Discord was built as a social platform for gamers all around the world. It’s a place for them to chat before, during, and after playing video games, whether it’s via text, audio, video, or screen share.
Today, Discord isn’t only for gamers—it’s become a community-building platform for a wide range of topics including art, music, tech, and education. And as a result, has amassed over 200 million active users worldwide.
While Discord is popular, it might be the wrong fit for building your specific online community (we’ll get into why in the next section).
We’ve researched and compiled the top 19 Discord alternatives that have worked best for different users. By the end of this article, you’ll have a clearer idea of which option is best for you.
Our 19 best Discord alternatives
Now let’s take a closer look at how each of these alternatives compare to Discord, including their pros, cons, and pricing.
1. Whop: Chat, forums, digital products
Whop is an all-in-one platform for building and monetizing your community. And the best part is that you can host your community internally or externally.
For example, if you’re looking for a simple community-building platform, you can set one up with Whop’s chat and forum apps in less than 10 minutes. Then when you want to grow, you have extra features to keep your community active and engaged like hosting live events, running giveaways, and collecting user feedback.
On the other hand, if you're happy with Discord for everything but it's monetization features, then Whop lets you monetize a community on external platforms like Discord and Telegram. While your community is under development, use Whop to launch a waitlist, building hype around it and gauging interest. And when your community is ready, grant access by charging a one-time or subscription fee.
To expand your income streams, Whop also lets you sell digital products (like ebooks, courses, live events, and software) as standalone products or bundle them along with community access for a premium price.
Pros
- Build a custom landing page for your products
- Set up an affiliate program to promote your products
- Add free trials and promo codes to products for higher conversions
- Set up extensive payment options including credit/debit cards, PayPal, Google Pay, Apple Pay, and cryptocurrency
Cons
- Doesn’t have bots to automate tasks inside of a whop (yet!)
Pricing
Whop is completely free to use. You only pay a % when you make a sale.
2. Slack: Best for building a tight-knit community of professionals
Slack and Discord have similar interfaces and features. Both let you create unlimited topic channels in your community, access those channels in the left navigation panel, and set up bots to carry out tasks.
However, Slack has unique features that make it better for collaborating with your work team and other professionals. For instance, while Discord users maintain anonymity with cartoon avatars and nicknames, Slack keeps it professional with real names and profile photos.
Slack also does a better job of organizing threads within channels, making it easier to follow conversations. And if you need to integrate with business apps, Slack makes it a breeze.
Pros
- Share 1 GB files
- User-friendly interface
- Host huddles (aka live video calls)
- Over 2,600 third-party integrations
Cons
- Heavily limited free plan
- Gets expensive for large communities
Pricing
Slack has a free plan for unlimited channels and community members. However, you can only see messages sent in the last 90 days, host one-on-one huddles only, and connect with 10 business apps from the app directory.
To remove these limitations, you’ll need to get the Pro or Business+ plan, which costs $8.75/person/month and $15/person/month respectively. Then there’s the Enterprise Grid plan with custom pricing.
Check out this full review of Discord vs Slack for your community.
3. Telegram: Best for sending broadcasts to a large community
While Discord started as a community-building platform, Telegram—like WhatsApp and Signal—started as an instant messaging (IM) app. Like most IM apps, it’s free, lightweight, and simple to use for both techie and non-techie users.
Besides chatting with family and friends, Telegram lets you build Channels (with unlimited members) and Communities (with 200K members). In Channels, only admins can send messages, making it perfect for broadcasting business news and updates. On the other hand, Communities allow admins and community members to send messages under different sub-topics.
Pros
- Set up bots
- Share 2 GB files
- Create polls for your community
- Host live streams with the option to share screen
Cons
- Lacks advanced permissions
- Can’t create communities with more than 200K members
Pricing
Telegram is free to use for admins and community members. However, community members can get Telegram Premium, which costs $3.99/month. Similar to Discord, it unlocks extra perks like a 4 GB file upload limit, premium emojis and stickers, and animated profile pictures.
