6 Best Freeware Chat Applications for Windows

Instant messaging is still one of the best ways to stay in touch with friends and family, and Windows has no shortage of great free chat clients. Whether you want to talk to your Facebook friends, make free voice and video calls, or manage all your chat accounts from a single place, there is an app for you. Here are the 6 best freeware chat applications for Windows.

1. Facebook Messenger

Facebook Messenger is the official desktop client of the world's largest social network, Facebook.com. This widely popular app was built to give its huge user base of more than a billion people from all around the world easy access to live chat capabilities that can be used without loading your web browser. This is especially useful for people who like to multitask but want to remain in contact with their friends, family, business partners and clients without keeping a browser window open all the time. By utilizing all the modern techniques that were popularized by other chat clients, Facebook Messenger enables users to easily maintain multiple chat connections and see the online status of anyone on their friend list.

The first release of Facebook Messenger for Windows Desktop arrived in March 2012. This version of the app enabled text chat and multiple window management, but it also promised quick adoption of more advanced features such as video calling in the future. Sadly, that feature is still not yet implemented.

The interface of Facebook Messenger is very simple and intuitive, enabling anyone who has ever used Facebook to immediately feel at home. The icons and color scheme evoke Facebook, with friend list and chat window management being as easy as possible. You can even manage how you want to receive popup notifications about the online status of your friends.

Facebook Messenger is a perfect tool for anyone who wants to have persistent access to Facebook chat without needing to keep Facebook loaded in their browser.

2. LINE

LINE is a popular instant messenger that effortlessly unites all modern platforms — desktop PCs, laptops, tablets and smartphones. Using its own communication protocol, users who are introduced to this great cloud-powered service are immediately greeted with an intuitive interface and a wide array of useful features. The main dashboard of LINE features a very stylish UI that will perfectly fit the needs of desktop users on both Windows and Mac.

The main window lists your friends and offers easy-to-reach sorting and searching tools. Message windows are also very easy to use, enabling anyone to easily chat, insert great visual stickers, and call their friends via the integrated VOIP protocol. Users of the mobile version of this app can additionally send photos made with their smartphone cameras, audio messages, videos, and share their location. All that data can be easily received on the LINE desktop client.

All in all, if you have ever used any modern instant messenger client, you will have no problems with LINE and its visually stunning interface style that you have seen before in many other products.

With LINE you can easily chat with your friends and family, organize group chats with colleagues (up to 100 people), send videos and voice messages, play multiplayer video games, chat not only with emoticons but also with big detailed stickers, and even perform high quality calls from your smartphone and desktop for free! Your account will even have a timeline of events that your friends can enrich with their own shared content.

LINE Top Features:

• Free Messaging, Whenever, Wherever — Exchange free instant messages with friends whenever and wherever with one-on-one and group chats. LINE is available on all smartphone devices (iPhone, Android, Windows Phone, Blackberry, Nokia) and even on your PC.
• Free Voice & Video Calls — Real-time voice and video calls with friends are free with LINE. Don't wait to hear your loved ones' voices or see their smiling faces. Currently available on iPhone, Android and PC (Windows/Mac OS).
• LINE Stickers, More Fun and Expressive Chats — With over 10,000 stickers and emoticons, you can express a wider range of emotions. Visit the Sticker Shop to find original LINE and world-famous character stickers.
• From Photo & Video Sharing to Voice Messages — LINE lets you share photos, videos, voice messages, contacts and location information easily with your friends.
• Timeline — Use Timeline to share texts, photos, videos, and stickers to exchange stories with your close friends.
• Snap Movie — Create top quality videos in just 10 seconds! Add cool background music and share with friends.

3. Nimbuzz!

Nimbuzz Messenger is a comprehensive and very useful Windows messaging application that gives you the ability to chat over multiple communication protocol networks, find your old and new friends, and make free calls. By combining all the most popular chat protocols and expanding their use with new tools and abilities, Nimbuzz represents a perfect way to communicate with your friends.

Through only one intuitively designed user interface, you can connect to Facebook, Windows Live Messenger, Gmail, and Yahoo Messenger absolutely free. There you can not only talk with text, but share links, photos, files, music, videos, and of course make as many audio and video calls as you like. It's all unlimited, and it's free. You can also connect your Twitter account and directly from Nimbuzz read your news stream and send messages to friends.

The main interface of Nimbuzz resembles many other chat clients on the market. A large amount of vertical real estate is dedicated to your friend list, with easily accessible tools placed above and below that list. The chat window supports tabs for multi-person chats, emoticons, attachments and the ability to start a voice call. Multimedia such as videos, images and music can be shared with friends by simply dragging and dropping them into the chat window. Users can very easily add not only new friends, but also accounts from all popular chat protocols, including Facebook, MSN, Yahoo, Google Talk and many others.

Nimbuzz Messenger is without a doubt one of the best chat clients on the market today, which is evident from its enormous popularity and over 100 million registered users on PC, Mac and mobile platforms.

Nimbuzz Features:

• Messaging — Connect with your Nimbuzz friends and all your friends across popular instant messaging and social networks. Use the simple 'drag n' drop' function to share music, movies and photos with your friends. With one log-in you connect with friends on Nimbuzz, Facebook, Windows Live Messenger (MSN), Yahoo and Google Talk.
• Free Calling — Use Nimbuzz to call your friends for free no matter where they are, and enjoy unbeatable audio quality and ease of use, powered by the latest state-of-the-art audio engine.
• Cheap International Calling — Buy NimbuzzOut credits and make low-cost international calls directly from your PC to landlines and mobile phones anywhere in the world. Store all your important contacts in the Nimbuzz Phonebook, and you can also make calls using your favorite Internet call provider (SIP/VoIP).

