Discord is the top of the line VoIP app for communicating with your teammates while in-game and also comes very handy if you just want to chat with your friend, even video chat features have been recently implemented into it. VoIP services have existed alongside the internet to provide us with better and convenient ways to communicate with other people.
Separate chat service for gamers is needed because certain games lack of in-game communication; And even if they come with one it is usually filled will people cursing you and even worse playing music over voice chat.
This is when apps like discord come to the rescue. If you have a friend or you have created your own team and want to communicate with them in the game then these apps are the way to go.
While discord is good, having a choice when it comes for communication among your mates is a good thing. Some people might like something simpler and easy-to-use, while some might want something that goes easy on their system and not consume all the resources.
So here is a list of Best Discord Alternatives for PC and Android platforms.
1. TeamSpeak
TeamSpeak is a very reputable name in VoIP services. It is very minimalist in design and simple to use. TS used to be the best app for communicating with teammates over LAN and it still is, many people prefer it over discord and due to its simple design and easy to use interface. It is one of the best discord alternatives to use if you just want a simple app to communicate with your friend’s app which offers better voice quality than Discord.
Despite being one of the oldest of the application in our list it still gets frequent updates and packs a ton of features. It offers voice and text chat only. The quality of the voice chat depends on the server you are connected to because unlike Discord it requires you to connect to an external Teamspeak server.
These servers sometimes require a premium fee if you want to access them. Seldom you can even find servers or services which let you rent or use their services for free.
However, if you are hosting a LAN party or something like that you can set up a Teamspeak server on your machine for free and enjoy the best of the voice quality. Even if you are not Hosting your own server you can easily rent a server near you which will assure excellent voice quality.
Main Features:
- Very minimal and simple design
- Supports Overwolf
- Good voice quality (depends on server)
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2. Skype
Skype is free to use VoIP service. Owned by Microsoft Skype is a very popular service for Voice, Video & Text chats. Recent updates have made it look very simple and minimalist, which had made it more appealing to gamers.
If your friend is not using skype you can even call him on his phone. It requires you to pay a premium to get yourself a unique phone number which you can use to make regular calls from Skype. It is available for both desktop and mobile platforms.
Main Features:
- Supports screen sharing
- SMS messages
- Sleek UI
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3. Mumble
It is almost as same as TeamSpeak in the matter of functionality. Mumble uses client-server same as Teamspeak and also needs a server to connect to.
I think choosing between the mumble and Teamspeak just comes down to personal preference because I think they are almost identical. Expect for some features like on-screen overlay and voice recording which mumble supports.
Main Features:
- No voice delay
- On-screen overlay
- Voice Recording
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4. Google Hangouts
Hangouts is not particularly made for gaming like discord is, but it works very well and very easy to setup, so I had to include it my list.
On PC you need to you need to visit their website to access Hangouts and if you are logged into your google account this is the screen that you will see:
If you are using Chrome browser on your computer you can make the task more simple by installing the official Google Hangouts web app or extension. On a mobile device, you can download and install Google Hangouts apps from Playstore or Appstore respectively.
To use voice calls outside US and Canada you do need to pay a little bit of money to hangouts but video calls are totally free. If you decide to go for the voice call plans you can also use hangouts to call landline and mobile numbers of other people.
Main Features:
- Web browser based
- Free Voice and Video calls( voice only free in US & Canada )
- Supports many mobile devices
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5. Steam Chat
The chat function of steam can also be used as a way to communicate between teammates. It provides good voice chat services and you can even add people to your chat and make it group chat.
Steam Chat has been available for a long time now, but the Chat BETA version was released a couple of years back with a fresh layout and new features. If you have steam pre-installed and do not want to use an app like discord for chatting with your friends, you can give Steam Chat a try.
Steam chat is supported on steam PC client, but if you have got Chrome browser you can even voice chat with your friend through the link https://steamcommunity.com/chat/ or clicking on friends from your profile.
While the new chat is available for PC and Mac, Andorid/iOS versions still have that old buggy steam chat with no voice call support.
Main Features:
- Ability to create Groups (somewhat similar like Discord servers)
- No need for additional apps other than steam
- Clear voice quality
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6. Tox
Tox is an open source, privacy-focused IM (Instant Messaging) & video-calling app, I called it an app but Tux is a protocol which various other clients (applications) use to offer you end-to-end encryption and secure voice, video & text chats. It is a good discord alternative if you are worried about your Privacy and information leaking out and want a service which makes a peer-to-peer connection with other users.
Tox supports Cross-platform communication and is available on a number of different platforms with under various names. Even on Windows, it has 3 different versions, namely:
Toxygen – a Tox client based on Python(totally written in Python 3),
qTox – A full-fledged version of Tox client with a Feature-Rich UI, and lastly,
uTox – a lightweight version of qTox with minimal dependencies, and smoother User Interface.
Main Features:
- Privacy Focused
- Open-source
- Lightweight
Links-
PC: Here
7. Riot
Another open source discord alternative on the list. While not specifically made for gaming, Riot is still a pretty good app for communicating with your teammates or to do some discussion with your friends. You can chat with your buddies using voice, text and even video chat.
You can either use their default server or host your own server if you want, it’s up to you. It is a browser-based app however if you want to, a desktop app can also be downloaded from their website.
Main Features:
- Easy to set up
- Open-source
- Browser based
Links-
PC: Here
8. Slack
Slack can be the best alternative for discord if you are looking for a VoIP app for your business related work. Slack has a UI which is almost Identical to the one in Discord. It can do text chats, voice calls and even supports video conferencing.One other unique feature that slack has is support for plugins. These plugins (or Integrated apps) can be used to add additional functionality to the base Slack app.
For example, you can add a plugin for GDrive which lets you share file from Google Drive. Or the Giphy one can let you insert gifs to your chat.
Slack is available on Windows, Linux & Mac. You can also download their app on Android and iOS. A web app is also available if you want to access slack via a browser.
Just like discord, Slack is also available for free, but, to get slots for more people and to get some exclusive features, you will have to subscribe to a premium plan.
Main Features:
- Easy to use
- Has plugins support
- Has a good Web app
Links-
PC: Here
Conclusion
So this concludes my list of VoIP apps like discord. Hopefully, you were able to find your discord alternatives from the list above. If you want my personal opinion, Steam chat and Teamspeak are my favorite discord alternatives. Steam chat because it is available in an overlay on steam games & TeamSpeak because of the simplicity and usability.