In Search of a Discord Replacement

7 days ago

The author has been a long-time Discord user since 2016, building communities and developing moderation bots.
Discord's service quality has degraded since the pandemic, with unfixed bugs and profitability struggles.
On February 9, 2026, Discord announced universal age verification, causing a breach of trust among users.
The author is now searching for Discord alternatives, focusing on three types of communities: large online, productivity-oriented, and small friend groups.
Key requirements include self-hosting, mobile support, and moderation tools.
Matrix is ruled out due to poor UX and resource-heavy self-hosting.
Signal is good for small groups but unsuitable for large communities.
Fluxer.app is a promising new FOSS project but lacks self-hosting instructions and has licensing concerns.
Sharkord is buggy and possibly AI-generated, raising trust issues.
Stoat is a favorite but lacks key features like video chat and mobile apps.
Spacebar replicates Discord's API but lacks mobile and voice support.
Fluux Messenger uses XMPP but requires additional setup for voice and video.
Mumble is voice-focused with limited text chat and no video support.
Zulip is the most viable option, with solid text chat and Jitsi integration for voice and video.
Fluxer.app may become viable in the future but currently has too many uncertainties.
Overall, Zulip with Jitsi is the best immediate fit for migrating from Discord.

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