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Work from home jobs always has an edge to them when it comes to team meetings and group chats. Because unlike office environment you are unable to communicate with your co-workers in random sittings like moving in an elevator together, over a coffee break, etc. In remote work, the success of any project depends entirely on the team management software available in both free and paid versions to help managements keep their team under the roof. Two such team management software mostly used for remote work are known as Slack and Discord. Both have their own pros and cons and some unique features which you will surely love.
So, if you are new to remote working or just want to enhance your remote job experience by getting in touch with your team members other than just email then this guide is for you. We will discuss the advantages and disadvantages of both Slack vs. Discord and look into the details about what is better for people working from home. So, without any further ado let's get started.
Slack is just the right communication tool when it comes to remote work. It allows remote co-workers to easily communicate with each other whenever they want. The multiple options in the menu to keep the general and important discussions separate makes it easy to navigate through chat to find out who is talking about what. Separate inbox conversations can also be done. Not just chatting, video conferences can also be done at slack so it's like a whole package for team and business collaborations.
Discord is a web-based application used by remote workers to exchange text messages and voice notes and do meetings via the video call option. It was basically a gaming tool used by gaming crews to keep in touch with the other gamer fellows. But now people from different fields are using this for general, and less-formal kind of communication with their remote co-workers.
At first glance, you might find a lot of similarities in these two platforms but upon looking deeper you can find some clear differences to help find what works best for you.
Both the platforms boast a left-sidebar menu featuring different options from whom to chat and which channel to send your text to. Aside from different channels, the separate section of current conversation and right sidebar featuring threads about who replies what on the specific message are all amazing features. Talking about differences you can find clear differences in the cost, usability, chat, video, visuals, target audience, and other such features and functions. Let's dig into the details of each feature and let's see which is better for remote work, Slack or Discord?
As we mentioned earlier, both platforms Slack and Discord offers both private and public conversation feature to remote co-workers. In the shared rooms, remote co-workers can easily choose with whom they want to communicate in whatever way. The only difference between the two is that Slack features a "Chat Thread" option allowing users to see the replies to specific messages and keep the chat on any specific message separate from the rest of the conversation.
Moreover, the chat history on Slack is limited in the free version and you would have to upgrade to the paid version to have full access to your previous messages. While on Discord, chats are saved automatically and you can scroll through old chats whenever you want.
Our Note: We think both Slack and Discord are good for communication. It's just slack is easier to manage chats with a separate "Thread Chat feature". While on other hand, Discord allows more functionality by allowing users to easy navigation through old chats. So, we think unlimited conversations in the free plan look like a much better option which Discord is providing us here.
Video calls in Slack are comparable to phone calls in that you can connect up to 15 people and instantly connect the discussion by tapping on the video.
In a phone and video conversation, you can also display your screen with Slack. Slack makes it easy for users to add comments or highlight significant information during a screen-sharing conversation.
Discord's video calling function, on the other hand, has more extensive features. Certain chat functions, such as noise and echoes suppression, are under your control. You can transform a phone call into a video conference and communicate with up to 25 people at once by clicking a single button. Aside from comprehensive user controls, the platform also includes push-to-talk capability, which isn't available in Slack.
Our Note: Video communication is restricted to two people on Slack's free subscription. You can add up to 15 persons to a premium plan. On the other hand, Discord lets you communicate with up to 25 individuals at once. As a result, when it comes to video communication, Discord is the right option.
From Google Drive to YouTube to Zoom to Twitter, Slack has thousands of connectors with all types of business apps. Discord doesn't have any official integrations, instead depending on bots created by third parties. These are more focused on developing communities than accomplishing tasks, which feels right given each site's target audience. Discord, on the other hand, is probably not the greatest choice if you count on native connections with SaaS apps.
You can use Slack to access over 800 third-party apps, eliminating the need to switch between programs.
Whenever anyone sends you a message or mentions you anywhere, the Slack app will notify you. Calendars and task schedulers can be added in addition to YouTube, email applications, and other native apps.
Our Note: With Slack up to 800 third-party app integrations and Discord not giving any 'plus' features here we will recommend the Slack platform for the businesses that need a lot of app integrations.
Slack isn't cheap, to put it bluntly. A freemium edition is available, but it is limited to just 10 app integrations and chat history for up to just 10K messages. It costs $6.67 per user per month if you want endless chat histories, app integrations, the ability to connect channel conversations with third parties (for example, freelancers), screen-sharing, and audio and video conferences for up to 15 participants.
You'll have to pay $12.50 per person/month for a Plus subscription if you want business features like extra user authentication choices or the ability to handle users.
Discord's freemium version is more comprehensive than Slack's. You essentially get the platform's main capabilities with a few constraints. That implies limitless chat history, screen sharing, server storage, video calls with up to 8 participants, and 5,000 concurrent users. If it isn't enough, you can upgrade to a paid plan. With 'Nitro,' you get larger file uploads (up to 50Megabytes instead of 8, albeit still capped! ), better screen-sharing, and various personalization choices like animated faces and emoticons for $9.99 per month.
Subscriptions are handled differently in Discord. Instead of per-user-priced programs, Discord lets each user choose whether or not to sign up for the subscription to Nitro.
Our Note: Both Slack and Discord cost a lot. However, for work from home people Discord seems like a much better option because its freemium version has many comprehensive features than the Slack and we think Discord is a better option to go for when you have a limited budget.
Slack was designed by keeping the business administrators in view, who are in charge of their own workplace and enforcing their specific regulations. Slack is basically owned by the firm.
Discord is more akin to a public forum like Reddit. It's designed with community managers in mind, and there are content restrictions and enforcement across Discord. Simply said, businesses that use Slack are in command. Moderators on Discord aren't—at least not with the same degree.
This also applies to how private messages (DMs) function. Even if you're texting someone outside your organization, Slack DMs happen within a unique Slack instance. Those DM data could be accessed by the firm that operates your Slack instance.
For remote work, communication lays a strong foundation for future projects Because if the team is not in contact with each other and doesn't know the perspective of his fellow work from home worker then how can a team progress in the assigned tasks and improve the productivity. That's why tools like Slack and Discord are needed. However, to sum up, the above discussion on Slack vs. Discord; which is better for work-from-home jobs, we made the following bullet points for you to understand which tool caters to your need best.
Written by Khadija Hamail
