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Gajim vs Pidgin: catalog facts
Gajim	Pidgin
Free Free and open source, funded by donations.	Free Free and open source under the GPL. The project states it is free and contains no ads.
Windows, Linux	Windows, macOS, Linux
Works with any XMPP provider and interoperates with other XMPP apps End-to-end encryption including OMEMO and OpenPGP	Signs in to several chat networks at once from one window XMPP, IRC, Bonjour, Gadu-Gadu, GroupWise, Sametime, SILC, SIMPLE and Zephyr built in
Needs an XMPP account from a provider or your own server Contacts must also use XMPP to reach them	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 not stated	License: GPL-2.0
Account needed	Account needed
Needs internet	Needs internet
Official website Full listing and sources Checked September 23, 2026	Official website Full listing and sources Checked September 21, 2026

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