▲ 612 ▼ Discord Alternatives, Ranked (taggart-tech.com) submitted 9 months ago by Beep@lemmus.org to c/technology@lemmy.world 196 comments fedilink hide all child comments
[–] SnoringEarthworm@sh.itjust.works 117 points 9 months ago (21 children) Top three are: Discourse Rocket.chat Matrix permalink fedilink source hideshow 21 child comments replies: [–] iamthetot@piefed.ca 167 points 9 months ago (16 children) I don't really see how someone can position Discourse as the number one Discord alternative. Surely most people looking to ditch Discord want live chat, audio/video calls, and screen sharing... Or am I just in the minority here? For the record, I think Discourse looks awesome and even thinking about how I might use it for a project, but I do not see it as a Discord alternative. permalink fedilink source parent hideshow 16 child comments replies: [–] markz@suppo.fi 79 points 9 months ago (6 children) Lots of communities use discord as a replacement for a forum despite it not being fit for it at all permalink fedilink source parent hideshow 6 child comments replies: [–] JayGray91@piefed.social 11 points 9 months ago So much so I fucking hate this phenomenon permalink fedilink source parent [–] mic_check_one_two@lemmy.dbzer0.com 19 points 9 months ago (4 children) Sure, but that’s not an argument for replacing Discord with forums. The two serve entirely different use cases, and should be treated like two entirely separate products. permalink fedilink source parent hideshow 4 child comments replies: [–] gloktawasright@lemmy.world 23 points 9 months ago (3 children) Isn’t it though? A forum wouldn’t do all the things discord does, but the argument is that trying to use discord for a forum was a mistake in the first place. So replacing discord with a forum and then a dedicated chatting app makes sense, no? permalink fedilink source parent hideshow 3 child comments replies: [–] mic_check_one_two@lemmy.dbzer0.com 12 points 9 months ago (2 children) I think we’re essentially saying the same thing in different ways. Yes, I 100% agree that forums should be separate from whatever the new Discord replacement ends up being. I was more arguing that we can’t only use forums to replace Discord, because the realtime communication aspect would be a different use case. I’ve seen lots of “lol just use forums” types of posts, which completely ignore the realtime side of things. There would still need to be some service to replace the realtime aspects that Discord does serve. permalink fedilink source parent hideshow 2 child comments replies: [–] gloktawasright@lemmy.world 4 points 9 months ago Agreed. I think the fact that discord kind of does all the things is what made it attractive. But it’s not GOOD at the forum aspect, and it has its flaws for the other use cases as well. permalink fedilink source parent [–] JayGray91@piefed.social 1 point 9 months ago Although there is some kind of fun with "real time chatting" on a forum. Back then, It kind of became that way when it got heated. It's like a turn based game where all the players take their moves and execute at the same time lol permalink fedilink source parent [–] karashta@piefed.social 34 points 9 months ago I also want this suite of things. I stream movies to friends, share games I'm playing... These are core features to me now in a robust chat client permalink fedilink source parent [–] SkavarSharraddas@gehirneimer.de 10 points 9 months ago By reducing a complex topic down to one score that has "features" as only one of many factors, so that "openness" and "safety" push it to the top. permalink fedilink source parent [–] toynbee@lemmy.world 8 points 9 months ago I mean, for at least the first five letters, I can't even tell the difference. permalink fedilink source parent [–] JayGray91@piefed.social 3 points 9 months ago looking to ditch Discord want live chat, audio/video calls, and screen sharing... Or am I just in the minority here? I'll keep you company in the minority, since that's what I want too permalink fedilink source parent [–] Kowowow@lemmy.ca 2 points 9 months ago Live chat is all I ever use but you never know permalink fedilink source parent [–] Cethin@lemmy.zip 1 point 9 months ago I would bet on the screen sharing not being that big of a requirement for most people. Voice and text chats though? Yeah, that's the minimum. permalink fedilink source parent [–] Cheems@lemmy.world 1 point 9 months ago I used to use to for audio calls now I use it more for a forum. permalink fedilink source parent [–] wesker@lemmy.sdf.org 1 point 9 months ago* (1 child) I thought Discourse was bought by Roblox, merged into Roblox, and then discontinued outside of Roblox? I'm thinking of something else, I think. permalink fedilink source parent hideshow 1 child comment replies: [–] QuadratureSurfer@piefed.social 7 points 9 months ago* You're thinking of Guilded. Looks like Roblox forced everyone using Guilded to suddenly have a Roblox account in 2024, and then Guilder officially shut down about 2 months ago (end of 2025). