The Best Open Source Discord AlternativesTop Instant Messengers & Video Calling Apps like Discord

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 loads of them is open source so hopefully you can find a suitable replacement. Other interesting open source alternatives to Discord are Mumble, Tox, Revolt and Jami.

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Discord alternatives are mainly Group Chat Apps but may also be Instant Messengers or Video Calling Apps.  Filter by these or use the filter bar below if you want a narrower list of alternatives or looking for a specific functionality of Discord.
Discord iconDiscord
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A versatile platform for text and voice communication, featuring topic-specific channels, customizable moderation, and smooth low latency interactions.

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Discord alternatives page was last updated Apr 1, 2025
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Alternatives
  1. Element icon

    Element

     710 likes
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    Provides secure collaboration with end-to-end encryption, supporting chat, voice, and video calls. Available on all major platforms, it enables digital sovereignty with a decentralized design and interoperability through bridges to systems like Slack and Teams. Includes enterprise-grade SaaS.

    300 Element alternatives

    License model

    • Freemium • Open Source

    Application types

    Country of Origin

    • GB flagUnited Kingdom

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Online
    • Android
    • iPhone
    • Android Tablet
    • iPad
    • Self-Hosted
    • Matrix.org
    • Flathub
    • F-Droid
    • Cloudron
    Video calls for desktop and mobile

    Properties

    1.  Privacy focused
    2.  Clean design

    Features

    1.  End-to-End Encryption
    2.  Decentralized
    3.  Federated
    4.  Team Collaboration
    5.  Encrypted Chat
    6.  Video Calling
    7.  Matrix Protocol
    8.  Voice Chat
    9.  Direct Messaging
    10.  Federation
    11.  Cloud Hosting
    12.  Cross-Platform

    Element VS Discord

     
    Comments about Element as an Alternative to Discord
    Comment summary: Element is praised for being decentralized, secure, and user-hostable, but criticized for its user experience and lack of robust voice features compared to Discord. Users appreciate its federated nature and encryption but find the platform lacking in ease of use and speed. Voice features and channels are noticeably missing, limiting its capabilities for seamless voice communication. While there are positive remarks on privacy and open-source benefits, many view it as a work in progress.
    Top Positive Comment
    kaspian
    Dec 29, 2022
    6

    Much better, no censorship, decentralized and End to end encryped!

    Top Negative Comment
    Guest
    Jan 21, 2020
    34

    Voice features are just lacking too far behind or practically non existent compared to discord. No channels, no audio wizards setup or even basic settings like volume control or open mic threshold settings, no push to talk. It's very very barebones. If it were to have Mumbe's voice features instead of Jitsi's it would be a discord killer.

    Most Recent Comment
    luananeder
    Negative •Apr 26, 2024
    -2

    Awful UX, spaces aren’t nearly the same as discord ‘servers’. Element is definitely the worst Matrix client out there, but there aren’t many great options either.

    Cinny.in is the only good Matrix client I could find, but it’s desktop and web only so using Matrix is still very much not feasible if you own a phone.

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    3 of 15 comments
    Discord Icon
    Element icon

    • Most users think Element is a great Discord alternative.

    • Element is the most popular Web-based, Windows, Android & Mac alternative to Discord.

    • Element is the most popular Open Source & free alternative to Discord.

    • Element is Freemium and Open SourceDiscord is Freemium and Proprietary
    • Element is Decentralized and Privacy focusedDiscord is not according to our users
  2. Mumble icon

    Mumble

     470 likes
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    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.

    49 Mumble alternatives

    License model

    • Free • Open Source

    Application types

    Country of Origin

    • DE flagGermany
    • European Union flagEU

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • iPhone
    • BSD
    • iPad
    • Self-Hosted
    • PortableApps.com
    • Snapcraft
    • Flathub
    Mumble 1.2.3 Release Candidate – some users in different channels

    Properties

    1.  Lightweight

    Features

    1.  Voice Chat
    2.  Group Voice Chat
    3.  In-Game Overlay
    4.  Self-Hostable decentralized P2P network
    5.  Positional audio
    6.  Low Latency
    7.  Ad-free
    8.  Portable
    9.  Dedicated Server Hosting
    10.  Cross-Platform
    11.  3D voice
    12.  Channel manager

    Mumble VS Discord

     
    Comments about Mumble as an Alternative to Discord
    Top Positive Comment
    D4CX
    Nov 22, 2016
    23

    Free open source software, you can easily host your own server.

