People look past Discord when they want a chat for work, a space they host themselves, or history and structure that a fast-scrolling gaming server does not give. Most small teams go to Pumble, Slack or Google Chat, and communities that want ownership go to Element or Zulip. Discord itself is a US-based service with a free tier and optional Nitro subscriptions.
Visibility in our rankings can be paid for. Payment moves a vendor's position within
the shortlist; it never adds a vendor, and it never changes a word of the review or of this page. The first three alternatives
go to challengers, vendors outside the best-known brands in a category, wherever the category has them; the
established names follow in their ranked order. How it works:
placement disclosure · editorial process.
What each alternative does differently
1. Element
Matrix-based secure collaboration you host yourself · United Kingdom
Built on the open Matrix standard, with rooms, spaces and end-to-end encryption by default, so communities can run their own server. The Community edition is free for evaluation and non-professional use. Enterprise is priced per seat for 100 or more users. There is no consumer-style subscription like Nitro.
Switch from Discord if you want a community space you can host yourself on an open standard.
Pricing: Community edition is free and open source (AGPL); Enterprise is priced per seat per month for 100+ users; Sovereign is priced per deployment. (open source)
Full review: #12 of 14 in our ranking ·
Visit Element →
2. Zulip
Open source team chat built around topics · United States
Every message belongs to a named topic inside a channel, which suits long-running discussion better than a fast scroll. Cloud has a free plan; the code is open source and self-hostable. Calls go through a provider you choose, such as Jitsi or Zoom, not a built-in voice room.
Switch from Discord if your server is mostly written discussion and you want it searchable and organized.
Pricing: Cloud: free plan with 10,000 searchable messages; Standard $6.67 per user per month annual. Self-hosted from $3.50 per user per month, free for eligible organizations. (free plan)
Full review: #2 of 14 in our ranking ·
Visit Zulip →
3. Pumble
Free-first team chat from the makers of Clockify · United States
A workplace chat with channels, threads and guests that keeps unlimited message history on its free plan. It has voice and video calls, but group meetings and screen sharing start on the paid Pro tier. There are no gaming features, stickers or soundboard, and it is built for teams, not public servers.
Switch from Discord if you want a free chat for a team or club with permanent history.
Pricing: Free plan with unlimited users and history; Pro $2.49, Business $3.99 and Enterprise $6.99 per seat per month on annual billing. (free plan)
Full review: #1 of 14 in our ranking ·
Visit Pumble →
4. Mattermost
Self-hosted collaboration for secure and regulated work · United States
Self-hosted team chat sold as prepaid annual seat licenses, with private cloud and air-gapped deployment. Audio and screen sharing are listed alongside channels, threads and retention. Pricing is quoted and there is no free production tier, so it fits organizations with a security brief, not hobby communities.
Switch from Discord if you must keep chat on your own infrastructure for compliance reasons.
Pricing: Prepaid annual seat licenses with Professional, Enterprise and Enterprise Advanced tiers priced on request; limited-use evaluation edition at no cost. (free trial)
Full review: #8 of 14 in our ranking ·
Visit Mattermost →
5. Rocket.Chat
Sovereign chat for regulated and public-sector buyers · United States
Self-managed workspace chat with a free Starter plan for small use and quoted Commercial, Government and Defense plans. It federates with Matrix and XMPP and lists messaging, voice, video and screen sharing. Its packaging targets regulated and public-sector buyers rather than casual friend groups.
Switch from Discord if you need federated chat that you operate yourself, with an upgrade path to support.
Pricing: Free Starter plan for evaluation and small organizations; Commercial, Government and Defense plans are quoted. (free plan)
Full review: #13 of 14 in our ranking ·
Visit Rocket.Chat →
6. Chanty
Simple team chat with built-in tasks and calls · United States
A small-team tool pairing chat with task boards, voice messages and group video. The free plan covers up to five members and one guest user, and Business is billed per user. It has no public server directory, bots catalog or large-community moderation tools.
