Best Discord Alternatives in 2025: Community Platforms Beyond Discord [2025]

TL; DR

• Discord's moderation changes sparked widespread debate about child safety vs. privacy trade-offs, as reported by The Verge.
• Slack remains the best alternative for teams needing professional chat with moderation tools, according to Slack's official site.
• Revolt offers Discord-like features with open-source transparency and privacy-first design, as noted by How-To Geek.
• Guilded provides gaming-focused communities with built-in streaming and event management, highlighted by Guilded's official site.
• Lemmy and federated platforms are gaining traction for privacy-conscious communities, as discussed on Lemmy's official site.
• Key consideration: No single platform replaces Discord perfectly—choose based on your community's specific needs.

Introduction: The Discord Dilemma

Discord has become ubiquitous. With over 150 million monthly active users, the platform dominates gaming communities, creative groups, cryptocurrency projects, and professional teams. But recent changes to the platform's moderation and safety features have left many users questioning whether Discord still aligns with their values.

Here's the tension: Discord implemented aggressive safety measures ostensibly to protect minors. But the implementation sparked legitimate concerns about privacy, surveillance, and whether these changes actually address real-world safety issues or simply transfer liability away from the company while reducing user autonomy. News.Az reports that Discord's move to block minors from adult content is part of these safety measures.

The problem isn't abstract. Communities are fractured. Teams are split between Discord and alternative platforms. Users are anxious about what their data is being used for. Parents worry about their kids. Moderators are frustrated with heavy-handed automated enforcement that sometimes catches innocent conversations. And Discord itself? Facing declining confidence from its most engaged users, as highlighted by Cointelegraph.

But here's the thing: leaving Discord isn't simple. The platform has massive network effects. Your friends are there. Your favorite gaming communities are there. Your professional connections are there. Switching to an alternative means abandoning that social capital.

This guide explores the landscape of Discord alternatives in 2025. We'll evaluate platforms based on actual features, real moderation approaches, privacy practices, and community viability. Some are Discord clones. Some are fundamentally different. All have trade-offs.

The goal isn't to convince you to leave Discord. It's to help you understand your options so you can make an informed decision about where your community belongs.

This chart compares the enterprise features, privacy features, and pricing of six communication platforms. Slack scores highest for enterprise features, while Revolt and Element excel in privacy. Pricing varies, with most platforms offering free options.

Why Users Are Looking for Discord Alternatives

The Safety Debate

Discord's approach to child safety relies heavily on automated scanning, behavioral analysis, and content filters. On the surface, this sounds protective. But the implementation created friction.

The core issue: automation catches false positives. Innocent conversations get flagged. Communities of artists discussing anatomy for educational purposes get caught. Researchers discussing sensitive topics get reported. Parents talking to children about difficult subjects get monitored.

Worse, the company's approach operates on the assumption that surveillance equals safety. But child safety experts disagree. The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children has long emphasized that technology alone can't solve these problems—what matters is education, community responsibility, and targeted intervention.

Discord's model treats the platform like a public space that needs constant monitoring. But communities work differently. They rely on trust, moderation by people who understand context, and norms that evolve organically.

Privacy and Data Concerns

Discord collects substantial data. Message content, IP addresses, device information, behavioral patterns. This is standard for tech platforms, but the implications are worth understanding.

When you add aggressive moderation systems, that data becomes even more sensitive. Your conversations are being analyzed. Patterns are being tracked. The platform knows who you talk to, what you care about, what communities you belong to.

For some users, that's fine. The convenience outweighs privacy concerns. But for others—especially creators, activists, and people in sensitive professions—it's a dealbreaker.

Community Control and Transparency

When Discord changes policies, you adapt or leave. There's no negotiation. No community input. The company makes decisions unilaterally.

This is true of all centralized platforms. But it's particularly frustrating when those decisions feel paternalistic. When they prioritize the platform's legal liability over the community's autonomy. When they treat moderators as unpaid labor without real say in how their communities are governed.

Some users want platforms where they have more control. Where moderation policies are transparent. Where the community can actually influence how the platform evolves.

Estimated data shows that while Mattermost can be cost-effective for larger teams, smaller teams may find the costs of self-hosting prohibitive compared to free alternatives like Discord.