    Top Negative Comment
    Julien
    May 27, 2018
    1

    Mumble are for real time communication not differed and persistent chat like Discord.

    Most Recent Comment
    Guest
    Positive •Jun 4, 2020
    4

    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.

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    3 of 11 comments
    Discord Icon
    Mumble icon

    • Most users think Mumble is a great Discord alternative.

    • Mumble is Free and Open SourceDiscord is Freemium and Proprietary
    • Mumble is LightweightDiscord is not according to our users
  4. Tox icon

    Tox

     549 likes
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    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.

    214 Tox alternatives

    License model

    • Free • Open Source

    Application types

    Country of Origin

    • US flagUnited States

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Android
    • Android Tablet
    • BSD
    • F-Droid
    The Universal Tox Client. A Tox client that runs on Android, iOS, Windows, Mac OSX, Linux, FreeBSD & the web. Written in JS using React & React Native / electron.

    Properties

    1.  Privacy focused
    2.  Security-focused
    3.  Lightweight

    Features

    1.  Encrypted Chat
    2.  Decentralized
    3.  Peer-To-Peer
    4.  End-to-End Encryption
    5.  Multiplatform
    6.  No registration required
    7.  Screen Sharing
    8.  No Tracking
    9.  AES-256 Encryption
    10.  P2P Network
    11.  Client side encryption
    12.  Dark Mode

    Tox VS Discord

     
    Comments about Tox as an Alternative to Discord
    Top Positive Comment
    Guest
    Mar 1, 2019
    12

    The privacy capability gives Tox an edge over most other alternatives to Discord.

    Top Negative Comment
    givi o
    Nov 6, 2023
    0

    Tox is not an alternative.

    Most Recent Comment
    rad1an
    Negative •Oct 2, 2021
    0

    It doesn't have servers, is less convenient

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    3 of 8 comments
    Discord Icon
    Tox icon

    • Most users think Tox is a great Discord alternative.

    • Tox is Free and Open SourceDiscord is Freemium and Proprietary
    • Tox is Decentralized, Privacy focused, Security-focused and LightweightDiscord is not according to our users
  5. Revolt icon

    Revolt

     85 likes
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    Revolt is a user-first, privacy focused chat platform.

    39 Revolt alternatives

    License model

    • Free • Open Source

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Online
    • Android
    • iPhone
    • Android Tablet
    • iPad
    • Rust
    • Flathub
    • F-Droid
    • GitHub
    Revolt screenshot 1

    Properties

    1.  Privacy focused
    2.  Support for Themes
    3.  Lightweight

    Features

    1.  Ad-free
    2.  Text chat
    3.  No Tracking
    4.  VoiP Calls
    5.  Bots
    6.  Multiple Servers
    7.  Cross-Platform
    8.  Dark Mode
    9.  Reactions
    10.  Custom roles
    11.  Two-factor Authentication
    12.  Cloud Sync

    Revolt VS Discord

     
    Comments about Revolt as an Alternative to Discord
    Top Positive Comment
    Gruak
    May 30, 2022
    7

    Revolt has much better privacy policy, is open source, and therefore much more trustworthy.

    Top Negative Comment
    RemovedUser
    Mar 24, 2023
    2

    re-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).

    Most Recent Comment
    arthurfragoso
    Positive •Apr 1, 2025
    0

    It's open source, but as March 2025, there is still no E2EE in DMs.

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    3 of 11 comments
    Discord Icon
    Revolt icon

    • Most users think Revolt is a great Discord alternative.

