Conversations XMPP client
Hacker ApprovedRanked 13 of 48 messaging apps by recommenders
Free Android XMPP chat app people call reliable and easy enough for family and WhatsApp-style use. Critics mainly say it lacks modern features and polish.
Free Android XMPP chat app people call reliable and easy enough for family and WhatsApp-style use. Critics mainly say it lacks modern features and polish.
37 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 31
- criticize it
- 6
- approval share
- 84%
Recommended in 6 of 13 months
- November 2025: recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: recommended
- February 2026: recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: not recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: not recommended
- August 2026: recommended
- September 2026: recommended
- October 2026: recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it carries the badge
- 31 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, met.
- 5.2 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 6 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Top Android client for XMPP
“Conversations is a great Android client (also brings their own backend instance if you don't want to host your own)”
Comment from 10 Feb 2026 in “Discord Alternatives, Ranked” “Conversations on Android is significantly better than any Matrix client I've used”
Comment from 16 Feb 2026 in “Running My Own XMPP Server” “gajim/conversations (which afaik are the best modern Windows/Android clients”
Comment from 16 Feb 2026 in “Running My Own XMPP Server” - Comment from 16 Feb 2026 in “Running My Own XMPP Server”
- Comment from 25 Feb 2026 in “Ask HN: Who Is Using XMPP?”
- Comment from 10 Feb 2026 in “Discord Alternatives, Ranked”
- Comment from 25 Aug 2026 in “Jabber/XMPP: 25 Years of Digital Independence”
- Comment from 11 Oct 2026 in “IRCv3”
Reliable and stable day to day
“Conversations automatically reconnects after each switch within few seconds, so it is transparent for users.”
Comment from 14 Sep 2026 in “Jabber/XMPP: How Do We Gain Traction?” “I use conversations literally every day, and cannot recall the last time it crashed.”
Comment from 24 Aug 2026 in “Jabber/XMPP: 25 Years of Digital Independence” “I've not had any issues with my Samsung Android killing the Conversations client.”
Comment from 26 Aug 2026 in “Jabber/XMPP: 25 Years of Digital Independence” - Comment from 14 Sep 2026 in “Jabber/XMPP: How Do We Gain Traction?”
- Comment from 24 Aug 2026 in “Jabber/XMPP: 25 Years of Digital Independence”
- Comment from 25 Aug 2026 in “Jabber/XMPP: 25 Years of Digital Independence”
- Comment from 26 Aug 2026 in “Jabber/XMPP: 25 Years of Digital Independence”
Easy enough for family and friends
“a whatsapp-like experience with Conversations, that even the least tech-savvy in my circles use happily”
Comment from 2 Aug 2026 in “A Week in Matrix” “Me and my family also use it to communicate to each other with no issues regarding the UI.”
Comment from 24 Aug 2026 in “Jabber/XMPP: 25 Years of Digital Independence” “it has been my go-to for years for communicating with friends and family”
Comment from 26 Sep 2026 in “Breaking Up with Google Play: Why Conversations Is Now Free” - Comment from 26 Aug 2026 in “Jabber/XMPP: 25 Years of Digital Independence”
- Comment from 24 Sep 2026 in “Breaking Up with Google Play: Why Conversations Is Now Free”
Pairs well with self-hosted servers
“Conversations is a great Android client (also brings their own backend instance if you don't want to host your own)”
Comment from 10 Feb 2026 in “Discord Alternatives, Ranked” “my ejabberd server + Conversations clients so that devices can send me status updates”
Comment from 16 Jan 2026 in “Just the Browser” “It will make on-boarding friends on my XMPP server easier.”
Comment from 24 Sep 2026 in “Breaking Up with Google Play: Why Conversations Is Now Free” - Comment from 26 Aug 2026 in “Jabber/XMPP: 25 Years of Digital Independence”
- Comment from 26 Sep 2026 in “Breaking Up with Google Play: Why Conversations Is Now Free”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Missing polish and modern features
“unlike Conversations it has swipe to reply, last seen, emoji reactions etc.”
Comment from 10 Feb 2026 in “Discord Alternatives, Ranked” “Conversations is the best of them all, but it doesn't mean that it is good.”
Comment from 15 Sep 2026 in “Jabber/XMPP: How Do We Gain Traction?” “I needed to fork Conversations to add a lot of polish.”
Comment from 24 Aug 2026 in “Jabber/XMPP: 25 Years of Digital Independence” - Comment from 25 Aug 2026 in “Jabber/XMPP: 25 Years of Digital Independence”
Other messaging apps people recommend
The four most recommended other messaging apps, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
See all 48 messaging apps, rankedWhat people said
40 of the 48 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“akin to Conversations for XMPP”
“Conversations is pretty nice for self hosted xmpp”
“it has been my go-to for years for communicating with friends and family”
“It will make on-boarding friends on my XMPP server easier.”
“Conversations is the best of them all, but it doesn't mean that it is good.”
“certification, which Conversations/ModernXMPP already leads”
“Once installed and configured it is maintenance-free, lightweight and reliable.”
“Conversations automatically reconnects after each switch within few seconds, so it is transparent for users.”
“Some clients (Conversations) do not allow to send message to a group when they do not know some keys”
“take a look at e.g. Cheogram, Conversations, and Element and consider ways to enhance integration”
“This combination covers 99% of my needs.”
“the family uses Conversations and we never really have any real issues”
“Conversations doesn't crash at all for me.”
“The only feature I'm missing is to show linked images inline.”
“I've not had any issues with my Samsung Android killing the Conversations client.”
“I have not seen this issue with ejabberd + Conversations”
“Only XMPP actually credited me with any fixes.”
“I personally use Conversations on the go and Gajim otherwise.”
“for Android Conversations is great”
“I wish it'd let me disable relative timestamps”
“Never had notifications issues with conversations.”
“I needed to fork Conversations to add a lot of polish.”
“I've been using Conversations for a long time and can't remember any crashes.”
“I use conversations literally every day, and cannot recall the last time it crashed.”
“Me and my family also use it to communicate to each other with no issues regarding the UI.”
“crashes often, UX is clunky”
“a whatsapp-like experience with Conversations, that even the least tech-savvy in my circles use happily”
“Conversations is a really amazing Android client”
“gajim/conversations (which afaik are the best modern Windows/Android clients”
“the BouncyCastle for conversations not being up to date”
“I did hear good things about Conversations on Android”
“Conversations on Android is significantly better than any Matrix client I've used”
“unlike Conversations it has swipe to reply, last seen, emoji reactions etc.”
“The only client I enjoy is conversations”
“Conversations is a great Android client (also brings their own backend instance if you don't want to host your own)”
“my ejabberd server + Conversations clients so that devices can send me status updates”
“will not work for me. I filed a support request and there's been no movement on it whatsoever”
“work pretty well in my experience”
“'Conversations' for android) will be able to initiate voice/video calls”
“These two clients support all the "modern" features that whatsapp does”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.