Discord vs Microsoft Teams
Which is better in 2026? Five scores, side by side.
Discord is the better app overall, scoring 8.5 to 8.0. Discord wins on 4 of the 5 scores, Microsoft Teams on 1.
Gamers, hobby groups and online communities that want voice and text in one place
Organizations already paying for Microsoft 365 that want chat and meetings in one place
Score by score
The details
| Feature | Discord | Microsoft Teams |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Messaging & Calls | Messaging & Calls |
| Category rank | #5 of 8 | #8 of 8 |
| Developer | Discord Inc. | Microsoft |
| Pricing | Free + paid plans | Free + paid plans |
| Usable for free | Yes | Yes |
| iPhone & iPad | ✓ | ✓ |
| Android | ✓ | ✓ |
| Mac | ✓ | ✓ |
| Windows | ✓ | ✓ |
| Linux | ✓ | — |
| Web | ✓ | ✓ |
Strengths and weaknesses
Discord
- Excellent free voice chat with low latency
- Flexible servers with roles, bots and permissions
- Nearly everything important is free
- Text messages are not end-to-end encrypted
- Busy servers can get noisy and hard to follow
Discord is the best free home for an online community. Servers mix text channels, drop-in voice rooms and screen sharing, and voice quality is excellent. Voice and video calls are now end-to-end encrypted, but text messages are not, and Discord moderates content on its servers. Nitro adds perks you can easily skip. Pick it for gaming groups, hobby communities and study servers, not for work.
Full Discord review
Microsoft Teams
- Included with many Microsoft 365 business plans
- Tight integration with Word, Excel and SharePoint
- Strong admin, security and compliance controls
- Cluttered interface with a steep learning curve
- Feels heavier and slower than Slack or Zoom
Microsoft Teams makes sense if your company runs on Microsoft 365. Chat, meetings, calling and shared files live together, and Word, Excel and SharePoint plug straight in. Copilot can recap meetings on eligible plans. The catch is the experience: Teams is heavier and more cluttered than Slack or Zoom. The free personal version replaced Skype and works fine for family calls.
Full Microsoft Teams review