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guilded permalink fedilink source parent [–] Nioxic@lemmy.dbzer0.com 4 points 9 months ago (2 children) Discourse isnt free And its been described as more of a forum than a chat service permalink fedilink source parent hideshow 2 child comments replies: [–] douglasg14b@lemmy.world 11 points 9 months ago (1 child) This is misinformation. You can self host it, for free. permalink fedilink source parent hideshow 1 child comment replies: [–] Yttra@lemmy.world 1 point 9 months ago That doesn't seem to be communicated very clearly on the website, though I could always be missing something. It also doesn't seem like the average Discord user is the target audience. The website is for sysadmins, and the goal seems to be selling a Slack/Teams alternative to a business or government organization. permalink fedilink source parent [–] redsand@infosec.pub 1 point 9 months ago Jitsi, simplex, mumble, matrix, lemmy. permalink fedilink source parent
[–] iamthetot@piefed.ca 167 points 9 months ago (16 children) I don't really see how someone can position Discourse as the number one Discord alternative. Surely most people looking to ditch Discord want live chat, audio/video calls, and screen sharing... Or am I just in the minority here? For the record, I think Discourse looks awesome and even thinking about how I might use it for a project, but I do not see it as a Discord alternative. permalink fedilink source parent hideshow 16 child comments replies: [–] markz@suppo.fi 79 points 9 months ago (6 children) Lots of communities use discord as a replacement for a forum despite it not being fit for it at all permalink fedilink source parent hideshow 6 child comments replies: [–] JayGray91@piefed.social 11 points 9 months ago So much so I fucking hate this phenomenon permalink fedilink source parent [–] mic_check_one_two@lemmy.dbzer0.com 19 points 9 months ago (4 children) Sure, but that’s not an argument for replacing Discord with forums. The two serve entirely different use cases, and should be treated like two entirely separate products. permalink fedilink source parent hideshow 4 child comments replies: [–] gloktawasright@lemmy.world 23 points 9 months ago (3 children) Isn’t it though? A forum wouldn’t do all the things discord does, but the argument is that trying to use discord for a forum was a mistake in the first place. So replacing discord with a forum and then a dedicated chatting app makes sense, no? permalink fedilink source parent hideshow 3 child comments replies: [–] mic_check_one_two@lemmy.dbzer0.com 12 points 9 months ago (2 children) I think we’re essentially saying the same thing in different ways. Yes, I 100% agree that forums should be separate from whatever the new Discord replacement ends up being. I was more arguing that we can’t only use forums to replace Discord, because the realtime communication aspect would be a different use case. I’ve seen lots of “lol just use forums” types of posts, which completely ignore the realtime side of things. There would still need to be some service to replace the realtime aspects that Discord does serve. permalink fedilink source parent hideshow 2 child comments replies: [–] gloktawasright@lemmy.world 4 points 9 months ago Agreed. I think the fact that discord kind of does all the things is what made it attractive. But it’s not GOOD at the forum aspect, and it has its flaws for the other use cases as well. permalink fedilink source parent [–] JayGray91@piefed.social 1 point 9 months ago Although there is some kind of fun with "real time chatting" on a forum. Back then, It kind of became that way when it got heated. It's like a turn based game where all the players take their moves and execute at the same time lol permalink fedilink source parent [–] karashta@piefed.social 34 points 9 months ago I also want this suite of things. I stream movies to friends, share games I'm playing... These are core features to me now in a robust chat client permalink fedilink source parent [–] SkavarSharraddas@gehirneimer.de 10 points 9 months ago By