What is the best free Discord alternative?

For a small group, Probed is free for up to 25 members with full message history, and Stoat and Element are free and open source. Slack has a free plan too, but it only shows the last 90 days of messages.

Is there a Discord alternative without bots to set up?

Probed builds in the things groups usually add bots for: events, an ideas board with votes and a public roadmap. Discord's bot ecosystem is still far bigger if you rely on specific bots.

Which Discord alternative is open source?

Stoat (formerly Revolt), Element (built on Matrix) and Zulip are all open source and can be self-hosted. Probed, Slack, Circle and Gather are hosted services.

The best Discord alternatives for a small community

We make Probed, so weigh this list with that in mind. We’ve tried to say plainly where each option is better than ours.

Start with what you’re leaving

People leave Discord for different reasons, and the right alternative depends on which one is yours:

It feels like a gaming platform, and your group isn’t one.
Good ideas scroll away in busy channels.
Members get nudged toward paid upgrades for the nicer features.
You want to own the software and host it yourself.
You were caught by an automated ban and want a person to make the call. See how Probed handles bans.
You’re running a business (courses, memberships, customers), not just a hangout.

The options

Probed

A chat app with channels, threads, DMs, voice rooms with video and screen share, and events, plus an ideas board where members vote and a public roadmap. Members never pay, and message history is kept on every plan. There’s an optional pixel-art map people walk into to talk, as a paid add-on.

Best for: small communities that want something calmer than a Discord server, with feedback built in.
Trade-offs: free up to 25 members, then $19 a month for up to 250. Far fewer integrations than Discord, and members need an account (sign-in with Discord, Google, Apple, GitHub or Microsoft works).

Slack

The default for company chat, with a huge app directory and mature admin controls.

Best for: teams where everyone works at the same company.
Trade-offs: paid plans charge per person, and the free plan only shows the last 90 days of messages. Read what happens to old messages on Slack’s free plan.

Stoat (formerly Revolt)

An open-source chat platform in the style of Discord.

Best for: groups that want Discord’s shape without Discord, and people who want to self-host.
Trade-offs: fewer built-in community tools than Probed, such as events and an ideas board. There’s a free hosted version, or you can run your own server.

Element

A chat app built on the open Matrix protocol, with end-to-end encryption.

Best for: privacy-minded groups and communities that want an open, federated network.
Trade-offs: rooms and federation take some getting used to for members coming from Discord.

Zulip

Open-source chat organised by topics, which keeps busy conversations readable.

Best for: large, technical or async communities with a lot of parallel discussion.
Trade-offs: the topic model feels different from Discord’s channels, and there’s less of a hangout feel.

Circle

A platform for courses, paid memberships and posts, with chat spaces and live rooms.

Best for: creators selling a membership or a course.
Trade-offs: plans start at $89 a month (billed yearly), and it’s built around content more than live chat.

Gather

A virtual office where people walk around a 2D map and talk.

Best for: remote teams that run on meetings.
Trade-offs: priced per person, and built for work rather than a community hangout.

Moving over without losing people

Whatever you pick, don’t switch overnight. Keep the old server open, start the new space with your most active members, and move announcements first. On paid plans, Probed can keep channels in sync with Discord while people move over. See the full Probed vs Discord comparison.