No No No No No No No No
Yahoo! Messenger Yes Yes No No No No No Yes Yes iPhone2.0+
Ya.Online Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No No No Java ME, Symbian OS S60
Zephyr Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No No No No No
Client Windows Mac OS X Linux BSD Unix Windows Mobile Android BlackBerry iPhone OS Other

Note 1: Not a dedicated Mac OS X but a POSIX application: Will need an X server and additional libraries installed, and will not look like a native Mac OS X application.

Note 2: Requires ANSI terminal. See e.g. Windows ANSI driver problem on how to load ANSI.SYS.

Note 3: MSN Web Messenger can be used with a compatible browser and valid Windows Live ID account.

Note 4: Numerous talk/ytalk clients exist for Win32; others are available under the Cygwin environment.

Note 5: Only available in the upcoming version QuteCom already available through Subversion.

Note 6: Generally only available as source, not as a ready-to-install binary.

Note 7: Client will only work on Mac OS X within a Unix terminal session (Terminal.app, Xterm, iTerm, or similar.)

Note 8: It is called Messenger for Mac, currently version 7.

Note 9: Working with Wine (software), not natively.

Protocol support

Single protocol clients

Many IRC-only clients are listed at Comparison of Internet Relay Chat clients

XMPP clients

Client Instant messaging Transports File transfer Jingle (voice) Jingle (video) Cryptography (Text) Cryptography (Voice)
Coccinella Yes Yes Yes Yes No No No
eM Client Yes Yes Yes No No ? ?
Exodus Yes No ? No No ? ?
Gajim Yes Yes Yes No, WIP No, WIP ? ?
Global Communications Network No Yes ? ? ? ? ?
GOIM Yes No ? ? ? ? ?
Google Talk (Gmail) Yes Yes ? Partial2 Partial2 ? ?
Google Talk (standalone) Yes Yes ? Partial1 No ? ?
iChat Yes Yes ? No No ? ?
MCabber Yes Yes No No No ? ?
MindSpring Yes No ? ? ? ? ?
Nimbuzz Yes Yes ? ? ? ? ?
Pandion Yes Yes Yes No No ? ?
Psi Yes Yes Partial Yes No Yes ?
psyced Yes Yes ? ? ? ? ?
Quicksilver Yes No No No No ? ?

Note 1: Not really compatible with Jingle specification, does not work with all clients [1]

Note 2: Not compatible with Jingle specification and available for Windows only

Multiprotocol clients

Information on the instant messaging protocols that each client supports.

