erkThe state of IRC, at a glance.
erkstats tracks live and historical statistics for 141 IRC networks and 20,297 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 SkyChatz, and the busiest channels include #KualaLumpur, #SkyChatz and #kampung.
Climbing fast beyond the headline names: #BRASnet on DALnet is up 132% and ChatLife is up 527% in the last day.
People online
284,143
+1.3% vs yesterday
Active channels
103,006
+0.0% vs yesterday
Networks tracked
141
138 reporting · updated 1 min ago
112k
170k
227k
285k
2026202620262026now
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
-1.7%
30,100 people
HybridIRC
+11.9%
21,545 people
SkyChatz
+2.8%
20,151 people
Undernet
+14.2%
17,041 people
IRCnet
+3.1%
16,699 people
OFTC
+5.3%
15,760 people
FreeUniBG
+58.3%
14,434 people
Global-Irc.Eu
+65.5%
11,798 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.
#KualaLumpur
+8.5%
2,421 people
#SkyChatz
+8.5%
2,412 people
#kampung
+47,640.0%
2,386 people
#clients
-4.8%
2,381 people
#kampung
+0.1%
2,381 people
#linux
-1.9%
2,334 people
#Thanxforthewhois
+15.3%
1,805 people
#TheRainbowChildren
+15.3%
1,805 people
Frequently asked questions
Is IRC still used in 2026?
Yes. IRC is still active: erkstats counts 284,143 people online right now across 141 networks and 20,297 channels, refreshed every few hours.
What is the largest IRC network right now?
Libera.Chat is currently the largest IRC network erkstats tracks, with 30,100 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 #KualaLumpur, #SkyChatz and #kampung. 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 1 min ago.