3 open source alternatives to Discord
Voice, video and text chat — popular with gamers and communities. Here are the open source projects real teams use instead — ranked by fit, with honest pros and cons for each.
What people don't love about Discord
- Closed ecosystem — you do not own your community data.
- Ads and promoted servers are growing.
- Moderation tooling can be limited for large communities.
Current Discord pricing (for reference): Free with Nitro upgrades.
Quick comparison
| Alternative | Best for | License | Self-host | Hosted cloud? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Element (Matrix) Decentralized messaging on the Matrix protocol. |
Decentralized communities that want federation. | Apache-2.0 | ★★★★☆ | Yes |
|
Rocket.Chat Open source team and community chat with video and voice. |
Communities mixing voice, chat and admin controls. | MIT (community); proprietary modules available | ★★★☆☆ | Yes |
|
Mattermost Slack-style open source team messaging. |
Teams graduating from Discord to something business-grade. | AGPL-3.0 / Apache-2.0 (modules) | ★★★☆☆ | Yes |
1. Element (Matrix) — Decentralized communities that want federation.
Decentralized messaging on the Matrix protocol.
Strengths
- Fully federated — you own your data.
- End-to-end encryption by default.
- Bridges to Slack, Discord, WhatsApp, etc.
Weaknesses
- Self-hosting Synapse or Conduit server is work.
- E2E encryption UX (device verification) can confuse users.
- Cross-signing and key backup setup is fiddly.
Element (Matrix) homepage · Source on GitHub · Discord vs Element (Matrix) →
2. Rocket.Chat — Communities mixing voice, chat and admin controls.
Open source team and community chat with video and voice.
Strengths
- Federation support (via Matrix bridge).
- {'Large feature set': 'channels, threads, omnichannel.'}
- Strong customization options.
Weaknesses
- Can feel heavy for small teams.
- Past performance issues on large deployments.
- Resource footprint is higher than competitors.
Rocket.Chat homepage · Source on GitHub · Discord vs Rocket.Chat →
3. Mattermost — Teams graduating from Discord to something business-grade.
Slack-style open source team messaging.
Strengths
- Familiar Slack-like UX.
- Strong self-hosting story and enterprise features.
- Good permission and compliance controls.
Weaknesses
- Some advanced features require paid tier.
- Mobile app performance is acceptable but not stellar.
- Larger install footprint than lightweight chats.
Mattermost homepage · Source on GitHub · Discord vs Mattermost →
Not what you're looking for?
Browse other tools in Team Communication, or check out open source projects by category on the full category index.