Open Source Discord Alternatives
The best open source alternative to Discord is Element. If that doesn't suit you, our users have ranked more than 100 alternatives to Discord and many of them is open source so hopefully you can find a suitable replacement. Other interesting open source alternatives to Discord are Mumble, Tox, Matrix.org and Wire.
Discord alternatives are mainly Group Chat Apps but may also be Encrypted Chat Apps or Instant Messengers. Filter by these if you want a narrower list of alternatives or looking for a specific functionality of Discord.- Freemium • Proprietary
- Group Chat App
- Mac
- Windows
- Linux
- Online
- Android
- iPhone
- Chrome OS
- Android Tablet
- BSD
- iPad
- Epic Games Store
- Electron / Atom Shell
- FreeBSD
- Playstation
- Xbox
- Flathub
Element
Is this a good alternative?YesNo- Freemium • Open Source
- Group Chat App
- Encrypted Chat App
- Instant Messenger
263 alternatives to Element- Mac
- Windows
- Linux
- Online
- Android
- iPhone
- Android Tablet
- iPad
- Self-Hosted
- Matrix.org
- Cloudron
- F-Droid
- FLATHUB
Element is a secure collaboration and messaging app based on the Matrix protocol. It’s decentralised to deliver digital sovereignty, and based on an open standard for easy connections and interoperability. It is end-to-end encrypted by default.
Element Features
Element vs Discord
niposIt also has chat rooms which can be combined into groups (like Discords servers) and group voice calls. It's open source and can be hosted on an own server or used on one of many free servers.
willexterminatorIt's a great app if you don't need voice rooms. Group calls are nice, but sometimes you want to stay in a voice chat in case someone joins, it's not possible in Element. The only workaround is a dedicated "voice" text channel that you join when you want to hop on a call and leave when you don't, else you will get a ringtone like a normal call.
linjhadway too slow and too hard to use.
The only modern federated messanger out there
kaspianMuch better, no censorship, decentralized and End to end encryped!
RemovedUserElement is Good but it feels like a Half-baked Cake. Some features need tight gearing and I hope in 1-2 years this Platform will become the best FOSS Platform for Group Communication.
BrudenWhile the privacy and self-hosting features are nice, I don't see this becoming a wide-spread alternative to Discord, if only because it's overly complicated for what it is.
Mumble
Is this a good alternative?YesNo- Free • Open Source
- Group Chat App
- Encrypted Chat App
46 alternatives to Mumble- Mac
- Windows
- Linux
- iPhone
- BSD
- iPad
- Self-Hosted
- PortableApps.com
Mumble was the first and is the most successful and wide spread free and open source software for VoIP. It was the first VoIP software to provide low-latency audio suitable for gaming, and at the same time was a pioneer in high audio quality at the same time.
Mumble Features
Mumble vs Discord
D4CXFree open source software, you can easily host your own server.
Open source chat and audio call service, but could use a face lift.
Mumble is a pure voice chat with optional text
The audio quality is great and has less latency than Discord. The server is self-hosted so there is more flexibility as well. But that's the only expect that is better than Discord. Discord has much more functionality like video calling, rich text server chat, etc.
No text chat channels. Mumble is voice oriented
Opensource and easy-to-create servers. However, you have to host the servers as mumble doesn't do it themselves.
Mumble is a voice chat item. It's closer to teamspeak than discord or slack.
Tox
Is this a good alternative?YesNo- Free • Open Source
- Encrypted Chat App
- Instant Messenger
- Group Chat App
179 alternatives to Tox- Mac
- Windows
- Linux
- Android
- Android Tablet
- BSD
With the rise of widespread government monitoring programs, Tox is an easy to use application that allows you to connect with friends and loved ones without anyone else listening in.
Tox Features
Tox vs Discord
Tox is general has great ideas, I love the decentralized part, but also miss features of a centralized service like sending messages to offline users. Would be cool if someone manage to make a web client for Tox.
You can chat via it with audio - and also video, that trumps Discord!
RemovedUserit is not gaming-oriented
rad1anIt doesn't have servers, is less convenient
RemovedUserTox is an amazing idea, and when it works, it works well. But it's so buggy that it's unusable for me. When they get the kinks worked out this will be an excellent chat/voice/video client.
The privacy capability gives Tox an edge over most other alternatives to Discord.
Good privacy, same voice codec.
