In this article, we give best Discord Alternatives and Similar Apps for Better Gaming. Text and voice chat apps are widely used worldwide by gamers and professionals alike as they truly help streamline the workflow by letting all team members stay connected in real-time. A good chat application can really make a huge difference in the collaborative efforts of any team, which is why a lot of people utilize Discord.
Nevertheless, some find the UI of Discord not-so-professional or the lack of End-to-End encryption concerning. Therefore in order to help you find a great app that you and your team can use, we’ve gathered a list of the best Discord Alternatives (free and paid) out there. Check out the following applications, and you might find an app that fits your needs perfectly.
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Best Discord Alternatives (Updated May 2021)
Here, we have listed apps similar to Discord in terms of functionality and highlight set. While we’ve kept gamers in mind, we have discussed some apps which are more enterprise-like, but you can utilize them for creating private communities and instant messaging.
Why Use an Alternative to Discord?
While Discord is famous for its neat UI, ease of use, private servers, and gaming-related features, there are some disadvantages too which are usually not talked about. For instance, Discord doesn’t support End-to-End encryption (even for private messages), which is disappointing given that many competitors have implemented E2E long ago.
Aside from that, the file upload limit is 8MB for free users and 50MB for paid consumers, which is significantly low when compared to other competitors. Finally, there have been reports of intruders spamming into individual servers, which are points of major security concern. And that’s why you should see for an Alternative to Discord.
List of Top Apps Like Discord
Here is the list of all the best Working Apps like Discord and Similar Softwares.
Microsoft Teams
Microsoft Teams may not be designed for gamers; however, people can use it to their advantage. Discord Alternatives, you can communicate with your teammates in real-time and chalk out a plan. There is now support for voice and video calls both for individuals and groups.
Not to mention, you can transfer files using MS Teams, and the upload limit is humongous 100GB. Discord simply pales in contrast as it only allows a maximum file transfer of 8MB under the free-plan and 50MB under the paid Nitro plan. Furthermore, MS Teams now gives a free plan with reasonable benefits.
Having said that, the single downside of Microsoft Teams is that you cannot host communities — either private or public — which can be a pain point for most Discord users and gamers. Nevertheless, if you’re looking for a free app like Discord for real-time collaboration with your teammates, then MS Teams is a worthy pick.
Features
- Chat, voice and video calls
- Free tier available
- Third-party app integration
- Collaborate with teammates
- File upload limit 100GB
Supported Platforms: Linux, macOS, Windows, Android, iOS, Web
Steam Chat
Another discord alternatives you can examine is Steam Chat, Valve’s own messaging and voice chat service for gamers which is a great alternative if you do not want to use Discord. Steam’s chat trait is free to use, and you can create your groups with buddies and talk to them over voice or text chat.
In order to make it clear for anyone to join your group, Steam allows users to share unique URLs which you can click on and instantly join a pre-made group. Steam enables group administrators to set roles for the members, which provides them various permissions, including the strength to kick out other members, manage group info, and set chat restrictions.
While Discord only provides a single user to have one role in a server, Steam group members can hold different roles to moderate the group and its contents. Much like Discord and Overtone, Steam chat has a web client, which suggests you can use the service without 1st downloading Steam on your system.
Features
- Auto-moderation
- Voice call
- Free to use
- Best for gamers
- Create groups and chat
Supported Platforms: Windows, macOS, Linux
Overtone
Overtone is an easy to use Discord alternatives that looks and feels a lot like its competitor. Based on Vivox, 1 of the best integrated voice chat services that are used by famous games like PUBG, Fortnite, League of Legends, etc. Overtone tries to bring exclusive technology directly to gamers around the world.
The lightweight and the simple app doesn’t use a ton of your system resources and is easy to setup. Like Discord, Overtone is free-to-use, and it covers most of the necessary voice and text chat features, supporting text messages, group chats, and voice chat.
On top of that, Overtone also highlights a couple of social features that will assist you to connect with personalities who have similar interests and find teams that are playing the same game. Much like Discord, you can run Overtone on a web browser, so you do not need to download a separate-client for your communication requirements.
Features
- No client needed, run on a browser
- Integrates well with game publishers
- Free to use
- Best app for gamers
- Chat, voice, and video call
Supported Platforms: Windows, Web
TeamSpeak
Before Discord was even a thing, a batch of gamers relied on TeamSpeak for their in-game communication needs, and a few dedicated fans have still stuck around. Like Discord, TeamSpeak makes usage of the opus codec for low latency voice comms, and being a long term consumer of the service; I can attest to its capabilities as a great voice and text chat app. Additionally, now TeamSpeak’s UI has been completely overhauled, and it looks very similar to Discord.
TeamSpeak enables users to create dedicated servers for their needs, and other users can enter these servers to communicate with each other concerning a common topic – be it for productivity or games. To keep your conversations private and secure, TeamSpeak makes use of AES encryption which assures that all of your conversations are safe from spying eyes.
Unlike Discord, you will need to download the TeamSpeak client to use it on your device as it does not include browser support. While TeamSpeak is free to use on different platforms, you will need to pay in order to set up a new server.
Features
- Brand new UI in beta
- Chat and calls
- Cross-platform
- Best for gamers
- AES encryption
- Create dedicated servers
Supported Platforms: Windows, Android, macOS, Linux, iOS
Telegram
Telegram might be seen as a WhatsApp competitor, but at the heart of it, the famous messaging service is much more than that. I would tell, Telegram competes directly with Discord than WhatsApp. It has tons of traits, instant chatting, supports hosting communities, public channels, endless customization, and much more.
