Whether you’re creating a gaming community or want to build a following for your latest NFT project, there are two platforms you’ll narrow down your search to: Guilded vs Discord. While each of these platforms has its pros and cons, only one is right for you. Which is it? You’re about to find out!
In this article, we’ll compare and contrast the most important considerations in the Discord vs Guilded debate: from organizing your community to monetizing it, leveraging bots, and a whole lot more. We hope that by the time you finish reading this short article, you feel more confident and clear on what your next steps should be.
Let’s start by introducing each platform to set the stage for the rest of the conversation.
Discord vs Guilded: Introducing the Two Platforms
To truly understand which of these two community-based platforms is right for you, it’s important that you have a solid grasp on how each of these was born. So - let’s take a trip back in time to 2015 when Discord was first launched.
Introducing Discord
Discord is a popular communication platform designed for creating and managing online communities. It was first released in 2015 and has since gained a large following among gamers, content creators, and other online communities.
At its core, Discord is a chat app that allows users to communicate with each other in real time through text, voice, and video. Users can create and join servers, which are essentially chat rooms focused on a particular topic or interest. Within these servers, users can create channels for specific topics or discussions, as well as use voice and video channels for more immersive communication.
Discord also has a number of other features that make it popular among online communities. For example, it allows users to easily share files, create custom emotes and emojis, and integrate with other apps and services like Twitch and YouTube.
Another key feature of Discord is its role system, which allows server administrators to assign different levels of access and permissions to different users. This can help to maintain order and structure within a community, while also allowing users to have different levels of responsibility and influence.
For the purpose of this conversation, it’s important to note that creators can monetize Discord by gating access to the server. In this way, you’re able to earn income by growing your Discord community. But how does Guilded fit into the conversation? Let’s take a look…
Introducing Guilded
Guilded is another platform for building and managing online communities, but it's specifically designed for gaming and esports teams. It was first released in 2017 and has since expanded to include support for other types of communities, such as content creators and professional organizations.
Like Discord, Guilded offers a range of communication tools for users, including text, voice, and video chat. Users can create and join teams, which are essentially groups focused on a particular game, project, or interest. Within these teams, users can create channels for specific topics or discussions, as well as use voice and video channels for more immersive communication.
Guilded also has a number of features that are tailored specifically to gaming and esports teams. For example, it offers tools for scheduling and managing practices and matches, as well as tracking stats and progress. It also offers integrations with popular gaming platforms like Steam, Xbox Live, and PlayStation Network.
Another key feature of Guilded is its team management tools, which allow team leaders to assign roles and permissions to members, track attendance and participation, and communicate important announcements and updates.
Guilded vs Discord: Comparing and Contrasting the Most Important Elements for Creators
Now that you know the background information for both Discord and Guilded, it’s time to get into the real reason you came here: breaking down the key differences between each platform.
While many Discord die-hards consider Guilded a direct copycat, you’ll see below that it actually outshines Discord in some ways. Nevertheless, we still feel that Discord is the premier choice for the modern creator. And once you finish reading this breakdown, we’re confident you’ll agree. Let’s start by discussing the degree of organization within the community…
Target Audience
While both of these platforms can technically be used for any sort of community, each has been built with a specific purpose in mind.
While Discord originally started with gamers in mind, it has evolved over the years - and has a much broader range of audiences served. Not only do gamers love connecting with each other on Discord - but so do communities focused on education, arts, sports, investment, e-commerce, resellers, software developers, and more.
On the other hand, Guilded is tailored specifically to gaming and esports teams. While Guilded has been equipped with some pretty unique features specific to gaming communities, it’s been said that it misses the mark in serving other audiences. This means that Discord has a larger and more diverse user base, with more opportunities to find and connect with people who share your interests.
Monetization & Subscriptions
If you’re here reading this comparison between Discord vs Guilded, chances are, it’s because you’re hoping to grow and monetize a community to earn a living. And thus, your ability to monetize your community and charge access for subscriptions may be the most important consideration.
Both Discord and Guilded offer opportunities for creators to monetize their communities, but they differ in their approach. Discord's Nitro subscription primarily focuses on enhancing the user experience for individuals, with features like higher-quality streaming and larger file uploads.