reducing a complex topic down to one score that has "features" as only one of many factors, so that "openness" and "safety" push it to the top. permalink fedilink source parent [–] toynbee@lemmy.world 8 points 9 months ago I mean, for at least the first five letters, I can't even tell the difference. permalink fedilink source parent [–] JayGray91@piefed.social 3 points 9 months ago looking to ditch Discord want live chat, audio/video calls, and screen sharing... Or am I just in the minority here? I'll keep you company in the minority, since that's what I want too permalink fedilink source parent [–] Kowowow@lemmy.ca 2 points 9 months ago Live chat is all I ever use but you never know permalink fedilink source parent [–] Cethin@lemmy.zip 1 point 9 months ago I would bet on the screen sharing not being that big of a requirement for most people. Voice and text chats though? Yeah, that's the minimum. permalink fedilink source parent [–] Cheems@lemmy.world 1 point 9 months ago I used to use to for audio calls now I use it more for a forum. permalink fedilink source parent [–] wesker@lemmy.sdf.org 1 point 9 months ago* (1 child) I thought Discourse was bought by Roblox, merged into Roblox, and then discontinued outside of Roblox? I'm thinking of something else, I think. permalink fedilink source parent hideshow 1 child comment replies: [–] QuadratureSurfer@piefed.social 7 points 9 months ago* You're thinking of Guilded. Looks like Roblox forced everyone using Guilded to suddenly have a Roblox account in 2024, and then Guilder officially shut down about 2 months ago (end of 2025). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guilded permalink fedilink source parent
[–] markz@suppo.fi 79 points 9 months ago (6 children) Lots of communities use discord as a replacement for a forum despite it not being fit for it at all permalink fedilink source parent hideshow 6 child comments replies: [–] JayGray91@piefed.social 11 points 9 months ago So much so I fucking hate this phenomenon permalink fedilink source parent [–] mic_check_one_two@lemmy.dbzer0.com 19 points 9 months ago (4 children) Sure, but that’s not an argument for replacing Discord with forums. The two serve entirely different use cases, and should be treated like two entirely separate products. permalink fedilink source parent hideshow 4 child comments replies: [–] gloktawasright@lemmy.world 23 points 9 months ago (3 children) Isn’t it though? A forum wouldn’t do all the things discord does, but the argument is that trying to use discord for a forum was a mistake in the first place. So replacing discord with a forum and then a dedicated chatting app makes sense, no? permalink fedilink source parent hideshow 3 child comments replies: [–] mic_check_one_two@lemmy.dbzer0.com 12 points 9 months ago (2 children) I think we’re essentially saying the same thing in different ways. Yes, I 100% agree that forums should be separate from whatever the new Discord replacement ends up being. I was more arguing that we can’t only use forums to replace Discord, because the realtime communication aspect would be a different use case. I’ve seen lots of “lol just use forums” types of posts, which completely ignore the realtime side of things. There would still need to be some service to replace the realtime aspects that Discord does serve. permalink fedilink source parent hideshow 2 child comments replies: [–] gloktawasright@lemmy.world 4 points 9 months ago Agreed. I think the fact that discord kind of does all the things is what made it attractive. But it’s not GOOD at the forum aspect, and it has its flaws for the other use cases as well. permalink fedilink source parent [–] JayGray91@piefed.social 1 point 9 months ago Although there is some kind of fun with "real time chatting" on a forum. Back then, It kind of became that way when it got heated. It's like a turn based game where all the players take their moves and execute at the same time lol permalink fedilink source parent
[–] JayGray91@piefed.social 11 points 9 months ago So much so I fucking hate this phenomenon permalink fedilink source parent
