Comparison of Internet Relay Chat clients

The following tables compare general and technical information between a number of IRC client programs which have been discussed in independent published literature.

General

Basic general information about the clients: creator/company, license, etc. Clients listed on a light purple background are no longer in active development.

Client	Primary developers	Distribution model	Software license	User interface	Programming language
AdiIRC[1]	Per Amundsen	Freeware	Proprietary	GUI	.NET Framework/C#
Adium	Thijs Alkemade	Free software	GPL	GUI	Objective-C and C
Ambassador[2]	Isengrim	Free software	MPL	GUI[Note 1]	JavaScript, XUL
AndroIRC[3]	Madalynn	Freeware	Proprietary	GUI	?
Bersirc[4]	Jamie Frater, Nicholas Copeland	Free software	LGPL	GUI	C (Delphi originally)
BitchX	Colten Edwards	Free software	BSD	TUI, GUI	C
ChatZilla	James Ross, Robert Ginda, Samuel Sieb, Gijs Kruitbosch	Free software	MPL, GPL, LGPL tri-license	GUI[Note 2]	JavaScript, XUL
Colloquy	Timothy Hatcher, Kiji Roshi	Free software	Desktop: GPL Mobile: BSD	GUI	Objective-C
ERC	Alexander L. Belikoff, Sergey Berezin	Free software	GPL	TUI, GUI	Emacs Lisp
F-IRC	Folkert van Heusden	Free software	GPL	TUI	C++
GrumpyChat[5]	Petr Bena	Free software	LGPL	GUI	C++
HexChat[6]	Berke Viktor	Shareware, 30-day trial (XChat on Windows);[7] free software	GPL	TUI, GUI	C
IceChat[8][9]	Paul Vanderzee	Free software	GPL	GUI	C# (Visual Basic until 2004)[10]
Igloo[11]	Jordan Koch	Commercial	Proprietary	GUI	Swift
Instantbird	Florian Quèze	Free software	GPL	GUI	C/C++, JavaScript, CSS, XUL
IRCCloud[12]	IRCCloud Ltd.	Freemium	Proprietary	Web	JavaScript frontend, Erlang backend
ircII	Michael Sandrof	Free software	BSD	TUI	C
IRCjr	Michael Brutman	Free software	GPLv3	TUI	C++
Ircle	Onno Tijdgat	Commercial, 30-day trial	Proprietary	GUI	C
Irssi	Timo Sirainen	Free software	GPL	TUI	C
Kiwi IRC	Darren Whitlen	Free software	AGPL	Web	JavaScript frontend, Node.js backend
kirc	Michael Czigler	Free software	GPL	TUI	C
KVIrc	Szymon Stefanek	Free software	GPL	GUI	C++
Konversation	KDE	Free software	GPL	GUI	C++
LeafChat[13]	Samuel Marshall	Free software	GPL	GUI	Java
LimeChat[14][15][16]	Satoshi Nakagawa	Free software	GPL[17]	GUI	RubyCocoa (2007–2010)[16][17] Objective-C (2010–)[18]
Linkinus	Conceited Software	Commercial, 15-day trial	Proprietary	GUI	Objective-C
Mibbit	Jimmy Moore	Textual Adbar	Proprietary	Web	JavaScript frontend, Java backend
mIRC	Khaled Mardam-Bey	Shareware, 30-day trial[19]	Proprietary	GUI	C/C++[20]
Monochrome[21]	Peter Pawlowski	Free software	GPLv2	GUI	C#
Nettalk	Nicolas Kruse	Free software	Apache 2.0	GUI	Visual Basic
Opera (until version 12.xx) [Note 3]		Freeware	Proprietary	GUI[Note 4]	C++
Pidgin		Free software	GPL	GUI	C
PIRCH		Shareware	Proprietary	GUI	Delphi
PJIRC	Philippe Detournay	Free software	GPL	GUI	Java
Quassel	Manuel Nickschas, Marcus Eggenberger, Alexander von Renteln	Free software	GPL	TUI[Note 5], GUI[Note 6]	C++
qwebirc	Chris Porter	Free software	GPL	Web	JavaScript front end, Python backend
rcirc	Ryan Yeske	Free software	GPL	TUI	Emacs Lisp
Smuxi	Mirco Bauer	Free software	GPL	GUI, TUI, server[Note 6]	C#
Snak	Kent Sorensen	Commercial	Proprietary	GUI	?
Thunderbird	Mozilla Foundation	Free software	MPL 2.0	GUI	C, C++, JavaScript
Visual IRC	Jesse McGrew	Free software	GPL	GUI	Delphi
WeeChat	Sebastien Helleu	Free software	GPL	TUI, GUI[Note 7]	C
Client	Primary developers	Distribution model	Software license	User interface	Programming language