4. Facebook Groups: Best for growing a large community that already hangs out on Facebook
Facebook Groups lets you build a community of like-minded people by tapping into Facebook’s vast directory of over three billion users.
Unlike Discord, Facebook Groups isn’t centered around chat channels. Instead, all community members post to a running feed with text, photo or video, GIF, file, or poll. But you can still create a community chat for topic-based discussions.
Facebook Groups has the basic tools you need to build a community, and if your target audience is already on Facebook, it’s worth considering.
Pros
- Schedule new posts
- Unlimited community members
- Host live streams via desktop or mobile
- Pin relevant posts to the Featured section at the top
Cons
- Can’t exceed 100 community chats
- The multiple ads and notifications make it a distracting platform to grow your community
Pricing
Facebook’s Groups feature is free.
5. Reddit: Best for maximizing your community’s discoverability in search engines
Reddit communities (aka subreddits) take a forum-based approach to organizing text communication. Your subreddit members publish posts to the forum and others contribute in the comments. Reddit’s upvote-downvote system pushes the most relevant posts and comments to the top, making it easier for the rest of the community to quickly find helpful content.
One of Reddit’s biggest advantages over Discord is its search engine visibility. If your subreddit addresses questions about your business, non-members with similar queries can easily find your subreddit and the answers through a Google or Bing search. This way, you avoid answering the same questions multiple times and your community grows organically.
Pros
- Admins can pin comments to the top
- Set up bots to help with moderation
- Add links to posts and comments
Cons
- Has in-app ads
- Can’t upload files directly to the platform
Pricing
Creating a subreddit is free.
Discord vs Reddit: Which is best for your online community?
6. Signal: Best for privacy-conscious users looking to build a small community of family and friends
Signal launched in 2013 but took off in 2021 when WhatsApp’s updated policy raised concerns about data privacy. Unlike Discord, Signal focuses on strong encryption and doesn’t collect user data.
It has a group feature for connecting with your friends and family over shared interests like music, art, and hiking. Group members can share text messages and files, host voice and video calls, and even share their screens during calls.
However, Signal limits file sizes to between 8 MB and 100 MB, depending on the file type...it isn’t much but it’s better than Discord.
Pros
- Works on Windows, Mac, Linux, Android, and iOS
- Allows admin to approve new members
- Screen share feature on desktop apps
Cons
- Groups are capped at 1,000 members
- Voice and video calls are limited to 16 participants
- No option to create sub-groups within a Signal group
Pricing
Signal is free to use.
7. TeamSpeak: Best for pro gamers who need a reliable and secure voice communication platform
TeamSpeak and Discord were built to connect gamers across the globe. However, they have different feature sets.
While Discord is a more versatile platform offering text, voice, video chats, and screen sharing, TeamSpeak is purposely built for lag-free, high-quality voice communication between gamers on a chat channel during gameplay.
Another key difference is that while Discord is cloud-hosted, TeamSpeak requires a Windows, MacOS, or Linux server to run. This can be a hassle to set up, but it’s worth it for users who prioritize secure and clear voice communication.
Pros
- Share files with no size limit
- Access thousands of public TeamSpeak servers
- Create unlimited temporary, semi-temporary, and permanent channels in your server
Cons
- Outdated and clunky interface
- No cloud-hosted solution
- Chat feature is very basic
Pricing
With TeamSpeak’s Free Server License, you can host one server with 32 active users at a time. The Gamer License offers two servers and up to 1,024 active users, but you’ll need to contact TeamSpeak for pricing. Then there’s the Commercial License for businesses that need an internal voice communication platform.
TeamSpeak vs Discord: Which is Best for Your Gaming Community?
8. Swarm: Best for video-based team and client interactions
Swarm communities (aka Swarm Spaces) let you set up channels like Discord, but it has a more minimalist and professional interface, similar to Slack.
