The best chat clients for 2021

Instant messaging apps and text for mobile devices allow users to stay connected and reach each other in a matter of seconds. But what if Mac or Windows users want to get the same experience on their PCs?

There are a plethora of chat clients available for download on your PC. We’re here to help you decide on the best one for you, whether you need team collaboration, want to connect with fellow gamers, or value the ability to make voice and video calls.

The best

Slack

For teams, Slack is king — at least for now — and for good reason: The software is slick, feature-rich, and mostly ubiquitous. These days, you can’t throw a rock without hitting a business using Slack. It’s everywhere, not because it’s the default team chat application for many businesses and organizations, but because it’s simply the best on the planet.

Why? The interface is clean, stylish, and straightforward. You have channels on the left and direct messages directly below. You also have Slackbot, which essentially amounts to Siri and Alexa’s chat-based cousin. You can have Slackbot set reminders, and you can even customize it to respond to certain commands.

With dozens of integrations — including support for a host of other productivity suites — Slack works well with just about every service available, and businesses can further customize it to fit their needs.

Plus, it’s free. There are also no ads or limits on how many users you can have. There are paid plans, however, and they provide a more robust experience and added storage space, but most people can get by with the free version.

Need another reason why Slack is the best team chat app on the market today? It runs on Windows, MacOS, iOS, Android, and Linux in various flavors — even directly in your web browser — without any major variations between platforms.

The rest

Discord

If Slack is the best choice for the workplace, then Discord is the best solution for gamers. Discord provides a feature set that should be familiar to Slack users or anyone who’s been a member of a guild in World of Warcraft.

Discord is less formal than other chat apps, which is refreshing since the current market is very business-oriented. But that doesn’t mean it isn’t powerful. Featuring robust chat support and a built-in Streamer mode, this is a finely crafted application that puts apps like Skype to shame. Unlike other popular chat apps, you only need to create one username from which you can join multiple different servers at a time. No need to create a separate work login and personal login — it’s the same one used across the entire platform.

Once you create or join a server, you can set up individual channels for specific topics, and even join each one like a no-fuss conference call. It’s reliable, attractive, and well-designed. Best of all, it just works.

With Discord, you can also turn off your mic if you’re not in the mood to talk, or just jump right into a real “chat room”-style conversation with just the touch of a button. It’s simple, easy, and reliable.

Discord provides apps on every major platform, including Windows, MacOS, iOS, Android, and even Linux.

WhatsApp

If you’re looking for a straight -up one-on-one chat app without all the servers and chat rooms, WhatsApp is a great solution. The client is tied directly to your phone, meaning you’ll need an active phone number to create an account. It serves as a replacement for your phone’s current text messaging client, but it doesn’t send messages through your wireless carrier’s SMS system. Instead, WhatsApp delivers messages using end-to-end encryption over your cellular or Wi-Fi internet connection .

Like SMS messengers, you can start a chat with a single individual or a group. But what’s interesting is that you can broadcast your current status to all contacts. For instance, if you’re hiking in the mountains and stumble across a stunning vista, you can take a quick snapshot and instantly broadcast it to everyone on your list for the next 24 hours.

But WhatsApp isn’t all about texting. The platform provides a free telephony service no matter where you’re located . You can communicate the old-fashioned way through voice-based calls or conduct a video chat when you see a familiar face. Like the texting aspect, all voice and video calls travel across the internet rather than through your mobile carrier.

Overall, WhatsApp is a great, slick communication platform for those worried about their mobile carrier sta shing text messages, photos, and videos. There’s plenty to love, and the platform even provides desktop apps that synchronize with the installed mobile app so you’re not consta ntly picking up your phone. End-to-end encryption also means your communications stay out of the wrong hands, making it a great chat tool for parents and their children.

Skype

If you’re on W indows 10, chances are Skype is already installed on your PC. This chat client originally made its debut as standalone desktop software for Windows in 2003, but Microsoft acquired the platform and transformed it into a Windows-centric communication tool used by businesses and individuals alike. It’s now served up in desktop and app flavors across seven major platforms .

While WhatsApp puts the smartphone first and the desktop second as a paired “receiver,” Skype provides full-fledged Skype apps acros s all platforms that synchronize your conversations via M icrosoft’s cloud . Consider Skype as Microsoft’s answer to Apple’s iMessage service — only Skype isn’t locked to just Microsoft’s operating system.

