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Chatty vs Pidgin: catalog facts
Chatty	Pidgin
Free Free and open source under the GPLv3.	Free Free and open source under the GPL. The project states it is free and contains no ads.
Linux	Windows, macOS, Linux
SMS and MMS through the phone modem Matrix and XMPP in the same app	Signs in to several chat networks at once from one window XMPP, IRC, Bonjour, Gadu-Gadu, GroupWise, Sametime, SILC, SIMPLE and Zephyr built in
Linux only XMPP support is optional and depends on libpurple	The interface is unmistakably from another era Support for modern commercial networks depends on plugins that break when APIs change
Downloadable app	Downloadable app
Open source	Open source
License: GPL-3.0	License: GPL-2.0
Not stated if an account is needed	Account needed
Needs internet	Needs internet
Official website Full listing and sources Checked October 1, 2026	Official website Full listing and sources Checked September 21, 2026

Catalog facts only. Anything “not stated” is unconfirmed. Check full listings for details.