Matrix.org
Is this a good alternative?YesNo- Free • Open Source
- Group Chat App
- Instant Messenger
- Encrypted Chat App
130 alternatives to Matrix.org- Mac
- Windows
- Linux
- Online
- Android
- iPhone
- Android Tablet
- iPad
- Self-Hosted
- WebRTC
- Python
- JavaScript
- Go (Programming Language)
- Cloudron
- Java
- Perl
Matrix defines a set of open APIs for decentralised communication, suitable for securely publishing, persisting and subscribing to data over a global open federation of servers with no single point of control.
Matrix.org Features
Matrix.org vs Discord
somegirlfromitMatrix.org is a transport protocol. Discord is chat software. Matrix is no more software than Discord is a protocol.
Wire
Is this a good alternative?YesNo- Free Personal • Open Source
- Group Chat App
- Encrypted Chat App
- Instant Messenger
256 alternatives to Wire- Mac
- Windows
- Linux
- Online
- Android
- iPhone
- Android Tablet
- iPad
- Self-Hosted
- F-Droid
- Software as a Service (SaaS)
Wire is the most secure collaboration platform featuring messenger, voice, video, conference calls, file-sharing, and external collaboration –all protected by the most secure end-to-end-encryption.
Wire Features
Wire vs Discord
Jami
Is this a good alternative?YesNo- Free • Open Source
- Encrypted Chat App
- Video Calling App
- Instant Messenger
139 alternatives to Jami- Mac
- Windows
- Linux
- Android
- iPhone
- Android Tablet
- iPad
Jami (formerly GNU Ring, SFLphone) positions itself as a potential free Skype replacement
Jami Features
Jami vs Discord
Ring lacks most chat features.
RemovedUserDecentralized, end-to-end encrypted, and ironically works better than other services that I have used. I'm not sure if it has group calls, though.
Mattermost
Is this a good alternative?YesNo- Freemium • Open Source
- Group Chat App
- Team Collaboration Tool
115 alternatives to Mattermost- Mac
- Windows
- Linux
- Android
- iPhone
- Android Tablet
- iPad
- Self-Hosted
- JavaScript
- Go (Programming Language)
- Cloudron
Mattermost is a secure, open source platform for communication, collaboration, and workflow orchestration across tools and teams.
Mattermost Features
Mattermost vs Discord
Zulip
Is this a good alternative?YesNo- Free Personal • Open Source
- Group Chat App
- Instant Messenger
- Encrypted Chat App
219 alternatives to Zulip- Mac
- Windows
- Linux
- Online
- Android
- iPhone
- Android Tablet
- BSD
- iPad
- Self-Hosted
Zulip is the only modern team chat app that is designed for both live and asynchronous conversations. Zulip topics create a separate space for each discussion, so different conversations will never get in each other's way.
Zulip Features
RetroShare
Is this a good alternative?YesNo- Free • Open Source
- Encrypted Chat App
- Video Calling App
97 alternatives to RetroShare- Mac
- Windows
- Linux
- Android
- BSD
- OpenSSL
- OpenPGP
RetroShare is a open source cross-platform, private and secure decentralized communication system. It lets you to securely chat, share photos, videos, and more, using OpenPGP to authenticate peers and .
RetroShare Features
Revolt
Is this a good alternative?YesNo- Free • Open Source
- Group Chat App
- Video Calling App
- Team Collaboration Tool
19 alternatives to Revolt- Windows
- Linux
- Online
- Android
- Flathub
Revolt is a brand new chat platform designed around you.
Revolt Features
Revolt vs Discord
schmebiIn short: Open Source Discord, with special care about privacy. It offers all the basic features + costumization options you only have on Discord with Nitro. Totally free, and has everything you need, so definitly try it out!
GruakRevolt has much better privacy policy, is open source, and therefore much more trustworthy.
aragusukure-encodes all jpgs to a lower quality. useless to share jpg media as they will get encoded to dust in a few reposts. while it doesnt happen with other files, it's sucky. revolt is also buggy and slow as hell, featuring unhelpful staff - I asked for voice channel bitrate, no one answered me, they all tried to be funny. asked the admin directly and was ignored (he was online and chatting on main channel).
It's got the same UI, but without any Nitro subscription junk
Revolt is pretty much just Discord but better and open-source. May not have as many features but the privacy makes up for it 100%.
catalin560it does seem like a decent alternative to Discord but it lacks communities and they have taken a bit too much after Discord since they are actively banning people and channels that don't fit their agenda, but at least you can still self host your own server so that's nice, I guess...
Fante+Design and structure extremely similar to those of Discord, meaning it's very easy to transition into +Role system is almost as viable as that of Discord +Some features that you need to pay for in Discord+ are freely accessible in Revolt (animated custom banners and emojis, for example) +Much more liberal than Discord with it's rules and guidelines +Much better privacy policy +Open Source +Completely free +Acessible through web browser