Discord, upon its release, took the internet by storm. There’s no doubt that it has been used endlessly by gamers and professionals to date. Be it casual chatter with like-minded individuals or the integration of cutting-edge tools like Midjourney, Discord has always been at the forefront of innovation.
However, Discord is still not a perfect platform for multiple reasons. Over time, users have continually highlighted the limitations and drawbacks of Discord. Some seem concerned about the lack of end-to-end encryption, while others don’t like its user interface.
In a professional environment, Discord is without a doubt lackluster. Aside from the lack of end-to-end encryption, there’s also no real threading option in the messages, which may cause miscommunications in chat. That’s why we’ve compiled a list of 10 best Discord alternatives you should try.
The tools we have narrowed down to the top 14 offer unique features and cater to different user preferences. This list will prove helpful for professionals looking for an alternative platform for conversations and team management.
Table of Contents
- Reasons why Discord alternatives may be worth trying
- Workplace communication platforms like Discord
- Which Discord alternative would suit your workplace?
- Frequently Asked Questions
We’ll explain each tool in detail, along with its pros, cons, price, supported platforms, and download sources.
Reasons why Discord alternatives may be worth trying
Giving up on Discord is not easy, it requires a multitude of reasons, especially because it’s free.
Even though Discord has many strengths, private and safe messaging isn’t one of them, as it does not support end-to-end encryption yet. With the competition at Discord’s level, it’s still a letdown that it doesn’t have E2E to date.
Similarly, the upload file size of Discord is far from its alternatives. It supports only 25MB for free users and 500MB for paid users. In comparison, similar tools offer more flexibility around this feature.
Lastly, Discord can be quite resource-intensive, especially when running on older or lower-end devices. If you’re using a communication tool in a professional environment, it’s important that it’s accessible by all teammates regardless if they are using a mediocre or high-end computer.
Workplace communication platforms like Discord
Microsoft Teams
Microsoft Teams is a dependable tool that allows communication with team members through text, voice, or video chat. It’s also not the optimal solution for the gaming community, but it still can provide the basic functionalities for practical communication.
It offers cost-effective plans, enhanced security, integration with Office 365, an upload limit of a massive 100GB, and much more, with everything you need in the same place. Messages, meetings, notes, and documents for professional use are the strengths of MS Teams.
That said, MS Teams also has its weaknesses, the most prominent of which is no hostable community, public nor private. Microsoft Teams is good to go with for real-time effective work collaborations.
Pros
- Allows collaboration with teammates
- Upload limit 100GB
- Allows text chat, voice, and online video meetings
- Free tier available
- Third-party app integration
Cons
- Mobile version unfriendly
- Confusing file structure
- Limited storage
Supported Platforms: Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, iOS, Web
Price:
- Free
- Upgradeable plans starting at $5 per month
Website: Microsoft Teams
Slack
Slack is another popular alternative to Discord. It features low latency voice communication, real-time chat, and integration with hundreds of other third-party applications.
It resembles Discord and is an all-in-one business tool for better team management and synchronization. Slack is better at text communication, while Discord is better at video and audio chat.
Accessing notifications without opening the app, a 1GB upload size limit, neat UI, and all means of communication make it a reasonable consideration for this list.
With its specialty in professional work environment, and a simple, minimal interface, it optimizes teamwork and collaboration more than gaming.
Pros
- Clean UI
- Allows collaboration with teammates in real-time for effective teamwork
- Supports third-party app integration for added functionality
- 1GB upload limit
- Chat, voice, and video call features
Cons
- Free version limit of 10 apps installation
- Messages visibility limit is 90 days
Supported Platforms: Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, iOS
Price
- Limited functionalities for free
- Paid plans start at $7.25
Website: Slack
Google Chat
Google Chat allows users to communicate with each other and initiate conversations in the form of text, voice, or video chats. It provides one-to-one or group chats (up to 250 people) and video calls (up to 25 people) in one go.
This tool requires a Gmail account to sign up with. Its ability to stream gaming events or host live webinars through YouTube (and more platforms) integration suits gamers and professional organizations.
Gamers can connect in real-time conversations through Chat for immersive experiences like Discord.
Pros
- Easy to use
- Offers real-time communication through text chat, voice calls, and video meetings
- Allows collaboration with teammates in real-time for effective teamwork
- Supports third-party app integration for additional functionality
- Free tier available for primary usage.
Cons
- Video calls limited to 25 people
- No end-to-end encryption
Supported Platforms: Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, iOS, Web
Price
- Free
Website: Google Chat
- How to connect and play Spotify on Discord
- 6 FREE apps for a more private and secure messaging experience
Telegram
Telegram is already famous for its rivalry with Whatsapp, but it’s not just Whatsapp that it competes with. In a way, Discord is also a direct competitor of Telegram.