1. Can be used as a standalone application or as part of a XUL-based web browser
2. Can be installed as part of a web browser
3. Opera 12.xx was the last version with IRC support. When Opera was rebased from Opera's own Presto layout engine to the Chromium browser, IRC and Mail were not ported.
4. Web browser component
5. Incomplete, proof of concept
6. Separate client and daemon
7. No official GUI, several options available (e.g. Glowing Bear, a web frontend)

Release history

A brief overview of the release history.

	First public release		First stable release		Latest stable release
Client	Date	Version	Date	Version
AdiIRC	2005	1.0			3.5 (June 30, 2019[22]) [±]
Bersirc	1999				2.2.14 (12 August 2005) [±]
BitchX	1996				1.2.1 (November 14, 2014) [±]
ChatZilla	2001				0.9.93 (November 8, 2016[23]) [±]
Colloquy	2005				2.4.3 (6011) (March 22, 2014) [±]
degesch	2015	0.9	2015	0.9
DMDirc	2007				0.7 (January 5, 2013[24]) [±]
ERC	1999?				ERC improvements are now released as part of Emacs. [±]
F-IRC	2006?	0.1			1.36 (February 23, 2014)
HexChat	2009-10-04	r249	2009-10-09	2.86.0	2.14.3 (December 20, 2019) [±]
HydraIRC	2002				0.3.165 (December 12, 2008) [±]
IceChat	2002	3.0	2002-04-08	3.0	9.50 (July 29, 2020) [±]
ircII	1990				20190117 (January 17, 2019) [±]
IRCjr	2008		2008		mTCP_2020-03-07 (March 7, 2020[25]) [±]
Ircle	1995				3.5a6 (November 17, 2007) [±]
Irssi	1999				1.2.2 (August 29, 2019) [±][26]
jIRCii	?	?			?
kirc	2020	0.0.1
KVIrc	1998	0.6.0	1999-12-21	1.0.0	5.0.0 (January 1, 2019[27]) [±]
Konversation	2002				1.7.7 (26 October 2020[28]) [±]
LeafChat	?	1.0			2.41 (October 4, 2011) [±]
LimeChat	2007				Mavericks / Mountain Lion 2.43 (January 26, 2018[29]) [±] Lion 2.38 (September 12, 2013) [±]
Linkinus	2007				2.4.3 (August 23, 2011[30]) [±]
Mibbit	2008				web application, no version
mIRC	1995				7.64 (December 11, 2020[31]) [±]
Nettalk	2004				6.7.16 (October 30, 2012[32]) [±]
Opera	1996				74.0.3911.75 (2 February 2021[33])
PIRCH	1995				1.0.1.1190 (January 1, 2001) [±]
PJIRC	2002				2.2.1 (November 29, 2004) [±]
Quassel	2008-08-27	0.3.0			0.13.1 (February 18, 2019) [±]
qwebirc	2009	0.81			0.92 (February 13, 2012) [±]
rIRC	2010	Preview Release 1	2012	1.44	1.4.4 (January 16, 2012)
Scrollback	2013		2013
rcirc	?	?			rcirc improvements are now released as part of Emacs. [±]
Smuxi	2008-07-29	0.6	2010-09-03	0.8	1.0.7 (June 18, 2017) [±]
Snak	1997				5.3.4 (March 11, 2012[34]) [±]
Visual IRC	1995				2.0pl2 (December 30, 2007) [±][35]
WeeChat	2003				3.0.1 (January 31, 2021[36]) [±]
Client	Date	Version	Date	Version	Latest stable release
	First public release		First stable release

Operating system support

The operating systems on which the clients can run natively (without emulation).

