Discord vs Rocket.Chat

Discord

• Gaming groups and friends who want always-open voice chats
• Online communities that need a free place to gather
• Groups that stream games or screens to each other
• Developers building bots and apps on a chat API

Rocket.Chat

• Organizations that must host chat themselves for data sovereignty
• Small teams of up to 50 that can run their own server
• Government and defense groups that need air-gapped deployment
• Agencies that federate with partners over the Matrix protocol

Discord

• The paid plans are personal Nitro subscriptions; the site lists no per-seat business plan or admin tier for companies.
• Uploads are capped at 50 MB on Nitro Basic and 1 GB on Nitro, and HD streaming needs Nitro.
• Discord says Nitro prices vary by country and plan, so the US prices listed here may not match what the app shows elsewhere.

Rocket.Chat

• Paid plan prices are not published; Commercial, Government and Defense are quoted by sales.
• Starter stops at 50 users, cannot be deployed air-gapped and has community support only, with no option to buy support.
• The Community edition has core messaging only and 100 concurrent users, and the vendor says it is not suited to business-critical production use.
• The free options are self-managed, so the team installs and maintains the server; Rocket.Chat-run hosting comes with paid plans.

Discord

Servers with text and voice chats

A server is a customizable space for a group or community. Members hop in and out of its voice or text chats without having to call or invite anyone.

Video chat and streaming

Video chat and screen share work in direct messages and group DMs, and Go Live streams a game to a server. HD streaming is a Nitro perk.

Direct messages and group DMs

A friends list lets people talk outside of servers, with voice calls, video chat and screen sharing available directly in DMs and group DMs.

Activities and Soundboard

Activities let a group watch videos or play built-in games together inside Discord, and the Soundboard plays sound clips during voice calls.

Custom emoji and profiles

Servers can upload their own emoji and stickers. Nitro lets a member use them anywhere and adds custom profiles, app icons and color themes.

Apps and API

Discord has an official API, a developer portal and an App Directory, and consoles can be linked so PlayStation and Xbox players join the same chats.

Rocket.Chat

Channels, direct messages and threads

Channels, groups, direct messages and threaded discussions with multimedia and file sharing, searchable message history, read receipts and an interface in 64 languages.

Deployment on your own terms

Workspaces run on-premises, in a private or sovereign cloud, or on Rocket.Chat's dedicated hosting. Air-gapped deployment is available on paid plans only.

Identity and access controls

Active Directory and LDAP authentication, single sign-on, multi-factor authentication and role-based access control are included from the free Starter plan.

Encryption and data policies

End-to-end encryption can be switched on for messages and files, alongside data retention policies, data loss prevention and content moderation.

Video through integrations

Calls connect through Pexip, Jitsi, BigBlueButton, Google Meet or Zoom on Starter. The Community edition supports Jitsi and BigBlueButton only.

Federation, apps and API

Matrix protocol federation links separate organizations in shared channels, and the Marketplace, Apps Engine and open API cover custom apps and integrations.

Discord

• Free$0

  Text, voice and video chat, servers, direct messages and group DMs, without the Nitro perks.

• Nitro Basic$2.99

  per month

  A selection of Nitro perks: custom emoji anywhere, 50 MB uploads and custom app icons.

• Nitro$9.99

  per month ($99.99 yearly on the US App Store)

  Everything in Basic plus 1 GB uploads, HD streaming, custom profiles, 2 server Boosts, messages up to 4,000 characters and up to 200 servers.

Rocket.Chat

• Starter$0

  Self-managed workspace for up to 50 users with SSO, LDAP, multi-factor authentication, end-to-end encryption and community-only support.

• Community$0

  Open-source (MIT) edition with core messaging only, up to 100 concurrent users and push notifications capped at 10,000 a month.

• CommercialCustom

  For commercial enterprises: on-premises, private cloud or dedicated cloud hosting, high availability and regulatory compliance features.

• GovernmentCustom

  For public sector agencies: on-premises or sovereign cloud deployment, tamper-evident audit logs, retention policies and Matrix federation.

• DefenseCustom

  For defense and intelligence: air-gapped deployment, DoD ATO up to IL6, FIPS 140-3 validated cryptography and clearance-based access control.

Discord

• Annual discount

  About 17% off Nitro when paid yearly

  Discord's US App Store listing shows Nitro Yearly at $99.99 against $9.99 a month, about 17% less than twelve monthly payments.

Rocket.Chat

No public discounts listed.