With features like instant conversations, hosting communities (private and public), public server channels, video calling, bots creation for management, and boundless customization, it is worthy of being seen as Discord’s alternative.
One other essential feature is end-to-end encryption messaging, which makes it much safer than Discord.
Pros
- E2E support
- Tons of customization features
- Public and private channels
- Bots creation
- Free to use
- Upload size limit 2GB
Cons
- Requires occasional app relaunch for updates
- Requires mobile device contact rights
Supported Platforms: Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, iOS, Web
Price
- Free on all platforms
Website: Telegram
Viber
Viber is another old alternative to Discord that has become better over time. It can be used by teams for real-time collaboration through text, voice, and (international) video calls.
It has features like hiding any chat, turning on invisible mode, opening secret chats, and setting up group calls. A colorful and playful interface with customizations available makes it a preferable option.
Another plus point of Viber is that it allows businesses to create a public account to interact with their customers.
Pros
- End-to-end encrypted
- Free to use
- Easy, responsive, and intuitive interface
- Allows group video calls with up to 60 people
Cons
- Can cause lags in calls with low-quality internet connection
- May not work on jailbroken devices
- Not downloadable on devices not listed in their list
Supported Platforms: Android, iOS, Windows, Mac, Web, Linux
Price
- Free to use
Website: Viber
MatterMost
Mattermost is more of a Slack alternative but still counts as Discord’s competitor. It is an open-source, secure option for collaborative teams who prefer a reliable privacy system.
For those working in tech-related workspace, Mattermost is significantly a better option. It provides a smoother experience and has more features than Discord.
Its apps are lighter and have a simple UI. The tool has a self-hosted plan for free, while a paid subscription provides vast options for increased functionalities.
Pros
- Open-source
- Easy to install
- High security
- Good paid support
- Attractive themes
Cons
- Android version not flawless
- Can sometimes be buggy
Supported Platforms: Windows, Android, iOS, OSX, Linux
Price
- Self-hosted single-team version is FREE
- Paid plans start at $10 per month
Website: Mattermost
Pumble
Pumble is a quick messaging solution that allows teams of any size to communicate with each other without charges or limits to users and history.
It allows the creation of both private and public workspaces for project communication and collaboration. Its API access, drag-and-drop interface, and personalized profiles help it stand out.
Pumble has all Slack features, but it offers those for free. Through Pumble, one can collaborate, create channels for discussion, share and search files, and invite external members to the workspace. It also allows importing data from Slack.
Pros
- Unlimited users and history in free plan
- Customizable UI
- Easy to use
- Import Slack data
Cons
- Can slow down after a long interval of usage
- Lack of integration
Supported Platforms: Android, iOS, Windows, Mac, Web, Linux
Price
- Free for usage of main features
- Pro plans start at $1.99 per month
Website: Pumble
TimeCamp Planner (Formerly HeySpace)
Planner is a simple and free management and planning software that provides collaboration functionality for teams to connect. It also has communication tools, making it another good solution for real-time gaming and work chatter. It allows professional teams to create, share and track tasks effectively.
Drag and drop, notification systems, file sharing, live chat, project management, and to-do lists make Planner stand out.
Pros:
- Search, filters, bulk actions in sticky notes
- Supports all kinds of files
- To-do lists
- Drag and drop functionality
- Unlimited storage
Cons
- Upload limit 100MB
Supported Platforms: Windows, macOS, Ubuntu, Android, iOS, Web
Price:
- Plans start at $5 per user
Website: Planner
Element
Element is another tool with a similar and comparably attractive user interface to Discord. It is an open-source software that’s end-to-end encrypted for again, text, voice, and video chat. It also has other collaborative features with the help of bots and widgets.
With a better privacy option, Element may be suitable for more team-oriented discussions. Gaming is also good because of low-latency calls and all format file-sharing options.
Matrix’s open communications protocol lets you talk to anyone in the Matrix.org ecosystem. It’s helpful to talk to users using other matrix-based software.
Pros
- Offers end-to-end encryption
- Secure Matrix protocol
- Low-latency calls
- Allows transfer of all kinds of files
Cons
- Sometimes messages’ ghost count might not be accurate
Supported Platforms: Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, iOS, Web
Price
- Plans start at $5
Website: Element
Skype
Skype is a simple-interface app that’s most useful for people who don’t like complex settings and controls. Its minimalistic features and reliable communication make it a good choice for professional purposes.
There might be better choices for gamers because this app’s target audience is people with essential communication and video calling. But the app’s system resources usage is not good, so it is not preferable for low-end devices.
You can use Skype instead of Discord, but it may be a good choice if your device supports the latter.
