Pidgin
A chat client that signs in to several networks at once, supporting XMPP, IRC, Matrix and more through plugins.
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7 more ways to get Pidgin
Other download sites
Run by third parties, not by Pidgin developers. Prefer the official page above when it works.
Package managers
- winget
winget install --id Pidgin.Pidgin - Chocolatey
choco install pidgin - Homebrew
brew install pidgin - Flathub
flatpak install flathub im.pidgin.Pidgin
About Pidgin
Pidgin has been the multi-protocol chat client on Linux and Windows for over twenty years. It logs into XMPP, IRC, Bonjour, Gadu-Gadu, GroupWise, Sametime, SILC, SIMPLE and Zephyr out of the box, and plugins add many more networks, including Matrix.
It supports the features those networks offer, such as file transfers, away messages, buddy icons, custom smileys and typing notifications, and plugins extend it well beyond the defaults. The most commonly added one is OTR for off-the-record encrypted conversations.
It is free, contains no advertising, and all of it is GPL licensed. macOS users are directed to Adium, which uses the same underlying library.
Strengths
- Signs in to several chat networks at once from one window
- XMPP, IRC, Bonjour, Gadu-Gadu, GroupWise, Sametime, SILC, SIMPLE and Zephyr built in
- A large plugin ecosystem, including OTR encryption and additional networks
- Free with no advertising, and entirely GPL licensed
Limitations
- The interface is unmistakably from another era
- Support for modern commercial networks depends on plugins that break when APIs change
- No official macOS build; the project points macOS users to Adium
- Releases are infrequent; the last was January 2025
Details
- Pricing
- Free · Free and open source under the GPL. The project states it is free and contains no ads.
- License
- GPL-2.0
- Developer
- Pidgin developers
- Platforms
- Windows, macOS, Linux
- How it runs
- Downloadable app
- Account
- Required
- Works offline
- No
- Best suited for
- Keeping several chat networks, especially XMPP and IRC, in one client
- Categories
- Secure messaging
- Last verified
- Added
- Provenance
- Selected from the TechWalrus downloads catalog (Messaging); facts checked against the developer's own pages, 3 sources on file.