Comparison of cross-platform instant messaging clients
The following table compares general and technical information for a number of instant messenger programs and protocols used for communication between one or more people. Please see the individual products articles for further information.
Protocols
| Protocol: | IRC1 | Jabber2 | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Creator | Jarkko Oikarinen | Jeremie Miller | |||||||||||
| First public release date | August 1988 | May 2000 | |||||||||||
| Type | Protocol | Protocol | |||||||||||
| General | |||||||||||||
| Current stable version | None | None | |||||||||||
| Cost | Free | Free | |||||||||||
| License | Open standard | Open standard | |||||||||||
| Protocol or supported protocols | Internet Relay Chat | Jabber/XMPP | |||||||||||
| Identity (not inc. alias) | Username@hostname ("hostmask") e.g. ~usr@a.b.com3 |
JID e.g. usr@a.b.c/home4 | |||||||||||
| Clients | |||||||||||||
| Windows | mIRC, XChat | Exodus, JAJC | |||||||||||
| Mac OS X | IRCle, Fire | Fire | |||||||||||
| Unix-like | XChat | Gabber | |||||||||||
| Protocol: | IRC1 | Jabber2 | |||||||||||
Notes
- 1 IRC can be used by different clients as it is an open protocol. See Internet Relay Chat - Clients.
- 2 Jabber can be used by different clients as it is an open protocol. See Jabber - Clients.
- 3 IRC: ~usr@a.b.com means ~ircuser@myisp.example.com (where myisp.example.com is known as the "hostmask" and can be the server being connected from or an "cloak" granted by the server administrator)
- 4 Jabber: usr@a.b.c/home means user@jabberserver.example.com/home (where home is a "resource", denoting the same user's ability to log in from multiple locations)
Clients
Specialized
| Instant messenger: | ICQ | AIM | MSN | Yahoo! | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Creator | Mirabilis | AOL | Microsoft | Yahoo! | |||||||||
| First public release date | November 1996 | ? | ? | ? | |||||||||
| Type | Specialist program | Specialist program | Specialist program | Specialist program | |||||||||
| General | |||||||||||||
| Current stable version | 4 | 5.5 | 6.2 | 6.0 (Win) 2.5.3 (Mac) | |||||||||
| Cost | Free Adware |
Free Adware |
Free Adware |
Free Adware | |||||||||
| License | Proprietary | Proprietary | Proprietary | Proprietary | |||||||||
| Protocol or supported protocols | OSCAR protocol | OSCAR protocol | .NET Messenger Service | YMSG12 | |||||||||
| Identity (not inc. alias) | UIN e.g. 12345678 |
Username | E-mail address (.NET Passport) | Username | |||||||||
| Support Platforms | |||||||||||||
| Windows | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | |||||||||
| Mac OS X | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | |||||||||
| Linux | No | Yes | No | Yes | |||||||||
| BSD | No | Yes | No | Yes | |||||||||
| Unix | No | Yes | No | Yes | |||||||||
| Features | |||||||||||||
| File transfer | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | |||||||||
| Graphical smileys | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | |||||||||
| In-built Games | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | |||||||||
| Voice and webcam conversations | Yes | Yes | Yes, both | Yes, both | |||||||||
| Themes/skins | No | No | Yes | Yes | |||||||||
| Plugin system1 | No | No | No | No | |||||||||
| Third-party addons2 | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | |||||||||
| Instant messenger: | ICQ | AIM | MSN | Yahoo! | |||||||||
Multi-protocol clients
| Instant messenger: | Trillian | Trillian Pro | Gaim | Miranda | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Creator | Cerulean Studios | Cerulean Studios | Mark Spencer | Martin Öberg | |||||||||
| First public release date | ? | September 2002 | November 1998 | 2000 | |||||||||
| Type | Non-specialist program | Non-specialist program | Non-specialist program | Non-specialist program | |||||||||
| General | |||||||||||||
| Current stable version | 0.74i | 2.0 | 1.0.0 | 0.3.3.1 | |||||||||
| Cost | Free | $25 USD | Free | Free | |||||||||
| License | Proprietary | Proprietary | GPL | GPL | |||||||||
| Protocol or supported protocols | AIM, ICQ, MSN Messenger, Yahoo!, IRC and Jabber (with plugin)3 | AIM, ICQ, MSN Messenger, Yahoo!, IRC and Jabber (with plugin)3 | AIM, ICQ, MSN Messenger, Yahoo!, IRC, Jabber, Gadu-Gadu, Groupwise, OpenNAP, Zephyr and more3 | AIM, ICQ, MSN Messenger, Yahoo!, IRC, Jabber, Gadu-Gadu, QQ, Tlen, BNet, Netsend and more3 | |||||||||
| Identity (not inc. alias) | Per protocol | Per protocol | Per protocol | Per protocol | |||||||||
| Support Platforms | |||||||||||||
| Windows | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | |||||||||
| Mac OS X | No | No | No | No | |||||||||
| Linux | No | No | Yes | No | |||||||||
| BSD | No | No | Yes | No | |||||||||
| Unix | No | No | Yes | No | |||||||||
| Features | |||||||||||||
| File transfer | Yes | Yes | Partial | Yes | |||||||||
| Graphical smileys | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | |||||||||
| In-built Games | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | |||||||||
| Voice and webcam conversations | No | No | No | No | |||||||||
| Themes/skins | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | |||||||||
| Plugin system4 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | |||||||||
| Third-party addons5 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | |||||||||
| Instant messenger: | Trillian | Trillian Pro | Gaim | Miranda | |||||||||
Notes
- 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
- 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
- 3 These clients are not built around their own protocol, but use other protocols to connect.
- 4 Plug-in system to add/expand the default features for the application, or protocol. Such as (but not limited to) Trillian chat client - Plugins
- 5 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