What sets Swarm apart is its focus on video. Unlike Discord and Slack, Swarm encourages sharing short video clips in channels and DMs. Besides video, you can also share text, GIFs, and audio clips and keep track of these conversations inside threads.
This makes Swarm perfect for maintaining personal, face-to-face interactions with your team or coaching clients, without the need for constant live calls.
Pros
- Host live streams and share recordings
- Get auto-generated captions for video clips
- Use the recap tool for video transcription summaries
Cons
- Limited native integrations
- To have over 150 Space members or host 1hr+ live streams, you’ll need the Elite plan
Pricing
Swarm doesn’t have a free plan, only a free 14-day trial. All paid plans have 0% transaction fees. The Novice plan costs $49/month for hosting 1 Space and 25 total members. The Pro plan costs $99/month for 5 Spaces, 50 members per Space, and 45-minute live streams.
The Expert plan, which is $199/month, unlocks unlimited Spaces, 150 members per Space, 1-hour live streams, and Zapier and API access. Then there’s the Elite plan that unlocks unlimited spaces and members, priority support, and SSO for $399/month.
9. WhatsApp: Best for growing a small community that already uses WhatsApp
Initially, WhatsApp only offered group chats for connecting with friends and family, similar to Signal. Now, WhatsApp has also implemented the Channels and Communities features.
Channels are solely for broadcasting announcements, while Communities bring multiple groups together in one space. WhatsApp Communities have a default announcements group where admins can share updates, but the other groups are open for members to share text, images, audio, and videos.
However, you’re limited to 50 groups and 5,000 members per Community. This should be enough if you’re only building a small community and your target audience is already active on WhatsApp.
Pros
- Upload files up to 2 GB
- Share polls and live locations
- Schedule live events and track attendance
Cons
- Limited permission settings
- Calls are capped at 32 members
Pricing
WhatsApp Communities is free to use.
10. Mighty Networks: Best for coaches looking to leverage community insights for growth
Mighty Networks is another Slack-like platform for building communities. But instead of having channels (or “Spaces” as they’re called in Mighty Networks) for just chat, you can also use them for sharing courses, upcoming live events, and resources.
A standout Mighty Networks feature is its robust analytics (aka Mighty Insights). This gives you key metrics like total members, active members, and total contributions, plus a visual overview of how these metrics change over a certain time.
You can also track active members by hour and top community spaces. These are super helpful for making informed decisions like optimizing post times to boost engagement and replicating what has worked for top spaces in underperforming ones.
Pros
- Organize Spaces into collections
- Connect your account to a custom domain
- Charge a one-time or recurring fee for community access
Cons
- The starter plan doesn’t have Mighty Insights
- Supports only Stripe for monetization
- Limited native integrations
Pricing
There’s no free plan but you get a free 14-day trial. They have a 5-tier pricing plan and all plans unlock unlimited Spaces and members.
The Community Plan costs $49/month (plus 3% transaction fees) and has basic features like 5 streaming hours and 50 viewers, zoom integration, and polls.
The Courses Plan costs $119/month (plus 2% transaction fees) and comes with 20 streaming hours and 200 viewers, courses and resource libraries, quizzes, and member badges.
The Business Plan and Path-to-Pro Plan cost $219/month (plus 2% transaction fees) and $360/month (plus 1% transaction fees) and unlock more streaming hours and viewers, higher storage, and SSO. Then there’s the Mighty Pro Plan (custom pricing) that unlocks enterprise features.
11. Discourse: Best for technical users who want to create neatly threaded communities with SEO-friendly content
Launched in 2013, Discourse was designed to break free from the organizational and visual shortcomings of old-school forums. Today, the platform has been updated with the intention to help dynamic, long-form content communities effectively engage in a neatly organized format with threads. Unlike Discord’s live chat, discussions in threads are submitted and archived.
