# Monal vs TurboIRC

The clearest difference is rating: Monal at 3.7 against TurboIRC's 2.7. Monal also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 6) and ratings volume (141 vs 34). TurboIRC's advantage is iOS requirement (5.1.1 vs 14.0). On price, review sentiment, update cadence and ads there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. TurboIRC sells 6 one-off in-app purchases. Monal asks for nothing beyond the download.

Monal holds the better App Store score, 3.7 against 2.7. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 141 and 34 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 58% of Monal's written reviews are positive against 53% of TurboIRC's.

Monal ships an update monthly, TurboIRC every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 31, 2026 and October 23, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Monal | TurboIRC |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[3.7 (141 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/monal-xmpp-chat/id317711500/reviews)** | [2.7 (34 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/turboirc/id583000012/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | **141** | 34 |
| Positive reviews | **57.7% of reviews** | 52.9% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | **No** | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Monthly | **Every 3 weeks** |
| Monetization | **Free** | Free with in-app purchases |
| Size | 72 MB | 4 MB |
| Requires iOS | 14.0 | **5.1.1** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Molitor und Dietzel, Inh. Thilo Molitor](https://appshunter.io/developer/1508738269) | [Michael Chourdakis](https://appshunter.io/developer/574876668) |

## What reviewers say

### Monal

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/monal-xmpp-chat/id317711500)

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:** Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Works well
- 🔒 Secure XMPP client
- 👍 Best XMPP client on iOS
- 🚀 Robust and dependable
- 👍 Actively developed

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Crashes and stability issues
- 🔒 Encryption problems
- 👎 Buggy UI and UX
- 🔍 Missing basic features (copy/paste, etc.)
- 🔋 High battery consumption

**Reported bugs**

- Disconnects frequently
- Incompatible with some XMPP servers
- Crashes when sending messages
- Issues with loading contact lists

**Requested features**

- Add OTR/PGP encryption support
- Improve group chat functionality
- Allow customization of sounds and notifications
- Optimize for older iOS versions


### TurboIRC

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/turboirc/id583000012)

Connect to Internet Relay Chat (IRC) networks with this comprehensive iOS client. Enjoy unlimited channel access, rich text formatting, and advanced control features. Save chat logs and utilize various network protocols for a full IRC experience.

**Highlights:** Unlimited channels, Rich text formatting (bold, italic, color), Save HTML logs, Channel and Nick control, DCC support, UTF-8 and other encodings, Smileys

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (6)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Files Support | $0.99 | one-time |
| Multiple Server Support | $0.99 | one-time |
| No Ads | $0.99 | one-time |
| Scripting | $0.99 | one-time |
| Exclusive features | $0.99 | one-time |
| All In One | $2.99 | one-time |


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Monal free?

Monal is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Is TurboIRC free?

TurboIRC is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Which has better reviews, Monal or TurboIRC?

Monal is rated higher. Monal averages 3.7 out of 5 from 141 ratings, while TurboIRC averages 2.7 from 34 ratings.

### Do Monal or TurboIRC have ads?

Neither Monal nor TurboIRC shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Monal or TurboIRC?

Monal ships an update monthly, and TurboIRC every 3 weeks. Most recently, Monal was updated on October 31, 2026 and TurboIRC on October 23, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*