Trillian now comes in two flavours, the free version, at the time of writing Trillian 0.74, and the Pro version, currently 2.012. There are many differences between these two versions, but first the similarities:

  • AIM/ICQ support
  • Yahoo IM support
  • MSN Messenger support
  • IRC support
  • Skinnable
  • Logging of conversations
  • Lively forums on the Cereulean Studios website, with tips on using the clients and unofficial tech. support
  • Database of approved skins available free from website
  • Support for multiple connections to a single medium
Before I mention the Pro only features, I'm taking time out to say that it is true that some of these companies have tried to block Trillian from their IM networks in the past, but these problems have been sorted out now. I know that there is a deal with Microsoft, in exchange for allowing access to the MSN network, Trillian will not allow mass messaging on MSN as it does on other networks.

Trillian Pro features:

  • Plugin support
  • PNG support in skins
  • Pop-up alerts in the system tray
  • Graphical bells and whistles, for example transparencies of non active windows (optional!)
  • "Members only" section to forums, with discussions on Plugin development amongst other things
  • Support for multiple contact lists (to keep server-side contacts for different accounts on one medium separate)
At first, this list looks a little short to be paying $25/year for (note, you buy a subscription for a year, but all releases available during that year are available to you in perpetuity), but it is in the plugins that Trillian comes into it's own. There are additional media available, the following I know are available:and other plugins are available, from weather monitoring (Cabriometer) to the monitoring of system performance (PerfStats). From RSS news readers (RSS reader!) to a webserver that provides an interface (passworded) to your contact list from any PC or WAP mobile phone (cellphone) connected to the internet (I.M. Everywhere).

There is an active development community in C, C++, Delphi and even Perl (via a plugin that serves as an intermediary)

For skinners, there are two ways to skin, there is the standard XML based way, and another way called STIXIE, which separates the look and feel from the layout, which allows for some interesting combinations.

All in all, Trillian is an excellent client for those people who have friends on many IM systems, or want to maintain multiple lists on one system. It also provides a lot of interest for developers writing plugins (over 100 are currently available). If you are any of these, have a look, you may wonder how you ever survived without it.