LimeChat vs Monal
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
LimeChat
This app provides a comprehensive IRC chat experience on mobile devices. It offers quick navigation, message highlighting, and support for multiple servers and channels. Enjoy seamless communication with features like automatic authentication and a built-in browser for links.
- Quick navigation with arrow buttons
- Event indicators for other channels
- Message highlighting and vibration
- Visual user information (whois)
- Built-in browser for URLs
- Multiple server and channel support
- Automatic Nickserv authentication
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LimeChat for iOS is a full featured IRC client. It allows you to chat on the go in the same way as you do on desktop. Features: ・Quick navigation. You can move around channels quickly by arrow buttons or tapping on the left/right side of log views. ・Arrow buttons indicate events (highlight, new message coming or new PM coming) happened in the other channels. So you can recognize it easily while chatting in another channel. ・Highlights messages and optionally vibrates for your specific words. ・Visual interface for user information (whois). ・Built-in browser for clickable URL links. ・Full support for landscape mode. ・Multitasking support. Connections are kept up for a while (2-7 minutes) after going to background. ・Multiple servers and channels. ・Automatic Nickserv authentication support. ・Full support for many text encodings. ・SSL support. (Self-signed certificates are NOT supported) ・VoiceOver support. Notes: ・DCC is NOT supported currently. **** ATTENTION **** I can't provide support to people leaving reviews on App Store. There is no way to reply to you here. If you have a problem or suggestion, please send a mail to psychs@limechat.net.
Monal
This open-source messenger provides a fast and user-friendly way to connect to the XMPP public chat network. Enjoy private, ad-free communication with end-to-end encryption and features like group chats and file sharing.
- Open Source
- No Ads
- OMEMO encrypted chat
- Multi user chat (MUC)
- Audio/Video calls
- File sharing
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There has never been a better time to get into XMPP, a free public chat network no one controls or owns. Monal is a fast and user friendly way to use XMPP. Just download the app, login or register and you are ready to chat in minutes. It looks and works the way other apps do, so there is no need to “learn XMPP” or even care what it is. Notable features: - Open Source - No Ads! Strong focus on privacy. Does not phone home and does not have software "metrics" - Does not read any personal information - With a direct connection to your server, your password and all other info are never sent to a third-party - OMEMO encrypted chat - Will work with corporate XMPP servers that require VPN - Multi user chat (MUC) support for group chats - Audio/Video calls Implements certain XMPP extensions intended to improve mobile communication: - XEP-0357: Push Notifications - XEP-0280: Message Carbons keep messages in synch between clients - XEP-0198: Stream Management to quickly reconnect - XEP-0199: XMPP Ping to maintain connections - XEP-0313: Message Archive Management to download chat history - XEP-0352: Client State Indication for dramatic reduction on power use - XEP-0363: HTTP File Upload to send images in conversations
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: Monal at Free against LimeChat's $4.99. Monal also leads on rating (3.7 vs 3.1) and ratings volume (140 vs 11). LimeChat's advantage is chart position (#69 vs unranked) and iOS requirement (11.0 vs 14.0). On review sentiment, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Monal is free to download; LimeChat costs $4.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Monal holds the better App Store score, 3.7 against 3.1. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Monal has 140 ratings behind it against 11, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 65% of LimeChat's written reviews are positive against 58% of Monal's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 5 weeks. Both last shipped on October 16, 2026.
| Parameter | LimeChat | Monal |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $4.99 | Free — better |
| Rating | 3.1 (11 ratings) | 3.7 (140 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 65.2% of reviews — better | 57.7% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 11 | 140 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 5 weeks | Every 5 weeks |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Best chart rank | #69 — better | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 11.0 — better | 14.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 1 MB | 71 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Satoshi Nakagawa | Molitor und Dietzel, Inh. Thilo Molitor |
Customer experience
LimeChat
Monal
User reviews
LimeChat
From 11 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Fast and lightweight IRC client
- 👍 Clean, intuitive, and simple user interface
- 🔒 Supports SSL connections and security features
- 📱 Works well on both iPhone and iPad
- 🎯 Reliable and stable performance
Room to improve
- 🐛 Keyboard jumping/positioning issues on iOS
- 🔌 Disconnects when app is backgrounded
- 🐛 Connection drops on WiFi and VPN
- ❌ No background connectivity/refresh
- 🐛 Scrolling issues after sending messages
Monal
From 140 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Works well
- 🔒 Secure XMPP client
- 👍 Best XMPP client on iOS
- 🚀 Robust and dependable
- 👍 Actively developed
Room to improve
- 🐛 Crashes and stability issues
- 🔒 Encryption problems
- 👎 Buggy UI and UX
- 🔍 Missing basic features (copy/paste, etc.)
- 🔋 High battery consumption
Bugs and requests
LimeChat
Reported bugs
14 issues- Keyboard jumps when sending messages (iOS 26.1)
- Scrolling breaks after message send
- App disconnects when backgrounded
- Connection drops on WiFi/VPN
- Keyboard doesn't appear on iPhone X
Show 9 moreShow fewer
- Keyboard positioning issues with external keyboards
- App crashes with multitasking
- Screen lock causes disconnection
- EOF errors disconnecting from server
- Channels don't open when using ZNC bouncer
- Long connection times over 3G
- Fuzzy/blurry icon on retina displays
- Input area moves up with external keyboard
- App becomes unresponsive intermittently
Requested features
20 requests- Background connectivity and app refresh
- Push/pop-up notifications
- Nick/username autocomplete
- Split view support for iPad
- Landscape mode
Show 15 moreShow fewer
- Dark theme option
- Color text support
- DCC file transfer support
- Timestamps on messages
- Command history
- Swipe gestures between channels
- Hardware keyboard support
- Channel search feature
- More built-in server list
- Copy/paste improvements
- Scripting support
- Dynamic type for accessibility
- Nick completion with tab key
- Hide join/quit messages option
- Larger font size options
Monal
Reported bugs
4 issues- Disconnects frequently
- Incompatible with some XMPP servers
- Crashes when sending messages
- Issues with loading contact lists
Requested features
4 requests- Add OTR/PGP encryption support
- Improve group chat functionality
- Allow customization of sounds and notifications
- Optimize for older iOS versions
In-app purchases
LimeChat
No in-app purchases
Monal
No in-app purchases
