Comparison of cross-platform instant messaging clients

The landscape for instant messaging involves cross-platform instant messaging clients that can handle one or multiple protocols.[1] The following table compares general and technical information for cross-platform instant messaging clients in active development, each of which have their own article that provide further information.

Clients

Client	Developer	First public release	Monthly active users	Registration requirement	License	Operating system						E2EE 2-user chat	E2EE group chat	Encrypted chat storage	File transfer	Voice messages	Client	Voice chat	Video chat	Read receipts	Editing sent messages	Deleting sent messages	Custom emoji	Stickers	Self-destructing messages	Lock screen	Themes / skins	Plugins	Peer-to-peer text chat	Open source servers	Federated servers	Client	Offline messaging
						Windows	macOS	Linux	Web	Android	iOS
Briar		‹See Tfd›?	‹See Tfd›?	‹See Tfd›?	GPLv3	No	No	No	No	Yes	No	‹See Tfd›?	‹See Tfd›?		No	No	Briar	No	No	Yes	‹See Tfd›?	‹See Tfd›?	Yes	No	No	‹See Tfd›?	No	‹See Tfd›?	Yes	‹See Tfd›?	‹See Tfd›?	Briar	Yes
Discord	Discord Inc.	March 6, 2015	250 million (2019)[2]	Email	Proprietary Freeware	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No		Yes	No	Discord	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	Discord
eBuddy	Paulo Taylor	March 9, 2003		Phone number	Proprietary Freeware	No	No	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes		Yes	Yes	eBuddy	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Partial	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	No	eBuddy
Element	New Vector Limited	July 2016		Nothing required	Apache License	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes		Yes	No	Element	Yes	Yes	Yes	Partial	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Element
Facebook Messenger	Facebook, Inc.	August 9, 2011	1300 million (2019)[2]	Facebook account or Phone number	Proprietary Freeware	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No		Yes	Yes	Facebook Messenger	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	Facebook Messenger
FireChat	Open Garden	March 2014		Email	Proprietary Freeware	No	No	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes		Yes	Yes	FireChat	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	Yes	No	No	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	FireChat	Yes
Gadu-Gadu	Łukasz Foltyn / GG Network S.A.	August 15, 2000		Email	Proprietary Freeware	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No		Yes	Yes	Gadu-Gadu	Yes					No					No	No	No		Gadu-Gadu
Gajim	Yann Le Boulanger	May 21, 2004		Email	GPL	Yes	No	Yes	No	No	No	Yes	Plug-in		Yes	No	Gajim	Yes	Yes		Yes		Yes		No		Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Gajim
ICQ	Mail.Ru	November 1996		Phone number	Proprietary Freemium adware	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No		Yes	No	ICQ	Yes	Yes				Yes				Yes	Yes	No			ICQ
Jami	Savoir-faire Linux	?		local account	GPLv3	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes			Yes	Yes	Jami	Yes	Yes									Yes	Yes	decentralised		Jami
Jitsi	Emil Ivov	2003			LGPL	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes			Yes	Yes	Jitsi	Yes	Yes				Yes		No	No		Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Jitsi
Kadu	Kadu Team	August 2001			GPLv2	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	No	No		Yes	No	Kadu	Yes	No				Yes				Yes	Yes	No			Kadu
KakaoTalk	Kakao Corp.	March 18, 2010	49 million (2018)[3]		Proprietary Freeware	Yes	Yes	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes		Yes		KakaoTalk						No						No	No	No	KakaoTalk
Keybase	Keybase	February 8, 2017; 4 years ago		Nothing required	New BSD License	Yes	Yes	Yes	No, partial	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes		Yes	No	Keybase	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes		Yes, only 2 official skins	No	No	No	No	Keybase
Kik Messenger	Medialab	October 2010	15 million (2017)[4]	Email	Proprietary Freemium adware	No	No	No	No	Yes	Yes	No	No		Yes		Kik Messenger						Yes				Yes		No	No	No	Kik Messenger
Line	LINE Corporation	March 2012	700 million (2017)	Phone number	Proprietary Freemium	Yes	Yes	No	No	Yes	Yes	Partial	Yes[5]		Yes	Yes	Line	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Partial	No	Yes	No	No	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	Line
Mattermost	Mattermost Inc	2015			AGPLv3	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No		Yes	Plug-in	Mattermost	Plug-in	Plug-in	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No	Mattermost
MCabber	Mikael Berthe	June 7, 2005			GPL	No	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	No	No		No	No	MCabber	No	No				No						No			MCabber
Messages	Apple Inc.	July 25, 2012			Part of macOS and iOS	No	Yes	No	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes		Yes		Messages	Yes	Yes				No		No	No	No	No	No	N/A	N/A	Messages
Movim	Timothée Jaussoin	March 3, 2011		E-mail	AGPLv3	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No		Yes	No	Movim	Yes	Yes		Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No	?	No	No	No	Yes	Yes	Movim
Palringo	Palringo Ltd	2006		Nothing required	Proprietary Freemium	No	No	No	No	Yes	Yes	No	No		No	No	Palringo	Yes	No				No				Yes	No	No	No		Palringo
Paltalk	AVM Software, Inc	June 1998		Email	Proprietary Freeware	Yes	Yes	No	No	Yes	Yes	No	No		Yes		Paltalk	Yes	Yes				No				Yes	No	No	No		Paltalk