Client	Windows 7, Vista	XP, 2000	NT 4.0	NT 3.x	Me, 98	95	3.1x	ReactOS	macOS (Intel/PPC)	OS 9	OS 8	System 7 (PPC/68k)	BeOS, Haiku	OS/2, eCS, ArcaOS	AmigaOS (68k)	AmigaOS 4, MorphOS (PPC)	DOS
Bersirc	Yes	Yes	?	No	?	?	No	?	?	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No
BitchX	Yes[Note 1]	Yes[Note 1]	Yes[Note 1]	No	Yes[Note 1]	Yes[Note 1]	No	?	Yes	No	No	No	?	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
ChatZilla	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	?	Yes	No
Colloquy	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No
degesch	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	?	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No
ERC	Yes	Yes	?	No	?	?	No	?	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	?	?	?
HexChat	Yes	Dropped (2.9.5)	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	?	No	No	No	No
HydraIRC	Yes	Yes	No	No	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No
IceChat	Yes	Dropped (9.50)	No	No	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No
IRCCloud	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
ircII	Yes[Note 1]	Yes[Note 1]	Yes[Note 1]	No	Yes[Note 1]	Yes[Note 1]	No	?	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No	?	No
IRCjr	No	Yes[Note 2]	Yes[Note 2]	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	Yes
Ircle	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	Yes[Note 3]	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	No	No
Irssi	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	No	?	Yes	No	No	No	Yes	Yes	?	Yes	No
jIRCii	Yes	Yes	Yes	?	Yes	Yes	No	?	Yes	Yes	Yes	?	Yes	Yes	?	Yes	No
KiwiIRC	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
Konversation	Partial	Partial	Partial	No	Partial	Partial	No	?	Partial	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No
KVIrc	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No	No	Yes[40]	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	Yes[41]	No	No	No
LeafChat	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No
LimeChat	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	Yes[Note 4]	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No
Linkinus	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	Yes[Note 3]	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No
Mibbit	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
mIRC	Yes	Yes	Yes	Partial	Yes	Yes	Partial	?	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No
Nettalk	Yes	Yes	?	No	Partial[Note 5]	No	No	?	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No
Opera	Yes	Yes	Dropped (10.10)	No	Dropped	Dropped	Dropped	No[43]	Dropped[44]	Dropped	Dropped	No	Dropped	Dropped	No	No	No
PIRCH	Yes	Yes	Yes	?	Yes	Yes	Yes	?	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No
PJIRC	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	No	No	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	No
Quassel	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No	Yes	No	No	No	No	Yes	No	No	No
qwebirc	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
rIRC	Yes	Yes	Yes	?	?	?	?	?	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No
rcirc	Yes	Yes	?	?	No	No	No	No	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No
Scrollback	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
Smuxi	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No
Snak	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	?	No	No	No	No	No
Visual IRC	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	No	?	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No
WeeChat	Partial[Note 1]	Partial[Note 1]	Partial[Note 1]	No	Partial[Note 1]	Partial[Note 1]	No	?	Yes	No	No	No	Partial	No	No	No	No
Client	Windows 7, Vista	XP, 2000	NT 4.0	NT 3.x	Me, 98	95	3.1x	ReactOS	OS X (Intel/PPC)	OS 9	OS 8	System 7 (PPC/68k)	BeOS, Haiku	OS/2, eCS	AmigaOS (68k)	AmigaOS 4, MorphOS (PPC)	DOS

1. Requires Cygwin[37][38]
2. Requires SwsVpkt[39]
3. Requires OS X v10.4.3 or later
4. Requires RubyCocoa 1.0.0 or later
5. Does not support Windows 95 or Windows 98[42]

Unix and Unix-like operating systems:

• Unix (BSD): 386BSD, BSD/OS, FreeBSD, NetBSD, OpenBSD, SunOS, ULTRIX
• Unix (System V): AIX, A/UX, HP-UX, IRIX, SCO OpenServer, Solaris, UnixWare
• Unix-like: Linux, NeXTSTEP, OpenVMS, OSF/1, QNX, Tru64 UNIX

