The Best Discord Alternatives [June 2019]

Twitch users are big fans of Discord, and for a good reason. Originally designed to cater to the needs of the gaming community, this VoIP app stands out as a versatile mix of video, chat, and voice features. Plus, Discord users have the option to join servers and share their thoughts with like-minded people.

But why would anyone search for Discord alternatives?

You might not be aware of it, but there’s a lot of controversy surrounding Discord. In 2017, the platform became a playground for alt-right groups and was used to rally up supporters. On top of that, it seems to be vulnerable to hack attacks, which keeps raising privacy concerns. These are some of the reasons you might want to switch to a different VoIP platform.

Top Discord Alternatives

Overtone

In terms of UI and features, Overtone is very similar to Discord and is also designed to meet the needs of gamers. To be exact, it is based on Vivox integrated chat services, which have been widely used by League of Legends, Fortnite, and PUBG players.

Overtone is also simple to set up and doesn’t require a lot of processing power to run. Similar to Discord and other VoIP apps, Overtone is completely free and supports voice and group chats, text messages, and social chats. For example, you can join chat groups of users that play a certain game or have the same interests as you.

Tox

With military-grade encryption, Tox offers much better privacy protection than Discord. This makes it great for those who want to use a VoIP app for chats and not gaming. And if you don’t mind that the interface looks a bit dated, Tox has a lot of great features.

On top of video, text, and voice chats, Tox also offers file and screen sharing features, which can be quite handy if you want to use it for professional purposes. It’s worth noting that Tox doesn’t have main servers and the users actually comprise the network.

As a result, you won’t experience any downtime or outages which could impede on your work. Plus, this app is available on mobile devices, macOS, Windows, and Linux.

Slack

Those who want a Discord alternative for professional purposes should check out Slack. UI-wise, this platform feels similar to Discord, but it doesn’t have the same gamer-friendly features. Instead, Slack offers more than a few productivity features to improve your workflow.

In addition, this app provides integration with 800+ third-party pieces of business software and supports uploads of up to 1GB. For comparison, you can only upload 8MB files to Discord. It should be pointed out that basic Slack is free to use, but this package offers limited functionality.

Ventrilo

The features that go in favor of Ventrilo are low latency and lightweight architecture that doesn’t drain your computer’s resources. What’s more, all Ventrilo communication is being encrypted, so there’s no need to be concerned about your privacy.

This chat app comes with a positional sound feature to give your voice some depth, plus there is an option to tweak the sound to your liking. If you got used to Discord’s UI, it might take some time before you find your way around Ventrilo. That said, the app is not complicated by any means, it just offers a different UI.

Steam Chat

Steam Chat comes from Valve, a major U.S. game developer, and as such, it stands out as one of the best Discord alternatives. In terms of the features, Steam Chat has everything you need for great gaming communication and more.

There is an option to create your own group or instantly join a group by clicking on a unique URL. Group administrators can also assign different roles to members, set restrictions, filter information, or kick the members who don’t follow rules. Plus, a single member can have a few roles within a group and moderate the content.

And like with Discord, you can use Steam Chat via a web client without installing the app on your computer.

TeamSpeak 3

TeamSpeak is among the oldest chat apps for gaming communication. This chat app utilizes opus codec to ensure low-latency communication and gives users a chance to create a dedicated server. Albeit a veteran app, TeamSpeak offers excellent security and privacy protection with AES encryption.

On the other hand, there is no browser support with TeamSpeak, which means that you need to download and install the app. For macOS, Linux, and Windows, the app is free, but you need to pay to get it on iOS and Android. Setting up a new server also comes at a cost.

Chatty Gaming

Despite the privacy concerns and right-wing groups, Discord is still among the most popular chat apps with more than 250 million users. However, apps like Overtone, Steam Chat, or TeamSpeak can give Discord a real run for its money due to superior security and features.

Have you experienced any problems with Discord that made you look for an alternative? If so, which Discord alternative did you opt for? Let us know in the comments below.