Discord alternatives for communities (2026)

Updated October 30, 2026. Run by the Best Group Chat team.

It depends on what you need from Discord. Try Slack for professional groups, Telegram for very large groups and broadcast channels, WhatsApp for groups built on phone contacts, or Tribe for interest-based communities that want applications.

Best Group Chat is a project of Tribe, the company behind the Tribe group chat app, so Tribe is one of the platforms below. We list platforms alphabetically and take competitor facts from their own pages. Facts were read on October 30, 2026.

Discord for reference

Discord is best for large, always-on communities with live text, voice and video. Largest server: 25 million members per server. Server Discovery needs 1,000+ members and a server at least 8 weeks old.

Alternatives compared

Discord alternatives compared
Platform	Best for	Cost	Largest group
Slack	Professional groups that already work in Slack	Free plan. Pro is $7.25 per user per month billed annually, or $8.75 billed monthly.	Not stated on Slack's pricing page
Telegram	Very large groups and broadcast channels	Free, with an optional Premium subscription.	200,000 members per group. Channels have no subscriber limit.
Tribe	Interest-based communities that want discovery, member profiles and applications	Free for all users, with every core feature on the free plan. The optional paid Tribe Insider unlocks premium features and costs $14.99 per month or $119.99 per year.	Set by each chat's host. Tribe recommends 50 to 100 members to keep chats close.
WhatsApp	Groups built on people's phone contacts	Free. Data charges may apply.	1,000 per group on WhatsApp's groups page. Its 2022 announcement said 1,024.

What to know about each alternative

Slack

The Free plan shows the last 90 days of messages and allows 10 apps. Admins on every plan can require approval for new invitations.

Channels are built for broadcasting to unlimited subscribers.

Tribe

Hosts get host tools and analytics, and can easily remove members who cause problems. Hosts review applications before people join and always control who enters and leaves. Apps for Mac, iOS, Android and the web.

Groups support polls, events and RSVPs.

What about Reddit and forums?

Reddit and forums keep a public, searchable archive, so they work well for discussion and research. They are a weaker fit for building a community with its own members. We list them as picks on our topic guides instead of as platforms to run a community on.

FAQ

What is the best Discord alternative for a community?

It depends on what you need from Discord. For professional groups, try Slack. For very large groups and broadcast channels, try Telegram. For groups built on phone contacts, try WhatsApp. For interest-based communities with applications, try Tribe.

Why look for a Discord alternative?

Common reasons are wanting a different join process, a different mix of members, or an app your members already use. Discord lists up to 25 million members per server, so size alone is rarely the reason.

Who runs this site?

The Best Group Chat team. A project of Tribe, the company behind the Tribe group chat app.