Platform Comparison at a Glance

Quick Navigation:

• Slack for team chat with enterprise features
• Revolt for privacy-first Discord replacement
• Guilded for gaming and streaming communities
• Lemmy for decentralized communities
• Mattermost for self-hosted control
• Element/Matrix for encrypted, decentralized chat

Slack: For Professional Teams

Slack isn't typically positioned as a Discord alternative. But for teams and professional communities, it's become the de facto standard for a reason.

Slack does something Discord doesn't prioritize: enterprise-grade moderation and compliance. If your community includes regulatory concerns, Slack handles them elegantly. Audit logs. Data retention policies. Integration with compliance tools.

The interface is clean. The search functionality actually works (Discord's search is notoriously bad). Integrations with tools like Zapier, project management platforms, and custom APIs are seamless.

Why Teams Choose Slack

Slack's threading model prevents conversations from becoming incomprehensible chaos. In Discord, a conversation in general chat becomes unreadable in minutes. Slack threads keep conversations contained and organized.

The app performance is solid. Slack doesn't consume resources like Discord does. On older machines or slower internet, Slack remains responsive.

Moderation is granular. You can control who can post in channels, who can create channels, and what integrations are allowed. The permission system is complex but comprehensive.

The Catch

Slack isn't free for active communities. The free plan shows only your last 90 days of messages. Pro plans start at

The interface, while clean, isn't as social as Discord. There's less emphasis on communities coming together. Slack feels corporate because it is.

And gaming communities? Slack doesn't support voice chat with the same quality as Discord. The streaming integration is minimal. For gaming, Slack is a mismatch.

Safety concerns and privacy issues are leading reasons users look for Discord alternatives, with community trust also playing a significant role. (Estimated data)

Revolt: Discord Alternative, Privacy-Focused

Revolt is built specifically as a Discord alternative. The team looked at Discord's architecture, kept what works, and reimagined the rest through a privacy lens.

The interface is Discord-like. If you've used Discord, Revolt feels familiar. Servers, channels, roles, permissions. The layout is almost identical. That's intentional. The goal was to make switching frictionless.

But under the hood, Revolt is different. The codebase is open-source. You can inspect exactly what's happening. There's no black-box algorithm analyzing your conversations. No surveillance. The platform collects minimal data.

What Makes Revolt Different

Revolt offers end-to-end encrypted messages. This is a technical detail that matters enormously. It means messages are encrypted on your device before being sent. The server never sees the plaintext. Even if law enforcement demands content, Revolt literally cannot provide it because the server doesn't store readable messages.

The moderation system is transparent. Revolt publishes its moderation policies. Rule changes are discussed with the community. There's a clear appeals process.

And here's something Slack and Discord don't offer: Revolt is working toward becoming truly decentralized. The vision is that you could run your own Revolt server while still federating with other servers. This is years away, but the direction matters.

The Reality Check

Revolt is smaller. That means fewer users to join your communities. Network effects aren't there yet. If you invite someone to Revolt and they're not interested in privacy features, they'll miss Discord's scale.

The platform is less feature-complete. Voice chat works, but it's not as polished as Discord's. Screen sharing has limitations. Some features Discord users take for granted aren't implemented.

The moderation tools are simpler. For large communities managing thousands of members, Slack and Discord offer more sophisticated enforcement. Revolt is catching up, but it's not there yet.

Guilded: Gaming Communities

Guilded is Discord's competitor that nobody talks about. Owned by Roblox (acquired for $12.7 million in 2021), Guilded is purpose-built for gaming communities.

Where Guilded differs: integrated scheduling, streaming tools, and event management. If your community organizes gaming tournaments, raids, or esports teams, Guilded's features are purpose-designed for you.

Guilded's Standout Features

The scheduling system is incredible. Create events with RSVPs. Automatically post reminders. Integrate with calendar apps. Show time zone conversions so Australian players and American players see times relative to their location.

Streaming integration is built-in. Users can stream directly from the platform. Viewers don't need to leave Guilded to watch teammates stream. This creates a cohesive community experience Discord can't match.

