Those who are well-acquainted with online communication must be aware of what Slack is. Slack is a communication software that provides the facilities to replace email and grow team communication efficiently.
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Slack works as a quite powerful player in the field of solutions for optimized business communication. However, Slack is not the only one that provides the ultimate solution for better business communication.
If you are looking for a simpler and affordable solution, Discord is there to serve. Now the question is, does Discord have the capability to work as an alternative to Slack?
Well, we are here to cover for you. The most anticipated topics are about Slack vs Discord.
But here, in this content, we are going to shed light on if Discard is a suitable alternative to Slack or not.
Slack, on the other hand, also comes as a free option but lacks essential features.
What Discord has to serve in your platter?
When you opt for booting up to Discord, you will find that Discord comes as a communication tool designed for the gamer communities.
Slack, on the other hand, comes as business software, which is a suitable need for the workspaces.
However, there is no point in concluding that Discord deals on the surface level only. It is well-featured and comes with almost everything that a growing team might need. Here are the significant features that Discord offers you:
Channels, along with private messaging :
Discord is designed to give you better access to multiple channels required for any number of topics and teams essential to building up better communication in your organization.
You can create separate channels like Slack (#content, #development, #support). Also, it lets you have private channels necessary for smaller topics for a special project.
Moreover, it comes with a private messaging feature between the users. You can either use it for a one-to-one group of messaging.
It gives you the complete flexibility to do anything within the private messaging that you can do in a channel.
The privacy of the contents stays safe within you and your teammates of the chat.
Just like Slack, Discord also comes with the functionality to add @ for mentioning, and many other features that are required to make a communication software effective.
Mobile application :
It is necessary to have chats with mobile apps between the team members to make the communication effective. Most of the time, the chat ends up as text threads from being a chat channel.
These come with push notifications for boot ups. You can quickly initiate audio calls similar to regular phone calls.
Also, there are essential video calling features for Facetime sessions. Both Slack and Discord does the job with efficiency.
Calls :
Besides private messaging, there are efficient calling features to make the communication effective between the members connected to a server.
The calls are similar to the VOIP calls of Skype. Both the audio and video calls are available here. Along with real-time interaction, Discord offers seamless calling options at a higher quality.
The quality is comparatively higher than Slack and many other video calling options. It allows you to create voice channels with text chats.
Also, there is an audio feed where the members can talk to build up communication in real-time.
Besides that, there are options for your team, whether you want to keep it private and public. There is no limit on the number of people who can join in the calls.
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What do we like more about Discord over Slack?
To understand Discord and Slack properly, you need to have a comparative discussion on the Slack vs Discord topic. Here is where we will keep Discord one step ahead of Slack as efficient software. Let’s have a look:
It is free :
When you are using Discord for a team chat, there is no need to pay. You can have as many members as on your server for free. There is no need to get a special invite to sign up for use.
Slack, on the other hand, is going to cost you the pay per user policy. The Slack servers do not allow you to add members freely without any payment.
However, the paid service of Discord comes with an extensive range of features. The premium version comes with various upgrades, enhanced upload limits, HD screen sharing, and many more.
Text-to-speech notification :
As soon as your team grows, you need to deal with a large number of messages and conversations in a row. Discord here comes in aid as a high-tech robot that reads the notification for you.
This text-to-speech notification is highly effective to give more flow to your communication build-up and reduce the time to read the messages.
Numerous unlimited messaging:
Discord, unlike Slack, lets you have access to a numerous and unlimited number of messages. You can easily scroll and search your team messages.
There is also a before/after tag that you can use to make your search way easier and more effective.
On the contrary, Slack allows you to keep the most recent 10 thousand messages only by your team. Once you have reached the limit, you cannot search the messages unless you pay for them.
Superior control:
Discord lets you invite anyone, anywhere, to the server you are using for your team communication community. It also enables you to generate several links to make the task easier.
For open-inviting the server, you can create a link to allow the number of users to sign up using the link. And there is no expiry limit for the link.
Also, there are features to set the limit for the number of uses the link can have, and it also comes with the customization feature forgetting the expiry date.
Besides, it lets you grant the temporary membership so that the account can get trashed after they disconnect it.
You can also form as many servers as you want. If you need to create a server for a guest, apart from the server that you are using for the communication between your team members, you can easily do it for free.
Better call quality:
When you go for Slack vs Discord video call comparison, the Discord undoubtedly wins here. Discord comes with an efficient video call feature. There are special voice channels that do not even require you to start a voice call.
All you can do is jump to the call and start speaking. It is efficient to create better communication among tour team members.