[–] mic_check_one_two@lemmy.dbzer0.com 19 points 9 months ago (4 children) Sure, but that’s not an argument for replacing Discord with forums. The two serve entirely different use cases, and should be treated like two entirely separate products. permalink fedilink source parent hideshow 4 child comments replies: [–] gloktawasright@lemmy.world 23 points 9 months ago (3 children) Isn’t it though? A forum wouldn’t do all the things discord does, but the argument is that trying to use discord for a forum was a mistake in the first place. So replacing discord with a forum and then a dedicated chatting app makes sense, no? permalink fedilink source parent hideshow 3 child comments replies: [–] mic_check_one_two@lemmy.dbzer0.com 12 points 9 months ago (2 children) I think we’re essentially saying the same thing in different ways. Yes, I 100% agree that forums should be separate from whatever the new Discord replacement ends up being. I was more arguing that we can’t only use forums to replace Discord, because the realtime communication aspect would be a different use case. I’ve seen lots of “lol just use forums” types of posts, which completely ignore the realtime side of things. There would still need to be some service to replace the realtime aspects that Discord does serve. permalink fedilink source parent hideshow 2 child comments replies: [–] gloktawasright@lemmy.world 4 points 9 months ago Agreed. I think the fact that discord kind of does all the things is what made it attractive. But it’s not GOOD at the forum aspect, and it has its flaws for the other use cases as well. permalink fedilink source parent [–] JayGray91@piefed.social 1 point 9 months ago Although there is some kind of fun with "real time chatting" on a forum. Back then, It kind of became that way when it got heated. It's like a turn based game where all the players take their moves and execute at the same time lol permalink fedilink source parent
[–] gloktawasright@lemmy.world 23 points 9 months ago (3 children) Isn’t it though? A forum wouldn’t do all the things discord does, but the argument is that trying to use discord for a forum was a mistake in the first place. So replacing discord with a forum and then a dedicated chatting app makes sense, no? permalink fedilink source parent hideshow 3 child comments replies: [–] mic_check_one_two@lemmy.dbzer0.com 12 points 9 months ago (2 children) I think we’re essentially saying the same thing in different ways. Yes, I 100% agree that forums should be separate from whatever the new Discord replacement ends up being. I was more arguing that we can’t only use forums to replace Discord, because the realtime communication aspect would be a different use case. I’ve seen lots of “lol just use forums” types of posts, which completely ignore the realtime side of things. There would still need to be some service to replace the realtime aspects that Discord does serve. permalink fedilink source parent hideshow 2 child comments replies: [–] gloktawasright@lemmy.world 4 points 9 months ago Agreed. I think the fact that discord kind of does all the things is what made it attractive. But it’s not GOOD at the forum aspect, and it has its flaws for the other use cases as well. permalink fedilink source parent [–] JayGray91@piefed.social 1 point 9 months ago Although there is some kind of fun with "real time chatting" on a forum. Back then, It kind of became that way when it got heated. It's like a turn based game where all the players take their moves and execute at the same time lol permalink fedilink source parent
[–] mic_check_one_two@lemmy.dbzer0.com 12 points 9 months ago (2 children) I think we’re essentially saying the same thing in different ways. Yes, I 100% agree that forums should be separate from whatever the new Discord replacement ends up being. I was more arguing that we can’t only use forums to replace Discord, because the realtime communication aspect would be a different use case. I’ve seen lots of “lol just use forums” types of posts, which completely ignore the realtime side of things. There would still need to be some service to replace the realtime aspects that Discord does serve. permalink fedilink source parent hideshow 2 child comments replies: [–] gloktawasright@lemmy.world 4 points 9 months ago Agreed. I think the fact that discord kind of does all the things is what made it attractive. But it’s not GOOD at the forum aspect, and it has its flaws for the other use cases as well. permalink fedilink source parent [–] JayGray91@piefed.social 1 point 9 months ago Although there is some kind of fun with "real time chatting" on a forum. Back then, It kind of became that way when it got heated. It's like a turn based game where all the players take their moves and execute at the same time lol permalink fedilink source parent
[–] gloktawasright@lemmy.world 4 points 9 months ago Agreed. I think the fact that discord kind of does all the things is what made it attractive. But it’s not GOOD at the forum aspect, and it has its flaws for the other use cases as well. permalink fedilink source parent
