Comparison

Colloquy vs Monal

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Colloquy

This app brings the functionality of a popular desktop IRC client to your mobile device. It offers a full-featured experience optimized for on-the-go use with iOS multitasking and push notifications. Enjoy customizable settings, message highlighting, and robust IRC command support.

Highlights
  • Retina display support
  • iOS multitasking and split-screen
  • Push notifications with bouncer
  • Nickname and emoticon completion
  • Message highlighting and vibration
  • Customizable interface and behavior
  • WHOIS user information display
Features
Read full description

Colloquy for iPad, iPhone and iPod touch puts the power of the most popular IRC client for the Mac in the palm of your hand. Built atop the Chat Core framework, Colloquy Mobile is a full featured client optimized for the on-the-go experience with iOS multitasking support. Unique Features: • Support for retina devices, including iPhone 6s, iPhone 6s Plus and iPad Pro. • Support for iOS multitasking with local notifications and split-screen support. • Push notifications when using a compatible push bouncer. • Convenient nickname and emoticon completion popups. • Support for all the common IRC commands with completion. • Organized Colloquies view that shows all your conversations and rooms at a glance. • Highlights messages (and optionally vibrates) when your specific words or nickname is mentioned. • Highly customizable interface and behavior settings within the Settings application. • Visual display of user information (WHOIS) for any user. • Full support for landscape mode in the entire application. • Stays connected while iPhone is locked and when SMS alerts appear. • Searchable room member list. • Support for SASL authentication (required when connecting to Freenode over the cell network.) • A console for every connection. • Support for ignoring annoying users. Standard Features: • Multiple message styles to choose from. • Fully compatible with mIRC colors and formatting. • Large selection of graphical emoticons. • Allows you to join multiple chat rooms across many different servers. • Automatic identification with network services (NickServ). • Notification of common server errors as easy to understand alerts. • Automatically join rooms and send commands upon connect. • Solid support for secure connections over SSL and TLS. • Full support for room and connection text encodings. • Full IRCv3 compatibility, including the IRCv3.2 standard. • Open minded and Open Source, like it should be. ATTENTION: We can't provide support here to people leaving reviews, as much as we want to. We also can't discuss feature requests, since there is no way to reply to you here. If you have a problem or suggestion, please visit us in #colloquy-mobile on irc.freenode.net, click the support link below, or email us at support@colloquy.mobi.

About

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.

Highlights
  • Open Source
  • No Ads
  • OMEMO encrypted chat
  • Multi user chat (MUC)
  • Audio/Video calls
  • File sharing
Features
Read full description

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

Colloquy4 screens
Monal4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Monal at Free against Colloquy's $1.99. Monal also leads on rating (3.7 vs 1.8) and review sentiment (58% vs 39%). Colloquy's advantage is update cadence (fortnightly vs every 5 weeks) and chart position (#54 vs unranked). On ads, in-app purchases, monetization model and device support 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Monal is free to download; Colloquy costs $1.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Monal holds the better App Store score, 3.7 against 1.8. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 32 and 140 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 39% of Colloquy's written reviews are positive against 58% of Monal's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Colloquy ships an update fortnightly, Monal every 5 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 15, 2026 and October 12, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 4 level
Colloquy versus Monal: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterColloquyMonal
Price$1.99Free — better
Rating1.8 (32 ratings)3.7 (140 ratings) — better
Positive reviews39.3% of reviews57.7% of reviews — better
Number of ratings32140 — better
Update frequencyFortnightly — betterEvery 5 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreeFree
Best chart rank#54 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS10.0 — better14.0
Further details — not scored
Size10 MB71 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperColloquy ProjectMolitor und Dietzel, Inh. Thilo Molitor

Customer experience

Colloquy

All ratings32 ratings
Positive15.6%
Neutral9.4%
Negative75.0%
Written reviews308 reviews
Positive39.3%
Neutral8.8%
Negative51.9%

Monal

All ratings140 ratings
Positive64.3%
Neutral8.6%
Negative27.1%
Written reviews222 reviews
Positive57.7%
Neutral12.6%
Negative29.7%

User reviews

Colloquy

From 32 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Reliable connection
  • 👍 Thoughtful design
  • 🔒 Handles bouncer setup well
  • 📱 Works great on iOS

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Crashes and bugs
  • 🔍 Difficult to use for new users
  • 🔋 Disconnects after inactivity
  • 🔍 Confusing interface

Monal

From 140 App Store ratings

What 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

Colloquy

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Crashes on startup
  • Text entry box issues
  • Inconsistent user list display
  • Broken features after updates

Requested features

4 requests
  • Dark mode option
  • Longer background timeout
  • Improved search and user list
  • Better file transfer support

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

None

Colloquy

No in-app purchases

None

Monal

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Colloquy free?
Colloquy costs $1.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Monal free?
Monal is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Colloquy or Monal?
Monal is rated higher. Colloquy averages 1.8 out of 5 from 32 ratings, while Monal averages 3.7 from 140 ratings.
Do Colloquy or Monal have ads?
Neither Colloquy nor Monal shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Colloquy or Monal?
Colloquy ships an update fortnightly, and Monal every 5 weeks. Most recently, Colloquy was updated on October 15, 2026 and Monal on October 12, 2026.

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