Client	386BSD	BSD/OS (BSD/386, BSDI)	FreeBSD, NetBSD, OpenBSD	SunOS	ULTRIX	AIX	A/UX	HP-UX	IRIX	SCO OpenServer	Solaris	UnixWare	Linux	NeXTSTEP	OpenVMS	OSF/1	QNX	Tru64 UNIX
Bersirc	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	Yes	?	No	?	?	?
BitchX	?	Yes[Note 1]	Yes[Note 1]	Yes[Note 1]	Yes[Note 1]	Yes[Note 1]	?	Yes[Note 1]	Yes[Note 1]	?	Yes[Note 1]	Yes	Yes[Note 1]	Yes	?	Yes[Note 1]	Yes[Note 1]	?
ChatZilla	No	No	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No	Yes	Yes
Colloquy	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No
degesch	?	?	Yes	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	Yes	?	?	?	?	?
DMDIrc	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
ERC	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
HexChat	?	?	Yes	Yes	?	Yes	?	Yes	Yes	?	Yes	?	Yes	?	?	?	?	Yes
HydraIRC	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No
IceChat	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No
IRCCloud	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
ircII	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	?	Yes	Yes	?	Yes	Yes	Yes
IRCjr	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No
Ircle	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No
Irssi	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes
KiwiIRC	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Konversation	?	?	Yes	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	Yes	?	Yes	?	?	?	?	Yes
KVIrc	?	?	Yes	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	Yes	?	Yes	?	?	?	?	?
LeafChat	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	Yes	No	No	No	No	No
LimeChat	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No
Linkinus	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No
Mibbit	?	?	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	?	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	?	Yes	?	?	Yes
mIRC	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No
Nettalk	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No
Opera	No	No	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	Yes	No	Yes	No	No	No	Dropped	No
PIRCH	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No
PJIRC	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Quassel	?	?	Yes	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	Yes	?	Yes	?	?	?	?	?
qwebirc	?	?	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	?	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	?	Yes	?	?	Yes
rcirc	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Smuxi	?	?	Yes	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	Yes	?	Yes	?	?	?	?	?
Snak	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No
Visual IRC	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No
WeeChat	?	?	Yes[Note 2]	?	?	?	?	Yes	Partial[Note 3]	?	Yes[Note 2]	?	Yes	?	?	?	Yes[Note 2]	?
Client	386BSD	BSD/OS (BSD/386, BSDI)	FreeBSD, NetBSD, OpenBSD	SunOS	ULTRIX	AIX	A/UX	HP-UX	IRIX	SCO OpenServer	Solaris	UnixWare	Linux	NeXTSTEP	OpenVMS	OSF/1	QNX	Tru64 UNIX

1. BitchX is known to work on BSDI 2.0, 2.1, 3.1, 4.0; FreeBSD 2.x, 3.x, 4.0; NetBSD 3.x, 4.x; SunOS 4.1.4; Ultrix; AIX; HP-UX 9.x, 10.x; IRIX 5.x, 6.x; Solaris 5.x and later; Linux; OSF/1 (DEC Alpha); QNX
2. WeeChat tested on FreeBSD 4.11, 5.4, 6.0; NetBSD 2.0, 2.1; OpenBSD 3.6, 3.7, 3.8; Solaris 5.10; QNX 6.3[45]
3. In development[45]

Protocol support

What IRC related protocols and standards are supported by each client.

Client	CTCP	DCC	IPv6	SSL	TLS	DANE	OCSP	CRL	SASL	OTR
Bersirc	?	Partial	No	No	?	?	?	?	?	No
BitchX	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	?	?	?	?	No
ChatZilla	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	?	Yes	Yes	script	No
Colloquy	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	?	?	?	?	Yes	No[46]
degesch	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	?	?	?	?	No
DMDirc	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	?	?	?	?	?	No
ERC	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	?	?	?	Yes[Note 1]	No
HexChat	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	Yes	Yes[Note 2]
HydraIRC	Yes	Yes	?	No	No	?	No	No	?	No
IceChat	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	?	?	?	Yes	No
IRCCloud	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	Yes	No
ircII	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	?	?	?	?	?	No
IRCjr	Yes	No	No	No	No	?	No	No	No	No
Ircle	Yes	Yes	?	Yes	?	?	?	?	?	No
Irssi	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	?	Yes	Yes[47]
jIRCii	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	?	?	?	?	?	No
KiwiIRC	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	?	No	No	Yes	No
Konversation	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	?	?	?	Yes	No
KVIrc	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	?	No	No	Yes	No
LimeChat	?	Yes	Yes	Yes	?	?	?	?	Yes	No
Linkinus	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	?	?	?	?	No	No
Mibbit	?	Partial[Note 3][Note 4]	No	Yes	?	?	?	?	Yes	No
mIRC	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	?	?	?	Yes	No
Nettalk	Yes	Yes	No	No	?	?	?	?	?	No
Opera	Yes[48]	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	?	?	?	?	No
PIRCH	Yes	Yes	No	No	?	?	?	?	?	No
PJIRC	?	Yes	No	No	?	?	?	?	?	No
Quassel	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	?	No	No	Yes	No[49]
qwebirc	Yes	No	No	Yes	No	?	No	No	No	No
rcirc	Partial	No	No	Yes	Yes	?	?	?	?	No
Scrollback	Partial	No	Yes	Yes	?	?	?	?	No	No
Smuxi	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	?	?	?	?	No	No[50]
Snak	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	?	?	?	?	?	No
Visual IRC	Yes	Yes	No	No	?	?	?	?	?	No
WeeChat	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	?	?	?	Yes	Yes[51][52][Note 2]
Client	CTCP	DCC	IPv6	SSL	TLS	DANE	OCSP	CRL	SASL	OTR

