Comparison

IRCCloud vs IceWarp IceChat

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

Head to head
About

IRCCloud

Access IRC chat from any device and never miss a conversation. Your chat history is synced to the cloud, and you'll receive push notifications for important messages. Share files and customize your experience with multiple themes.

Highlights
  • Cloud-synced chat history
  • Push notifications for mentions/DMs
  • File sharing (photos, videos, files)
  • Server-side connection for persistent access
  • Multiple colorful themes
  • Monospace font option
Features
Read full description

Chat on IRC from anywhere, and never miss a message. • Stay connected when you're on the move. No need to rely on constant data access, we keep your IRC connection running on our servers. • Your entire chat history is fully synced to the cloud so you can catch up at your leisure. • Get push notifications for mentions and private messages. • Upload and share photos, videos and files straight from your device. • Full support for iPhone and iPad. • Choose from 9 colourful themes. • Monospace font option. Join our #feedback channel on irc.irccloud.com for feedback and suggestions to help us improve this app. You can also email us at team@irccloud.com or find us on Twitter: @irccloud

About

IceWarp IceChat

A professional messenger for business collaboration, enabling colleagues to stay connected on the go. Features include real-time presence, private messaging, media and location sharing, and enhanced security with TouchID integration. Seamlessly syncs chat history with the web client for continuity across devices.

Highlights
  • Real-time colleague presence
  • Private messaging and group chats
  • Media and location sharing
  • TouchID security and chat locking
  • Split-screen multitasking view
  • Cross-device chat history sync
  • Giphy integration
Features
Read full description

IceChat is a professional mobile messanger for the IceWarp business email and collaboration suite. Through the app you can stay in touch with your colleagues when travelling, see their online presence and privately talk to each other, share media, documents and GPS location. Strong Data Privacy and TouchID integration Upon the first use, provide login information to IceWarp WebClient. The app will retrieve company contact list, user photos, and corporate appearance presets. No passwords or data are submitted to any external provider. By default, all connections and data are encrypted. For added security, you can protect the app with TouchID, or lock sensitive chats. Multitasking View for Single Finger operation Turning your device to landscape enables split-screen conversation view that puts focus on conversations and greatly simplifies chatting with two and more people at once. The minimalistic switcher lets you quickly jump between unlimited open conversations. Chat History Often you need to switch between the mobile IceChat and the web-based private chat. The app will sync older messages with WebClient so you can always continue where you left off and keep a meaningful history on all devices. Features • Easy setup by AutoDiscover • Notifications with swiping actions • Lock the app with TouchID • Share media • Share location • Emoji • Giphy integration • Night mode NOTE: This app is provided as an alternative to Google Hangouts and Microsoft Lync and is not compatible with these services.

Screenshots

IRCCloud4 screens
IceWarp IceChat4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: IRCCloud at 3.4 against IceWarp IceChat's 3.0. IRCCloud also leads on ratings volume (78 vs 3). On price, review sentiment, update cadence and ads 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

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

IRCCloud holds the better App Store score, 3.4 against 3.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: IRCCloud has 78 ratings behind it against 3, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 49% of IRCCloud's written reviews are positive against 50% of IceWarp IceChat's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

IRCCloud ships an update every 3 months, IceWarp IceChat every 5 months. The most recent releases landed on October 21, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
IRCCloud versus IceWarp IceChat: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterIRCCloudIceWarp IceChat
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.4 (78 ratings) — better3.0 (3 ratings)
Positive reviews48.5% of reviews50.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings78 — better3
Update frequencyEvery 3 months — betterEvery 5 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreeFree
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPod
Requires iOS12.012.0
Further details — not scored
Size21 MB59 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperIRCCloud Ltd.IceWarp Ltd.

Customer experience

IRCCloud

All ratings74 ratings
Positive54.1%
Neutral9.5%
Negative36.5%
Written reviews202 reviews
Positive48.5%
Neutral12.4%
Negative39.1%

IceWarp IceChat

All ratings3 ratings
Positive66.7%
Neutral0.0%
Negative33.3%
Written reviews2 reviews
Positive50.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative50.0%

Bugs and requests

IRCCloud

Reported bugs

16 issues
  • App crashes during signup process
  • Login screen freezes or shows blank navy background
  • Text input box cut off at bottom of screen
  • Typing bar blocks view of messages
  • App stuck on 'Connecting' screen on iPad
Show 11 more
  • Email confirmation not working properly
  • Frequent app crashes every 2-3 seconds
  • Message text disappears when switching apps
  • Image upload failures with error messages
  • Cannot add custom networks that aren't listed
  • Connection issues over WiFi (works on 3G/4G)
  • App crashes when deleting multiple images
  • Cannot send messages to channels with specific settings
  • Version 3.3 introduced major connection problems
  • Notification popups disappear too quickly for channel messages
  • App continues running after deletion

Requested features

8 requests
  • Third-party client support for BNC functionality
  • Bulk file deletion instead of one-by-one
  • Disable auto-archiving of inactive chats
  • Faster app load times for chat history
  • Password support with special characters
Show 3 more
  • Better channel listing functionality
  • Shell/telnet access to bouncer
  • Free tier access to passworded servers

IceWarp IceChat

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

IRCCloud

No in-app purchases

None

IceWarp IceChat

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is IRCCloud free?
IRCCloud is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is IceWarp IceChat free?
IceWarp IceChat is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, IRCCloud or IceWarp IceChat?
IRCCloud is rated higher. IRCCloud averages 3.4 out of 5 from 78 ratings, while IceWarp IceChat averages 3.0 from 3 ratings.
Do IRCCloud or IceWarp IceChat have ads?
Neither IRCCloud nor IceWarp IceChat shows ads.
Which is updated more often, IRCCloud or IceWarp IceChat?
IRCCloud ships an update every 3 months, and IceWarp IceChat every 5 months. Most recently, IRCCloud was updated on October 21, 2026 and IceWarp IceChat on October 24, 2026.

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