Supported Protocols WLM
(formerly MSN Messenger) 		Y!M AIM ICQ XMPP
(Google Talk, etc.) 		Jingle (voice) Jingle (video) IRC IBM Lotus Sametime Novell GroupWise Messenger Bonjour
(formerly Rendezvous) 		Gadu-Gadu QQ OTR LAN Xfire Skype MySpaceIM Facebook LiveJournal Others
Adium 17 Partial17 Yes Yes Yes Yes No No Partial11 Yes Yes Partial10 Yes Yes Yes No With plugin With plugin4 Yes Yes Yes MobileMe, Yahoo! Japan, Zephyr, NateOn, Tlen, Twitter
AIM 02 No No Yes Yes No No No No No No No No No With proxy No No No No No No No
Ayttm 03 Yes Yes Partial6 Partial6 Yes No No Yes No No No No No No No No No No No No No
Beejive 07 Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes ? ? No Yes No No No No No No No No Yes No No No
bhsIM 07 Yes No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No NateOn
BitlBee 05 Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No No Indirect25 No No No No No With plugin20 No No With plugin28 No No No No
Carrier (formerly Funpidgin) 11 Partial17 Yes Yes Yes Partial15 ? ? Yes Yes Yes Partial10 Yes Yes With plugin1 No Yes No No No No SILC, Zephyr, Blizzard Battle-Net Chat (with plugins)
Centericq 06 Yes Yes Partial6 Yes Yes ? ? Yes No No No Yes No No ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
climm 02 No No Partial12 Yes Partial13 ? ? No No No No No No Yes No No No No No No No
Digsby 07 Yes Yes Yes Yes Partial26 ? ? No No No No No No No No No No Yes Yes No Twitter
eBuddy 07 Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes ? ? No No No No No No No No No No Yes Yes No No
Empathy 020 Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes ? No Yes ? Yes Yes No Blizzard Battle-Net Chat, NateOn, SILC, Tlen, Zephyr (with plugins)
Eyeball Chat 05 Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes ? ? No No No No No No No No No No No No No No
Fire 06 Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No No Yes No No Partial10 No No No No No No No No No No
IBM Lotus Sametime 05 No Yes18 Yes18 No Yes18 ? ? No Yes No No No No No No No No No No No SIP
iChat 04 No No Yes No Yes No No No No No Yes No No No No No No No No No MobileMe
ICQ 02 No No Yes Yes No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No
imeem 04 Yes Yes Yes No Yes ? ? No No No No No No No ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
imo.im[2] 04 Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes ? ? No No No No No No No No No Yes Yes Yes No ?
IMVU 06 Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes ? ? No No No No No No No No No No No No No IMVU
Instan-t 06 Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes ? ? No No No No No No No No No No No No No Instan-t
Instantbird 08 Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No No Yes No No No Yes Yes No No No No No No No No
Jabberwocky 04 Yes Yes Yes Yes No ? ? No No No No No No No No No No No No No No
JClaim 08 Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No SMS, Nate, Yahoo! Japan
Kopete 012 Yes Yes Yes Yes Partial15 No No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No No With plugin4 (deprecated) No Yes No WinPopup
Licq 03 Yes No Yes Yes No No No No No No No No No No ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
MECA Messenger 05 Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes ? ? No No No No No No No No No No No No No No
meebo 05 Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes ? ? No No No No No No No No No No Yes Yes Partial (via XMPP) No
Meetro 04 Yes Yes Yes Yes No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No
Miranda IM 19+ Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No No Yes Yes No Yes Yes With plugin21 Yes Yes5 Yes With plugin4 Yes With plugin29 Yes Twitter, Tlen, LAN5
Mundu IM 07 Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes ? ? Yes No No No No No No No No No No No No No
Naim 03 No No Yes Partial No No No Yes No No No No No No No No No No No No Lily
Nimbuzz 12 Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes ? ? No No No No Yes No No No No Partial27 Yes Yes No StudiVZ, SchülerVZ, Hyves
ooVoo 01 No No No No Yes ? ? No No No No No No No No No No No No No No
QuteCom 06 Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes ? ? No No No No No No No No No No No No No SIP
Palringo 06 Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes ? ? No No No No Yes No No ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
Paltalk 03 No Yes Yes Yes No No No No No No No No No No ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
Pidgin (formerly Gaim) 014 Partial17 Partial23 Yes Partial24 Yes Yes, except on Windows Yes, except on Windows Yes Yes Yes Partial10 Yes Yes With plugin1 No Yes With plugin4,19 Yes With plugin22 No Blizzard Battle-Net Chat, NateOn, SILC, Tlen, Zephyr (with plugins)
PlayXpert 07 Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes ? ? No No No No No No No No Yes No No No No Sony Station Friends
pork 02 No No Yes No No No No Yes No No No No No No ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
Proteus 08 Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No No No Yes No Partial9 Yes No With proxy No No No No No No Yahoo! Japan
QIP 02 No No Yes Yes No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No
QIP Infium 06 No No Yes Yes Yes ? ? Yes No No No No No No No No No No No Yes Mail.ru Agent, Euroset, Phoning
qutIM[10] 06 No No No Yes Yes No No Yes No No No No No No No No No No No Yes Mail.ru Agent, VKontakte, Twitter
Qnext 06 Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes ? ? Yes No No No No No No No No No No No No Qnext
Sim-IM 06 Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes ? ? No No No No No No No No No No No No No
talk 02 No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No ntalk, ytalk
Trillian Basic 05 Partial17 Yes Yes Yes No No No Yes No No No No No No No No No No No No No
Trillian Pro 06 Yes Yes Yes Yes Partial14, 15 ? ? Yes With plugin1 Yes Partial10 With plugin1 With plugin1 With plugin1 No With plugin Partial4 No No No No
Trillian Astra 011 Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes14, 15 ? ? Yes Yes Yes Yes With plugin1 With plugin1 No No Yes Partial4 Yes Yes No ASTRA
VoxOx 07 Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No No No No No No No No No No No No No Yes Yes No
Windows Live Messenger (formerly MSN Messenger) 02 Yes Yes No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No
Windows Messenger 03 Yes No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No SIP, EIM
Yahoo! Messenger 03 Yes17 Yes No No No No No No Yes No No No No No No No No No No No No
Supported Protocols WLM
(formerly MSN Messenger) 		Y!M AIM ICQ XMPP
(Google Talk, etc.) 		Jingle (voice) Jingle (video) IRC IBM Lotus Sametime Novell GroupWise Messenger Bonjour
(formerly Rendezvous) 		Gadu-Gadu QQ OTR LAN Xfire Skype MySpaceIM Facebook LiveJournal Others

