Slack and Discord are both community-style chat apps that have become household names for very different groups of people. Slack is a workplace software with 12 million active daily users. Discord is an online gaming chat app with 150 million monthly users.
Both have pros and cons, primarily because both were created for very different audiences and purposes. In this article, we’ll compare Slack vs. Discord to help you figure out which is right for you.
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Slack vs. Discord: What are they?
Slack is a workplace software that solves a simple problem of the modern office: email. Instead of coworkers emailing all day, Slack lets them organize work together with a chat-based app, organizing people by teams and channels, with @mentioning features and hashtags. It adds in “Huddles” to manage quick meetings and it has some useful integrations. Slack was founded in 2009, but has taken off with the rise of remote work.
Slack’s natural competitor isn’t Discord; it’s Microsoft Teams. Microsoft even tried to buy Slack in 2016 and failed, so they built their own monster workplace software that’s grown to 280 million daily users. Slack was bought by Salesforce in 2021.
Discord, on the other hand, is an online gaming chat app. It mixes community and livestreaming functions with a fun design. Like Slack, it has a content layout: a community-based chat with a sidebar organizing different conversations. And it also has @mentioning and #hashtag functions. Discord’s natural competitor isn’t Slack. It would most closely compete with Steam Communities or Twitch.
Discord emphasizes that you’re creating a Discord community “hangout” space for your members.
Slack vs. Discord: Why compare them?
At first glance, the comparison between Slack vs. Discord seems odd. Each is best at what they’re built for:
Slack is used to organize the office. It works well for this. Discord would not be a good choice for the workplace.
Discord is best for gaming communities and streamers. Slack would not be a good choice for gamers.
So, chances are, if you’re comparing Slack vs. Discord it’s because you want to use them for something else: most commonly an online community. This means that we’re actually comparing how effective each is at hosting an online community.
What is an online community platform?
An online community platform is a dedicated space for hosting conversations between people who share interests or goals. Online community platforms thrive on member-led growth, hosting and organizing content, and helping people connect and make friends.
But online communities aren’t just glorified chat apps. A good online community platform helps you build a powerful membership business, selling memberships and bundles, and adding in other valuable experiences like live events, livestreaming, messaging, activity feeds, and even online courses. Then, of course, there are the branding options–most paid communities work better if they’re built under your brand.
So in comparing Slack vs. Discord, we actually need to compare the brand and community-building features they give you.
Slack vs. Discord: Judgment criteria
In comparing Slack vs Discord as community platforms, here are the features we’re looking for:
Community features: What tools do Slack and Discord give you to build a community? We’re looking for things like online course creation, paid memberships, discussion boards, polls, Q&As, member profiles, pre-recorded video, live streaming, video chat, and more.
Branding: Can you create under your own brand and add your own flair?
Monetization features: Can you turn your community into a thriving business?
Availability: Online community platforms that can be built for and across the web, iOS, and Android are a must.
Pricing: How much you’re asked to pay for an online community platform is important. When so many offer similar features, it’s important to make sure you’re getting the most for your money.
So let’s dive into the comparison between Slack and Discord!
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Now that we’ve explored why community platforms are important, let’s dive into what Discord and Slack are all about.
Community features compared
Slack
If you want to build and online community for your brand, you need a full set of features to do it with.
If you’re using Slack as a community platform instead of a virtual office platform, there are some features that will carry over. Slack has “workspaces” for people to interact in; this can sort of function like a discussion forum. You can create “channels” for topics and host conversations, and Slack offers video and voice calling if you’d like to have some kind of video hangouts. And Slack comes with over 1,000 integrations. This means you could integrate things like Google Drive, Giphy (who doesn’t love a good gif?), and Zapier.
Slack is missing community features to help people know each other and build relationships organically–let’s not forget that the people who use it for work have to use it!
Community features Slack has
Discussion forum functionality with content organizing, tagging, and hashtags
Video and audio rooms for meetings– “huddles”
Community features Slack is missing
Advanced content organization (e.g. a discussion feed)
Structured event options with RSVPs
Courses (either live or pre-recorded)
Comprehensive member-management features and profiles
Discord
Discord has a similar set of community features to Slack for organizing conversations and content, and it’s probably the more engaging of the two. Slack is practical, but Discord is a bit more fun.
And because of its heavy emphasis on targeting gamers, the platform has robust features for voice chatting in more informal ways. On Slack, when you want to voice chat it’s basically like a Skype call. But on Discord, you can click a button and voice chat without opening any additional windows. You can even provide your members with exclusively voice chat channels. AND it has event options and livestreaming, which give it more power than Slack.
Community features Discord has
Discussion forum functionality with content organizing, tagging, and hashtags
Livestreaming features
Structured event options with RSVPs
Fun skins and creative options
Community features Discord is missing
Advanced content organization (e.g. a discussion feed)
Courses (either live or pre-recorded)
Comprehensive member-management features and profiles
Branding features
Slack
Slack gives you some branding options, which basically means you can change the colors. If you click the “themes” menu on your Slack channel, you can basically set the color scheme and toggle between light and dark mode.
The Slack branding features are simple–but maybe for obvious reasons. It’s not a brand-building platform. It’s a workplace platform.
