Compare software

Pidgin vs Converse: catalog facts
Pidgin	Converse
Free Free and open source under the GPL. The project states it is free and contains no ads.	Free Free and open source under the MPL-2.0 licence.
Windows, macOS, Linux	Web, 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	Works with any standard XMPP server OMEMO end-to-end encryption
The interface is unmistakably from another era Support for modern commercial networks depends on plugins that break when APIs change	Needs an XMPP account or server to be useful Some features such as URL previews depend on server support
Downloadable app	Downloadable app, Web application, Self-hosted
Open source	Open source
License: GPL-2.0	License: MPL-2.0
Account needed	Not stated if an account is needed
Needs internet	Not stated if it works offline
Official website Full listing and sources Checked September 21, 2026	Official website Full listing and sources Checked September 23, 2026

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