Mumble vs TeamSpeak vs Discord: which voice chat suits your clan?
Published on 3 October 2026
If you just want to talk to your friends for free with zero setup, Discord is usually enough. If you want your own server with low latency, where you decide who gets in and what everyone can do, pick Mumble or TeamSpeak. Mumble is free and open source; TeamSpeak is free to self-host up to 32 slots, and above that you pay for a licence. Below you’ll find the differences and which one suits your clan.
What are Mumble, TeamSpeak and Discord?
Mumble is free, open source voice software. You connect to a server, and that server belongs to you or to whoever hosts it for you. TeamSpeak works the same way, but the software belongs to the company TeamSpeak. Discord is a chat platform with text channels, voice, video and bots. Discord hosts everything itself; all you do is create a server in the app.
| Voice chat | Your own server | Software cost |
|---|---|---|
| Mumble | Yes | Free, open source |
| TeamSpeak | Yes, or hosted by TeamSpeak | Free up to 32 slots, licence above that |
| Discord | No, Discord hosts everything | Free, extras with Nitro and server boosts |
How do sound and latency compare?
All three sound good enough for a raid or a round of Squad. The difference is in latency and in how much you can tweak yourself. Mumble is built for the lowest possible latency and has positional audio: in games that support it, you hear teammates on your left or right, close by or far away. With your own Mumble or TeamSpeak server you also choose where that server is, ideally close to your group.
On Discord, Discord picks the voice server. A voice channel is set to automatic by default: Discord picks the region based on the first person who joins the empty channel. Admins can set a fixed region per channel, and server boosts let you raise a voice channel’s audio quality.
Privacy and admin: who’s in control?
With Mumble and TeamSpeak, your calls run through a server you choose. With Mumble, the connection to the server is always encrypted, and by default you log in with a certificate rather than just a password. With access control lists (ACLs) you decide per channel who can speak, who can listen and who can move others around. Handy for a clan with squad channels and a separate channel for the commanders.
On Discord, everything lives with Discord. Since March 2026, every voice and video call on Discord is end-to-end encrypted, including voice channels on servers; only Stage channels are not. Text messages aren’t end-to-end encrypted. Everyone needs a Discord account, and your community lives on another company’s platform.
TeamSpeak sits in between. You host the server yourself, with an extensive system of server and channel groups, or you have it hosted. The new TeamSpeak 6 server is still in beta as of October 2026; TeamSpeak 3 is the stable version.
What does it cost?
- Mumble: the software is free. You only pay for the server, or you host it yourself.
- TeamSpeak: self-hosting is free up to 32 slots. Above that you buy a licence, according to TeamSpeak from 55 US dollars a year for 64 slots. TeamSpeak also offers hosted servers itself.
- Discord: free. Nitro and server boosts add extras, such as higher audio quality in voice channels.
So why don’t we rent out TeamSpeak servers? Under TeamSpeak’s licence terms, you can’t use their licences to provide servers to others. As long as we have no agreement with TeamSpeak about that, we don’t offer it. Mumble has no such restriction, which makes it the TeamSpeak alternative we can offer you.
Your own voice server for your clan? At CakeHosting you choose a Mumble server with the number of slots that fits your group. Cancel any month.
Which one suits your clan?
- A group of friends who play together now and then: Discord. It’s free, everyone already has it, and text and voice live in one place.
- A clan with regular game nights in a tactical shooter such as Squad or Arma Reforger: Mumble. Low latency, a channel per squad, and you set the permissions.
- A small clan that has been on TeamSpeak for years: stay put. If you host the server yourself, it costs nothing up to 32 slots.
- A large community: often a mix. Discord for chat, announcements and bots, and Mumble for voice while you play.
Not sure how many slots you need? Count how many people sit in your channels at the same time on a busy night, and add a little. Your Mumble server comes with standard DDoS protection from the data centre. If your community runs on Discord, a bot helps keep things tidy; how to keep one online around the clock is explained in Keep your Discord bot online 24/7 without your own PC. And if you need a server for the game itself, have a look at our game server hosting.