    • Revolt is Free and Open SourceDiscord is Freemium and Proprietary
    • Revolt is Privacy focused and LightweightDiscord is not according to our users
  6. Jami icon

    Jami

     226 likes
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    Jami (formerly GNU Ring, SFLphone) positions itself as a potential free Skype replacement

    163 Jami alternatives

    License model

    • Free • Open Source

    Application types

    Country of Origin

    • CA flagCanada

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Android
    • iPhone
    • Android Tablet
    • iPad
    Jami video conference OS X

    Properties

    1.  Privacy focused

    Features

    1.  Decentralized
    2.  Ad-free
    3.  Video Conferencing
    4.  Peer-To-Peer
    5.  Video Calling
    6.  Multi Platform
    7.  Encrypted Chat
    8.  Distributed
    9.  End-to-End Encryption
    10.  SIP client
    11.  Screen Sharing
    12.  No Tracking

    Jami VS Discord

     
    Comments about Jami as an Alternative to Discord
    RemovedUser
    Positive •Apr 6, 2019
    8

    Decentralized, 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.

    Guest
    Negative •Feb 9, 2017
    1

    Ring lacks most chat features.

    Discord Icon
    Jami icon

    • Most users think Jami is a great Discord alternative.

    • Jami is Free and Open SourceDiscord is Freemium and Proprietary
    • Jami is Decentralized and Privacy focusedDiscord is not according to our users
  7. Matrix icon

    Matrix

     352 likes
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    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.

    161 Matrix alternatives

    License model

    • Free • Open Source

    Application types

    Country of Origin

    • GB flagUnited Kingdom

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Online
    • Android
    • iPhone
    • Android Tablet
    • iPad
    • Self-Hosted
    • WebRTC
    • Python
    • JavaScript
    • Go (Programming Language)
    • Cloudron
    • Java
    • Perl
    Main Page

    Properties

    1.  Privacy focused
    2.  Lightweight
    3.  Support for Themes
    4.  Security-focused

    Features

    1.  Decentralized
    2.  End-to-End Encryption
    3.  Federation
    4.  Team Collaboration
    5.  Distributed
    6.  Spaces
    7.  Ad-free
    8.  No Tracking
    9.  VoiP Calls
    10.  Dark Mode
    11.  Multiple Account support
    12.  Support for @mentions

    Matrix VS Discord

     
    Comments about Matrix as an Alternative to Discord
    somegirlfromit
    Negative •Dec 1, 2022
    7

    Matrix.org is a transport protocol. Discord is chat software. Matrix is no more software than Discord is a protocol.

    luananeder
    Positive •Apr 26, 2024
    0

    The protocol has the potential to be a good Discord alternative.

    Issue is the clients are almost all awful, which makes the UX horrible. So not a feasible alternative, at least not until a good app appears.

    Discord Icon
    Matrix icon

    • Most users think Matrix is a great Discord alternative.

    • Matrix is Free and Open SourceDiscord is Freemium and Proprietary
    • Matrix is Decentralized, Privacy focused and LightweightDiscord is not according to our users
  9. Wire icon

    Wire

     307 likes
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    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.

    280 Wire alternatives

    License model

    • Free Personal • Open Source

    Application types

    Country of Origin

    • DE flagGermany
    • European Union flagEU

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Online
    • Android
    • iPhone
    • Android Tablet
    • iPad
    • Self-Hosted
    • F-Droid
    • Software as a Service (SaaS)
    Wire screenshot 1
    Wire screenshot 2
    Wire screenshot 3

    Properties

    1.  Security-focused
    2.  Privacy focused

    Features

    1.  End-to-End Encryption
    2.  Video Calling
    3.  Encrypted Chat
    4.  VoiP Calls
    5.  Encrypted calls
    6.  Screen Sharing
    7.  Multiple Account support
    8.  WebRTC
    9.  Secure File Sharing
    10.  Voice Chat
    11.  Voice messages

    Wire VS Discord

     
    Comments about Wire as an Alternative to Discord
    luananeder
    Negative •Apr 26, 2024
    1

    Does not seem to have anything similar to discord’s ‘servers’

    Discord Icon
    Wire icon

    • Most users think Wire is a great Discord alternative.

    • Wire is the most popular SaaS alternative to Discord.

    • Wire is Free Personal and Open SourceDiscord is Freemium and Proprietary
    • Wire is Security-focused and Privacy focusedDiscord is not according to our users
7 of 58 Discord alternatives