Here, are 4 free instant Messaging client for Mac that support multiple services. If you need an all in one solution which enables you to interact with different instant messaging services then download and try out any of these free software. If you believe that there are better software than the one’s listed below then please let me know in comments at the end of this article.
Adium: Text Chat on All IM Networks
Adium is the most popular instant messaging client for Mac. It supports an amazing amount of chat networks. There are lots of instant messengers for Mac, but for me and quite a bit of people, Adium is simply the best. This free instant messenger for Mac is free, fast, and open source.
This free app is amazingly customizable: you can change the theme, enable transparency, etc. Each part of the application is theme-able separately; this lets you change the way each and every component of the application looks, like buddy list, chat window, etc. These feature enable you to completely change and customize Adium according to your taste. I loved the fact that this app has a minimalistic and a clean interface which just looks amazing.
There are lots of third-party plugins that are available for this free instant messaging client for Mac. This lets you add more features to this amazing application. There is a whole section in the application preferences which is called Xtras Manager. There is an amazing site which is dedicated to Adiun Xtras and has a huge range of third-party plugins. To view this site just follow this link. You will be amazed by the range of the plugins and the customizability of this free instant messaging client for Mac. The screen shot below shows that all kind of plugins are available for this application on the site stated above.
The amount of protocols supported by this app is huge. This includes Xmpp, MobileMe, IRC, FaceBook, Novell Groupwise, Gadu-Gadu, Google Talk, Lotus Sametime, SIP/SIMPLE, Twitter, AIM, MySpaceIM, MSN, ICQ, Yahoo!, Bonjour, Yahoo! Japan, and Jabber.
The only downside of this application is that it does not offer the option to have video or voice chat. This is a little frustrating but expect for this it is a superb text messenger for Mac OS X.
In simpler words this is a free and highly customizable all-in-one multi protocol messenger for Mac.
Complete Review: Click here
Works with: Mac OS X 10.6.8
Price: Free
Download: Click here
Nimbuzz for Mac: Text Chat + Voice Chat
Nimbuzz is another free instant messaging client for Mac that enables you to connect and interact with popular messenger services like Google Talk, Facebook, MSN, and Yahoo !.
This is a well established IM across all the mobile platforms, from simple feature phones to smart phones (Android app). Nimbuzz has started a move to computer with first its Windows version and now with Nimbuzz for Mac.
The interface of this application is simple and easy to understand. And as always it’s Mac versions looks better than the Windows one. This is a really nice instant messaging client and its better than all other IM for Mac, expect Adium obviously :P . One thing that is a downer is that this app does not have the customizability like Adium. What it lacks in customizability, it gains in features.
This free instant messaging application allows you to send files between the computers. The files are automatically uploaded to its server and a link is sent as text; so there is no need for the messaging protocol that you are using to support file transfer. Nimbuzz for Mac offers the ability to make VoIP calls and also supports Growl. So now you can make low-cost international calls with Nimbuzz directly from you Mac.
Works with: Mac OS X 10.5.5
Price: Free
Download: Click here
Trillian for Mac: Text Chat + Facebook, Twitter Integration
Trillian is another option if you are seeking for a simple and easy to use instant messaging client for Mac. Trillian, like others, had a Windows version since a long time and is now available for Mac OS X. As always, the Mac version looks more refined and pleasing when compared to its Windows counterpart. The look of this application is quite clean and simple.
This application has a nice user interface and this makes it easy to mange your contacts in this free instant messaging client for Mac. One thing that this application does different and is a particular feature of this application is its ability to connect to Facebook and Twitter. In this manner you can see all your news feed and tweets in its simple interface.
Each of these services has a different interface, which is again a good as well as bad thing. Also when any updates happens on your social networks, Trillian will automatically display a pop-up. To access these windows just click on the respective icons located in the status bar. You can see in the screenshot below that how the interface looks of the social network part of this app.
I would say that this add-on to the application is quite useful and ends the cycle of constantly opening up the browser to get the updates. In total this is simple and centralized solution for most of your social networking needs.
If you would like a simple and easy to use messenger for Mac then this is a good alternative to Adium
Works with: Mac OS X 10.6.6
Price: Free
Download: Click here
Instantbird: Text Chat
Instantbird is again an open source muti-protocol instant messenger. With this free application you can connect with different IM service from single and simple interface. This application looks and feels quite basic as compared to all the other instant Messaging client for Mac mentioned in the post above. Also this app gives you the ability to access your Twitter timeline but the interface is fairly basic as seen below. The interface is a just like that of a standard chat windows which is too simple for my taste.
This application supports most of the common instant messaging services which include the following: AOL, Google Talk, Facebook, Twitter, MSN, Yahoo, IRC, ICQ, and XMPP. The application uses the rendering engine of Mozilla to display everything and the libpurple from Pidgin to connect to the all the different network. In total this is a simple and lightweight messaging client that provide you with the ability to connect with different service. So go ahead and install this application if want something which is simple and lightweight.
Works with: Mac OS X 10.6.6
Price: Free
Download: Click here
