I tried dozens of apps to find the 7 best Discord alternatives in 2025

Let’s be honest, Discord is pretty much the default for online communities. It started out as a simple chat app for gamers but has since become the go-to spot for everything from crypto trading groups to fan clubs and online classes. Its live chat and easy voice channels made it a giant for a reason.

But what happens when your small, cozy server starts to feel… well, not so small anymore? As communities grow, they often outgrow Discord. The very things that made it perfect for casual hangouts start to become its biggest weaknesses. Moderation turns into a full-time job, the same five questions pop up in every channel, and you start wishing for professional tools to manage support or monetize your work. Suddenly, you’re wrestling with a platform that’s cluttered with features you don’t need, while missing the ones you desperately do.

If this sounds painfully familiar, you’re in the right place. I spent a ton of time diving into the world of communication apps to find the 7 best Discord alternatives for 2025. Each one offers a different solution to Discord’s growing pains, whether you need rock-solid business communication, better tools for your gaming guild, or just a smarter way to handle community support.

Why look for Discord alternatives?

Look, Discord is a fantastic tool for what it was built for: casual, real-time chats. But as it’s tried to be everything for everyone, some serious cracks have started to show.

Here are the main reasons people are starting to look elsewhere:

• Privacy and security can be a bit iffy. Discord’s business model relies on data, and it took its time adding end-to-end encryption for anything beyond calls. For any business or group handling sensitive info, that’s a major red flag.

• It’s bloated with fluff but lacks pro tools. The app is loaded with Nitro perks, custom emojis, and soundboards, which is fun, but it’s missing the basics for running a serious community. There’s no built-in way to handle member support at scale, monetize your content, or manage projects.

• Your moderators are burning out. Anyone who’s managed a big Discord server knows this pain. As your numbers climb, the flood of simple, repetitive questions becomes a tidal wave. Without the right tools, your moderation team gets exhausted, and new members feel ignored.

• The gamer vibe doesn’t fit everyone. The dark theme and playful feel are great for a gaming clan, but they can feel a bit off-brand for a paid educational group or a corporate team. There’s not much you can do to make it look and feel like your brand.

How we picked the best Discord alternatives for community building

Okay, so how did I pick these seven out of the sea of apps out there? It wasn’t random. I had a checklist to make sure I was comparing apples to apples and finding tools that solve real problems.

Here’s what I was looking for:

• What’s it really for? Is it built for competitive gaming, corporate collaboration, super-secure messaging, or long, thoughtful discussions? The tool has to fit the job.

• Can it grow with you? Will it handle your community’s growth without descending into chaos or costing a fortune?

• Is your data safe? Does it offer strong encryption, the option to host it yourself, and a clear policy on how it uses your data?

• Does it help you manage your community? I looked for tools that go beyond basic chat, like advanced moderation, analytics, or ways to automate member support.

• Is the price right? Does the cost make sense for your situation? A per-user fee might be fine for a small company, but it’s a deal-breaker for a large, open community.

The 7 best Discord alternatives at a glance

Here’s a quick rundown of our top picks to help you see how they stack up.

Platform	Best For	Key Feature	Pricing Model
eesel AI	Automated Community Support	AI agent integrates with existing tools	Subscription (Fixed)
Slack	Business & Team Collaboration	Extensive integrations	Per User/Month
Guilded	Gaming Communities	Advanced gamer-centric tools	Free
Microsoft Teams	Microsoft 365 Users	Seamless Office integration	Per User/Month
Element	Decentralization & Privacy	End-to-end encryption, self-hosting	Free (Self-Hosted) / Per User
Discourse	Asynchronous Discussions	Forum-style structure, moderation	Subscription (Hosted)
TeamSpeak	High-Quality Voice Chat	Low-latency VoIP, military-grade encryption	Server Licensing

The 7 best Discord alternatives for communities in 2025

Alright, let’s get into the details of what makes each of these platforms a solid choice. I’ve broken down the good, the bad, and the price for each one so you can find the perfect fit.