Similar to WhatsApp, you can text individuals or participate in group conversations. Skype doesn’t require a phone number but instead links to your Microsoft Account. T ha t said, your messages travel through cellular (data) and Wi-Fi internet connections instead of your wireless carrier’s SMS service . And like WhatsApp, you can throw pictures, videos, your location, and other files and media into your conversations.

In addition to messaging, Skype provides voice and video calling, too . You can do this in two ways: Call someone for free who also has Skype installed , or call/text a specific land or mobile phone number using Skype Credit starting at $3 per month . If no one answers on the other end, you can leave an audio or video message.

Of the more mainstream clients, Skype may be a better choice if you don’t mind Microsof t’s attachment. The Windows 10 app has made significant progress since its launch while the “classic” desktop versions are somewhat old-school compared to the mobile apps. B ut if you’re looking for a chat tool that covers multiple platforms in desktop and app variants — and even works on your Xbox — Skype is definitely your best bet.

If you need an all-in-one solution

Franz

If you’re tired of having to flip between multiple messaging apps, Franz can help. It’s a messaging app that syncs with other services like Slack, Facebook Messenger, and Discord. It has a free account option that lets you access up to three services simultaneously, but the paid plan is a reasonable $2.99 per month if you need more.

Franz lets you complete several tasks at once, which is a real time-saver when working online. You can duplicate chat platform pages so you can see all your virtual meetings at once and give all your coworkers attention. Franz offers some ingenious notification options that let you receive critical messages while promoting a work environment free of distractions. You can also highlight the most important parts of messages and transform them into tasks, letting you stay ahead of pending projects.

If you’re a multitasker who’s always switching between communication apps, Franz can save you time and make sure nothing gets lost in the shuffle. It’s compatible with Windows, Linux, or MacOS.

www.makeuseof.com

Follow MUO

The 7 Best Chat Apps and Clients for Windows, Mac, and Linux

From all-in-one messengers to dedicated chat clients, here are some of the best chat apps to use on Windows, Mac, or Linux.

Among the fastest growing social networks today, you’ll find plenty of chat apps. In fact, it could be argued that instant messaging (IM) is the way forward for social networks, which is why Facebook acquired WhatsApp for $19 billion and Twitter opened up its Direct Messages.

However, only some of these chat services have a desktop client, while others only give you web-based versions. There is some truth to the death of the desktop client. But third-party developers aren’t giving up yet.

From all-in-one messaging apps to dedicated chat clients that do a better job than the official web versions, here are some amazing chat apps you should be using on your Windows, Mac, or Linux computer.

1. Franz (Windows, Mac, Linux)

All-in-one messaging app for WhatsApp, Slack, Skype, and many more.

Franz is an all-in-one, universal messaging app, which supports 65 services. This includes Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp, Slack, Telegram, WeChat, Skype, Discord, and several others. Not all of them are chat-oriented either, giving you things you need like Google Calendar or Inbox by Gmail. And the developers say they are busy adding more services.

In essence, Franz is a Chromium-based desktop wrapper for the web versions of all these apps, but it also offers a few additional benefits. For starters, you can sign into multiple accounts of Facebook Messenger without having to constantly log in and out.

You also get native notification support compliant with your operating system. There’s a helpful badge on the icon announcing the number of unread messages. And a quick check shows that Franz takes up less battery and CPU usage than running the same tabs in the Google Chrome browser—not surprising, given Chrome’s troubles with battery and power.

More than anything, Franz is simply convenient. With all your chat powered by one app, you can safely close it when you want some distraction-free work time, knowing you won’t be disturbed.

The free version of Franz is good enough for most users, but if you want to use a VPN with Franz, then you’ll have to pay for the pro version.

Download: Franz for Windows | Mac | Linux (Free)

2. Manageyum [Broken URL Removed] (Windows, Mac, Linux)

Add any chat app you want.

Like Franz, Manageyum puts all your messengers into one window. Like Franz, Manageyum also lets you use multiple accounts simultaneously. But unlike Franz, Manageyum lets you use any alternate messenger service with it.

Yes, the pre-loaded chat and messenger services will work better. But if you use a service that the app doesn’t support, you can insert a link to it and Manageyum will turn it into a simple app like a browser tab. After you set it up the first time, Manageyum will remember preferences for that app.

While it’s not a deal-breaker, this is a feature you might miss on Franz, so it’s good to know that there’s an alternative.

Download: Manageyum for Windows | Mac | Linux (Free)

3. Caprine (Mac)

Gorgeous Facebook Messenger app with privacy controls.