Note 1: Plugin available [3]

Note 2: Plugin available

Note 3: Interoperability with proprietary protocols can be achieved using server-side gateways (so-called transports) in XMPP.

Note 4: Plugin available, but requires installed and running Skype.

Note 5: LAN and chat protocols supported for Miranda include NetSend, WinPopup, Novell Netware NCP, BattleNet, Vypress Chat, Quick Chat, and Walla Chat.

Note 6: Uses the AIM TOC2 protocol, which has fewer features than the Oscar protocol the official client uses. An Oscar plugin is available, but is still in early development.

Note 7: Plugin available [4]

Note 8: Can only enter one ICQ/AOL IM account, so users who have both an ICQ number and an AOL IM account name, can't use both.

Note 9: Text-based messaging only; does not support Bonjour/iChat's audio IM functionality.

Note 10: Probably text-based messaging only, without support for Bonjour/iChat's audio IM functionality.

Note 11: Only trunk builds of Adium have IRC support, which is very limited.

Note 12: AIM interoperability: can send/receive to AIM from an ICQ account.

Note 13: The support is optional. It currently isn't feature-complete, but basic operations should be fine.

Note 14: Claims to be supported, though frequently fails to receive or deliver messages, and tends to crash when receiving multiuser chat invites or file transfer requests.

Note 15: Feature incomplete. Lacks service discovery and transport support, making user search, multiuser chat, connections to other IM networks via XMPP difficult or impossible.

Note 16: Yahoo! Messenger interoperability (some bugs): can send/receive to Yahoo! Messenger from a Windows Live Messenger on-line account. No audio or video support as of yet.

Note 17: Windows Live Messenger interoperability: can always send/receive to Windows Live Messenger from a Yahoo! Messenger account.

Note 18: Using IBM Sametime Gateway you can establish a server to server communication to other IM communities. [5]

Note 19: With plug-in, requires Skype to be running. [6]

Note 20: See post 2008-02-19 02:39 at http://bugs.bitlbee.org/bitlbee/ticket/115#comment:25

Note 21: With using third-party plug-in MirandaQQ developed by Stark Wong from Hong Kong. [7]

Note 22: Facebook Chat plugin for Pidgin

Note 23: No audio or video, and generally poor support for anything beyond the very basic in the protocol. So there is chat and smileys, but no Photo Album Sharing, SMS and the rest. Also, although the oficial client does have the ability to embed the communication through HTTP there is no such option for Gaim.

Note 24: among others, the privacy settings are not working Note 24: Access is denied in the Yahoo network as it uses a deprecated protocol.

Note 25: Bitlbee does not provide access to IRC. Instead users connect to it as if it were an IRC server so Bitlbee and IRC will both be used from the same IRC client.

Note 26: Digsby does not support XMPP conferences.

Note 27: Nimbuzz does not support skype on the PC clients. Source: http://forum.nimbuzz.com/index.php?action=vthread&forum=11&topic=406

Note 28: Plugin available [8]

Note 29: Plugin available [9]

Features

Information on what features each of the clients support.