1. eesel AI

Instead of forcing you to pack up and move your entire community, eesel AI takes a different approach: it fixes the biggest headache on the platform you already use. If your Discord server is constantly flooded with the same questions, this is for you. It acts as an AI support agent that plugs directly into your existing community on Discord, Slack, or other help desks. It learns from your help docs, past support tickets, and even scattered Google Docs to give instant, accurate answers. This frees up your human moderators to focus on what they do best: actually building the community.

This infographic for Discord alternatives shows how eesel AI connects to various knowledge sources to automate community support.::

Pros:

• You can get it running in minutes. The setup is truly self-serve, so no need to sit through a mandatory demo or talk to a salesperson.

• It improves the tools you already know and love, saving you from a painful migration process.

• It has a powerful simulation mode that lets you safely test the AI on thousands of your past questions before it ever talks to a real member.

• It pulls knowledge from all your different sources into a single brain, making sure the answers are always consistent and up-to-date.

Cons:

• It’s a specialized tool for support and automation, not a replacement for general-purpose chat.

Pricing: Plans start at $239/month (billed annually) with transparent pricing based on usage. You won’t get a surprise bill just because you had a busy month.

2. Slack

Slack is basically what you get if Discord put on a business suit. It’s the top dog for workplace communication, designed from the ground up for getting things done. It keeps conversations organized in channels, uses threads to prevent discussions from getting messy, and connects with a massive library of tools like Asana and Google Drive. Its "Huddles" feature also makes it super easy to jump on a quick voice or video call with your team.

Pros:

• A clean, professional look that keeps work conversations tidy.

• An incredible ecosystem of integrations that pulls your whole workflow into one app.

• The search function is fantastic for digging up old conversations or files.

Cons:

• That per-user pricing gets really expensive, really fast for large communities.

• The free plan is pretty limited and only lets you see the last 90 days of your message history.

Pricing: Slack has a limited free plan. Paid plans start at $7.25 per user per month when billed annually.

3. Guilded

Guilded is like Discord’s ambitious younger sibling, built specifically for gamers who want more power. It has all the core features you’d expect, text and voice chat, roles, servers, but it layers on a bunch of robust organizational tools. You get built-in calendars for scheduling raids, dedicated forum channels for deeper strategy talks, and special sections for documents and media. It’s a no-brainer for esports teams and large gaming clans that find Discord a bit too basic.

Pros:

• More built-in organizational tools, like calendars, forums, and to-do lists.

• Higher quality voice and video streaming (up to 1080p/60fps) for everyone, not just paid users.

• It’s completely free. No features are locked behind a paywall like Discord’s Nitro.

Cons:

• The user base is much smaller than Discord’s, so finding new communities is harder.

• The interface is packed with features, which can be a little overwhelming at first.

Pricing: Free.

4. Microsoft Teams

If your team is already living and breathing in the Microsoft world, then Microsoft Teams is the most natural Discord alternative. It’s less of a casual community platform and more of an all-in-one hub for work. It blends chat, video meetings, file storage, and all the Office 365 apps you’re already using, like Word, Excel, and SharePoint. For a business, it’s a productivity engine.

Pros:

• Incredibly deep integration with the whole Microsoft 365 ecosystem.

• Comes with serious, enterprise-level security and compliance features right out of the box.

• Excellent video conferencing that’s built for professional meetings.

Cons:

• The interface can feel a bit clunky and less intuitive than Slack.

• It’s total overkill for anyone not already committed to the Microsoft suite.

Pricing: A generous free plan is available. Paid plans bundled with Microsoft 365 start at $4.00 per user per month.

5. Element

For the folks who hear "data collection" and immediately break out in a cold sweat, there’s Element. It’s built on the open-source Matrix protocol, which means it’s decentralized, you aren’t tied to a single company’s servers. You can even host your own server for complete control over your data. It offers true end-to-end encryption for everything by default, including messages, files, and calls. It’s the perfect escape for people tired of big tech’s data-hungry models.

Pros:

• It’s decentralized and open-source, giving you total control over your data.