1. Supported via patch
2. Supported via plugin
3. Cannot send files, can receive files up to 2 MB only
4. DCC does not always succeed at this stage

Direct Client-to-Client (DCC) support

Client	CHAT	Whiteboard	SEND	RESUME	TSEND	SEND T	XMIT	Passive DCC	Server	RDCC	REVERSE	RSEND	Reverse / Firewall DCC	File servers (FSERVs)	XDCC	VOICE
Bersirc	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	No	No	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
BitchX	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	?	No	No	?	?	?	?	?	Yes	?
ChatZilla	Yes	No	Yes	No[53]	?	?	No	No[Note 1]	No	No	No	No	No	No	?	?
Colloquy	Yes	?	Yes	Yes	?	?	?	Yes	No	?	?	?	?	?	Yes	?
degesch	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No
DMDirc	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	?	?	No	Yes	No	No	No	No	Yes	No	No	?
ERC	Yes	?	Yes	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
HexChat	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	?	?	?	Yes	?	?	?	?	?	?	Yes	?
HydraIRC	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	?	?	No	?	?	?	?	?	?	No	No	?
IceChat	Yes	No	Yes	?	?	?	No	?	?	?	?	?	?	No	No	?
IRCCloud	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No
ircII	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	No	No	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
IRCjr	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	?
Ircle	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
Irssi	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	?	?	?	Yes	Yes	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
KiwiIRC	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	?
Konversation	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	?	?	?	Yes	No	?	?	?	Yes	?	Yes	?
KVIrc	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	Yes	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes[Note 2]	Yes[Note 2]	Yes[Note 3]
LimeChat	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	Yes	Yes	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
Linkinus	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	Yes	No	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
Mibbit	No	?	?	?	?	?	?	No	No	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
mIRC	Yes	?	Yes	Yes[Note 4]	?	?	?	Yes	Yes	Yes[Note 5]	?	?	Yes	Yes	Yes[Note 5]	?
Nettalk	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	No	Partial	No	No	No	No	?	?	?
Opera	No	?	?	?	?	?	?	Yes	No	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
PIRCH	Yes	No	Yes	Yes[Note 4]	?	?	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	?
PJIRC	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
Quassel	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	?
qwebirc	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	?
rcirc	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	?
Smuxi	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	No	No	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
Snak	Yes	?	Yes	Yes	?	Yes	?	No	No	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
Visual IRC	?	Yes	?	Yes[Note 4]	?	?	?	Yes	No	?	?	?	Yes	?	?	Yes[Note 3]
WeeChat	Yes	?	Yes	?	?	?	?	No	No	?	?	?	?	?	Yes	?

1. Planned for a later version
2. Supported via scripting
3. Incompatible with other IRC clients[54]
4. Supports the DCC Resume protocol[55]
5. Supported via a script[56]

Features

Information on what features each of the clients support.