[–] JayGray91@piefed.social 1 point 9 months ago Although there is some kind of fun with "real time chatting" on a forum. Back then, It kind of became that way when it got heated. It's like a turn based game where all the players take their moves and execute at the same time lol permalink fedilink source parent
[–] karashta@piefed.social 34 points 9 months ago I also want this suite of things. I stream movies to friends, share games I'm playing... These are core features to me now in a robust chat client permalink fedilink source parent
[–] SkavarSharraddas@gehirneimer.de 10 points 9 months ago By reducing a complex topic down to one score that has "features" as only one of many factors, so that "openness" and "safety" push it to the top. permalink fedilink source parent
[–] toynbee@lemmy.world 8 points 9 months ago I mean, for at least the first five letters, I can't even tell the difference. permalink fedilink source parent
[–] JayGray91@piefed.social 3 points 9 months ago looking to ditch Discord want live chat, audio/video calls, and screen sharing... Or am I just in the minority here? I'll keep you company in the minority, since that's what I want too permalink fedilink source parent
[–] Kowowow@lemmy.ca 2 points 9 months ago Live chat is all I ever use but you never know permalink fedilink source parent
[–] Cethin@lemmy.zip 1 point 9 months ago I would bet on the screen sharing not being that big of a requirement for most people. Voice and text chats though? Yeah, that's the minimum. permalink fedilink source parent
[–] Cheems@lemmy.world 1 point 9 months ago I used to use to for audio calls now I use it more for a forum. permalink fedilink source parent
[–] wesker@lemmy.sdf.org 1 point 9 months ago* (1 child) I thought Discourse was bought by Roblox, merged into Roblox, and then discontinued outside of Roblox? I'm thinking of something else, I think. permalink fedilink source parent hideshow 1 child comment replies: [–] QuadratureSurfer@piefed.social 7 points 9 months ago* You're thinking of Guilded. Looks like Roblox forced everyone using Guilded to suddenly have a Roblox account in 2024, and then Guilder officially shut down about 2 months ago (end of 2025). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guilded permalink fedilink source parent
[–] QuadratureSurfer@piefed.social 7 points 9 months ago* You're thinking of Guilded. Looks like Roblox forced everyone using Guilded to suddenly have a Roblox account in 2024, and then Guilder officially shut down about 2 months ago (end of 2025). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guilded permalink fedilink source parent
[–] Nioxic@lemmy.dbzer0.com 4 points 9 months ago (2 children) Discourse isnt free And its been described as more of a forum than a chat service permalink fedilink source parent hideshow 2 child comments replies: [–] douglasg14b@lemmy.world 11 points 9 months ago (1 child) This is misinformation. You can self host it, for free. permalink fedilink source parent hideshow 1 child comment replies: [–] Yttra@lemmy.world 1 point 9 months ago That doesn't seem to be communicated very clearly on the website, though I could always be missing something. It also doesn't seem like the average Discord user is the target audience. The website is for sysadmins, and the goal seems to be selling a Slack/Teams alternative to a business or government organization. permalink fedilink source parent
[–] douglasg14b@lemmy.world 11 points 9 months ago (1 child) This is misinformation. You can self host it, for free. permalink fedilink source parent hideshow 1 child comment replies: [–] Yttra@lemmy.world 1 point 9 months ago That doesn't seem to be communicated very clearly on the website, though I could always be missing something. It also doesn't seem like the average Discord user is the target audience. The website is for sysadmins, and the goal seems to be selling a Slack/Teams alternative to a business or government organization. permalink fedilink source parent
[–] Yttra@lemmy.world 1 point 9 months ago That doesn't seem to be communicated very clearly on the website, though I could always be missing something. It also doesn't seem like the average Discord user is the target audience. The website is for sysadmins, and the goal seems to be selling a Slack/Teams alternative to a business or government organization. permalink fedilink source parent
[–] redsand@infosec.pub 1 point 9 months ago Jitsi, simplex, mumble, matrix, lemmy. permalink fedilink source parent