# Mumble Hacker Approved page: https://hackerapproved.com/p/mumble/ 21 people recommended Mumble in Hacker News comments, 10 had mixed feelings and 11 criticized it, November 2025 to October 2026. It was recommended in 6 of 12 months, in 13 threads. It does not meet the Hacker Approved badge rule. **Verdict:** Free open source voice chat with high quality audio and low CPU use, well suited to friend groups. Critics note it is voice only and needs a server you host. Summary written by Claude from 47 comments. It was written before the November 2026 recount, and 44 of those comments still count. ## Why people recommend it - Excellent voice chat (4 comments in the sample): "for pure voice chat it is hard to do better than mumble." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46954412)) "There are excellent voice chats like mumble." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46779999)) "Mumble for voice is unironically great." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46960128)) - Free and open source software (2 comments in the sample): "Mumble would be my bigger recommendation for a truly open source Discord alternative" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47051676)) "free software unlike the other two (the trick to longevity" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46959903)) - High quality voice, low resources (2 comments in the sample): "It requires next to no CPU time, since the server is effectively just a packet relay." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46964332)) "High quality voice, low CPU requirements, low memory footprint." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47199810)) - Easy to host for friends (2 comments in the sample): "Works well in my experience. I've hosted a server for friends for around a decade now I think." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47053150)) "Mumble is pretty easy to host" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46959875)) ## What people warn about - Voice only, no video or screenshare (4 comments in the sample): "even that is enough friction to prevent adoption. Plus it doesn't support any of the non-voice features." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46959853)) "it doesn't have video chat or screenshare and mobile notifications are a bear" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48155204)) "Mumble is much easier (at least, for me) but lack the ability to call" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47045770)) - Requires installing and running servers (3 comments in the sample): "They were difficult to maintain since you had to install your own servers." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46959405)) "self hosted stuff, vent/ mumble etc with higher barrier to entry and less features" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46972271)) "all "installation" software with "server addresses" and "setup your user config" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46972331)) - Dated, hard-to-use interface (2 comments in the sample): "you cannot compare the UX and design of something like mumble to discord for the average person" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47058045)) "patchy, hodgepodge UI's of Mumble, Ventrilo, IRC, Skype" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50047925)) ## Other voice chat apps people recommend - [TeamSpeak](https://hackerapproved.com/p/teamspeak/): 18 recommend, 12 mixed, 11 criticize - [Ventrilo](https://hackerapproved.com/p/ventrilo/): 5 recommend, 4 mixed, 5 criticize ## The badge A product earns the Hacker Approved badge when at least 10 people recommend it, recommenders outnumber critics at least 2 to 1 (mixed feelings count toward neither side), it was recommended in at least 4 of the 12 months and in at least 5 different threads, and no single thread supplies more than half of the people who recommend it. Health and money products are never badged. ## Cite as Hacker Approved, "Mumble", https://hackerapproved.com/p/mumble/ (21 recommend, 10 mixed, 11 criticize; Hacker News comments, November 2025 to October 2026). Counts updated 2 Nov 2026, with data through October 31, 2026.