Mumble
Hacker ApprovedThe most recommended of 3 voice chat apps
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.
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.
47 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 34
- criticize it
- 13
- approval share
- 72%
Recommended in 7 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: recommended
- February 2026: recommended
- March 2026: recommended
- April 2026: recommended
- May 2026: not recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: recommended
- August 2026: recommended
- September 2026: not recommended
- October 2026: recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it carries the badge
- 34 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, met.
- 2.6 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 7 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Excellent voice chat
“for pure voice chat it is hard to do better than mumble.”
Comment from 10 Feb 2026 in “Discord will require a face scan or ID for full access next month” “There are excellent voice chats like mumble.”
Comment from 27 Jan 2026 in “France Aiming to Replace Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams, etc.” “Mumble for voice is unironically great.”
Comment from 10 Feb 2026 in “Discord Alternatives, Ranked” - Comment from 17 Feb 2026 in “Discord Rival Gets Overwhelmed by Exodus of Players Fleeing Age-Verification”
Free and open source software
“Mumble would be my bigger recommendation for a truly open source Discord alternative”
Comment from 17 Feb 2026 in “Discord Rival Gets Overwhelmed by Exodus of Players Fleeing Age-Verification” “free software unlike the other two (the trick to longevity)”
Comment from 10 Feb 2026 in “Discord Alternatives, Ranked” High quality voice, low resources
“It requires next to no CPU time, since the server is effectively just a packet relay.”
Comment from 10 Feb 2026 in “Discord Alternatives, Ranked” “High quality voice, low CPU requirements, low memory footprint.”
Comment from 28 Feb 2026 in “Discord's Fall Would Suck for TTRPGs” Easy to host for friends
“Works well in my experience. I've hosted a server for friends for around a decade now I think.”
Comment from 17 Feb 2026 in “Discord Rival Gets Overwhelmed by Exodus of Players Fleeing Age-Verification” “Mumble is pretty easy to host”
Comment from 10 Feb 2026 in “Discord Alternatives, Ranked”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Voice only, no video or screenshare
“even that is enough friction to prevent adoption. Plus it doesn't support any of the non-voice features.”
Comment from 10 Feb 2026 in “Discord Alternatives, Ranked” “it doesn't have video chat or screenshare and mobile notifications are a bear”
Comment from 15 May 2026 in “Tuwunel – Matrix Chat and Voice/Video/Screen Conferencing for Groups” “Mumble is much easier (at least, for me) but lack the ability to call”
Comment from 17 Feb 2026 in “Use Protocols, Not Services” - Comment from 11 Oct 2026 in “IRCv3”
Requires installing and running servers
“They were difficult to maintain since you had to install your own servers.”
Comment from 10 Feb 2026 in “Discord Alternatives, Ranked” “self hosted stuff, vent/ mumble etc with higher barrier to entry and less features”
Comment from 11 Feb 2026 in “Ex-GitHub CEO Launches a New Developer Platform for AI Agents” “all "installation" software with "server addresses" and "setup your user config"”
Comment from 11 Feb 2026 in “Ex-GitHub CEO Launches a New Developer Platform for AI Agents” Dated, hard-to-use interface
“you cannot compare the UX and design of something like mumble to discord for the average person”
Comment from 18 Feb 2026 in “Discord Rival Gets Overwhelmed by Exodus of Players Fleeing Age-Verification” “patchy, hodgepodge UI's of Mumble, Ventrilo, IRC, Skype”
Comment from 11 Oct 2026 in “IRCv3”
Other voice chat apps people recommend
The two most recommended other voice chat apps, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
See all 3 voice chat apps, rankedWhat people said
40 of the 60 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“dont forget about vent and mumble!”
“one of my favorite applications”
“Each sidebar "server" entry should be an ACTUAL SERVER, with a unique username and connection.”
“IRC and Mumble go together well, I think.”
“Mumble and IRC will still work. They are eternal.”
“patchy, hodgepodge UI's of Mumble, Ventrilo, IRC, Skype”
“only voice and subpar text chat”
“just use Mumble for voice and Jitsi for video”
“which allows for a hierarchy of chat rooms”
“it doesn't have video chat or screenshare and mobile notifications are a bear”
“some of those were better than what Discord was offering for individual features”
“High quality voice, low CPU requirements, low memory footprint.”
“it's been working pretty well”
“you cannot compare the UX and design of something like mumble to discord for the average person”
“not in the way Teamspeak or Mumble used to be, at least”
“Works well in my experience. I've hosted a server for friends for around a decade now I think.”
“Mumble is fantastic for voice chat.”
“Mumble would be my bigger recommendation for a truly open source Discord alternative”
“Mumble is much easier (at least, for me) but lack the ability to call”
“Community voice: Mumble, Teamspeak”
“all "installation" software with "server addresses" and "setup your user config"”
“self hosted stuff, vent/ mumble etc with higher barrier to entry and less features”
“It requires next to no CPU time, since the server is effectively just a packet relay.”
“The closest realistic option is probably XMPP and Mumble.”
“seems they where the default for a bit before discord”
“for that Mumble seems perfect”
“Great for friend groups, not working in scale.”
“I think it'll meet our needs”
“Mumble for voice is unironically great.”
“I only fire up Mumble as-needed since I tend to prefer text chat.”
“That's what me and my buddies use.”
“free software unlike the other two (the trick to longevity)”
“Mumble is pretty easy to host”
“even that is enough friction to prevent adoption. Plus it doesn't support any of the non-voice features.”
“It's rock-solid, everyone I play games with seems fine with it.”
“They were difficult to maintain since you had to install your own servers.”
“That's why you have Mumble.”
“I prefer to have video/voice in it's own system.”
“for pure voice chat it is hard to do better than mumble.”
“There are excellent voice chats like mumble.”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.