Pidgin	Mark Spencer	November 1998			GPL	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	Yes			No	No	Pidgin	Partial	Yes		Yes		Yes				Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Pidgin
Psi	Psi and Psi+ developers	2001			GPL	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	Yes	Yes		Yes	Yes	Psi	Partial	Partial		Yes		Yes				Yes	Yes	No			Psi
Client	Developer	First public release	Monthly active users	Registration requirement	License	Windows	macOS	Linux	Web	Android	iOS	E2EE 2-user chat	E2EE group chat	Encrypted chat storage	File transfer	Voice recording	Client	Voice chat	Video chat	Read receipts	Editing sent messages	Deleting sent messages	Custom emoji	Stickers	Self-destructing messages	Lock screen	Themes / skins	Plugins	Peer-to-peer text chat	Open source servers	Federated servers	Client
						Operating system
RetroShare	Cyril Soler, Gioacchino Mazzurco	2006		Nothing required	GPL	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No	Yes	Yes		Yes		RetroShare			Yes	No	No	No	Yes	No				Yes	N/A (P2P)	N/A	RetroShare
Ricochet	Invisible.im	June 2014			BSD	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	Yes					Ricochet						No						Yes	N/A	N/A	Ricochet
Sicher	SHAPE GmbH	June 2014		Phone number	Proprietary Freeware	No	No	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes		Yes		Sicher						No		Yes				No	No	No	Sicher
Signal	Signal Foundation	July 2014	20 million (2020)[6]	Phone number	GPLv3	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Signal	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Partial	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	Yes[7]	No	Signal
Silent Phone	Silent Circle	January 16, 2013		Nothing required	Proprietary commercial software	No	No	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes[8]		Yes		Silent Phone						No		Yes	Yes			No	No	No	Silent Phone
Skype	Skype Technologies, a subsidiary of Microsoft Corporation	2003	300 million (2018)[3]		Proprietary Freemium adware	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No		Yes	Yes	Skype	Yes	Yes		Yes		No				No	Yes	No	No	No	Skype
Slack	Slack Technologies	August 2013		Email	Proprietary Freemium	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No		Yes		Slack						Yes				Yes	Yes	No	No	No	Slack
Snapchat	Snap Inc.	November 2011	294 million (2019)[2]	Email or Phone number	Proprietary Freeware	No	No	No	No	Yes	Yes	No	No		No	Yes	Snapchat	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No	No	No	Snapchat
Surespot	Surespot LLC	2013		Nothing required	GPLv3	No	No	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	No groupchat		Yes	Yes	Surespot	Yes	No				No		No		Yes	No	No	No	No	Surespot
TeamNote	TeamNote Limited	2012; 9 years ago				No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes						Yes		No	No	Yes	Yes	No
Telegram	Telegram Messenger LLP	2013	500 million (2021)[9]	Phone number	GPLv2, GPLv3[10]	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Secret Chats	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Telegram	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	No	Telegram
Tencent QQ	Tencent Holdings	February 1999	823 million (2019)[2]		Proprietary Adware	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No		Yes	No	Tencent QQ	Yes	Yes				No				Yes	No	No	No	No	Tencent QQ
Threema	Threema GmbH	December 2012		Nothing required	AGPLv3	No	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Threema	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	No	Threema
Trillian	Cerulean Studios	July 1, 2000		Nothing required	Proprietary Freemium adware	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No		Yes	Partial	Trillian	Yes	Yes	Yes			Yes				Yes	Yes	No	No	Yes	Trillian
Viber	Rakuten Viber	December 2, 2010	260 million (2019)[2]	Phone number	Proprietary Freemium	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes		Yes	Yes	Viber	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	Viber
WeChat	Tencent Holdings Limited	January 21, 2011	1112 million (2019)[2]	Phone number or QQ number	Proprietary Freeware	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No		Yes	Yes	WeChat	Yes	Yes				No						No	No	No	WeChat
WhatsApp	WhatsApp Inc., a subsidiary of Facebook	January 2009	2000 million (2020)[11]	Phone number	Proprietary Freeware	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	WhatsApp	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Partial	No	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	WhatsApp
Wickr	Wickr Inc.	June 2012		Nothing required	Proprietary Trialware	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes		Yes	Yes	Wickr	Yes	Yes			Yes	No		Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No	No	No	Wickr
Wire	Wire Swiss GmbH	December 3, 2014		Email or Phone number	GPLv3	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Wire	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	Yes[12]	No	No	No	No	Yes[13]	No	Wire
Client	Developer	First public release	Monthly active users	Registration requirement	License	Windows	macOS	Linux	Web	Android	iOS	E2EE 2-user chat	E2EE group chat	Encrypted chat storage	File transfer	Voice recording	Client	Voice chat	Video chat	Read receipts	Editing sent messages	Deleting sent messages	Custom emoji	Stickers	Self-destructing messages	Lock screen	Themes / skins	Plugins	Peer-to-peer text chat	Open source servers	Federated servers	Client
						Operating system