• It has a serious focus on security, with end-to-end encryption on by default for all communications.

• It can "bridge" to other chat apps, letting you talk to people on Slack or Telegram from inside Element.

Cons:

• The user experience isn’t quite as slick or polished as its centralized competitors.

• Setting up and running your own server requires a bit of technical skill.

Pricing: Free for personal use on the public matrix.org server. Paid plans for hosting and extra features start at $5 per user per month.

6. Discourse

If the constant pinging of real-time chat feels more like chaos than collaboration, check out Discourse. It’s a modern version of a classic forum, built for thoughtful, organized, long-form conversations. Instead of an endless feed, you get structured topics that are easy to search for and come back to later. Features like user trust levels, badges, and powerful moderation tools are designed to help you build a healthy community for the long haul. It’s fantastic for knowledge bases, support forums, and professional groups.

Pros:

• Perfect for organized discussions that need to be saved and referenced later.

• Powerful tools to manage community health and keep moderation sane.

• It’s open-source, so you can host it yourself for ultimate customization.

Cons:

• It’s not for real-time voice or video. It’s a forum, not a live chat app.

• The official hosted plans can be a bit expensive for smaller communities.

Pricing: Starts at $20/month for basic hosted plans. It’s free if you have the technical chops to host it yourself.

7. TeamSpeak

Long before Discord was even a thing, TeamSpeak was the undisputed king of voice chat for gaming. It still crushes its one core mission: delivering crystal-clear, low-lag voice communication. It’s super lightweight and uses minimal system resources, making it a favorite for competitive gamers who can’t afford a single frame drop. With military-grade encryption and a ridiculously detailed permissions system, it offers a level of control and security that Discord just can’t touch.

Pros:

• Fantastic voice quality with almost no impact on your computer’s performance.

• Advanced security options and a powerful permissions system for server admins.

• Self-hosting gives you complete privacy and control over your server.

Cons:

• Let’s be real, the user interface looks like it’s straight out of 2005.

• It’s a voice-first app, so the text chat features are pretty basic.

• You have to host your own server or rent one, which adds some complexity and cost.

Pricing: You can host your own server with up to 32 slots for free. Licenses for more slots start at around $30 per year.

How to choose the right Discord alternatives for your community

Feeling a bit lost in the options? Don’t sweat it. Picking the right platform just means answering a few key questions about your community.

• What does your community actually do? Why are you all gathering in the first place? Is it for real-time gaming (Guilded, TeamSpeak), working on projects (Slack, Teams), having deep, searchable conversations (Discourse), or getting help and support (eesel AI)? Let your main purpose guide you.

• How tech-savvy are your members? A decentralized, self-hosted platform like Element is a dream for privacy buffs but might be a total headache for a less technical group. Always lean towards a simple, intuitive experience to make sure people will actually use it.

• Think about support before it’s a problem. It’s easy to answer questions manually when your community is small. But that doesn’t scale. If you plan on growing, you need a strategy for member support. An AI solution like eesel AI can seriously save your sanity by handling the repetitive stuff, so you don’t have to hire an army of moderators.

• Try before you buy (or migrate). Almost every platform on this list offers a free plan or a trial. Before you make a big announcement, set up a test server. Invite a small group of your most active members to play around with it and give you their honest feedback.

This video explores some of the best Discord alternatives available at the start of 2025.

The future of community with Discord alternatives is more than just chat

At the end of the day, the best platform is the one that actually helps your community thrive. Discord kicked open the door by making community chat easy for everyone, but the world has changed. Today’s communities need more than just a place to hang out.

Gamers need pure performance, businesses need smooth workflows, and privacy advocates need control. For many professional communities, the biggest hurdle isn’t just talking; it’s providing real value and support as you grow. Platforms like Discord and Slack are great homes for your community, but they also create a mountain of repetitive questions and support requests.

So instead of starting from scratch, why not give your current setup a boost? Check out how eesel AI can automate your support, answer member questions in a flash, and free you up to focus on what really matters: building an amazing community. You can try it for free today.