If you are reading this, then naturally you must play a lot of video games; both single player and multiplayer, and you are looking for the best way to connect with your online gaming community. We are here to help you make a decision and help you find a destination in your Discord vs TeamSpeak journey.
In the beginning there was TeamSpeak, and then came Ventrilo, Mumble, Skype and finally Discord (we may have skipped over a few platforms because they are in the ruins now).
Discord vs TeamSpeak
TeamSpeak was first launched in 2001, serving as “Proprietary voice-over-Internet Protocol (VoIP) software for audio communication between users on a chat channel, very much similar to telephone conference calls. The features showcased by the developers are:
- End to end data encryption
- Crystal-clear voice
- Scalability up to thousands of users
- Endless customization options
Also Read: Discord vs Mumble Comparison
Discord on the other hand is relatively new, released in 2015, and is still in its development phase, in the sense that they are actively adding the features that the gaming community demands. It does not only feature voice calls, but video calls, and text chats as well. We will come to that later. The features showcased by Discord developers are:
- 100% Free Communication
- IP & DDoS Protection
- Low Latency
- Minimal CPU Usage
- Permissions
Pros & Cons Comparison
Now we come to a pros-and-cons comparison of TeamSpeak and Discord.
Which Has The Better UI?
If you are someone who is persnickety about looks and UI, then TeamSpeak might not be your favorite choice, because it has a very Windows 95-esque theme which reminds you of your old boxy beige desktop PCs and Dialup Modems. Discord on the other hand has a much sleeker and minimalistic look which is more appealing to the users of today and is the basic theme of most new software programs. Although skin mods are available for TeamSpeak, and users can customize their UI in any way they like, that requires the users to put in effort. Ultimately, Discord has the aesthetic advantage. The choice ultimately depends on your own preferences.
Another feature highlight regarding the UI is the ease of access of the voice channels in TeamSpeak. In Discord, although the servers that you’re a part of, and chat boxes are beautifully arranged, the voice channels are somewhat difficult to manage. For example, if your friend says “Check out this link”, and sends you the link, you have to ask which channel. However, it has improved somewhat because they now have added channel categories.
Also Read: Mumble vs TeamSpeak Comparison
Voice Clarity – Discord vs TeamSpeak
This goes without arguing that TeamSpeak has so far the best voice quality in any VoIP programs that have surfaced to date. Nevertheless, Discord voice quality is not that bad either. The Discord vs TeamSpeak voice quality difference is only noticeable if you compare the sound results from the two programs using mid-tier microphones. Otherwise, the sound quality is pretty much the same in both the programs.
Connectivity – Discord vs TeamSpeak
TeamSpeak has one major disadvantage; you have to be constantly connected to the server to see the chats i.e. if you are not connected, you will not receive any messages. Contrarily, Discord functions like any other chat platform where even if you are offline, people can send you messages and you will be able to see them when you come online. One issue regarding Discord that should be mentioned here is that there can be random drops in sound quality, which seems completely arbitrary. It can be fixed by temporarily changing the region of your server, but it happens so often that it’s almost a drag.
Admin Control and Permissions
Discord vs TeamSpeak ranking and permission systems is pretty much the same where party members can be banned or blocked. However, in TeamSpeak, everyone has the power to kick or ban any player regardless of the rank and it gets pretty annoying. On the contrary, it has the deepest customizability and permission options which in turn come at the cost of setup and learning time. Discord is much easier to use with its easy ‘enable’ options, and there isn’t much that you cannot do with it.
Cost Comparison
Fundamentally, both TeamSpeak and Discord are free to use. However, TeamSpeak has a number of paid licensing options. If you don’t buy them, it only offers 32 slots for free users which can be expanded by purchasing the said options. Discord on the other hand has a Silicon-Valley-tech-startup approach which ensures a completely free service with no slot limitations.
User Data Security
Considering the fact that TeamSpeak is hosted on the users’ server, which can either be his own PC or an externally acquired data server, all the data can be encrypted and is totally yours, and no third party can acquire your data without your permission. Now, since Discord has their own servers, the end to end encryption might be an issue for some users. Even though they say that they don’t sell the users’ data, Discord’s privacy policy does allow them to share them with related companies.
In-Game Overlays
TeamSpeak provides their users with a completely functional TeamSpeak window while in-game, which is basically just a minimized version of its actual window. Discord has a smaller, neater, in-game window which shows you who is talking and also lets you change servers and channels while on the fly. With their integration with Twitch, it enables you to auto sync your subscribers and even shows you the people who are talking during the stream.
Popularity – Discord vs TeamSpeak
Being the oldest VoIP, TeamSpeak does have the greater user crowd but Discord vs TeamSpeak popularity polls are shifting by the day, and more and more people are using Discord owing to its insane amount of features and user- friendliness. The only thing they need to improve is the sound quality issues, as mentioned earlier.
Discord vs TeamSpeak – Who Takes The Cake?
It is hard to compete with TeamSpeak’s reliable clarity but Discord gives almost the same results most of the time and has a lot of UI and feature advantages over TeamSpeak while being completely free. Discord is also newer, and with newer software and products, the team behind it is usually looking to improve features and advance their product based on the customers’ feedback at large, to improve their competitive advantages. Discord is also considered much easier to set up. Although older gamers are often used to TeamSpeak, and often prefer the nostalgia that comes with it, it seems like Discord, would be the best option for most gamers, especially newer ones.
We hope that you will find this Discord vs TeamSpeak comparison useful for you to select between these two platforms.
Also Read: Slack vs Discord – Which One is Best?