The excellent part is that now Telegram supports video calling and it applies to both one-on-one and group calls too. And similar to Discord, you can build bots to manage huge groups, integrate scripts, automate queries, etc. That said, what sets Telegram aside from Discord is the fact that Telegram at least offers End-to-End optional encryption for private messaging.
Whereas, Discord falls short in this regard. Therefore if you’re looking for an app like Discord but with upgraded security, then Telegram will be an apt pick. Best of all, the service is free, so you’ll have no issues jumping from Discord to Telegram. To sum-up, Telegram brings a boatload of traits just like Discord with End-to-End encryption, and you must give it a try.
Features
- Manage channels with bots
- Free to use
- 2GB upload limit
- Optional E2E support
- Tons of features
- Create public and private channels
Supported Platforms: Android, macOS, Linux, Windows, iOS, Web
Mumble
The next on our list is Mumble, an open-source VoIP program that is also designed for great low-latency audio calling. Much like TeamSpeak, Mumble requires a standalone client to work and does not include browser support, something that a number of Discord consumers love about the service.
Nevertheless, much like Discord, Mumble is free to use and is possible on several platforms. Mumble also provides encryption of chats, which is great for people who are concerned about their privacy, and its authentication trait prevents random people from dropping into your chat room; nevertheless, it doesn’t feature DDoS protection like Discord.
Mumble is pretty efficient, as it uses just up to 20kbps of your bandwidth to function commonly, a feat that Discord might not be capable of accomplishing. In contrast with Discord, Mumble’s voice quality is also pretty good, and it also has a positional sound feature that sets it aside from other VoIP software.
Features
- Create your own server
- Chat encryption
- Open-source
- Low-latency audio calling
Supported Platforms: Android, iOS, Linux, macOS, Windows
Element
While Discord is a magnificent app for gamers, it doesn’t offer end-to-end encryption, which implies that your conversations are not as secure as you might want them to be. In case you are someone who’s serious about privacy and are looking for the best Discord alternatives that gives better privacy, then you should check out Element – a text and voice chat app that offers end-to-end encryption.
Element is primarily intended for team collaborations, and as such, it includes a bunch of tools to assist you in streamlining your team’s workflow. Built on the Matrix open communications-protocol, Element also enables you to talk to anyone in the Matrix.org ecosystem.
It can come in beneficial if someone who you want to talk to is using different Matrix-based software. While it is not designed for gaming, Element can also be used by gamers, and it enables users to share images, videos, messages, and files of any type within groups of any size. Now, there is support for group video calls and voice calls.
Features
- Matrix protocol
- Low-latency calls
- Transfer all kinds of files
- Offers E2E
- Clean UI
Supported Platforms: Linux, macOS, Windows, Android, iOS, Web
Tox
If you have been using Discord for anything other than gaming and require a program that’s a little more privacy-oriented, then you should give Tox a try. Tox makes usage of military-grade encryption, which implies that all your conversations on the platform will remain safe from prying eyes.
Tox is likewise fairly simple to use, and it has a clean but dated-looking UI, which you can take a hang of in minutes. There’s support for voice, text, and video chat, along with a neat screen sharing trait that can come in beneficial if you wish to show your team something on your system.
There’s a file-sharing feature, which is a great addition that makes Tox great for professional settings. What makes Tox unique, nevertheless, is the fact that it has no central servers, and the whole network is made up of its users. It implies that you won’t have to deal with any server outages that might hamper your workflow.
Features
- Simple interface
- No outage
- Chat, audio and video calls
- Powerful encryption
- Decentralized servers
Supported Platforms: Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, iOS
Slack
If you are looking for the great Discord alternatives for professional use, check out Slack – a team messaging program that looks a lot like Discord. The service has the same simple, and clean user interface as Discord, but it’s geared towards a more professional setting, so you won’t get any gamer-y things.
Instead, you’ll find a number of helpful traits that aim to improve your productivity at work; nevertheless, if you’re looking for lag-free voice comms, then you should check out some of the other options. Slack establishes itself apart from Discord by providing integrations for over 800 third-party software that are used by businesses.
It also allows you receive notifications through the software you’re using without requiring you to open the app. File sharing is also simpler and more convenient on Slack as it has a 1GB limit on uploads, whereas Discord just allows files up to 8MB in size to be shared on the platform.
Slack is worth a shot if you are looking for a chat app for your business and not something you’d utilize while playing games with buddies.
Features
- Integration with third-party apps
- 1GB upload limit
- Chat, voice and video call
- Best for enterprise users
- Neat UI
Supported Platforms: Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, iOS
Skype
If you’re not looking for all the bells and whistles all the aforementioned apps have to offer and only want a simple, familiar service that will get the job done; then you should consider utilizing Skype for your in-game communication needs.
The popular voice and text chat service is quite simple to use and gives all the essential functionality you’d need to communicate with your buddies in a group. Skype even enables users to share files in a chat, along with video chat capabilities, which might not be helpful while gaming but may come in useful if you use it in a professional setting.
It’s deserving noting that Skype weighs heavily on system resources, which might have an influence on your gaming experience depending on your system-configuration.
Features
- Free to use
- Share files up to 300MB
- Simple and easy to use
- Chat, audio, and video calls
Supported Platforms: Windows, macOS, Android, iOS
Find the Best Apps Similar to Discord
Well, that rounds up our listing of the best Discord Alternatives you can try. As you can tell, there are plenty of similar applications in the market, each with its own unique traits that you can use for gaming or in a professional setting.
While some of these applications are more geared towards gamers, others have some excellent productivity-related features that can assist with your workflow at the office.
Out of the lot, I manage to use Telegram most often because I have been using it for a while now and I’m just used to the interface. However, if Telegram doesn’t fit your requirements, you can try out any other Discord alternatives we have mentioned here.
