erkThe state of IRC, at a glance.
erkstats tracks live and historical statistics for 141 IRC networks and 20,079 active channels: how many people are online, which communities are largest, and how that is changing over time. Updated every few hours.
Right now the biggest networks are Libera.Chat, HybridIRC and Undernet, and the busiest channels include #linux, #kampung and #Thanxforthewhois.
Climbing fast beyond the headline names: #kde-new-contributors on Libera.Chat is up 1925% and ExplosionIRC is up 36% in the last day.
People online
280,042
+0.7% vs yesterday
Active channels
102,837
-0.7% vs yesterday
Networks tracked
141
138 reporting · updated 3 mins ago
258k
272k
286k
300k
Sep 27Oct 5Oct 12Oct 20now
No data in this period yet.
Largest networks
Browse all IRC networks →The biggest IRC networks by users online, with a 30-day trend for each. Click any network for its full history, server list and channels.
Libera.Chat
+3.3%
31,809 people
HybridIRC
+11.3%
21,427 people
Undernet
+5.5%
17,537 people
SkyChatz
-15.5%
17,296 people
OFTC
+6.5%
16,100 people
IRCnet
-0.5%
15,816 people
Global-Irc.Eu
+66.7%
11,807 people
Rizon
-2.4%
9,453 people
Largest channels
See the busiest channels →The most active IRC channels across every tracked network, ranked by the number of people in them right now.
#linux
+1.3%
2,415 people
#kampung
+47,620.0%
2,386 people
#kampung
+0.2%
2,383 people
#Thanxforthewhois
+38.2%
2,242 people
#TheRainbowChildren
+38.2%
2,242 people
#KualaLumpur
-12.5%
2,036 people
#SkyChatz
-15.3%
1,966 people
#hot
+13.7%
1,903 people
Frequently asked questions
Is IRC still used in 2026?
Yes. IRC is still active: erkstats counts 280,042 people online right now across 141 networks and 20,079 channels, refreshed every few hours.
What is the largest IRC network right now?
Libera.Chat is currently the largest IRC network erkstats tracks, with 31,809 users online. See the full ranking of IRC networks.
How many IRC networks are there?
erkstats tracks 141 public IRC networks that it has connected to and gathered statistics from. Browse them all on the networks page.
What are the most active IRC channels?
The busiest channels right now include #linux, #kampung and #Thanxforthewhois. Explore the largest IRC channels across every network.
How often are the statistics updated?
Network and channel figures refresh every few hours. The most recent sweep was 3 mins ago.