See also

• Comparison of instant messaging protocols
• Comparison of Internet Relay Chat clients
• Comparison of LAN messengers
• Comparison of VoIP software
• List of SIP software
• List of video telecommunication services and product brands
• Comparison of user features of messaging platforms

References

1. "History of Instant Messaging". The top 6 best Instant Message client apps on any platform. Retrieved 2 May 2018.
2. "Most popular messaging apps 2019 - Statista". Statista.
3. "Most popular messaging apps 2018 - Statista". Statista.
4. Ponciano, Jonathan. "Billion-Dollar Kik Taps $125 Million Token Offering To Energize User Base".
5. Shin, Ki Bin (11 August 2016). "The next step for even safer messaging: Letter Sealing". Line Corporation. Archived from the original on 2 October 2016. Retrieved 30 September 2016.
6. Signal’s Brian Acton talks about exploding growth, monetization and WhatsApp data-sharing outrage Tech Crunch, 12 January 2021
7. "Signal · GitHub". 26 February 2020. Retrieved 29 July 2014.
8. "Silent Phone 6.0 is Here!". Silent Circle. 15 June 2017. Retrieved 5 December 2017.
9. "Telegram Durov Channel". 2021-01-12.
10. "Telegram license info". Retrieved 22 October 2015.
11. "WhatsApp". WhatsApp.com.
12. "Safe and tidy with Timed Messages". Wire Swiss. 25 October 2016. Retrieved 25 October 2016.
13. "Wire server code now 100% open source – the journey continues". Medium. Wire Swiss GmbH. 19 September 2017. Retrieved 23 September 2017.