The platform is complete with robust moderation tools in addition to deep customization. Additionally, Discourse is SEO-friendly, meaning that if you want your forum content to be public and discoverable, you’ll have a high shot at it ranking amongst similar search results such as those from Reddit. However, Discourse requires its user to set up their own hosting, which requires technical know-how.
Pros
- SEO-friendly design helps boost organic traffic
- Robust moderation capabilities and tools
- Extensive customization options via plugins
- Organized, searchable threaded discussions
Cons
- Requires more technical expertise as a self-hosted platform
- Lacks the immediacy of real-time chat platforms like Discord
Pricing
Discourse is free if you self-host. If you prefer the platform to handle the hosting responsibilities, their hosting service starts around $100 per month. This pricing scales with community size and additional feature needs. Custom enterprise pricing is available for larger organizations.
12. Flock: Best for small-to-medium teams seeking integrated productivity tools
Flock is an all-in-one collaboration tool that combines team chat, video conferencing, and productivity features into one streamlined experience. First seen in 2014, the platform’s main focus is to reduce the clutter that comes with using multiple apps for streamlined productivity.
It allows teams to chat, share files, and hold video meetings without switching between multiple tools The interface is more minimalist and straightforward compared to other alternatives, and is more professionally oriented than Discord. Flock also allows for integration of task management in addition to the setting up of channels.
Pros
- Clean, intuitive interface that promotes efficient collaboration
- Fully integrated functionality that includes video calls, file sharing, task management and productivity app support
- Real-time messaging combined with relevant chat history
Cons
- Customization more limited compared to other enterprise-level solutions
- Lacks some of the community-centric features and general appeal outside of the professional realm
Pricing
Flock offers a free plan with basic features suitable for small teams. To unlock more advanced functionalities and integrations, paid plans start at about $4.50 per user per month, with higher tiers available for growing organizations.
13. Guilded: Best for gaming and developer communities
Guilded is as close to it gets to being a Discord clone, however, it aims to compete by offering the paid, premium features of Discord Nitro–such as unlimited file size uploads–completely free. The platform is most used by gaming and esports communities and is also gaining popularity within niche development groups.
The platform offers specialized tools such as integrated event scheduling, team calendars, and tournament management in addition to Discord-like threads and channels. This added layer of functionality in addition to offering Nitro-gated Discord features for free make it a compelling alternative to the platform.
Pros
- Advanced functionality including integrated scheduling and management tools tailored specifically to gamers
- Offers all core features including unlimited uploads and file size completely free, with no hidden costs
- Optimizes voice and video channels with low latency
Cons
- Might prove too complicated for the average user that doesn’t want or need all the features
- The free model of this business may only be temporary
Pricing
Guilded only offers one plan that includes all of its robust features and functionality totally free, making it a very attractive option for budget-conscious individuals that want something for their gaming, esports, or development community.
14. Element: Best for privacy-focused tech communities
Element (formerly Riot) is a secure, open-source messaging platform built on the decentralized Matrix protocol which emphasizes privacy and control for all participants on the platform. Since its debut in 2015, Element has become a favorite for those that prioritize data security and privacy.
The platform offers end-to-end encryption and the ability to self-host your server, ensuring discreet and complete control over all communication channels. It’s particularly popular in tech fields where individuals are able to recognize and make use of all of the privacy features that the platform offers.
Pros
- Decentralized architecture with robust end-to-end encryption
- Fuly open-source and customizable
- Self-hosting options for greater control
- Supports seamless and secure communication through text, voice, and video
Cons
- Made only to serve those that are more technically savvy: setup and configuration is challenging for the average non-technical user
- Utilitarian interface that lacks the ease-of-use and appeal of other competing apps
Pricing
Element is free to use as an open-source solution, however, the user will have to pay for hosting. Organizations that require enterprise-level support or want to explore managed hosting options can reach out for custom pricing.
15. Microsoft Teams: Best for business teams and professionals
Microsoft Teams is a corporate favorite with its seamless integration with Office 365 and secure and easy-to-use video call feature that is quickly becoming a rival to popular alternatives. The platform and its professional userbase is in stark contrast to Discord’s informal, community-oriented design.