Caprine is a beautiful and lightweight app for Mac users who want to chat on Facebook Messenger. It only supports that service and no other, but it adds more to Messenger.

The app’s focus on design makes it seem more synchronous with how the rest of Mac apps feels. It has a responsive design that adjusts to window size, multiple themes, and it will give you easy notifications too.

Caprine also lets you control your privacy on Messenger by not showing the recipient when you are typing or whether you have seen their messages.

Apart from Caprine, there are a few other unofficial Messenger apps that you might want to check out.

Download: Caprine for Mac (Free)

4. YakYak (Windows, Mac, Linux)

The Hangouts desktop client that Google should have made.

A lot of us who grew up using Google Talk are amazed at how Google dropped the ball with Hangouts. Google redeemed itself a little with a Hangouts update, but it’s still not perfect. Leave it to a third party developer to figure that out.

YakYak is a clean and simple version of Google Hangouts that works as a standalone client. It looks and feels a little like WhatsApp Web, without making you miss any feature. You can take conversations off the record, you can add contacts; everything just works.

YakYak also adds new features, like marking any contact as a favorite so they will be pinned to the top of the contacts list. You can also change color themes, or opt for a night mode.

Overall, it feels like the desktop client for Hangouts that Google should have made, but never did.

Download: YakYak for Windows | Mac | Linux DEB | Linux RPM (Free)

5. Station (Windows, Mac)

A chat client made for the workplace.

When you are ready to work, is your browser window filled with tabs for Gmail, Google Drive, Slack, and more? Then you should check out Station, the browser and chat app made for the workplace.

Each of the «apps» show up in a vertical bar on the left. Click any, and you can see all the tabs for that app. Click any to open it in a focussed, no-tab window. It’s essentially tab management in a browser, but using it for a while makes you realize how cool it is.

Station supports a wide variety of apps, both for productivity and messaging, so you will probably find any service you use. There’s also a handy one-click button to stop all notifications when you need to focus to get more work done.

Station might be overkill as a universal chat app alone. But if you’re looking for something more than just universal chat, or if you want an alternative to Telegram’s desktop client, give Station a shot.

Download: Station for Windows | Mac (Free)

6. All In One Messenger (Windows, Mac, Linux, ChromeOS)

A Chrome-based all-in-one chat messenger app.

You can open a separate Chrome window with the web app for every messenger you use. Or you can do it with All In One Messenger, a Chrome-based app dedicated to bringing chat apps together.

The only major difference between All In One and a Chrome window is that you get to sign into multiple accounts of a messenger. Other than that, the only thing that changes is the look and feel. That said, All In One looks quite inviting with its big, bold tabs on top.

It’s also the only such client that works as a useful Chrome app, which means you can install it on any computer, even a Chromebook. Of course, you’ll need to have installed Google Chrome beforehand.

Download: All In One Messenger for Chrome (Free)

7. Pidgin

For everything else, there’s Pidgin.

Not every must-have software has to be newly made. Pidgin has been around for years, but that doesn’t make it any less awesome today. While Franz concentrates on the new wave of chat apps, Pidgin handles almost every other IM service you can think of.

Given its many years and open-source nature, Pidgin supports a wide variety of chat networks, along with third-party plugins to enable many more. For example, there isn’t an official WhatsApp plugin, but you can get WhatsApp on Pidgin using third-party plugins.

Here’s a brief list of protocols that Pidgin supports:

Pidgin is especially great at handling old-school web IMs like IRC or ICQ, and anything which uses the XMPP protocol.

Note: Pidgin officially has apps for Windows and Linux, but Mac users can get a Pidgin port called Adium and use it in the same way.

Download: Pidgin for Windows | Linux (Free)

Download: Adium for Mac (Free)

Protect Your Privacy When You Chat Online

Hopefully, you use one of these WhatsApp alternatives that protect your privacy. But not all messaging apps are that particular about your privacy. In fact Facebook Messenger is infamous for its privacy violations.

The bottom line is, when you are using any of these chat clients, or the official messaging service itself, you are putting your personal data online. And that comes with its own risks. Before you dive in, read our guide to protecting your online privacy and security.

If you need desktop PC performance in a space-saving unit, consider one of these best mini PCs for your home.

Mihir Patkar has been writing on technology and productivity for over 14 years at some of the top media publications across the world. He has an academic background in journalism.

Subscribe To Our Newsletter

Join our newsletter for tech tips, reviews, free ebooks, and exclusive deals!

One More Step…!

Please confirm your email address in the email we just sent you.