Best Instant Messaging Program For Mac

 

The competition for best instant messaging client on Mac is tough, and while the platform is full of good contenders, we believe Adium wins out thanks to its high level of customizability, broad support for different IM services, and open-sourced codebase.

Be sure to check out this list of chat apps and clients The 7 Best Chat Apps and Clients Better Than Official Messengers The 7 Best Chat Apps and Clients Better Than Official Messengers From all-in-one messengers to dedicated chat clients, here are some of the best chat apps to use on Windows, Mac, or Linux. The competition for best instant messaging client on Mac is tough, and while the platform is full of good contenders, we believe Adium wins out thanks to its high level of customisability, broad. Best messaging apps for Mac If you're looking for a better way to connect all of your chat apps on Mac, like GTalk, Facebook Messenger, and Twitter, you've come to the right place.

Adium

Instant Messaging Apps

Platform: Mac OS X
Price: Free, open source
Download Page

Features

  • Supports AIM, GTalk, Jabber, Yahoo, Facebook, Twitter, IRC, ICQ, and just about any other service you could use to send an instant message or communicate in real-time via text.
  • Tabbed chats
  • Highly theme-able, letting you make your buddy lists and chat windows look just about any way you want. On top of that, you can add custom sound sets.
  • Adium supports extensions, so you can add new features that don't already come with the app.
  • Excellent chat logging system
  • Support for 27 different languages
  • Integrates with the OS X Address Book app

Where It Excels

Best Instant Messaging Program For Mac

Adium is lightweight, supports just about every type of IM account you could think to use, and is incredibly customizable. Not only can you theme the look of just about every aspect of the app, but you can change the alert sounds and install extensions to add more functionality. Adium has a separate domain, AdiumXtras.com, for housing the many customization options. If you want some great examples, try Pretty Simple for your message style, Tokyo Train Station for your sound set, and HUD for your buddy list style. If you want what you see in the screenshot, here's what you'll need:

  • Service Icons: Glowing (transparent)
  • Status Icons: SimpleGray
  • Menu Bar Icons: Leopard
  • Emoticons: MacThemes2
  • Dock Icon: Flurry Adium
  • Contact List Color Theme: Pretty Simple
  • List Layout: Pretty Simple
  • Window Style: Borderless
  • Message Style: Pretty Simple
  • Message Style Variant: Background 8

Adium is a great IM client on its own, but also provides you with the ability to add what you think is missing, so there are few missing features you can't add yourself.

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Where It Falls Short

Instant Messaging Programs For Windows

Beyond text chat, you can't do much else. Adium has long been without support for voice and video chat. While those features are certainly secondary to standard instant messaging, it's still annoying to have to open iChat or Skype when you'd prefer to talk without typing.

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The Competition

iChat is an obvious alternative, and may be worthwhile if you video/audio chat often and only use one of the few IM services it supports. While Trillian is another popular multi-protocol IM client that's now available for Mac, the free version is ad-supported and the paid version costs $12 per year. While some clients outpace Adium in certain areas, or have comparable feature set, Adium wins by virtue of offering the most important features, implemented in the best ways with the fewest drawbacks.

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Lifehacker's App Directory is a new and growing directory of recommendations for the best applications and tools in a number of given categories. This week, we're focusing on IM clients.

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Best Instant Messaging App For Mac

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