Around
Discord
| Feature | Around | Discord |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free / from $10.99/mo | Free / from $9.99/mo |
| Free Plan | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| Rating | 4.2 / 5 | 4.5 / 5 |
| Best For | remote-teams, quick-standups, pair-programming, distributed-teams | communities, gaming-teams, developers, creators, study-groups |
| Founded | 2020 | 2015 |
| Floating Video | ✓ | ✗ |
| Auto Leveling | ✓ | ✗ |
| Noise Cancellation | ✓ | ✗ |
| Screen Sharing | ✓ | ✓ |
| Reactions | ✓ | ✗ |
| Virtual Backgrounds | ✓ | ✗ |
| Text Chat | ✗ | ✓ |
| Voice Channels | ✗ | ✓ |
| Video Calls | ✗ | ✓ |
| Bots | ✗ | ✓ |
| Threads | ✗ | ✓ |
| Forum Channels | ✗ | ✓ |
✓ Around Pros
- Lightweight and fast
- Minimal floating interface
- Good noise cancellation
- Reduces meeting fatigue
✗ Around Cons
- Limited features vs Zoom
- Smaller user base
- No recording on free
✓ Discord Pros
- Completely free for most features
- Excellent voice chat quality
- Huge bot and integration ecosystem
- Server organization with channels and roles
✗ Discord Cons
- Can be distracting with many servers
- Not designed for formal business use
- Message search can be slow
The Verdict
Around is built for remote teams and quick standups, with a focus on floating-video and auto-leveling. Discord targets communities and gaming teams and leads with text-chat and voice-channels.
Pricing is close: Discord starts at $9.99/mo versus $10.99/mo for Around — not a deciding factor on its own.
Both offer free plans, so you can test each with your real workflow before committing to a subscription.
Feature-wise, Discord offers broader built-in capabilities (7 features vs 6), while Around takes a more focused approach — which can mean a simpler, faster onboarding experience.
Bottom line: Discord has a slight overall edge — but if lightweight and fast matters most to you, Around may still be the right call.