Pros
- Simple interface
- Easy to use
- Allows chat, audio, and video meetings
- Free to use
- Upload size 300MB
Cons
- Heavy system resources usage
- Requires stable internet connection
- Possible lags
- Limited customization
Supported Platforms: Windows, macOS, Android, iOS
Price:
- Free for all
Website: Skype
Team Speak
Team Speak is an old software that came out way before Discord. Its functionalities and user interface are the closest to those of Discord. Gamers used to utilize its features for interactive gameplay, and even today, some people prefer Team Speak over Discord.
Like Discord, it uses opus codec for good, low-latency voice communication, voice chats, and text conversations. Resembling other chat and forum platforms, users can create and join servers in TeamSpeak dedicated to specific topics or games.
AES encryption is used in conversations for security and privacy, making it a safer option. However, it requires downloading the client app because it doesn’t support browsers. Also, while Team Speak is freely useable on many platforms, you must pay to set up a server.
It also provides a positional audio experience with its 360-degree audio system and customizable user settings.
Pros
- AES encryption
- Dedicated servers are creatable
- Discord-like UI
- Chat and calls supported
- Cross-platform
- Positional 360-degree audio
Cons
- Requires downloading client app
- Paid server setup
- Limited browser support
- Limited to specific topics or games
Supported Platforms: Windows, iOS, Android, macOS, and Linux
Price:
- Free for Windows, Linux, and macOS
- $0.99 on Android
- $0.99 on iOS
Website: Team Speak
Steam Chat
Steam Chat is very much like Discord. It allows you to create specific roles, create and join groups, chat by text or voice calls, and share URLs for easy navigation.
It is another space for Discord users to do the same things in a slightly different way. With its web client, users can also avail of this tool online as they can with apps. You can also ban, kick, and moderate chats and members on Steam.
Steam Chat’s strength is reliable communication while gaming. It is also suitable for project management by organizations because of its functionalities, but it is specially made for gamers to hang out and play together.
Pros
- Best for gamers
- Create groups and chat like Discord
- Auto-moderation features
- Free to use
Cons
- Opening chat tabs with large amount of words in text message may freeze the chat
Supported Platforms: Windows, macOS, Linux
Price
- Free
Website: Steam Chat
Mumble
Finally, our last pick is Mumble. It is an open-source voice-over-internet (VoIP) protocol tool that allows voice calls with broadband technology rather than the ordinary phone line method.
Mumble is special like TeamSpeak 3 because it uses a standalone client to carry out its processes. Allowing end-to-end encryption ensures privacy, something Discord significantly lacks.
From the users’ perspective, Mumble is far better in voice chat than Discord because of its quality, positional sound feature, and efficiency (as it uses just 20kbps of bandwidth).
Pros
- Open-source
- Low-latency audio calling
- Positional sound feature
- Create your own server
- Chat encryption
- Resources efficient
Cons
- Outdated-looking interface
- Needs client download (no web app)
Supported Platforms: Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, iOS
Price
- Free
- Paid plans start from $9 for 15 users per month
Website: Mumble
Zulip
Zulip is another open-source software suitable for topic-based conversations because, just like Discord channels, it allows discussions under specifically created threads.
It has an edge over Discord because of valuable features like scheduling messages, configurable notifications, fine-grained message search, and better integrations and APIs for extensive collaborations. Although most people prefer Discord for general conversations, Zulip may be a better alternative for specific, categorized chats.
Pros
- Structured conversations
- Self-hosted and cloud options
Cons
- Mobile app is not as good as Discord
- Threads can be confusing for some people
Supported Platforms: Web, iOS, Android, Windows, MacOS, Linux
Price
- Free for limited usage
- Paid plans start at $6.67 per month
Website: Zulip
Which Discord alternative would suit your workplace?
The best way to decide is to review your personal preferences. If your primary concern is security and privacy, you can try Telegram or Element, which are both encrypted communication services.
If you prefer a cool-looking interface, go ahead with Microsoft Teams or Slack. You can try each tool or watch tutorials to decide your best fit. For an open-source solution, Mattermost is also a viable solution.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Can I use Discord for work?
A: Yes, plenty of people use Discord for workplace communication. The primary reason is because it’s FREE, unlike other alternatives which charge per user every month. However, not everyone loves Discord, especially those who are concerned about security.
Q: Is it safe to use Discord for work communication?
A: Some have voiced concerns over security issues at Discord. In addition, there are also lots of scammers who frequently spam the platform. However, there have been no evidence of security breaches so far.
Q: What communication app is similar with Discord?
A: Element and MatterMost are very similar to Discord. Their interfaces and functionalities match to a large extent. Mumble also has a fair share of resemblance and even better quality for voice call options like Discord.
Q: What should I avoid on Discord?
A: Avoid clicking unknown links from untrusted people. They may be made to hack your account and steal details like credit card and bank login. Also, don’t share your personal information like contact and residential address.