Written by Jai Ta

Discord is a popular free-to-use browser app and software that gives users the ability to write, make voice or video conversations, and share their screen. Discord provides users and their teams with the necessary real-time communication if they want to stay in sync when competing in esports, watching a movie, or video conferencing.

If you haven’t used Discord yet, it's a good idea to spend some time getting acquainted because of its simplicity and widespread popularity with over 300 million registered users. Imagine the customization of Slack with the social aspect of Reddit, and the communicative tools of Skype. Discord originally targeted gamers, assisting in coordinating and communicating with one another but has risen to become the most well-liked messaging service and platform for not only gamers but academic students/organizations and industry professionals.

The Discord software combines the functions of a chat lobby, bulletin board, VoIP talking system, and streaming service into one lightweight tool that runs on both desktop and mobile platforms. Whether you decide to host or join a server, you’ll find that there’s something for everyone.

Getting Started

After creating an account, users have the option to change their username and display name on different servers. Users are given a unique identification code that’s followed after a hashtag (#). In order to be added by others or to add others, you need to give out your username along with your ID i.e. jcnt#5439. This is shown in Figure 1 later in the review.

Discord can be used on a browser or users can download the free Discord app on their desktop, laptop, and/or mobile devices. The app is necessary for anyone wishing to host a server as most of the customization and settings are available on the app. However, hosting is not necessary—users can use Discord primarily for joining other servers, also known as communities. There are basic account settings like custom profile photos, headers, biographies, color customization, and more.

The following Discord features below are defined:

Servers: These are the communities within Discord that are made by specific groups or individuals for their communities, organizations, or friends. Most Discord servers are small and private via an invitation-only link, while others are much larger, accessible to the general public, and can be found on Discord’s server page or external websites as a listing (such as Discadia). The server encompasses messages, files, channels, members and so much more. Users also have the ability to switch between multiple servers within the Discord interface.

Channels: Channels are housed within servers, and they provide more focus on a specific topic or subject. There are different types of channels that allow you to customize your server to your liking. You can create text channels or voice channels and label them however you want. Channels can be public to every member in the server or locked to be visible to specific categories of members (roles, discussed later). 

Direct messages: Aside from communicating in the main server, or specific channels, Discord allows you to add members as your ‘friends’ and gives you the same text, voice, video, and streaming capabilities in a more private manner with direct messages (1 on 1) and small group chats limited to 10 users.

Bots: Affiliated with Discord are the many AI-generated bots that you can add to your server to better streamline moderation, and organization and automate tasks. Similar to finding Discord servers, there are many platforms to find different bots such as Top.gg. Some popular uses include: Welcoming new members, moderating and filtering chat, playing music, or even integrating fun in-server games.

Integrations: Discord offers many integrations that can further enhance your server’s experience through webhooks, channel followings, and social integrations like Youtube, Twitch, Spotify, Steam, Twitter, etc. Furthermore, users can have custom status updates underneath their names or automated statuses that showcase what games they are playing as long as their game account is linked to Discord.

Server customizations

If you’re interested in creating your own server, Discord will start you off with pre-made templates for specific spaces like gaming, school clubs, or organizations. Tech-savvy and ready to go all in? You can start from scratch and build your server from the ground up. As a server host, you can assign specific roles and give administrative rights to help oversee the server. You can custom label each channel, and each role, and assign any hex color. More customization options include custom headers, emojis, and stickers. Discord’s UI/UX is normally easy to navigate, but it varies from server to server. Larger servers may have too many channels and too much going on that can easily clutter the interface.

example of a server and its features

Above, you’ll see that the UI/UX of Discord is relatively simple but can easily get cluttered if the server gets larger. On the left side, you’ll find a column displaying all the servers you are either an owner of, or a member of. You can easily switch between any servers at any time. The channels are adjacent to the server list, and the server level is displayed on top. Your username and ID code is identified at the bottom, and the list of members and their roles are listed in the right-hand column.

Discord Premiums

Aside from the basic, free version, Discord offers Discord Nitro at various price points (Nitro basic and Nitro) to enhance user experience. Some features include higher-quality video streaming, larger file and document uploads, animated avatars, customer usernames and tags, and better voice/sound quality. Aside from being a Discord Nitro user, Discord also offers users to buy boosts which allows server members to “boost” their server and help you “level up” on its server boosting system that allows perks for the entire server such as more emoji and sticker slots. Below is a comparison chart between the two Nitro plans:

As a free user, users cannot upload files larger than 8MB and if you have Discord Nitro, your limit goes up to 100MB. File sharing is restricted in comparison to Slack’s free version which offers 5GB, making Discord’s file-sharing system lackluster. 

For most people, $2.99 a month is not bad but you do not nearly get as many perks as one would need. The next tier is a hefty $9.99 a month that includes HD video streaming and a much larger upload limit but again, these features are free on other competing platforms.

discord pros and cons

Pros:

• Text, audio, video chat (multi)

• Full customization including emoticons, stickers, roles/ranks, channels, etc.

• Multi-platform (desktop, laptop, mobile, with different operating systems)

• Robust third-party apps integration

• Ability to create multiple servers, public or private, for friends, work, or communities

Cons:

• No self-hosting available

• Frequent server raids

• Privacy issues

• Cluttering UI

• Premium features like higher-quality video and audio must be paid for through subscriptions, at a higher price point than other platforms that offer the same things for free

Despite the cons, Discord has systems in place to prevent and mitigate privacy issues, such as two-factor authentication. There are also rules and regulations within their community guidelines to ban accounts that participate in hateful conduct and illegal activities. The most recent transparency report states that Discord disabled 726,759 accounts in the second quarter of 2022 that were violating guidelines.

The bottom line

There is a reason PCMag rates Discord at 4.5/5 stars claiming that “It feels awkward to say Discord is good because it’s popular, and it’s popular because it’s good, but the vast community does genuinely improve the service.” followed by “If you want to be where everybody else is, you want to be on Discord.”

Discord offers a plethora of customization options along with text, video, and streaming options. If you’re a working professional in an industry that requires confidentiality, and heavy file upload then you are better off hosting a private server on your internal systems or using an alternative like Slack.

Not into Discord but want the casual hangout and gaming communication it offers? TeamSpeak is another reputable gaming communication platform that is widely used in professional gaming tournaments backed up by companies like NASA, Overwatch, and Hologate. TeamSpeak not only allows you to self-host, but it’s also more secure than Discord. However, there is more of a learning curve to TeamSpeak and the platform starts at $55 with no free option. Discord’s easy sign-up, easy-to-use interface, and free features are more appealing to those looking to jump right into it.