Also, Discord allows you to participate with as many people as you want. Users can talk with up to 5000 people at a time. Also, there is no limit for video calls on Discord. You can talk with up to 9 members at one time.
Slack, on the other hand, lacks some of the efficient features like Discord. Slack only allows you to make video calls between two people only if you are not paying for a plan. For a paid plan, the limit extends to 15.
Slack does not come with any separate option for voice and video calls. The video calling quality on Slack is just basic, while Discord’s video calls are stuffed with advanced features that let you have noise suspension, echo cancellation, etc.
Things we don’t like about Discord when comparing it to Slack:
Just like any other software, Discord has some of the drawbacks which can make you think that Slack is better.
If you are looking for better insight into the Slack vs Discord subject, then you cannot overlook the cons it has. Let’s have a look:
Limited file sharing:
The important drawback about Discord is, it does not come with a sufficient file sharing limit. In Discord, you are going to get only 8 MB.
When you opt for the Niro- the premium version, you are going to get the 50 MB limit. The discord files are limited to only audio and videos.
Slack, on the other hand, is a better option in this matter. Slack comes with a limit of 1 GB for sharing any file. Slack allows its users to make posts, share PDFs along with videos and audios.
This big difference is enough to mark the point that Slack is a workspace and does the job efficiently. On the other hand, Discord is just a communication tool, which is why it is limited to that purpose only.
Branding :
Discord is dedicated to gamers only. The interface is quite simple and casual for communication purposes.
The features are well documented to help the gamer community to build up better communication. Also, some corporate firewalls block Discord as it is aimed to work as a gaming software.
On the contrary, Slack is designed to give you a business-oriented corporate theme necessary for your workplace. If you are bringing your clients online, the business environment works in an effective way to create a professional impression.
For larger corporate settings, Slack works efficiently to create a corporate atmosphere with efficient settings for better communication build up to grow a team.
Interface :
Discord comes with a pretty similar interface to Slack. It is pretty clear to find out the contacts on the left-hand side and the conversations on the right side.
From Discord, you can pick a dark theme color besides a light mode. However, the interface is a bit complicated in the case of Discord.
Slack, on the other hand, comes with a better interface with all channels, apps, and DMs situated on the right-hand side.
Slack also comes with a customized sidebar, which comes with 8 color options that you can choose to give the interface a pretty look, which makes it stand in a better position when the matter is Slack vs Discord.
If your team is good with coding, then you can change the entire Slack scheme with the help of custom CSS.
Besides that, there are plenty of opinions for customization, which makes it something more than a communication app.
Does Discord work as a suitable alternative to Slack?
The answer is quite positive here. Discord can undoubtedly perform as a suitable alternative for Slack. As a free solution, Discord works with great efficiency to build a very high-end commission, which is essential for the growth of your team.
Discord’s voice and video conferences with better chat interfaces create very smooth communication in a simple way.
Slack is a complete workspace. The file-sharing is way better when the debate is about Slack vs Discord. If you want a more corporate-oriented communication software, then Discord cannot beat the service of Slack.
If communication is what you are solely looking for, then Discord is efficient and filled with features that are easy to use.
Discord does have the efficiency to work as a better solution tool for your business. Both the tools are free at the start, so choose wisely what you need for your team.
But before choosing any one from Slack and Discord, here are some of the questions that you need to ask yourself.
1. What is the aim of your growing team?
Before opting for any of the communication software, you need to ask yourself first what you need for your growing team.
If your team is highly based on corporate purpose, then Slack is better than Discord, as it is highly business-oriented.
2. What kind of features do you need for your team?
Based on what your company or organization needs, you need to focus on the type of features a software solution comes with.
Both the software solutions, i.e., Slack and Discord, share some similarities and differences in their features.
3. What is your budget for a software solution?
Budget also plays a vital role in deciding a software solution. If you are tight on budget, then Discord can be an ideal choice as it is free.
Conclusion:
What communication software is better for your team, that depends on what you need for your business purpose. Discord can be a way better solution for your better communication.
However, the decision should be yours based on your comfort and ease of work. It is hard to decide between Slack vs Discord.
But if you are looking for a cost-efficient solution, then Discord can go as a better alternative for Slack.
Sonl Sinha is a passionate writer as well as WordPress and WooCommerce rockstar who loves to share insights on various topics through his engaging blog posts. He runs a successful website design and digital marketing company. With 15+ years of experience in WordPress theme development, he strives to inform and inspire readers with his thought-provoking content. He helps thousands of small and medium businesses and startups create a unique online presence. Follow Sonl Sinha for your regular dose of knowledge and inspiration.
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