Discord
Chat, voice and video for groups and gaming communities. Discord publishes the Linux app itself.
Our verdict
Discord on Linux is the real thing, published by Discord, and your servers, friends and settings appear the moment you sign in. Text chat, voice channels and video calls work the same way they did on Windows.
Two differences are worth knowing before you install. The Flathub version runs in a sandbox, which Discord's own listing says stops game activity and rich presence from working, so your friends will not see what you are playing. And sharing your screen with the game's audio included is more work here than on Windows.
For talking to people, which is what most of us use it for, none of that matters. If the game status badge is important to you, use the installer file from Discord's website instead of the app store version.
What's good
- Published by Discord itself rather than by volunteers
- Servers, direct messages, voice and video all behave as on Windows
- Works in a browser too if you prefer nothing installed
- Free, with the paid tier being optional extras only
What to know first
- The Flathub version is sandboxed, which switches off game activity and rich presence
- Screen sharing with sound can need extra setup
- Not open source
- Uses a lot of memory for a chat app
The details
- Cost
- Free with paid extras
- Open source
- No (Proprietary)
- How you install it
- App store (Flatpak), .deb installer, App store (Snap), In your browser
Windows apps it can replace
Last checked . Sources: