# Discord

> Free text, voice and video chat built around servers

Discord is a chat app where friend groups and communities talk over text, voice and video. People can drop into a voice chat without placing a call, and can stream a game or screen to the group. It was built for talking with friends while gaming and is free to use; the paid Nitro subscriptions add personal perks such as larger uploads, HD streaming and custom emoji rather than business features.

- **Category:** Team Communication
- **Made by:** Discord Inc. (since 2015)
- **Website:** https://discord.com
- **Runs on:** Web, macOS, Windows, Linux, iOS, Android
- **Facts last checked:** Oct 9, 2026

## Pricing

Discord has a free plan. Paid plans start at $2.99 per month.

- **Pricing model:** Free plan
- **Free plan:** Text, voice and video chat, servers, direct messages and streaming are free. Nitro raises limits such as upload size, stream quality and message length.
- **Free trial:** None listed.

| Plan | Price | What you get |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 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. |

Read from https://discord.com/nitro on Oct 9, 2026. Prices change, so confirm with Discord before buying.

## Ways to pay less

- **About 17% off Nitro when paid yearly** (Annual discount): Discord's US App Store listing shows Nitro Yearly at $99.99 against $9.99 a month, about 17% less than twelve monthly payments. Source: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/discord-talk-play-hang-out/id985746746
- **Localized Nitro pricing in some countries** (By country): Discord's Nitro page says the cost depends on your country and plan, and that localized pricing for Nitro and Nitro Basic is available in some places and being extended. It does not name the countries or prices there. Source: https://discord.com/nitro

## App Store prices by country

"Nitro Monthly", as each country's App Store showed it on Oct 9, 2026. These are the app's prices, not the website's.

| Country | Price | In US dollars |
| --- | --- | --- |
| United States | $9.99 | |
| United Kingdom | £8.99 | about $11.87 (19% more) |
| Germany | 9,99 € | about $11.17 (12% more) |
| Canada | $12.99 | about $9.11 (9% less) |
| Australia | $14.99 | about $10.41 (about the same) |
| India | ₹ 889 | about $9.19 (8% less) |
| Brazil | R$ 24,90 | about $4.96 (50% less) |
| Mexico | $159.00 | about $8.83 (12% less) |
| Indonesia | Rp 85ribu | about $4.74 (53% less) |
| Philippines | ₱ 269.00 | about $4.27 (57% less) |
| South Africa | R169.99 | about $10.21 (about the same) |

## Key features

- **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.

## Good for

- 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

## Worth knowing

- 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.

## What people say

- **App Store rating of the iPhone and iPad app:** 4.7 out of 5 from 3,561,735 ratings in the United States, read Oct 7, 2026. This is the store's rating of the app, not a score from ToolGPA. Source: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/id985746746

Often praised:

- Commenters describe it as the place where their groups already gather, from small software projects to a radio club and a podcast's listeners. (https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49974140, https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49882599, https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49881584)
- Reviewers say they use it daily to text, talk and video call with friends, most often around games. (https://apps.apple.com/us/app/id985746746, https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49896750)

Often criticised:

- Updates that rearrange the phone app are a repeated complaint in reviews from 2019 to 2023, though one reviewer defends the 2023 redesign. (https://apps.apple.com/us/app/id985746746)
- Reviewers report bugs in the phone app, among them messages that are slow to send on mobile data and sound that does not carry in voice chat. (https://apps.apple.com/us/app/id985746746)
- Some commenters would rather not have their communities on it and describe looking for open or self-hosted alternatives. (https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49974273, https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49874983, https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49974319)

Based on 10 App Store reviews, four of them more than three years old, and about 20 Hacker News comments from late September and early October 2026. These are themes summarised from public reviews and discussions, not ToolGPA's own verdict.

## Works with

PlayStation, Xbox

**Tags:** Team chat, Video calls, File sharing, Public API

## Alternatives

- [Slack](https://toolgpa.com/tools/slack): Channel-based team messaging with huddles, workflows and AI. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/discord-vs-slack)
- [Element](https://toolgpa.com/tools/element): End-to-end encrypted chat and calls on the Matrix standard. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/discord-vs-element)
- [Zulip](https://toolgpa.com/tools/zulip): Open-source team chat that organizes channels by topic. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/discord-vs-zulip)
- [Rocket.Chat](https://toolgpa.com/tools/rocket-chat): Open-source, self-managed chat for security-focused teams. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/discord-vs-rocket-chat)
- [Microsoft Teams](https://toolgpa.com/tools/microsoft-teams): Chat, video meetings and calling tied into Microsoft 365. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/discord-vs-microsoft-teams)

## Sources

The prices, plans, platforms and features above were read from these pages on Oct 9, 2026:

- https://discord.com/nitro
- https://discord.com
- https://discord.com/download
- https://discord.com/company
- https://apps.apple.com/us/app/discord-talk-play-hang-out/id985746746

Page: https://toolgpa.com/tools/discord
Listed by ToolGPA (toolgpa.com).