Client Number of Features Included Toolkits or SDKs Encryption File transfer Proxy-server Graphical smileys Unicode (UTF-8) Built-in games Themes / skins Plugin system 1 Third party add-ons 2 Scripting Message Logging Voice messaging Voice Mail Webcam Support Offline messaging Remote desktop application assistance Whiteboard Right-to-Left texting
Adium 011 Cocoa Yes 11 Yes ? Yes Yes No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes No Yes ? ? ?
AIM 11 W32 Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Partial Yes Yes Yes ? Yes Yes ? Yes Yes ? ? ?
AIM for Mac 4 Cocoa No Yes No Yes Yes No No No No No Yes No No No No No No No
aMSN 14 Tcl/Tk Yes 22 Yes http, socks5, msn gateway Yes Yes Partial Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes 17 No Yes Yes No No No
Ayttm 9 GTK2 Yes No http, socks4, socks5 Yes Yes No No Yes No Yes Yes No No Partial Partial No No No
BitlBee 03 Template:N/a No No ? No Yes No Partial 19 Yes No ? Partial 19 ? ? No Yes ? ? ?
BitWise IM 08 W32, GTK2, Carbon Yes 7 Yes ? No ? Yes Yes No No ? Yes Yes ? ? Yes ? Yes ?
Brosix 014 W32 Yes Yes https, socks4, 4A, 5 Yes Yes No Yes Yes Yes ? Yes ? Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes ?
Centericq 05 ncurses Partial 9 Partial ? No ? No Yes Yes ? Yes Yes No No No Yes ? ? ?
climm 07 line based Yes 5,11 Yes ? Template:N/a Yes No Yes No No Yes Yes Template:N/a Template:N/a Template:N/a Yes Template:N/a No ?
Coccinella 11 Tcl/Tk Yes Yes http, socks4, 5 Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes ? No Yes Yes No No Yes No Yes ?
Digsby 09 ? ? Partial ? Yes ? No Yes No No No Yes No No No Yes ? ? ?
eBuddy 05 No Yes No ? Yes Yes No No No No No Yes No No Yes Yes No No ?
eM Client 06 W32 Yes Yes ? Yes Yes No No No No No No No No No Yes No No Yes
Empathy 012 GTK2 Yes Yes ? Yes Yes No Yes ? ? No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes ?
EQO 05 Template:N/a Yes No ? Yes Yes No No No No No No Yes No No Yes No No ?
Exodus 05 W32 No Yes ? Yes Yes No No Yes No ? ? ? ? No Yes ? ? ?
Fire 09 Cocoa Yes 6 Yes ? Yes Yes No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
Gadu-Gadu 06 W32 ? Yes ? Yes No No ? No Yes No Yes Yes ? ? Yes No No ?
Gajim 07 GTK2 Yes 9 Yes http Yes Yes No Yes No No No Yes No ? No Yes ? ? ?
GCN 05 W32 Yes 4 Yes ? Yes ? Yes Partial No Yes ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
GOIM 05 Java/SWT Yes No ? Yes Yes No Partial Yes No No No No ? No Yes ? ? ?
Google Talk 08 W32 No Yes ? Partial Yes No Yes No Yes No Yes Yes Yes Third party plugin Yes No No Yes
Gyachi 09 GTK2 Yes Yes https Yes Yes No No Yes ? No Yes Yes No Yes Yes No No ?
IBM Lotus Sametime 15 Yes Yes Yes ? Yes Yes No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes available Yes Yes Yes Yes ?
iChat 11 Cocoa Yes 21 Yes ? Yes Yes No No No Yes Yes Yes Yes ? Yes Yes Yes Partial 3 ?
ICQ 12 W32 No Yes ? Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yes No No Yes
imeem 02 ? No Partial ? Yes ? No No No No ? Yes ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
InSpeak Communicator 09 Template:N/a Yes Yes ? Yes No Yes Yes No No No Yes Yes ? Yes Yes ? ? ?
IMVU 06 ? ? No ? Yes Yes Partial Yes No Yes 13 No Yes 14 No ? No Yes ? ? ?
Jabberwocky 01 No No Partial ? No No No No No No Yes 20 No No No No No No No ?
Kadu 07 Qt Yes Yes ? Yes ? No Partial Yes Yes ? Yes Yes ? No No ? ? ?
KMess 07 Qt/KDE No Yes Yes Yes Yes No No No No No Yes No No No Yes No No Yes
Kopete 08 Qt/KDE Yes 9,11 Partial No Yes Partial No Yes Yes Yes With plugin Yes With plugin (Partial) ? Yes Yes ? ? Yes
