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Last checked October 15, 2026

Best Free Alternatives to Discord (2026)

Discord is servers, text channels, and voice for communities, not a workplace Slack clone. The chat product is free. Nitro is the paid cosmetic and upload upgrade. A replacement has to cover a server of channels plus voice. Workplace chat tools can do some of that and still feel wrong for a hobby community.

IndividualsSmall teamsPrivacy-consciousPrice checked

What Discord costs

Discord's chat product is free to use. Nitro Basic is listed at $2.99 per month on Discord's Nitro page.

The same page describes a higher Nitro plan above Basic, including larger uploads. That higher price was not captured as a stable plain-text figure in this check, so it is not stated. Nitro is optional. You do not need it to run a server.

Discord website·Pricing source

Ranked by Drop-in score

How we rank

#1 is the highest-scoring alternative that is not sponsored. A featured listing, when one is sold, is labeled and sits after #1.

  1. #1 · Best drop-inOpen source

    Stoat

    Servers, text channels, and voice. Formerly Revolt.

    Last checked October 15, 2026 · AGPL-3.0 (backend, with per-crate exceptions)

    WebiOSAndroidSelf-host
    Cost and detailsMigration guideWebsite
  2. #2Open source

    Rocket.Chat

    MIT-licensed team chat with a free community server.

    Last checked October 15, 2026 · MIT (Community)

    MacWindowsLinuxiOSAndroidWebSelf-host
    Cost and detailsWebsite
  3. #3Open source

    Element

    A Matrix client for encrypted, federated chat.

    Last checked October 15, 2026 · Apache-2.0

    MacWindowsLinuxiOSAndroidWebSelf-host
    Cost and detailsWebsite

Feature by feature

Full is the whole job. Partial is a real version with a gap. Missing means it does not do this. Not checked counts as zero in the score.

Scroll sideways to compare every alternative.

Feature comparison. Full, partial, missing, or not checked.
FeatureStoat#1 · 80Rocket.Chat#2 · 73Element#3 · 69
Servers with text channelsWeight 10FullPartialChannels and teams can host a community. The product is still workplace chat.PartialSpaces group rooms. The result is a community, not a Discord server skin.
Voice chatWeight 8FullVoice chats are a documented part of the web client, including a sidebar presence.PartialCalls, not a Discord voice channel you leave running.PartialElement Call is a call, not a persistent voice channel you hang out in.
Roles and permissionsWeight 6PartialPermissions exist, including speak and listen. They were not matched role-for-role with Discord.PartialPartialMatrix power levels, not Discord roles.
Direct messagesWeight 5FullFullFull
Mobile appsWeight 6PartialApps exist for the hosted service. The self-host guide says most official clients do not support a private instance. The web app does.FullFull
File sharingWeight 4FullThe stack includes a file server.FullPartial
Self-hostingWeight 8FullFullFull
Screen sharingWeight 4MissingScreen sharing was not part of the voice notes checked for this page.PartialPartial

Real cost

Stoat

Free tier
stoat.chat is the hosted service. The server software can be self-hosted.
Hosted plan
No hosted price recorded.
Self-hosting
Hard. Docker Compose from the self-hosted repository: API, web client, file server, and voice. Official mobile clients are a poor fit for a private instance. Approximate server cost: $10–20/mo for a small VPS. Unverified estimate.

Rocket.Chat

Free tier
Community is free to self-host. A hosted Starter plan for up to 50 users is also free.
Hosted plan
No hosted price recorded.
Self-hosting
Moderate. Docker Compose is documented. Snapshots, push, and federation add moving parts. Approximate server cost: $10–25/mo for a small server. Unverified estimate.

Element

Free tier
You can use the public matrix.org homeserver or host your own. Element also sells hosted and enterprise Matrix.
Hosted plan
No hosted price recorded.
Self-hosting
Hard. A Synapse or Dendrite homeserver plus Element Web is a real ops project. Federation and push are the parts that take time.

Did you switch?

If you left Discord, tell us whether it worked and how long it took. Notes stay private until we approve them, and nothing is shown until at least five are approved.

How did it go?

Top pair

Migrate from Discord to Stoat

Create the server again and invite people. Discord does not hand you a file that becomes a Stoat server.

Read the migration guide

Questions