Branding features Slack has
Light & dark mode + color options
Branding features Slack is missing
Total branding systems with images, icons, etc.
White-labeling & branded apps
Discord
Discord has a bit more functionality than Slack for branding, Like Slack, you can choose the look and feel of your channel with color schemes and light and dark mode. But you can also add more icons, custom emojis, and header images. And if you pay for a Nitro boost, you can also customize banners, invite pages, and get vanity URLs.
Branding features Discord has
Light & dark mode and channel colors
Header images, custom emojis, and icons
Custom banners, invite pages, & vanity URLs (with paid Nitro boost)
Branding features Discord is missing
Total customization
Branded apps
Monetization features compared
Neither Slack or Discord have good features for monetizing a community–at least not native ones. Discord does offer the better of the two, if you are U.S.-based and in good standing you can apply for monetization. If approved, you can sell basic paid subscriptions, and Discord takes 10% of your profits. You can also sell ticketed events.
However, these limited features are still better than Slack, which has no native monetization–since it was built to organize workplace teams. You can get around this with an integration to paywall program, but it’s complicated.
Comparing Slack vs. Discord shows that Discord is the better of the two, but neither has the kind of flexibility and options you’d expect from a membership site platform. As such, neither of these are a great option for a community-based business.
Monetization features both Slack and Discord are missing
Comprehensive sales options, sell subscriptions, add tiers, or bundle.
Monetization for creators not based in the US (including other currencies)
Sell other products like online courses
Availability
Both Slack and Discord have great native mobile apps for both Android and iOS that replicate the feel and UX of the web app. This is a plus for each of these platforms. Neither has an option to build a native app under your own brand in the App Store or Google Play Store.
Availability options Slack & Discord are missing
Apps under your own brand
Pricing
Slack
Slack’s pricing model is the final reason it just doesn’t work well for online communities. You can build on the Slack free plan, but you’re restricted to one-on-one video calls, search features will be limited, you won’t be able to share your screen or connect with outside organizations, and you’ll only be able to integrate with up to 10 third-party tools.
If you want access to community-building features on Slack, you’d start by paying $6.67/person per month at the standard level, and you’d pay more and more as your community grows. Slack’s free plan will always limit you to a basic forum.
Discord
On the other hand, Discord’s biggest draw is that it’s free. It comes with an unlimited message archive, 9 integrations (game, social media, and some other services), API integrations, group video calls with screen sharing. The default online concurrent user limit is 5,000 but it can be raised.
Slack vs. Discord: Which is the winner?
If you’re assessing Slack vs. Discord based on their original functions, each works best for what it was designed to do.
Discord: Your place to talk.
Slack: Where work happens.
If you’re assessing them as community platforms, Discord comes out as the clear winner.
But even Discord isn’t ranked as a top community management platform because it’s not monetizable. It’s perfect for a free community of gamers, but there are much better options for a membership community.
Slack vs. Discord: Comparison Chart
Created for... | The Workplace | Gamers |
Community Features | Discussion Forums, Messaging, & Huddles | Discussion Forums, Livestreaming, & Live Events |
Branding Features | Light & Dark Mode, Color Palettes | Light & Dark Mode, Colors, Unique Headers & Logos, Custom Emojis, Custom URLs (with Nitro Boost) |
Monetization Features | No Native Monetization | Sell Subscriptions & Events (If Approved + U.S. Only) |
Availability | Native Apps (Android & iOS) | Native Apps (Android & iOS) |
Pricing | Free (Limited Features), or from $6.67/member | Free |
Want a better option?
Slack and Discord aren’t really platforms for membership businesses–they’re missing critical features for branding, monetization, and member management.
When we see communities build to 6- and 7-figure membership businesses that produce incredible recurring revenue for their hosts and launch powerhouse brands, it’s hard to justify building on platforms that will limit your growth.
You need a unified membership platform like Mighty Networks. It’s ranked as the #1 community management software by the review platform G2. Here’s what Mighty gives you:
Community features
Discussion features, forums, @tagging, #hashtags, organize by Spaces
Dedicated activity feed
Content options (long-form, short-form, video)
Native live events w/ RSVPs, event community features, and livestreaming
Full course LMS for asynchronous and synchronous (live) courses
AI community building: instant branding assets, Big Purpose, course outlines, marketing pages, and member profiles
AI content features: “Make It Better” text editor, discussion prompts, and the Infinite Question Generator
Branding features
Light & dark mode and color palettes
Icons, headers, custom text and integrated branding options
Custom URL, landing pages, sales pages
(Mighty Pro) App under your own brand in the App Store & Google Play Store
(Mighty Pro) Custom splash screens, premium branding assets
Monetization features
Sell or bundle community, content, courses, and events from anywhere in the world in 135 different currencies OR monetize with token-gating
Manage plans and users easily, set one-time or recurring fees, discounts, etc.
Track income with detailed analytics
Availability
Beautiful native Mighty Networks app for every device
(Mighty Pro) App under your brand in the App Store and Google Play Store.
Pricing
From $41/mo for the community plan (you keep 100% of the revenue–unlike Discord which takes 10%)
You can try it free for 14 days, no credit card required!