Licq 09 Qt Yes 5 Yes https Yes Yes No Yes Yes Yes ? Yes ? ? ? Yes ? ? ?
MCabber 04 Curses Yes 11 No ? No Yes No ? ? No ? Yes No No No Yes No No ?
MECA Messenger 05 ? ? Yes ? Yes Yes Partial Yes No No No Yes ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
Meetro 04 ? Yes No ? Yes ? No No No No ? Yes ? ? ? Yes ? ? ?
Mercury Messenger 11 Swing Yes 4 Yes ? Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes No ? Yes Yes ? ? ?
Miranda IM 12 W32 Yes 10,11 Yes Yes: socks4/5, HTTP(S) Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Partial 15 No Partial15 Yes No Yes Yes
Microsoft Messenger for Mac 04 Carbon No Yes ? Yes Yes No No No No No Yes No ? No No ? ? ?
MSNP-Sharp 11 W32 ? Yes http, socks5, msn gateway Yes Yes Partial No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes 17 No Yes Yes No No No
Mundu IM 05 Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yes No Yes No No No Yes No No No Yes Yes No ?
Nimbuzz 07 No Yes Yes ? Yes No No No No No ? Yes Yes Yes No Yes No No ?
ooVoo 09 Yes Partial (signaling only) Yes Yes No No No No Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yes Yes No No No ?
QuteCom 06 Qt Yes Yes ? Yes Yes No Yes No No ? ? ? ? Yes ? ? ? ?
Palringo 03 ? No No ? Yes ? No Yes No No No No Yes No Partial (picture capture only) ? No No ?
Paltalk 09 Template:N/a Yes Yes ? Yes No Yes Yes No No No Yes Yes ? Yes Yes ? ? ?
Pandion 11 ? Yes Yes ? Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No ? No Yes ? ? ?
Pidgin formerly Gaim 07 GTK2 8,11 Partial ? Yes Yes No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Partial (XMPP in Linux) No Yes (XMPP in Linux) Partial No Partial Yes
PopNote 021 W32 Yes Yes No No No No No No Yes Yes No No No No No No No No
pork 03 ncurses ? Yes ? No ? ? No No No No Yes Yes ? No ? ? ? ?
Proteus 05 Cocoa ? Partial ? Yes ? No Yes Yes Yes ? ? ? ? ? Yes ? ? ?
Psi 06 KDE/Qt Yes 9 Yes Yes Yes Yes No Partial (Icon sets only) Template:Not yet No No Yes Partial (Linux & Unix) No No Yes No No Yes
psyced 07 Template:N/a Yes No ? No Yes No No Yes Yes Yes Yes No No No Yes No No ?
QIP 10 W32, VCL Yes Yes http(s), socks4, 4A, 5 Yes Yes No Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yes No No Yes No No ?
Qnext 10 Swing Yes Yes ? Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes ? ? Yes ? Yes ? ? ? ?
QQ 11 W32 No Yes ? Yes No Yes Yes No Yes No Yes Yes No Yes Yes Yes Yes ?
qutIM 07 Qt Yes Yes http(s), socks 5 Yes Yes No Yes No No No Yes No No No Yes No No ?
RealTimeQuery 03 Template:N/a Template:Not yet Yes ? No No No Yes No No No Yes Template:Not yet No Template:Not yet Template:Not yet No ? ?
Sim-IM 08 Qt/KDE Yes 5,6 Yes ? Yes Yes No Yes Yes No ? Yes ? ? ? Yes ? ? ?
Skype 12 Qt/KDE, W32 Yes Yes Yes Yes Partial Yes No Yes Yes No Yes Yes Yes Yes No ? With plugin (Windows only) Yes
Sococo 6 None Yes No Yes No No No Yes No No Yes Yes No No Yes Yes Yes No No
talk 00 curses No No ? No No No No No No No No No No No No No No ?
Trillian Basic 3.0 07 W32 Yes Yes ? Yes Partial No Yes No Yes ? Yes ? ? No Yes ? ? ?
Trillian Pro 3.0 11 W32 Yes Yes ? Yes Partial Yes Yes Yes Yes Partial Yes Yes ? Yes Yes ? ? ?
Trillian Astra 12 W32 Yes Yes ? Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes ? Yes Yes ? Yes Yes ? ? ?
VoxOx 7 No Yes Yes No Yes No No No No No No Yes No Yes Yes Yes No No No
VZOchat 7 W32 Yes No https, socks4, 4A, 5 No Yes No No No No No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No No No
Windows Live Messenger