While Discord does offer a "Server Boost" feature that allows users to contribute money to a server they enjoy, it doesn't provide direct tools for creators to monetize their community by charging for access.
On the other hand, Guilded offers creators more direct ways to monetize their community. Guilded's premium version allows creators to set up subscription tiers and charge members for access to exclusive content, features, and events.
Additionally, Guilded allows creators to set up custom sponsorships and brand partnerships to further monetize their community. However, it's worth noting that Guilded's monetization features are primarily geared toward gaming and esports teams, so they may not be as applicable to other types of communities.
With that said, you can use the power of the best bots for discord servers to charge access to discord. This is something we specialize in at Whop - and we’ll talk more about it later. For now, just know this: with Whop, monetizing your Discord server and individual channels has never been easier.
Organization Within the Community
Both Discord and Guilded offer similar organizational tools, such as the ability to create channels for specific topics or discussions, assign roles and permissions to members, and track attendance and participation.
However, Discord has a more streamlined and intuitive interface for organizing communities, with more customization options and a larger range of integrations with other apps and services. Ultimately, though, you will have your own personal preference as to which layout you prefer. There are plenty of individuals who claim Guilded takes the cake in terms of organization. You’ll have to play around with both platforms and see which comes more naturally to you.
Free Features Available
Both Discord and Guilded offer a range of free features, such as text, voice, and video chat, customizable roles and permissions, and the ability to create channels and groups.
However, Discord offers more free features than Guilded, including screen sharing, video streaming, and the ability to use custom emojis and animated GIFs.
The Ability to Use Bots
Both Discord and Guilded allow users to use bots, which are automated programs that can perform various tasks, such as moderating channels, providing information, or playing games.
However, Discord has a more extensive library of bots and a larger community of developers who create and maintain them. This means that Discord users have more options and flexibility when it comes to using bots in their communities.
User Interface & Experience
Discord has a more streamlined and intuitive user interface than Guilded, with more customization options and a larger range of integrations with other apps and services. Discord's user experience is also more consistent across platforms, with a similar look and feel on desktop, mobile, and web.
Guilded, on the other hand, has a more complex interface with more features and options, which can be overwhelming for some users.
Pricing for Creators
Discord's Nitro subscription is priced at $9.99 per month or $99.99 per year, while Guilded's premium version is priced at $5 per user per month. While Guilded is slightly cheaper, Discord offers more features and functionality for the price. In other words, you get what you pay for.
Community Size
Discord has a much larger user base than Guilded, with over 150 million monthly active users compared to Guilded's estimated 2 million users. This means that Discord has a more established and diverse community, with more opportunities to find and connect with people who share your interests. Or, put another way, it’s easier to grow your community on Discord compared to Guilded.
So, Which is Better: Guilded vs Discord?
So, which platform reigns supreme in the Guilded vs Discord debate? As you can see, each platform does have its unique pros and cons. However, the answer should be obvious after reading this breakdown between Discord vs Guilded. Discord is the premier choice for a host of reasons. It’s a more versatile platform with a larger audience, a cleaner interface, easier monetization, and more.
And with the help of Whop, you monetize your Discord community in seconds. Create memberships, pricing options, affiliates, promo codes, and more—all with a single Discord bot. This isn’t possible on Guilded. And for that reason, we encourage you to start with Discord.
Parting Thoughts on the Guilded vs Discord Debate
Hopefully, our comparison of Guilded vs Discord helps you see why creators like you prefer to grow and monetize their community on Discord. It's the best online community for anyone wondering how to build an online community from scratch.
If you want to learn more about building community on Discord, explore our blog. You’ll gain access to other in-depth resources on the subject like setting up a Discord subscription bot, reselling Discord servers, creating a paid Discord server, how to add roles to a Discord server, Discord rewards, and more. You can even learn the basics of how to make a Discord server and how to grow your Discord server. You can also learn about how to boost a Discord server, how to add a banner to your Discord server, how to create the Discord rules for your server, Discord membership bots, and more.
Otherwise, there is just one thing left to do. Head over to Whop and learn how our solution can help you make the most of your community!
