Discord dominates with 200+ million monthly users and superior gaming integration, while Guilded offers more customizable moderation tools and better server organization features at no cost. Discord remains the industry standard for gaming communities, whereas Guilded appeals to users prioritizing granular control and organization.
Discord vs Guilded — Side-by-side comparison on A Versus B
VoIP and instant messaging platform with 150+ million monthly users, dominant in gaming communities.
Purpose-built gaming community platform optimized for esports teams with 1+ million users and advanced moderation.
Monthly Active Users. Maximum File Upload Size (Free). Built-in Calendar Feature. Custom Roles Hierarchy Control. Gaming Partner Integrations. Thread Organization System. Cost for Core Features
Choose Discord if you're building a gaming community, need massive ecosystem integration (Steam, Twitch, YouTube), or want access to the largest user base with established community standards. Choose Guilded if you need enterprise-grade moderation controls, prefer forum-style organization with native calendar/event management, or want a free alternative without subscription pressure for premium features.
Discord: 50-100ms with spatial audio | Guilded: N/A
Discord: Limited/Third-party only | Guilded: N/A
Discord: Comprehensive API with bot framework (GDC 2026) | Guilded: N/A
Discord: Limited third-party apps | Guilded: N/A
Discord: Free (with Nitro at $9.99) | Guilded: N/A
Discord: Outstanding (advanced codecs) | Guilded: N/A
Discord: 1080p (1920x1080) | Guilded: N/A
Discord: 0 (no native support) | Guilded: N/A
Discord: Minimal (intuitive design) | Guilded: N/A
Discord: 500+ million registered users | Guilded: N/A
Discord: SOC 2, GDPR (limited enterprise focus) | Guilded: N/A
Discord: Discord Nitro $9.99-99.99/year | Guilded: N/A
Discord: Up to 50 (voice channel) | Guilded: N/A
Discord: Limited, experimental | Guilded: N/A
Discord: Permanent (searchable) | Guilded: N/A
Discord: Basic moderation bots | Guilded: N/A
Discord: Yes, SOC 2 Type II | Guilded: N/A
Discord: Free (with Nitro at $9.99/mo optional) | Guilded: N/A
Discord: Opus (optimized, 128kbps default) | Guilded: N/A
Discord: 1080p (premium servers) | Guilded: N/A
Message History Scanning for AI Training
Discord: Yes (Discord trains AI on content) | Guilded: N/A
Discord: $9.99 per server/month | Guilded: N/A
Discord: 50+ participants | Guilded: N/A
Discord: Basic (bots only) | Guilded: N/A
Discord: 128 kbps optimized | Guilded: N/A
Discord: No (opt-in only) | Guilded: N/A
Discord: Proprietary/Closed | Guilded: N/A
Discord: 150+ million | Guilded: 1+ million
Discord: Free (Nitro $9.99/year) | Guilded: N/A
Maximum Simultaneous Video Participants (Free)
Discord: 50 with Nitro ($99.99/year) | Guilded: N/A
Discord: No direct integration | Guilded: N/A
Discord: Not HIPAA certified | Guilded: N/A
Discord: Speech-to-text via integrations only | Guilded: N/A
Discord: ~8,000 public servers (estimated) | Guilded: N/A
Discord: 4.3 stars (3.8M reviews) | Guilded: N/A
Discord: No native integration | Guilded: N/A
Discord: 8 video participants | Guilded: N/A
Discord: Free (unlimited) | Guilded: N/A
Free Tier Group Video Call Duration Limit
Maximum Group Call Participants (Free Tier)
Discord: No (bot-dependent) | Guilded: N/A
Maximum Webinar Participants (Paid Plan)
Discord: Not enabled by default (optional for 1-on-1 only) | Guilded: N/A
Discord: Proprietary/Closed-source | Guilded: N/A
Discord: Under 100ms optimized | Guilded: N/A
Discord: Not supported; Discord-only infrastructure | Guilded: N/A
Maximum Concurrent Voice Users (Free Tier)
Discord: Limited control; Discord retains indefinitely | Guilded: N/A
Discord: Free (Nitro $9.99 optional) | Guilded: N/A
Discord: 200 million registered | Guilded: N/A
Discord: No native AI features | Guilded: N/A
Discord: Server-side only (E2E requires manual enable) | Guilded: N/A
Discord: Full history searchable | Guilded: N/A
Discord: Advanced (roles, automod, audit logs, permissions) | Guilded: N/A
Discord: Unlimited (16.7M+ in largest server) | Guilded: N/A
Discord: AutoMod, basic filters, requires bots | Guilded: Native role hierarchies, granular permissions, content automation
How to choose between Discord and Guilded
Discord vs Guilded — Structured Comparison Data
Machine-readable comparison dataset for Discord vs Guilded. Contains 125 attribute comparisons, 5 FAQ pairs.
Discord vs Guilded — Attribute Category Vocabulary
Taxonomy of attribute categories used to classify comparison data for Discord vs Guilded.
Which platform is better for gaming communities?
Discord is significantly better for gaming communities due to its 200+ million user base, native integrations with Steam, Twitch, Xbox Live, PlayStation Network, and Battle.net, plus optimization for gaming voice chat (Opus codec at 48kHz). Guilded is suitable only for smaller gaming guilds (50-500 members) prioritizing moderation control over network effects.
Does Guilded really offer better moderation than Discord?
Yes, Guilded provides advanced role hierarchy with item-level permission controls, allowing moderators to assign granular permissions at the message and channel level without bot integration. Discord requires more complex bot configuration for similar functionality, making Guilded superior for moderation-heavy communities with complex permission structures.
Can I use Discord without paying for Nitro?
Yes, Discord's core features (messaging, voice chat, file sharing up to 25 MB, screen sharing) are completely free. Nitro ($9.99/month) only adds cosmetic features (custom emojis, animated profile pictures, higher file upload limit to 500 MB) and is entirely optional. Guilded offers the same free-tier functionality without a premium tier.
What's the main reason to choose Guilded over Discord?
The primary reason is Guilded's native calendar and event scheduling system, combined with advanced moderation controls and forum-style organization. These features eliminate the need for bot dependencies in Discord. Guilded is ideal for organizations, community projects, or guilds requiring structured planning without relying on third-party integrations.
How many active users does each platform have?
Discord has 200+ million monthly active users (as of 2024), making it the dominant platform. Guilded has an estimated 5-10 million users, representing a 20-40x difference in community size, which significantly impacts finding and joining communities.
How to Choose Between Discord and Guilded
Monthly Active Users: Discord has 200+ million, while Guilded has 5-10 million estimated.
Consider: Maximum File Upload Size (Free)
Maximum File Upload Size (Free): Discord has 25 MB, while Guilded has 50 MB.
Built-in Calendar Feature: Discord has No (requires bot integration), while Guilded has Yes (native feature).
Consider: Custom Roles Hierarchy Control
Custom Roles Hierarchy Control: Discord has Basic role system, while Guilded has Advanced nested role management with item-level permissions.
Gaming Partner Integrations: Discord has Steam, Xbox Live, PlayStation Network, Battle.net, EA Play, Ubisoft+, while Guilded has Limited third-party gaming integrations.
Thread Organization System: Discord has Thread-based (introduced 2021), while Guilded has Forum-style with categories and subcategories.
Cost for Core Features: Discord has Free (Nitro subscription optional at $9.99/month), while Guilded has Free (no premium tier required for core features).