Are you sure itโs decentralised? Last time I checked you could just install your own server, but servers are not interconnected.
this post was submitted on 11 Jan 2026
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Decentralized โ Federated
But I don't know if there is federation. It is decentralized because compared to Discord, everything isn't on a central server but can be hosted on an independent instance. However bots that bridge servers between instances seem to already exist.
It would be a real game changer if it was federated!
Yeah afaik itโs not federated. Itโs been a month or two since Iโve checked up on it though
โUI layout comparable to Discordโ is not a selling point. Will check it out though and see how it evolves compared to Matrix. Thanks for posting.
A lot of people do not like the layout of Matrix. A lot of friends hate Matrix and absolutely do not see it as an alternative to Discord.
Also I hate it that everytime I bring up Discord on the Fediverse, people bring up Matrix, even though they are only vaguely similar.
Imagine you talk about Mastodon and someone constantly says "But Friendica is better. They are both microblogging sites."
That's how it often feels here.
Matrix is an interoperability protocol (like activityPub, which mastodon, friendica, Lemmy, pixelfed etc.. all use to communicate with one another) rather than the actual application being used.ย ย
ย ย
The UI you're describing is probably Element, which is the most common matrix implementation used, though others do exist. A good example is probably rocket.chat; they've leaned harder into the discord like feel, whilst making use of the matrix protocol.ย ย
ย ย
As forย Stoat chat; It's a rebrand of revolt chat, who have previously resisted calls for federation due to the perceived complexity of implementing (or creating their own i guess) protocol. That's not to say it doesn't have it's uses; but it would be silly to assume people won't try to steer you towardsย federated services on the fediverse ๐ and stoat don't seem to have changed their stance on the matter.ย
A "bot" or something can maybe be made to bridge to Matrix protocol stuff as they already have ones that bridge to Discord and Guilded. Someone just needs to make it.
The bridge for revolt/stoat has been around for some time now. You might still need to search for matrix-protocol-revolt (or something like that) rather than stoat; as the name change is fairly recent, and may not have been implemented by the team responsible for matrix.
That being said, native federation support is always better. The bridge will require you to run a matrix backend like synapse alongside stoat chat, (so two different chat services rather than just one running) at which point you might as well just look at a discord designed frontend for matrix instead.
That's why "bots" exist. Usually bots are linked to such backends.
Yes... Like the one I just described to you?ย
I don't get this. To me, Matrix looks a lot like discord. I use Element X, and the UI looks the same. Maybe it doesn't have all the features yet, but I never used Discord for more than messaging anyway, so I'm not aware what Matrix is lacking comparatively.
As far as I'm aware, there are different apps one can use to access Matrix, just like the case with Lemmy. So if you don't like the layout of one, why not just choose another?
I mean it's cool that there's another option available; diversity might prevent enshittification and offer a backup if one sells out like so many platforms do (discord, reddit, etc.). But to say Matrix isn't comparable to Discord kinda flies over my head...
If you haven't used Discord for more than messaging, then you haven't experienced it to the extent most others have experienced it. Matrix isn't like Discord. Comparing the two is like saying Twitter and Facebook are similar. Just because they have one feature/function in common doesn't mean they are alike.
What features does Discord have that Matrix doesn't?
Roles, "bot" that automate certain jobs such as custom role assigning, radio/music "bots", screenshare you can do without needing an external program to do it, videochat without needing a bridge to Jitsi to do it, easier organization, easier embedding etc. You can't do shit on current Matrix frontends except for messaging and maybe voice chat. I would put Matrix frontends closer to Teamspeak or Slack than Discord. If you are seriously asking that question, I suggest you familiarize yourself with Discord instead of making assumptions.
Well I don't need any of those additional features, so I'm gonna go ahead and not.
Matrix works fine for me. If you want all the bells and whistles, then I suggest you learn to code and make it yourself.
I wasn't "making assumptions," I asked a simple question. No need to be condescending.
Well the problem is that every time I ask for or offer an alternative to Discord, I get people saying "Matrix" and they become increasingly condescending ALL THE TIME.
Why can't people just come into a thread and say "oh cool another alternative to choose from". Instead I get "That's dumb. Matrix is all we need." or "Matrix is better than Discord" by people unfamiliar with Discord.
I am just fed up.
Well I clearly said diverse options are beneficial, so this isn't a case of someone saying "Matrix is all we need." I simply asked what the difference was, literally giving you an opening to explain your position
Sorry, I got a bit overwhelmed with other responses.
I guess all the extra stuff for emojies Spotify and patreon ntegration screen sharing that you need their premium "nitro" for. Haven't used it in years so wouldn't know sorry
More than just that. Also there are third party clients for linux where you get certain nitro features without paying as long as they aren't essential nitro features that can get you banned such as streaming in more than 720p or getting more than 128 kbit/s in voice chat.
I just installed revolt and gave it a try. It seems like a much more promising discord alternative than matrix which I also just tried over the weekend.
Now the hard part is getting all the communities I use discord for to move over. Maybe after the IPO and next wave of enshitification the migration will really get rolling.
Revolt or Stoat? Because Revolt is the old project and doesn't have voice chat implemented.
Why not Matrix?
Because Matrix is not a Discord alternative. It has a completely different layout and features (such as custom roles). Plus no one of my usual friends likes Matrix.
How many of your friends use Stoat?
One. The rest is still on Discord, because Stoat hasn't officially released video chat and screensharing yet. And because Matrix is not a viable alternative for them. Anyone familiar with Discord won't seriously claim Matrix to be an alternative. I may use Matrix, but not for stuff I use Discord for.
Interesting. The only times I was invited on Discord was for calls (video and audio) and chatting, which Matrix has. What's so special about Discord's video chat and screensharing?
Matrix has video rooms which act as voice rooms if you turn off video, you can screenshare too. Just activate the "Video Rooms Beta" (Settings --> Labs --> Video Rooms Beta) and you're set.
Last time I checked you can't just simply screenshare on Element X. And video rooms requires a Jitsi opt in. Also there are many organisational features such as custom roles that Matrix frontends don't have.
Because it's supposed to be something to replace Discord. I use Matrix, but you can't seriously compare the two. The features are different. You wouldn't compare Matrix with Zoom, would you?
Why not? Matrix has a call feature too, has it not? Can't you share a link that anybody can use to join a call too? How is that different from Zoom?
Isn't Matrix the perfect fit for this?
No. Please don't ever mention Matrix as an alternative to Discord ever again. A lot of people I know from Discord would never switch to Matrix because it lacks the ease of Discord. Matrix is rather an alternative to Slack or Mattermost.