4. Skype

Skype is without a doubt the most popular text, voice and video communication software today, with a reach that rivals many social networks and almost every other text-based chat client of today. It enables you to connect with your friends anywhere in the world on their desktop PCs, mobile phones, tablets, television screens and consoles, enabling not only safe and easy peer-to-peer communication, but also the ability to call regular mobile phones worldwide, secure transferring of files, conference calling, and desktop screen sharing.

Created in August 2003 by developers Ahti Heinla, Priit Kasesalu, Jaan Tallinn, Janus Friis and Niklas Zennström, this freemium voice-over-IP service and instant messaging app grew at a tremendous pace, mostly because it managed to give people the unique opportunity to call landline and mobile phone numbers directly from their PC. As the years went on, this VoIP focus remained strong, but other elements of the service grew as well, enabling hundreds of millions of people to easily establish text, audio and video chats between a wide variety of supported hardware devices and operating systems (Windows, Mac OS X, Linux, iOS, Android, BlackBerry OS, Symbian, and many home and portable consoles).

All of those features can be accessed on PC even on very old configurations, widening the possible user base to almost all modern PC users. By the end of 2011, Skype was used by over 630 million people, and in 2011 the company was purchased by the software giant Microsoft, who further enabled Skype to become a part of their entire OS ecosystem.

See all the great things you can do on Skype:

• Catch Up with Video — Enjoy free video calls with anyone who also has Skype. Share a bedtime story, host a meeting or take a language class with the best ever video quality.
• Call All Over the World — Call people who are on Skype for free, or on their phones at great low rates. Ring your best friend to make weekend plans or touch base with a client on the other side of the world with crystal clear audio.
• Bring Your Social Network to Life — Skype made it even easier to keep in touch with friends and family. Now you can connect with your Facebook friends through Skype. See your Facebook news feed, update your status, comment and like directly from Skype.

5. Yahoo! Messenger

Yahoo Messenger is a free communication service that encompasses several services offered by the extensive Yahoo! network. Not only can you easily chat with your friends, but Yahoo Messenger can also notify you of incoming mail and upcoming events in your Yahoo Calendar, and offers audio/video chat, support for Launchcast Radio, Yahoo Games, Yahoo Audibles and sports news feeds.

Other features that are included in Yahoo Messenger are the ability to create chat rooms, receive stock price alerts, send messages to offline users, change the size of the interface, and theme support. In addition to the Windows version, this popular chat program is available for Linux, Mac, Symbian, Android, and iOS operating systems.

Like many other standalone chat clients, Yahoo Messenger has a very popular way of managing your friend list, accessing app customization options and easily maintaining multiple chat windows inside a separate tabbed interface. What separates this app from the rest is its close connection to many services that are hosted by Yahoo, which include countless widgets and access to news services that will make Yahoo Messenger the best place to get informed about weather, stocks, sports and more.

While many of its services are available on countless other similar chat apps (including apps that support multiple protocols and interactions with social networks and email accounts), Yahoo Messenger represents the best way you can contact its large user base, share and receive unique emoticons, and build relationships that will last.

See what's inside the new Yahoo! Messenger:

• Buddy vs. Buddy — Challenge your friends in a series of social games, including Mafia Wars and Fishville.
• Facebook Friendly — Now you can chat with your Facebook friends right from your Messenger.
• Share Away, All from Here — Share and update your status, post comments and keep up with your conversations across Facebook and Yahoo!, all from your Messenger.
• IM on Mobile — Enjoy your chats on the go through your iPhone, Android or any Internet-enabled phone.
• Always On Chats — Always stay signed in to your chats and never miss any conversation, whether you are at home, at work or on your mobile device.
• Tabbed IMs — Chat with all your friends from one easy and convenient window with tabbed IMs.

6. Windows Live Messenger

Windows Live Messenger (formerly MSN Messenger) is one of the most popular communication software packages ever created. During its long history of service between 1999 and 2012, it managed to attract more than 330 million active users (at its peak in 2009), allowing them to send instant messages, chat online and stay in touch with their favorite people or groups in real time. For many years, Windows Live Messenger represented the ideal way to chat, play games, or share photos. It was a part of Windows Live Essentials, which included free programs for photos, movies, instant messaging, e-mail, blogging, family safety, and more. However, after 13 years of service Microsoft decided to put a stop to this service, closing it down and moving its entire user base to the servers maintained by their very expensive acquisition — Skype.

The interface of Windows Live Messenger changed several times during its long life, but the main layout always remained the same. The central dashboard hosts the friend list and app configuration tools, and a dedicated window is there for tabbed chat. Supported interactions include text, images, video sharing, emoticons, live calls, and more.

Even though the service has been retired in most countries, it still remains available in China, where its old user base can continue using its real-time communication tools on a daily basis, talking and sharing ideas and news without any limitation — including contacting users who are active on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and many other social networking sites.

These were the 6 best freeware chat applications for Windows. Which one is your favorite? Do leave your comments below and let us know!