(formerly MSN Messenger)

15 W32 No Yes Yes: socks4/5, HTTP Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Windows Messenger 06 W32 No Yes ? Yes Yes No No Partial No ? No Yes ? No No Yes Yes Yes
Xfire 06 W32 No Yes ? No Yes No Yes Partial Yes No Yes Yes No No No No No ?
Yahoo! Messenger 11 W32, Cocoa, GTK No Yes ? Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes ? Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes ? ? Yes
Client Number of Features Included Toolkits or SDKs Encryption File transfer Proxy-server Graphical smileys Unicode (UTF-8) Built-in games Themes / skins Plugin system 1 Third party add-ons 2 Scripting Message Logging Voice messaging Voice Mail Webcam Support Offline messaging Remote desktop application assistance Whiteboard Right-to-Left texting

Note 1: Plug-in system to add/expand the default features for the application, or protocol. Such as (but not limited to) Trillian chat client - Plugins.

Note 2: Third party add-ons which are usually not approved by the author of the application and are usually standalone. Such as (but not limited to) AOL Instant messenger - Third-party add-ons.

Note 3: Using third party add-on software. Consult the client's page for details.

Note 4: Proprietary; compatible only to itself.

Note 5: ICQ: SSL-encrypted direct connections; compatible between climm, Licq and Sim-IM.

Note 6: Any protocol: GPG-encrypted messages.

Note 7: Blowfish-encrypted direct connection; compatible only to itself.

Note 8: Newer version Pidgin: Pidgin-encryption plugin, older version Gaim: Gaim-encryption plugin, available at pidgin-encrypt.sf.net. This plugin is compatible with Pidgin/Gaim clients only.

Note 9: Compatible with all XMPP clients implementing XEP-0027 (standard XMPP encryption).

Note 10: SecureIM plugin provides 192 bits AES Encryption, compatible only between Miranda clients.

Note 11: End to end encryption via "Off The Record" (OTR) encryption. Adium: Plugin (built-in), Kopete: Plugin (kopete-otr.follefuder.org), Pidgin: Plugin (www.cypherpunks.ca/otr), Miranda: Plugin (addons.miranda-im.org/details.php?action=viewfile&id=2644), climm: built-in since (mICQ) 0.5.4, Trillian Pro: Plugin (trillianotr.kittyfox.net)

Note 13: While IMVU does not allow add-ons to extend the client, registered accounts can create new content for use inside the simulation.

Note 14: IMVU logs all actions perceived by the client, including actions that do not have a textual result, making the log difficult to use for reading of messages.

Note 15: WebCam Video, a plugin for Miranda IM, allows for video chat between two users of the Miranda IM client through a different method than whichever protocol they may currently use.

Note 16: AES256-encrypted direct connection; compatible only to itself.

Note 17: Voice clips are fully supported in the stable version, while the audio conference feature is available only in the development version.

Note 19: The IRC client connecting to the bitlbee server should take care of this feature.

Note 20: The Jabberwocky client allows scripting in the ARexx language.

