I wanted to ditch Discord after its age verification controversy, but there's one big problem — why is it so tough to find a proper replacement?

Discord has been busy performing damage control in response to the backlash it received after announcing a global rollout of age verification measures. You know, the same measures with ties to a vendor funded by Peter Thiel. Implemented by the same company that saw the age ID information of 70,000 users get leaked last year.

Fearing unnecessary monitoring and data harvesting, many of Discord's users have expressed that they're ready to leave the platform, and that includes a majority of Windows Central readers we polled.

Just one day after the official announcement from Discord on February 9, searches for "Discord alternatives" spiked by 10,000% in Google overnight. It seemed like Stoat (which you might recognize by its old name, Revolt) had the most to gain, with search gains of its own topping 9,900%.

It's clear that many Discord users are searching for proper alternatives where they can not only communicate over voice chat but also create a community of like-minded friends and acquaintances. I'm in the same boat; although I'd never be considered a Discord power user, it's the app I've been using for years when gaming with friends.

I decided to back up my words with actions, and I spent a chunk of my weekend searching for the perfect Discord alternative for not only myself but also the friends with whom I regularly game.

Why is it so hard to find a real Discord alternative?

The process proved to be more involved than I expected. It turns out that Discord is (or was) extremely popular for a reason. There's not an app out there right now that can act as a drop-in replacement with regards to screen sharing, communities, and customization, especially if you want a product that doesn't keep track of everything you're saying and doing.

Most direct competitors are still way behind Discord in terms of features, while others focus on different strengths. Some are free, some are paid. And some require you to have some knowledge of hosting your own server, especially if you want to operate as securely as possible.

I ran through a list of Discord alternatives, including Stoat, Matrix, Root, Mumble, and TeamSpeak, and I came out the other side less certain of where I was headed next than before I started.

Root seems like the logical choice, especially because it's almost identical to Discord, yet there are some concerns regarding privacy, and it's not open source.

Stoat is open-source and focuses on privacy, especially thanks to its self-hosting abilities. However, not everyone wants to host their own server, and a lot of features still need polish.

Matrix Element is sort of in the same boat, with strong privacy, security, and self-hosting, but an undercooked set of features, depending on the client used, might sour some impressions.

TeamSpeak or Mumble? Sure, they're great, but they mainly focus on voice chat. Why wouldn't I use Signal, which most people I already know have on their phone/PC, instead?

👉 TeamSpeak is back and ready to fight Discord for the PC community app crown

There are plenty more "Discord alternatives" that I've yet to install and test out. Unfortunately, it doesn't look like any of them make a stronger argument for adoption than the stuff I've tested.

My small community of friends and family who game together only numbers about 20, but even at that size, it's proving tough to come to an agreement on where to go next. I can't imagine the stress that larger communities are experiencing right now as they receive pressure from members to make a switch.

Is it worth waiting for Discord's dust to settle before making a change?

Most of the people I game with don't really care enough about age verification or content monitoring to actively be searching for a change, and it's tough to pitch an alternative that can't do everything that Discord can do. Especially when we already have years of momentum going on the platform. The best app is the one that everyone is using, after all.

And so, despite spending a couple of days looking for the perfect Discord alternative, it looks like I'll continue using the controversial service for the foreseeable future.

Discord has hundreds of millions of active users (nearing 600 million registered users), a userbase built on years of brand recognition and maintained with billions of dollars of investments. Not everyone likes Discord's recent policy changes, and for good reason, but a lack of an ideal alternative and an indifference to privacy is a powerful combination.

Despite a lot of posturing and outrage showing up online since Discord made its global age verification announcement, I won't be surprised if the platform's pool of active users doesn't actually shrink by a meaningful margin once the fallout dies down.

What do you think about Discord alternatives?

Have you found a perfect Discord alternative? What's it called, and why do you like it so much? Let me know in the comments section!

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