DISCORD VS STOAT
They differ on 5 of the things we checked: open source, you can host it yourself, iphone, threads, no ads.
| Fact | DISCORD | STOAT |
|---|---|---|
| Status | Stable | Stable |
| Founded | 2015 | 2021 |
| Hosting | Cloud only | Cloud or self-host |
| Encryption | TLS in transit; voice and video calls are end-to-end encrypted, text is not. | TLS in transit only. The host can read messages. |
| Pricing | Free; Nitro Basic $2.99/mo and Nitro $9.99/mo; server Boosts sold separately | Free; no paid tier (custom emoji, animated avatars, 20 MB uploads all free) |
| Open source | No | Yes |
| Official cloud service | Yes | Yes |
| You can host it yourself | No | Yes |
| Windows | Yes | Yes |
| macOS | Yes | Yes |
| Linux | Yes | Yes |
| iPhone | Yes | No |
| Android | Yes | Yes |
| In a browser | Yes | Yes |
| Text channels | Yes | Yes |
| Voice channels | Yes | Yes |
| Video calls | Yes | Yes |
| Screen share | Yes | Yes |
| Threads | Yes | No |
| Roles and permissions | Yes | Yes |
| Bots or an API | Yes | Yes |
| Custom emoji | Yes | Yes |
| One account, many communities | Yes | Yes |
| Export your data | Yes | Not confirmed |
| No ads | No | Yes |
| Members pay nothing | Yes | Yes |
| Imports a Discord server | No | No |
| Bridges with Discord | Not confirmed | Not confirmed |
In short
Discord. The row everything else is measured against. Discord runs sponsored Quests, Orbs and, since Sep 2026, rewarded Video Quests plus a self-serve Ads Manager. Since Sep 22 2026 every account is sorted into Adult, Teen or Unconfirmed from account signals, with the rest confirming via credit card, app-store age range, on-device selfie or ID scan. Voice and video calls are end-to-end encrypted; text is not. Users can request a Data Package of their own messages, but there is no server-level export for admins without bots. It does everything; the argument for leaving is who holds your community.
Stoat. Closest like-for-like Discord replacement that is fully free: servers, channels, roles, bots, custom emoji, and (since July 2026) video and screen share on desktop, web and Android. No threads, no E2EE, and no native iOS app on the App Store (iOS is a PWA via Safari 'Add to Home Screen'; a TestFlight build exists). No official Discord importer; the third-party DiscoReaper tool targets Stoat and Fluxer. Self-hosting is documented but voice on self-hosted instances has lagged the main instance.
Something wrong here? Tell r/LeavingDiscord.
I build Probed, one of the destinations here. It gets the same facts as the rest.