The forum functionality is superior. Instead of threading (which Slack uses) or Discord's awkward "pin the important messages" approach, Guilded treats forums like actual forums. Posts are organized. Discussions are threaded. Important conversations don't get lost.

Why Guilded Struggles

Network effects. Nobody's there. Your gaming friends are on Discord. The clan you want to join is Discord-based. Switching means leaving everyone behind.

The moderation and content safety approach is less clear than Discord's. Fewer details published about how moderation works. This is actually a plus for privacy but a minus for transparency.

The platform is less intuitive for non-gaming communities. Creators, communities of interest, professional groups—these feel awkward on Guilded because the features are gaming-focused.

Slack excels in moderation, compliance, and integrations, making it ideal for professional teams. Discord, however, offers superior voice chat quality. Estimated data based on feature analysis.

Lemmy: Federated, Decentralized Communities

Lemmy isn't a Discord replacement in the traditional sense. It's a different concept entirely. Think Reddit meets email—decentralized, federated, community-governed.

Unlike Discord (which is centralized under a single company), Lemmy runs on a network of independently operated servers. You join a server, but you can interact with communities on other servers. If you disagree with one server's moderation, you can move to another without losing your network.

How Federated Communities Work

Imagine email. You have a Gmail account, but you can email anyone with Outlook, Yahoo, or self-hosted servers. Federated communities work similarly. You join Lemmy.ml, but you can subscribe to communities on lemmy.world, kbin.social, or dozens of other instances.

This is radically different from Discord's architecture. No single company controls everything. Moderation is distributed. Rules vary by instance, but you can choose an instance aligned with your values.

Why This Matters for Safety

No single algorithm decides what you see. No company harvests your behavioral data. You control which instances you trust. Communities set their own moderation policies transparently.

This doesn't mean Lemmy is chaos. Communities still have moderators. Spam still gets removed. But decisions are made locally, by people who understand context.

The Learning Curve

Lemmy is confusing if you're used to Discord. The concept of federation isn't intuitive. You have to understand servers, instances, and federation before the benefits make sense.

The interface is also clunky compared to modern apps. The mobile experience is weak. Performance can be spotty when instances are overloaded.

And here's the real issue: Lemmy is designed for discussion communities and content aggregation, not for real-time chat. If you want Discord-like instant messaging, Lemmy isn't it. The conversation pace is slow. It's more like forums than chat.

Mattermost: Self-Hosted Control

Mattermost is the self-hosted alternative. You run it on your own servers. Complete control. Complete privacy. Complete responsibility.

If your team has the technical resources, Mattermost offers something Discord never will: absolute control over infrastructure, data, moderation policies, and features.

Why Self-Hosting Matters

Data stays on your servers. Law enforcement can request data, but they'd need to access your physical infrastructure. That's a much higher bar than sending a request to Discord.

You decide moderation policies. You decide data retention. You decide which features are enabled. No company can change these things unilaterally.

Integrations are limitless. You can integrate Mattermost with internal tools Discord doesn't support. Build custom bots. Create workflows specific to your organization.

The Cost

The open-source version of Mattermost is free. But running it requires infrastructure. Server costs. IT staff to maintain it. Security updates. Backups. Database administration.

For small teams, this is overkill. A single server might cost $50-200/month in hosting, plus staff time. For 50 people, that's fine. For 5 people, it's expensive compared to free Discord.

Mattermost also lacks features Discord users expect. Voice quality isn't comparable. Screen sharing works but feels clunky. The mobile app is weaker.

Guilded excels in scheduling, streaming, and forum functionalities compared to Discord, but struggles with community size and moderation transparency. (Estimated data)

Element and Matrix: Encrypted, Decentralized

Element is a client for the Matrix protocol. If you've heard of Signal or Wire, Matrix is similar but decentralized.

Matrix is a open protocol for real-time communication. Element is one way to access it (others include Element, Beeper, and others). This matters because you're not locked into one app.

Encryption by Default

Matrix supports end-to-end encryption. Messages encrypted before leaving your device. The server never sees plaintext. This is the same approach as Signal uses.

For sensitive discussions, this is powerful. No amount of server access reveals message content.

Federation and Control

Like Lemmy, Matrix is federated. You can run your own server. Or use a public server. And you can communicate across servers seamlessly.