Client	Multi-server	UTF-8	Proxy server	irc:// URI scheme	Automatic updates	Scripting language
Bersirc	Yes	No	?	?	?	N/A
BitchX	Yes	No	?	?	?	Enhanced IrcII script
ChatZilla	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	JavaScript
Colloquy	Yes	Yes	?	Yes	Yes[Note 1]	AppleScript, Cocoa, F-Script, JavaScript, Python
degesch	Yes	Yes	Yes	N/A	N/A	Lua
DMDirc	Yes	Partial	?	Yes	Yes	Custom Actions system, Java plugins
ERC	Yes	Yes	Yes[Note 2]	?	Yes[Note 3]	Emacs Lisp
HexChat	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Perl, Python, Tcl, Lua[Note 4], JavaScript, C, C++, and via D-Bus.
HydraIRC	Yes	Yes	?	?	Yes	No
IceChat	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	VBScript
ircII	Yes	Yes[Note 5]	?	?	?	IrcII script
IRCjr	No	No	No	No	No	N/A
IRCCloud	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	N/A	JavaScript
Ircle	Yes	No	?	?	?	AppleScript
Irssi	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	Perl
jIRCii	Yes	Yes	Yes	?	No	Sleep
KiwiIRC	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	N/A	JavaScript, Node.js
Konversation	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	?	Shell script, Ruby, Python, Perl, Java, C++, C#, JavaScript[Note 6]
KVIrc	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	KVS (custom), Perl, Python, C++
LeafChat	Yes	Yes	?	N/A	Yes	Java
LimeChat	Yes	Yes	?	?	?	N/A
Linkinus	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	AppleScript, Cocoa
Mibbit	Yes	Yes	?	Yes	N/A	N/A
mIRC	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes[Note 7]	mIRC script
Nettalk	Yes	Yes	SOCKS	Yes	Yes	VBScript, custom
Opera	Yes	Yes	?	Yes	Yes	N/A
PIRCH	Yes	No	?	?	No	Yes
PJIRC	Yes	Yes	?	?	No	Partial, JavaScript
Quassel	Yes	Yes	Yes	?	No	No
qwebirc	No	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	No
rcirc	Yes	Yes	?	?	No	Emacs Lisp
Smuxi	Yes	Yes	Yes	?	?	Yes (language agnostic)
Snak	Yes	Yes	?	?	?	AppleScript, IrcII script
Visual IRC	Yes	No	?	?	?	Versus
WeeChat	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	?	C, Perl, Python, Ruby, Lua, Tcl, Scheme (Guile)
Client	Multi-server	UTF-8	Proxy server	irc:// URI scheme	Automatic updates	Scripting language

1. Automatically updates via the Sparkle framework
2. Can be added with separate packages.
3. Supports automatic updates via the Emacs package manager
4. Since 2.9.5 HexChat is shipped only with Perl and Python.
5. Supported as of version 20050921
6. Any language which supports DCOP may be used for Konversation scripting. Virtually any language can be made to support Konversation scripting by executing the command line "dcop" program.
7. Only looks for updates, they need to be manually downloaded and installed.

See also

• Comparison of mobile IRC clients
• Comparison of instant messaging clients
• Comparison of instant messaging protocols
• Comparison of LAN messengers

References

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2. Ambassador release statement
3. "AndroIRC - The best IRC client for Android your device need". www.androirc.com. Retrieved 2019-12-03.
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7. "HexChat Shareware Explanation".
8. "IceChat Networks website".
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35. https://sourceforge.net/projects/visualirc/files/ViRC/2.0pl2/
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37. "SourceForge: BitchX files See "INSTALL" included with BitchX". Retrieved 2009-09-18.
38. "WeeChat cygwin". Archived from the original on 2009-09-12. Retrieved 2009-09-18.
39. "SwsVpkt". Retrieved 2012-04-14.
40. Connect to the ReactOS IRC Channels
41. 2012-07-03: 4.2.0 Released!
42. "Nettalk: Download". Archived from the original on 2009-05-07. Retrieved 2009-10-09.
43. "ReactOS compatibility database: Opera". Archived from the original on 2011-07-28. Retrieved 2010-01-05.
44. "Features removed from Opera 12 on Mac (IRC, BitTorrent)". Retrieved 2012-08-02.
45. "WeeChat: Supported OS". Retrieved 2009-09-18.
46. "Ticket 3915 requesting OTR support".
47. "Irssi 1.2.0 OTR Migration Path". Retrieved 2020-06-22.
48. "Changelog for Opera 9.0 for Windows". Archived from the original on 2006-08-31. Retrieved 2009-07-14.
49. "Issue 1418 requesting OTR support".
50. "Issue 651 requesting OTR support".
51. "Cypherpunks - OTR-Enabled Software". Retrieved 2014-03-16.
52. "GitHub - weechat-otr - WeeChat script for Off-the-Record messaging". Retrieved 2014-03-16.
53. "Mozilla ChatZilla: Bugzilla Bug 285630: chatzilla does not support resume for dcc downloads". 2009-02-20. Retrieved 2009-07-14.
54. "DCC negotiation and connection". Retrieved 2014-12-16.
55. "DCC Resume protocol". Retrieved 2009-07-14.
56. "SysReset mIRC FileServer". Retrieved 2009-07-14.