Real-time document collaboration throughout the entire Office suite while remaining confidential within each respective Teams group is what attracts businesses of all sizes to Microsoft teams. The platform also has a high standard for data security and compliance.
Pros
- Thorough and seamless integration with all Office 365 applications for advanced professional productivity
- High-quality video conferencing and real-time collaboration tools
- Strong security and enterprise-level compliance measures
Cons
- Not attractive for casual or non-business users
- Only truly useful for those who make extensive use of the Microsoft Office ecosystem
Pricing
Microsoft Teams offers a free version with essential features, but the full experience comes with an Office 365 subscription. The Business Basic plan starts at about $5 per user per month, which includes expanded meeting capabilities, increased file storage, and additional collaboration tools. Higher-tier plans including enterprise packages are available with custom pricing.
16. Rocket.Chat: Best for developers and organizations who want full control and a simple interface
First released in 2015, Rocket.Chat is an open-source messaging platform designed for teams and organizations that have unique integration or security requirements. However, this privacy comes at the cost of extensive set-up, which includes hosting configuration and the need to understand its API well enough to make full use of its integrations.
Users can choose between self-hosted or cloud-hosted options, and the platform has extensive API support that lets you tailor everything to your exact specifications and use cases. All of this makes it particularly attractive to tech-savvy teams that value precise customization and full ownership over data.
Pros
- Offers total control, fully customizable and open-source
- Flexible hosting options
- Extensive API support for deep integrations with your existing systems
Cons
- Too complex to understand or use for non-technical users
- Utilitarian interface might reduce engagement
Pricing
While Rocket.Chat is free to use, you’ll still need to pay for a hosting plan. Their cloud-hosted solution starts at around $3 per user per month, with custom pricing available at higher tiers depending on size and use.
17. Mattermost: Best for entrepreneurs needing secure, self-hosted collaboration
Mattermost is an enterprise-grade messaging platform designed for secure, self-hosted collaboration. This makes it another ideal choice for organizations that need a platform that adheres to strict data and privacy standards or those that simply want to keep full ownership over their communication.
The platform is open-source, allowing for deep customization in addition to seamless integration with internal tools, ensuring that workflow can be tailored to precise needs. For such a technical platform, the interface is quite clean with a design that is quite similar to Slack.
Pros
- Enterprise-level security with complete control through self-hosting
- Highly customizable and scalable with extensive integration options
- Pleasant to use with a good user interface and experience
Cons
- Initial setup and maintenance requires technical expertise and resources
- Managed cloud hosting solutions can be costly for smaller organizations
Pricing
Those that pay for self-hosting can use Mattermost for free, however, for teams that prefer a managed cloud solution, plans start at approximately $10 per user per month, which is relatively high especially for smaller early stage organizations. Custom pricing is available for larger organizations and specialized requirements.
18. Zulip: Best for clean, modern communication
Zulip combines the clean, modern look and familiar channel-based communication of Slack with an innovative twist: built-in livestreaming. So, in addition to traditional text chats and robust file sharing capabilities, teams can also seamlessly broadcast live meetings, demos, or presentations directly on the platform.
All of these features combined enhance real-time collaboration, ensuring that dynamic content is easily accessible alongside regular channel communications. Zulip is a great option for professional organizations who are used to working in Slack but could use fully integrated video capabilities on top of everything else.
Pros
- Clean, intuitive interface that mirrors Slack’s favored user-friendly design
- Fully integrated video with livestreaming capabilities
- Robust integrations with common workplace tools and productivity apps
Cons
- The livestream feature is not quite as advanced in terms of quality and latency compared to other dedicated streaming platforms like Discord
- The abundance of features can make for a slight learning curve for the average user who is accustomed to the simplicity of Slack
Pricing
Zulip is free when self-hosted, offering a cost-effective solution for tech savvy teams. For those that prefer hassle-free managed hosting, plans begin at approximately $6.67 per user per month, with prices scaling based on team size and additional features.