The downside: federation means coordination. Performance can be unpredictable. If another server's instance is slow, your federation to it is slow.

And here's the thing: most people don't run their own Matrix servers. It's technically complex. So in practice, many Matrix users are on a handful of large public servers, which somewhat defeats the decentralization benefit.

Why Matrix Hasn't Replaced Discord

It's complicated. Setup is non-trivial. The UX is confusing for non-technical users. Voice quality is okay but not great. Video calls work but aren't as smooth as Discord.

But for teams that need end-to-end encrypted chat with decentralized infrastructure, Matrix is the most mature solution.

Specialized Platforms for Specific Communities

For Creators: Patreon Discord Alternatives

Creators often use Discord for fan communities because it's free and has good scaling. But several platforms specifically target creator communities.

Mighty Networks offers community features specifically designed for creators. Better monetization controls. More sophisticated membership tiers. Built-in course hosting.

The trade-off: smaller, less integrated ecosystem. But for creators wanting to own their relationship with fans, it's worth exploring.

For Crypto/Web 3 Communities

Blockchain projects historically used Discord heavily. But decentralized alternatives are emerging.

Snapshot provides decentralized governance. Discord is still dominant, but projects are exploring alternatives because Discord's terms of service have become increasingly unfriendly to crypto.

For Private Communities

If you're building a truly private community (members only, vetted, exclusive), Mighty Networks or self-hosted solutions like Discourse (forum-based) work better than Discord.

The Real Problem: Nobody's Winning

Here's what's frustrating: there's no perfect alternative. Discord works so well for what it does that everything else feels like a compromise.

Want privacy? Sacrifice features and user base. Want features? Sacrifice privacy. Want control? Sacrifice convenience. Want scale? Sacrifice privacy and control.

This is the core dilemma. Platforms are trapped in a triangle of constraints:

• Scale (billions of users, reliable service)
• Privacy (minimal data collection, user control)
• Features (voice, video, streaming, game integration)
• Moderation (safety without surveillance)

You can't optimize for all four. Discord chose Scale and Features. Revolt chose Privacy. Mattermost chose Control. Lemmy chose Decentralization.

Each trade-off makes sense. But it also means there's no universal Discord replacement.

Practical Migration Strategy

If you do decide to move your community off Discord, here's how to do it without losing everyone.

Step 1: Identify Your Core Group

Not everyone will move. Accept this. You'll retain 20-40% of your members if you're lucky. Your core active members will follow. Lurkers will stay on Discord.

This is okay. It's actually fine. The core is what matters.

Step 2: Set Up the New Platform First

Don't announce migration until the new platform is fully functional. Set up channels, permissions, bots, integrations. Test it. Make sure it works smoothly.

Step 3: Provide a Transition Period

Announce the move. Give people time to understand the new platform. Keep Discord active during the transition. Gradually shift conversations to the new platform.

Don't force people to choose immediately. Let them get comfortable in both places. Over weeks, Discord becomes secondary. The new platform becomes primary.

Step 4: Document Everything

Create guides for the new platform. Screen shots. Video tutorials. Have moderators be familiar with the new tools so they can help members.

Step 5: Accept Some Loss

Some members will leave. Some Discord communities will fragment. That's the reality of decentralization. But your committed core will follow.

What's Coming: The Future of Community Platforms

The next few years will be interesting. Several trends are emerging.

AI-powered moderation is coming everywhere. But the question is whether moderation is AI-assisted (humans make final decisions) or AI-automated (algorithms decide). Communities will increasingly demand the former.

Interoperability standards are being developed. Imagine using Discord's client to access Slack's infrastructure, or Element's client to access Guilded's features. This would break vendor lock-in. Don't expect it soon, but the work is underway.

Regulatory pressure on child safety will intensify. This could push platforms toward transparency (showing exactly what moderation is happening) or toward paranoia (maximum surveillance). The next 2-3 years will determine which direction wins.

Decentralization will remain a niche concern. But for sensitive communities (activists, journalists, marginalized groups), federated and encrypted platforms will become more essential.

