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Pidgin vs BitlBee: catalog facts
Pidgin	BitlBee
Free Free and open source under the GPL. The project states it is free and contains no ads.	Free Free and open source; public servers are also available.
Windows, macOS, Linux	Linux, Self-hosted
Signs in to several chat networks at once from one window XMPP, IRC, Bonjour, Gadu-Gadu, GroupWise, Sametime, SILC, SIMPLE and Zephyr built in	Use XMPP and other networks from any IRC client Plugins for Discord, Mastodon, Steam and more
The interface is unmistakably from another era Support for modern commercial networks depends on plugins that break when APIs change	Last stable release dates from 2019 Requires comfort with IRC and a bot-driven setup
Downloadable app	Downloadable app, Self-hosted
Open source	Open source
License: GPL-2.0	License: GPL-2.0
Account needed	No account needed
Needs internet	Needs internet
Official website Full listing and sources Checked September 21, 2026	Official website Full listing and sources Checked October 2, 2026

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