Quoting CB

I've never tried it. I found Trillian a long time ago, and never looked back. This looks like it does basically all the same things (and costs the same) Can you compare it directly to Trillian? Other than being open source, what makes it fundamentally different?

Pidgin, I believe, has a better community behind it and thus better plug-in support due to its open source nature. Fundamentally, the clients are very similar and someone happy with one would likely be happy with the other.

Edit: In an effort to be more specific, I have examined all the available features of Trillian vs. Pidgin with plug-ins and have determined that the only thing Trillian supports over Pidgin is audio chat on a couple of protocols. Trillian's protocol support is also lacking compared to Pidgin, although it does cover all the major protocols.

Subjectively, I much prefer Pidgin's minimalist design and low memory profile compared to Trillian's default UI or performance when using custom skins. Also, Pidgin can be skinned using WindowBlinds or plug-ins, etc. for those who must have bling in their IM.

One option that hasn't been mentioned by anyone, including myself, is Miranda. Miranda is another open source instant messaging client with multi-protocol support, like Pidgin. I find Miranda's interface to be obnoxious, and lately GAIM/Pidgin has garnered more community support.

It boils down to what you would rather support: commercial development, or open development?

My stance on the issue is clear -- I choose the open source option when two software titles are equally suitable -- but I have written a couple of blog entries to try to help others who may be less passionate about this issue to make up their minds on where they stand.

Quoting mas0n

I have always used Trillian but moved to Pidgin when I switched to Ubuntu. Really liking it so far, but only using it for AIM/ICQ. Will give it a shot for IRC this evening, still using XChat for that.

Nice piece, Khaos.

First, thank you.

Second, if using Pidgin for IRC (Why not? I do. It works!) there are a number of excellent plug-ins available that greatly enhance the IRC experience. Highly suggest checking out the plug-in pack I linked at the bottom of the article for starters.