Making Your Decision

Asking "should I leave Discord?" is the wrong question. The right questions are:

1. What does my community need? Real-time chat? Forum discussions? Encrypted messages? Gaming features?
2. Who's in my community? Casual gamers are on Discord. Privacy advocates might prefer Revolt. Enterprise teams might want Slack.
3. What are my actual risks? If moderation is a genuine concern, move. If you're just unhappy with Discord's policies philosophically, that's valid too—but understand the cost.
4. Can I maintain parallel communities? Many groups stay on Discord but also maintain Slack, Revolt, or forum-based communities for specific purposes.
5. Am I moving for the right reasons? "Discord's moderation makes me uncomfortable" is a good reason. "I read an article saying Discord is bad" is less compelling.

The truth is boring: Discord will remain dominant because of network effects. Most people will stay. But alternatives will grow for specific communities with specific needs.

Your job is to understand your community's needs and choose accordingly.

FAQ

What is the safest Discord alternative?

Element (Matrix) is the safest because it uses end-to-end encryption by default. Revolt is second because it's open-source and transparent about data practices. Neither is truly "safe" in an absolute sense—safety depends on how you use the platform and who moderates your community.

Can I migrate my Discord server history to another platform?

Partially. You can export your chat history from Discord using tools like Discord Chat Exporter. But importing that history into another platform (Slack, Revolt, Mattermost) requires additional work. Most platforms won't automatically ingest Discord history, so you'll need custom scripts or manual work. Plan for this when migrating.

Is Slack better than Discord for communities?

Slack is better for professional teams and workgroups. Discord is better for large, casual communities. They optimize for different use cases. If your community is under 50 people and values professionalism, Slack. If it's hundreds of people and values social bonding, Discord or an alternative like Guilded or Revolt.

How do I know if my community should move off Discord?

Move if: moderation issues are actively harming your community, privacy concerns are affecting member trust, feature limitations are blocking functionality you need. Don't move if: you're unhappy philosophically but your community is thriving, you're moving to please a vocal minority, or you don't have the technical resources to manage a new platform.

Are federated platforms like Lemmy and Matrix harder to use than Discord?

Yes. They require understanding concepts (instances, federation, protocols) that Discord users don't need. But once you understand the model, they're no harder than Discord. The learning curve is real, but surmountable. Provide documentation and be patient with new users.

What about Discord's upcoming features that might address concerns?

Discord is constantly improving moderation, privacy controls, and transparency. Watch their official roadmap and changelog. But remember: Discord is a company with obligations to investors. They'll balance user concerns with business interests. If your values diverge significantly from Discord's direction, waiting for changes probably won't help.

Final Thoughts

Discord isn't evil. The company isn't trying to harm communities. But it's a centralized company managing 150+ million users with competing interests: advertiser concerns, legal liability, user privacy, and profitability.

Those tensions are inevitable. And for some communities, they're deal-breakers. For others, Discord's benefits outweigh the costs.

The important thing is making an active choice rather than defaulting. Understand Discord's actual practices (not the marketing, not the worst-case scenarios). Understand the alternatives. Evaluate your community's real needs. Then decide.

If you decide to stay on Discord, do so consciously. If you decide to move, pick the platform that aligns with your values and your community's structure. And recognize that there's no perfect answer. Every platform involves trade-offs.

The future of communities will likely be distributed. Some groups on Discord. Some on Slack. Some on Revolt. Some on self-hosted Mattermost. Some split across multiple platforms based on function.

That fragmentation is a feature, not a bug. It lets communities choose infrastructure that works for them. And that, ultimately, is what matters: having choices.

Key Takeaways

• Discord dominates with 150+ million users, but moderation changes sparked demand for alternatives with different privacy/control models.
• No single perfect alternative exists: each platform (Slack, Revolt, Guilded, Lemmy, Mattermost) optimizes for different priorities in the scale-privacy-features triangle.
• Slack is best for professional teams needing compliance and integrations; Revolt for privacy-conscious communities; Guilded for gaming.
• Federated platforms (Lemmy, Matrix/Element) distribute power but require technical understanding; Mattermost offers full control via self-hosting.
• Migration strategy: Choose based on community needs (not philosophy), maintain transition period in parallel platforms, and accept some member loss when moving.

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