Note 21: Only for members of MobileMe

Note 22: GPG Encryption with Kryptonite plugin

Features 2

Client Handwriting mode Dockable Multiaccount Spell check User-Defined Graphical Smileys Animations
Adium No Yes Yes Yes Partial Partial
AIM No Yes No No ? Partial
aMSN Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Ayttm No No Yes Yes Yes No
BitlBee No ? ? ? ? ?
BitWise IM ? ? ? ? ? ?
Brosix ? ? ? ? Yes Yes
Centericq ? ? ? ? ? ?
climm Template:N/a ? Yes ? ? ?
Coccinella ? Yes Yes Yes ? ?
Digsby No Yes Yes Yes No No
eM Client No Yes Yes Yes No No
Empathy No Yes Yes Yes Yes ?
EQO n/a n/a Yes No No No
Exodus ? ? ? ? ? ?
Fire ? ? ? ? ? ?
Gajim ? ? Yes ? ? ?
GCN ? ? ? ? ? ?
GOIM ? ? ? ? ? ?
Goofey6 ? ? ? ? ? ?
Google Talk (standalone) No Yes No No No No
Google Talk (Gmail) No ? ? No No Yes
Gyachi No Yes No No No Yes
iChat No ? Yes Yes ? ?
ICQ No Yes No Yes No Yes: tZer
InSpeak Communicator Yes No Yes No Yes Yes
IMVU ? ? ? ? ? ?
imeem ? ? ? ? ? ?
Jabberwocky ? Yes ? ? ? ?
Kadu ? Yes ? Yes Partial Yes:smileys
KMess Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Kopete No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes:smileys
Licq ? ? ? ? ? ?
MECA Messenger ? ? ? ? ? ?
meebo ? ? ? ? ? ?
Meetro ? ? ? ? ? ?
Mercury Messenger Yes Yes Yes No ? ?
Miranda IM Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Microsoft Messenger for Mac No ? ? No Yes Partial
MindSpring ? ? ? ? ? ?
MySpaceIM ? ? ? ? ? ?
Naim No ? ? ? ? ?
Nimbuzz No No No No No No
ooVoo ? ? ? ? ? ?
QuteCom ? ? Yes ? ? ?
Pandion No No No No Yes Yes
Paltalk ? ? ? ? ? ?
Pidgin formerly Gaim No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes:smileys and user icons
PopNote Yes No Yes No No No
pork ? ? ? ? ? ?
Proteus ? ? ? ? ? ?
Psi No ? Yes Yes ? ?
psyced No No No No ? ?
Qnext ? ? ? ? ? ?
QIP Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes:smileys
QQ No Yes Yes No Yes Yes
qutIM No Yes Yes No Yes Yes:Animated emoticons
RealTimeQuery No ? Yes ? ? ?
Sim-IM ? Yes Yes Yes Yes No
Skype No No No No ? Yes:Animated emoticons
talk ? ? ? ? ? ?
Trillian Yes Yes Yes No No Yes:Animated emoticons
Trillian Pro Yes Yes Yes Yes ? Yes:Animated emoticons
Trillian Astra Yes Yes Yes Yes Partial Yes:Animated emoticons
VoxOx No No Yes Yes No No
VZOchat No No No No No Yes: Animated user icons
Windows Live Messenger Yes No Yes No Yes Yes: Animated emoticons, winks
Windows Messenger No No No No ? ?
Yahoo! Messenger ? ? ? No ? ?
Zephyr ? ? ? ? ? ?
Client Handwriting mode Dockable Multiaccount Spell check User-Defined Graphical Smileys Animations

See also

References

  1. ↑ Ayttm: Universal Instant Messaging Client
  2. ↑ Initial revision
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 XMPP Software: Clients
  4. ↑ Coccinella | Instant Messaging Program with Whiteboard
  5. ↑ Voice over IP (VoIP) Questions
  6. ↑ Порт qutIM 0.1 (SVN: rev. 111)
  7. ↑ AIM Download Mac - AIM
  8. ↑ Lotus Sametime Mobile Version 8.0 User Guide
  9. ↑ qutIM's supported OS page
  10. ↑ http://gitorious.org/qutim
v • d • e
Instant messaging
Clients by protocol
Proprietary and/or
single protocol
AIM · Baidu Hi · Digsby · Fetion · Gadu-Gadu · iChat · ICQ  · IMVU · Lotus Sametime · NateOn · Qnext · Skype · Tencent QQ · VZOchat · Yahoo! Messenger · Xfire
Open source and/or
multi-protocol
Adium · Ayttm · BitlBee · CenterIM · eBuddy · Empathy  · fring · Kopete  · Mail.ru Agent  · meebo · Miranda IM · Nimbuzz · Palringo · Pidgin · Trillian  · QIP Infium
Gabber · Gajim · Gizmo5 · Google Talk · JWChat · Psi
See also
Comparison of clients and protocols

es:Anexo:Comparación de mensajería instantánea it:Comparazione degli instant messenger pl:Porównanie komunikatorów internetowych ru:Сравнение мессенджеров zh:即时通讯软件比较

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