Voice, video and text chat for communities, free with an optional Nitro subscription.
- Starting price
- Free; Nitro Basic from $2.99/month
- Pricing model
- Freemium
- User rating
- 4.7 / 5
- Best for
- Communities built around voice and text channels
Discord is a chat platform organised into servers and channels, with voice rooms you drop in and out of rather than schedule. It started with gaming and became the default for communities of every kind.
Who Discord is for
Communities rather than companies. Open-source projects, creators, study groups and games all run on it, largely because it is free and the voice quality is good.
It is a weak fit for business. There is no proper compliance tooling, threading is awkward, and searching a busy server is painful.
What Discord costs
Everything essential is free. Unlimited servers, channels, messages and voice rooms cost nothing, and always have.
Nitro Basic at $2.99 a month adds custom emoji everywhere, 50MB uploads and custom app icons. Nitro at $9.99 a month raises uploads to 500MB, adds HD video streaming, custom profiles, two server boosts and an Xbox Game Pass Starter Edition.
Discord notes that prices vary by country, and the app is the only reliable place to check what you will be charged.
Discord pricing and plans
Free
$0
per month
Everything essential, at no cost.
- Unlimited servers and channels
- Unlimited message history
- Voice and video channels
- Screen sharing
- 25 MB uploads
Nitro Basic
$2.99
per month
The lightweight upgrade.
- Custom emoji anywhere
- 50 MB uploads
- Custom app icons
- Bonus profile customisation
Nitro
$9.99
per month
Includes 2 server boosts.
- 500 MB uploads
- HD video streaming
- Custom profiles and themes
- Xbox Game Pass Starter Edition
- Everything in Nitro Basic
Pricing checked against the official Discord pricing page on 5 September 2026. Vendors change plans often, so confirm before you buy.
What Discord actually does
- Servers organised into text and voice channels
- Drop-in voice rooms with low latency
- Screen sharing and video calls
- Roles and granular permissions
- Bots and a large developer API
- Threads and forum channels
- Stage channels for talks and AMAs
- Free unlimited message history
Pros and cons
What works well
- Free tier covers everything that matters
- Unlimited message history at no cost
- Excellent low-latency voice
- Deep roles, permissions and bot ecosystem
- Nitro Basic is genuinely cheap at $2.99
What to watch out for
- Not built for business compliance or retention
- Search across busy servers is poor
- Threading feels bolted on
- Moderation quality varies by server
- Nitro pricing varies by country
Discord FAQs
Is Discord free?
Yes. Unlimited servers, channels, messages, voice rooms and screen sharing all cost nothing. Nitro is entirely optional.
How much is Discord Nitro?
Nitro Basic is $2.99 a month and Nitro is $9.99 a month. Discord notes prices vary by country, and the app shows your exact rate.
What does Nitro actually give me?
Larger uploads, custom emoji everywhere, HD streaming, profile customisation and two server boosts. None of it affects your ability to participate.
What are server boosts?
Paid upgrades to a specific server that raise audio quality, upload limits and emoji slots for everyone in it. Nitro includes two.
Is Discord suitable for business use?
Rarely. It lacks the compliance, retention and audit tooling that Slack and Teams provide, and search across a busy server is poor.
Is it safe for younger users?
It has parental controls and content filters, but servers are user-run and moderation varies. Supervision is sensible for younger teenagers.
How large can a server get?
Very large. Community servers routinely run into hundreds of thousands of members, with roles and permissions to manage them.
Can I use it without a subscription forever?
Yes. The free tier is not time-limited and has no message cap, which is unusual among chat platforms.
Weighing up other options? Read the 8 best Discord alternatives.
Ready to try Discord?
Go to Discord