19. Gather: Best virtual office
Gather (gather.town) is a spatial virtual platform that creates interactive, game-like environments that are designed to mimic the engagement that comes with real-world offices for remote teams. Launched in 2020, Gather lets organizations navigate virtual spaces with user-built custom avatars.
Clever features which include proximity-based text, audio, and video features in addition to clearly labeled customized areas allow the platform to pull of their intent of replacing physical offices quite well at a steep discount. While the majority of users are corporations, some users choose to use Gather to design a space for online meetups or events.
Pros
- Immersive, spatial environment that closely simulates real-life interactions
- Custom avatars and proximity-based video and audio create natural and dynamic conversations
- Highly customizable virtual spaces that can be adapted for events in addition to office space
Cons
- The game-like interface could be seen as non-professional and can also present a learning curve to some
- Works better in a rigid schedule, not conducive to the 24/7 drop-in style that comes with most online forums and communities
- Larger gatherings and advanced features require upgrading to paid plans
Pricing
Gather offers a free plan for small-scale, informal meetings. For larger events or more robust functionality like advanced customization of virtual spaces and integrated scheduling tools, users must pay with a price starting at approximately $8 per month per space.
Why consider alternatives to Discord?
Many users love that Discord is free and offers advanced permission settings, and appreciate that it has bots for automating tasks like welcoming new members and sending event reminders.
However, there are some downsides to Discord that people don’t often mention, and these could be deal-breakers for your community. Here are a few reasons that you may want to look outside of Discord:
1. It can be a steep learning curve
Setting up roles, permissions, and bots in Discord is complex and time-consuming. If you aren’t tech-savvy, you’ll need to hire a Discord expert to ensure everything works well.
2. May be complex for casual users
Most users (except for gamers and tech geeks) find Discord’s interface and extensive features to be intimidating at first glance. This could discourage them from checking the platform, and as a result, lower engagement levels in your community.
3. There is a file upload limit
Discord lets you upload most file types, but the file size is limited to 8 MB. You have to purchase Nitro Basic ($2.99/month) or Nitro ($9.99/month) to increase this limit to 50 MB or 500 MB, which is still not much if you’re looking to share bigger files with your community.
4. Discord has only a few native integrations
Discord has 22 native integrations, with most of them being gaming and social media related. If you need to connect with cloud storage, project management, and other business apps, this Discord limitation would heavily limit real-time updates and collaboration.
5. Concern over privacy issues
Discord takes standard security measures and is generally safe to use. However, privacy-conscious users may not be comfortable with Discord’s data collection practices and lack of end-to-end encryption.
6. There is no built-in monetization tool
If you plan to offer an exclusive paid community (and other paid resources) in the future, you can’t implement this in Discord. You’d need to find some workarounds, which can be complicated and might lead to a negative user experience.
What is the best Discord alternative?
As we’ve seen, each of these Discord alternatives has its unique strengths. So choosing the best one largely depends on your target audience and your community’s needs and goals. If you’re unsure of what these are, take a moment to answer the following questions:
- What am I looking to achieve with my community?
- What features must my chosen Discord alternative have?
- Do I want to monetize my community now or in the future?
- Do I want to bundle my community with other digital offerings?
Your answers should give you better clarity on which tool is the best fit for you.
Whichever platform you choose, you can get Whop to monetize community access and offer additional products like courses, digital downloads, and software.
Whop: The best platform for your online community
Discord is a feature-rich platform for running an online community. However, the community management features might feel overwhelming to certain user demographics.
If you’re a creator, small business owner, or digital entrepreneur who needs a streamlined, all-in-one platform for building and monetizing your online community, then Whop is a much better fit for you.
You can get started for free. Whop makes no money until you do…even better, you get to keep up to 97% of your earnings.
