Top Discord Alternatives: Best Chat and Community Platforms to Try

The social community platform Discord is preparing to make age verification mandatory for some users by the second half of 2026, and this planned change has raised concerns among users about the privacy implications of uploading a government-issued ID or submitting to a face scan. Although most features will remain accessible without verification, many users are uncomfortable sharing more personal information with a company that suffered a breach last year, exposing the IDs of roughly 70,000 users.

For many people, that concern alone is enough to explore other platforms that place a stronger emphasis on privacy and security, or offer a different community experience. Here are some of the strongest alternatives to Discord, ranging from open-source and privacy-focused services to voice-first platforms designed for serious gamers.

Stoat

Stoat, formerly known as Revolt, stands out as one of the closest alternatives to Discord in both design and day-to-day usability. Because it is an open source project, it gives users more control over their data and appeals strongly to people who care about privacy and transparency. In general, the platform is relatively easy for Discord users to understand, as it offers similar text and voice channels, as well as server-based communities.

That said, Stoat is still a relatively young platform, launched in 2021, and it is still dealing with some growing pains. It has recently encountered server capacity issues and occasional lag during periods of heavy user activity. Its feature set still does not fully match Discord's, and onboarding can sometimes slow down, especially during spikes in popularity. Even so, for users willing to sacrifice a bit of stability for stronger privacy protections, Stoat may be worth considering.

Element

For users who prioritise privacy and control, Element offers a strong alternative. Built on the decentralised Matrix protocol, Element allows users to self-host servers, maintain end-to-end encryption, and federate with other Matrix-based services. That structure helps ensure that no single company has full control over user data.

Although the setup process and user interface require a bit more technical confidence than Discord does, Element remains a good option for people who care deeply about secure, decentralised communication.

TeamSpeak

If the main thing you want is high-quality, low-latency voice communication, TeamSpeak is arguably the strongest alternative to Discord. It remains popular among competitive gamers for its strong audio performance and private server hosting options. However, its text chat and media-sharing features are fairly limited. It also lacks built-in video calling and many of the expressive features users have come to expect, such as emojis and GIFs. For groups focused mostly on voice and not needing many extra features, it remains a very solid choice.

Like Stoat, TeamSpeak has also seen a surge in new users, prompting the company to expand its hosting capacity. In February, TeamSpeak added two new regions for community creation: “Frankfurt 3” and “Toronto 1.”

Mumble

Mumble is another free, open-source voice chat application. Like TeamSpeak, it offers high-quality, low-latency audio and lets users host and customise their own servers. However, its interface feels dated and lacks many features that Discord users now consider standard. That makes it a better fit for hardcore gamers who prioritise voice chat over broader community-building features like video calls, screen sharing, or rich media sharing.

Discourse

Users who prefer structured, long-form discussion over fast-moving chat may find Discourse more appealing than Discord. As an open-source forum platform, Discourse is built around threaded discussions, making it especially useful for educational communities, professional teams, and groups that value deeper, more organised conversations. On the other hand, people who want instant messaging, voice chat, and casual real-time group interaction may find it much less familiar than Discord.

Slack, Microsoft Teams, Signal, or WhatsApp

Other notable alternatives include Slack and Microsoft Teams, both of which work well for professional communication and productivity-focused collaboration. Signal is another strong option for users who prioritise end-to-end encryption and privacy. Meanwhile, WhatsApp offers free messaging and group voice calls, though it is not designed for gaming communities or large-scale public servers.

What to know about age verification on Discord

Discord recently announced plans to introduce age-verification measures to create a safer environment, especially for younger users. The goal of this change is to ensure users meet the required age thresholds to access certain features and communities. Depending on the situation, users may be asked to verify their age in different ways, including by submitting an ID, completing facial age estimation, or using a credit card.

By default, every user will be placed in a “teen-appropriate” setting, and only users verified as adults will be able to adjust certain settings or access age-restricted content. Adults will need to verify their age to unblur sensitive content and access channels and servers designated for older audiences.

Following recent backlash, Discord pushed back the official rollout to the latter half of 2026. It said that 90% of users will not need to undergo age verification and can continue using the platform as they do now, since many of them do not interact with age-restricted content. The company had originally planned to begin rolling out the age-verification system in March.