Alternatives to ZNC
An IRC bouncer that stays connected to IRC networks so your client can disconnect without losing chat. The listings below can replace it for an important use case. Each note says what changes if you switch.
The original
ZNC
An IRC bouncer that stays connected to IRC networks so your client can disconnect without losing chat.
Replacements
Listings that take over the same core job as ZNC.
soju
A self-hosted IRC bouncer that stays connected to IRC servers for you and keeps chat history.
soju is a self-hosted IRC bouncer with chat history playback, many IRCv3 extensions and detached channels, though its license is not listed as open source.
The Lounge
A self-hosted web IRC client that stays connected to servers while you are offline.
The Lounge merges the always-on connection with a web IRC client usable from phones and desktops, so no separate client is needed, running on Node.js.
Similar software
Related functionality, not a direct replacement.
WeeChat
An extensible terminal chat client with a full IRC plugin and scripting in eight languages.
Irssi
A terminal-based IRC client with split windows, extensive settings and scripting support.
Halloy
An open-source IRC client for macOS, Windows and Linux, written in Rust and focused on speed.
Konversation
A graphical IRC client from KDE with DCC file transfers, per-channel encodings and an embedded terminal.
Textual
A native macOS IRC client with IRCv3 support, OTR encryption and customizable styles.
mIRC
A long-running Windows client for chatting on Internet Relay Chat networks, sold as shareware.
