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Profanity vs Pidgin: catalog facts
Profanity	Pidgin
Free Free and open source; the project accepts donations.	Free Free and open source under the GPL. The project states it is free and contains no ads.
Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, Command line	Windows, macOS, Linux
OMEMO, OTR and PGP encryption support Multi-user chat rooms and roster management	Signs in to several chat networks at once from one window XMPP, IRC, Bonjour, Gadu-Gadu, GroupWise, Sametime, SILC, SIMPLE and Zephyr built in
Terminal only, with no graphical interface Requires an XMPP account on some server	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
Not stated if it works offline	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.