If you’re looking to move off Discord, you have options. Real ones. Here are the 3 open-source, self-hostable alternatives I’ve tested, with honest notes on what each does well and where each falls short.
Why leave Discord?
- All server data lives on Discord — one policy change can wipe your community.
- Voice/video quality varies and can’t be improved by hosting yourself.
- Ads and Nitro pushes have become more aggressive year over year.
The 3 best self-hosted alternatives to Discord
Rocket.Chat
More team-oriented than Discord-like, but does voice + video + channels well.
Visit Rocket.Chat website →Mumble (voice-only)
Voice-only. Best-in-class low-latency VoIP. No text or servers structure.
Visit Mumble (voice-only) website →Quick comparison
| Alternative | Difficulty | License |
|---|---|---|
| Revolt | Medium | AGPL-3.0 |
| Rocket.Chat | Medium | MIT |
| Mumble (voice-only) | Easy | BSD-3-Clause |
Frequently asked questions
Is there a free alternative to Discord?
Yes. Every tool listed above is free and open source. Some, like Revolt, also have optional paid hosted tiers if you don’t want to run the server yourself. Everything else is genuinely free to self-host — you pay only for your own hardware and time.
Which one should I pick if I’ve never self-hosted anything before?
Start with Mumble (voice-only). It’s the lowest-friction option here — realistic to have running in an afternoon on a small server or Raspberry Pi. If it doesn’t fit your workflow, Rocket.Chat is a good second try.
Can I run these on a Raspberry Pi?
Most of them, yes — the tools marked Easy here will comfortably run on a Pi 4 or Pi 5 with 4GB+ of RAM. The Medium tools may work but appreciate a mini PC or a spare desktop. Hard-tagged tools generally want real server hardware.
What about mobile apps?
It varies. Tools like Vaultwarden and Immich have native iOS/Android apps that connect to your server. Others rely on the web UI through your phone browser — fine for occasional use, not a full app experience.