All alternatives › Discord
Indie alternatives to Discord
4 products made by independent developers and small teams that do what Discord does, 3 of them with a free plan. Free and open-source options come first.
At a glance
| Product | Price | Open source | Self-host | Platforms |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Element | Free plan | Yes | Yes | Web, Mac, Windows, Linux, iOS, Android, Self-hosted |
| Rocket.Chat | Free plan | Yes | Yes | Web, Mac, Windows, Linux, iOS, Android, Self-hosted |
| Zulip | Free plan | Yes | Yes | Web, Self-hosted, Mac, Windows, Linux, iOS, Android |
| Heartbeat | Paid | – | – | Web, iOS, Android |
The alternatives
2. Rocket.Chat
Open-source secure communications platform
An open-source team chat and omnichannel communication platform that can be self-hosted, with federation and end-to-end encryption options.
Free plan · Web, Mac, Windows, Linux, iOS, Android, Self-hosted · Website ↗
3. Zulip
Open-source team chat organized by topic threads
Zulip is an open-source team chat app that organizes conversations into streams and topics, making async discussion easier to follow. Available as cloud or self-hosted.
Free plan · Web, Self-hosted, Mac, Windows, Linux, iOS, Android · Website ↗
Questions
Is there a free alternative to Discord?
Yes. 3 of the 4 indie alternatives listed here have a free plan or are free: Element, Rocket.Chat and Zulip.
Is there an open-source alternative to Discord?
Element, Rocket.Chat and Zulip are open source.
Can I self-host an alternative to Discord?
Yes: Element, Rocket.Chat and Zulip can run on your own server.
Which Discord alternatives work on Mac, Windows, iPhone or Android?
On Mac: Element, Rocket.Chat and Zulip. On Windows: Element, Rocket.Chat and Zulip. On Linux: Element, Rocket.Chat and Zulip.
What makes these alternatives to Discord “indie”?
They are built by independent developers or small teams rather than large companies. Each one is listed because it does the same core job as Discord.
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