Switch from Discord if you run a team of under ten and want chat, calls and tasks in one app.
Pricing: Free for up to 5 members; Business is €3 per user per month billed annually or €4 monthly; Enterprise is quoted. (free plan)
Full review: #3 of 14 in our ranking ·
Visit Chanty →
7. Slack
The original business chat platform, now part of Salesforce · United States
The workplace default, organized around channels, threads and huddles, with a very large app directory. Its free plan keeps only 90 days of searchable history and allows ten apps. Paid plans are priced per user per month. It is not designed for large public or hobby communities.
Switch from Discord if your group is a company and you need integrations more than voice hangouts.
Pricing: Free plan with 90-day history; Pro €6.75, Business+ €15 per user per month annual; Enterprise+ quoted around €45 per user. (free plan)
Full review: #4 of 14 in our ranking ·
Visit Slack →
8. Nextcloud Talk
Open source chat and calls inside Nextcloud · Germany
Part of Nextcloud, so chat and calls sit beside files and calendars on a server you control. It supports federated chat and calls between Nextcloud servers. It needs a Nextcloud installation or a provider, and it has no server discovery or community features.
Switch from Discord if you already run or want Nextcloud and prefer one self-hosted suite.
Pricing: Open source software you host yourself; Nextcloud sells support subscriptions, and we could not confirm a price on its Talk page. (open source)
Full review: #9 of 14 in our ranking ·
Visit Nextcloud Talk →
9. Wire
End-to-end encrypted chat and calls for business · Switzerland
Messaging, calls, conferencing and file sharing with end-to-end encryption on every plan, including a free tier for up to five people. Paid plans cost more per person than mainstream tools. It is aimed at organizations and government buyers, not open communities or games.
Switch from Discord if privacy and encrypted calls matter more than community features.
Pricing: Free for up to 5 people; SMB is €7.45 per person per month annual (€8.94 monthly) up to 100 people; Enterprise is quoted. (free plan)
Full review: #10 of 14 in our ranking ·
Visit Wire →
10. Zoho Cliq
Team chat inside the Zoho business suite · India
Chat inside the Zoho product family, with channels, meetings and a free edition. Standard adds external channels and call recording, while Professional and Enterprise need at least ten users. It is cheap for Zoho customers and thin for anyone who is not.
Switch from Discord if your organization already uses other Zoho products.
Pricing: Free plan plus Standard, Professional and Enterprise tiers; 10% off for yearly billing; Professional and Enterprise need 10 users. (free plan)
Full review: #7 of 14 in our ranking ·
Visit Zoho Cliq →
11. Google Chat
Google Workspace's built-in messaging and spaces · United States
Bundled with Google Workspace instead of sold separately, with permanent spaces of up to 500,000 members and huddles for quick calls. It needs a Google account and is built around Gmail, Meet and Drive, so it suits a Workspace company and cannot be self-hosted.
Switch from Discord if your company already pays for Google Workspace and wants chat in the same login.
Pricing: Included with Google Workspace plans, which list at €6.80, €13.60 and €21.10 per user per month; 14-day trial of Workspace. (free trial)
Full review: #6 of 14 in our ranking ·
Visit Google Chat →
12. Microsoft Teams
Microsoft's chat, channel and meeting hub · United States
Bundled in Microsoft 365 business plans with a free version for basic use. It combines chat, channels, meetings and file co-authoring under Microsoft accounts. Microsoft's own page blocked our fetch, so licensing details are unconfirmed. It is a work tool and carries admin overhead a friend group does not need.
Switch from Discord if you already license Microsoft 365 and want meetings and files with chat.
Pricing: Included in Microsoft 365 business plans, with a free version for basic use; confirm current prices on Microsoft's site. (free plan)
Full review: #5 of 14 in our ranking ·
Visit Microsoft Teams →
