Looking for a private Discord alternative?
If you use Discord for communities and voice chat but want a privacy-first platform funded by subscriptions, Conch may be worth considering. This page explains where Conch fits — and where it does not try to be a one-to-one replacement.
Who might prefer Conch
Conch may appeal to people who want group messaging, communities, voice and video calling, games, and Shore social sharing in one app — without behavioral advertising profiles or selling personal data.
Conch offers a free Hermit tier for messaging and Shore, with optional Shell and Conch+ plans for voice and video.
What Conch offers
Relevant Conch capabilities include:
- End-to-end encrypted messaging and group chats (Hermit and above)
- Communities, games, and Shore chronological social
- Voice calling and Lounges on Shell ($2.99/month) and Conch+
- Video calling and screen sharing on Conch+ ($7.99/month)
- Free Hermit plan with core privacy commitments
Important differences
Discord is a mature platform with extensive server tooling, bots, integrations, and a large existing user base. Conch is a newer, privacy-first platform that combines messaging, social, and calling with a different business model and product philosophy.
Conch does not attempt to replicate every Discord server feature. If you rely heavily on bots, large public discovery, or platform-specific integrations, Conch may not be a direct substitute today.
Privacy and business model
Rather than compare another company’s data practices here, we focus on Conch’s model: no behavioral advertising profiles, no mining of activity for targeted advertising, no sale of personal data, and private messages encrypted end-to-end by default.