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User Reviews

HydraIRC
HydraIRC

HydraIRC is an open-source IRC client with an attractive and easy to use interface. It supports DCC Chat and File transfers, Multi-Servers, Dockable Floating Windows, DLL Plugins, Channel Monitoring, ...

Average of 5 user ratings: 5


  • Apr 09, 2008
  • For version:
  • 0.3.160

quote  What can i say? Excellent!  quote

  • Interface: 5
  • Features: 5
  • Ease of use: 5
  • Value: 5
  • Overall: 5

Well, I was looking for an IRC for myself, never really used one. Tried many that others suggested, nothing, didn't work, hard to adjust to. HydraIRC was simple, had it working in no time! Thank you HydraIRC, you saved me a lot of grief :-)

user Review by: comicfan (5)
Read all 5 reviews by comicfan


  • Nov 11, 2007
  • For version:
  • 0.3.160

quote  Like this free puppy.  quote

  • Interface: 4
  • Features: 5
  • Ease of use: 5
  • Value: 5
  • Overall: 5

Used mIRC for many years. Like this free puppy. No annoying flash screens. Very light weight and easier to configure than mIRC. Tell your buds to get this one.

user Review by: Chazzz (9)
Read all 9 reviews by Chazzz


  • Sep 12, 2006
  • For version:
  • 0.3.151

quote  Lovely powerful irc chat client  quote

  • Interface: 5
  • Features: 5
  • Ease of use: 5
  • Value: 5
  • Overall: 5

My ISP had blocked DCC send and many programs more rated than Hydra also I tried but failed. (Like MIRC, Trillian etc.) Then Hydra took full control and bypassed my ISP's restrictions and opened full DCC chat/share/send. Thanks HydraIRC.

user Review by: Nisha_ (5)
Read all 5 reviews by Nisha_


  • Jan 16, 2006
  • For version:
  • 0.3.151

quote  Not perfect, but almost there  quote

  • Interface: 4
  • Features: 5
  • Ease of use: 4
  • Value: 5
  • Overall: 4

I've probably used every Windows IRC client out there, but this is certainly the best. Among other reasons: it's free, it's very fast and efficient (it uses very few system resources and can handle many/large channels), it hasn't crashed once in 10s of hours of use, the interface is well thought out and uses window panes that you can monitor constantly (unlike other IRC clients that popup multiple windows that only annoy you), it's highly configurable since the configuration file is open, etc. The only drawback is that it's incomplete software, but the more people that support it, the sooner it'll be improved, so I suggest you try it out!

user Review by: wackypy (2)
Read all 2 reviews by wackypy


  • Jan 08, 2006
  • For version:
  • 0.3.151

quote  Groundbreaking, but room for improvement  quote

  • Interface: 3
  • Features: 5
  • Ease of use: 2
  • Value: 5
  • Overall: 4

As a Linux user, I was never able to find an Windows IRC client that would make me set aside my beloved IRSSI. mIRC isn't free, and every other option out there is unpolished at best. HydraIRC changed all that. Not only is it free and open source, but is packed with so many features that I actually use! Channel monitoring allows me to see what's going on in every channel, without having to flip around; and the event log allows me to see not only when someone says my name or messages me, but exactly what was said and when. This client is not perfect though. It's still in active development, so some features are unpolished. The options screen is mainly a modified text editor that takes raw inputs; though the important stuff has a shiny interface, and it's easy to figure out the rest. All in all though, Hydra is a wonderful client for people that are tired of mIRC and its ilk.

user Review by: sorcererkoi (2)
Read all 2 reviews by sorcererkoi