If your paid community needs real-time chat and voice rooms, Discord is still the best tool for that, and nothing on this page replaces it. If you want members to pay, find your posts a week later and take a course or book an event in the same place, a community platform fits better. Skool, Circle and Mighty Networks are the usual picks. WithMe puts the community next to courses, coaching, email and checkout, with 0% WithMe commission, but it has no live chat rooms and no member direct messages.
WithMe is $25 per month billed annually (UK £25), with a 14-day trial and 0% WithMe commission. Stripe and PayPal fees still apply. More than 8,000 creators use it.
Why do creators look for a Discord alternative?
Most creators who leave Discord do not leave because of the chat. They leave because of everything around it:
- Chat moves fast. A good answer posted on Monday is buried by Wednesday, so new members ask the same questions again.
- Charging for access needs extra tools. Discord's own subscriptions are limited to US-based owners, so many paid servers run on a bot that adds and removes roles.
- Courses, coaching and email live somewhere else, so members get links to three or four different sites.
- Every member needs a Discord account and has to get used to channels, roles and notifications, which puts off audiences who do not already use Discord.
How do you charge for a Discord server?
Discord Server Subscriptions: Discord's Creator Revenue FAQ, checked 11 November 2026, states a 90/10 split, so you keep 90% of each membership before other fees. To turn it on you must be 18 or older, have two-factor authentication on, and give Stripe US-based banking information and identification. The FAQ says Server Subscriptions will not be available outside the United States.
LaunchPass: the pricing page, checked 11 November 2026, lists a free Basic plan with no transaction fee for free members, and Premium at $29 per month plus a 3.5% transaction fee for one-time and recurring billing. Stripe's own processing fee of 2.9% + 30 cents is charged on top. LaunchPass works with Discord, Telegram and Slack.
Whop: Whop's fees page, checked 11 November 2026, lists 2.7% + $0.30 per successful domestic card payment, plus 1.5% for international cards and 1% when currency conversion applies. It does not list a monthly fee.
Patreon: Patreon's pricing page, checked 11 November 2026, lists a 10% platform fee plus payment processing, currency conversion and payout fees. Its Discord integration gives each paying tier a Discord role, so patrons get the channels that tier unlocks.
When is Discord still the right choice?
Stay on Discord if the conversation is the product. Live chat, voice channels and bots are what Discord does best, and gaming, trading and developer audiences often already live there. A free Discord server costs nothing to run.
Some creators keep a free Discord for chat and move the paid part, such as lessons, replays and coaching, to a platform with a checkout. That split works if you are happy to look after two places.
What are the alternatives for a paid community?
Prices below are from each vendor's own pricing page, checked 11 November 2026, in USD.
- Skool: Hobby is $9 per month with a 10% transaction fee. Pro is $99 per month with a 2.9% transaction fee. Both list unlimited members, courses, videos and live calls, with 2 months free on yearly billing. Points and a leaderboard are part of how Skool keeps members posting.
- Circle: Professional is $89, Business $199 and Scale $419 per month, based on annual billing, with transaction fees of 2%, 1% and 1%. Direct messaging and group chat are included on every plan, so it is the closest of these to Discord's chat.
- Mighty Networks: Launch is $79 per month or $950 a year, Scale $179 per month and Growth $354 per month. The transaction-fee row reads 2%, 1%, 0.5% and 0.5% across the plan columns. Chat spaces and private messaging are listed.
- WithMe: $25 per month billed annually (UK £25), 0% WithMe commission, with the community on the same plan as courses, coaching, memberships, digital products and email. A feed and events, not a chat app.
What does a WithMe community include?
A WithMe community is a feed of posts, not a set of chat channels. Here is what is in it:
- Posts with text, images, video you upload or record, audio, PDFs, Google Docs and Sheets, and embeds from YouTube, Vimeo, Loom, Twitch and Wistia.
- Replies, comments on replies, and likes. Members can post as well as you.
- Categories to sort the feed, starting with start here, announcements, wins, q&a and resources, plus search.
- Pinned posts that stay at the top, and scheduled posts that go live at a time you choose.
- Events: a post with a Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams or other meeting link and a start time. Members see a countdown and can add it to their calendar.
- A Library tab with the courses, digital products and other products you include with the community.
- Approve new members: turn it on, and new members join as requests you approve or decline in Customers, Requests.
- Members use it on the web or in the WithMe app on iOS and Android.
How do members pay for a WithMe community?
A community can be free or paid. A paid community can be a single payment or recurring, billed every few weeks, monthly or yearly, and you can add a second price so members choose, for example monthly or yearly.
You can turn a recurring price into a payment plan, show a higher compare-at price next to a sale price, include the community with another product such as a course, and add an order bump at checkout. Buyers pay by card, Apple Pay and Google Pay. WithMe takes 0% commission.
How do you move a paid Discord community to WithMe?
- Create the community on WithMe, set the price, and write a welcome post in the start here category. Pin it.
- Export your members' names and email addresses from the tool that takes payment, such as Whop, LaunchPass or Patreon. Discord itself does not give you members' email addresses.
- On WithMe, open Customers, click Add Customer, then Upload CSV, and choose the community. Tick the consent box and import. Each person gets an email that they now have access.
- Card details and subscriptions do not move. Give paying members free access until their next billing date, then send a link so they restart payment on WithMe.
- Announce the date in Discord, then lock or archive the paid channels once members have moved.
What is not included?
WithMe communities have no live chat rooms, no voice channels and no direct messages between members. There is no member directory, no moderator roles, no bots or role sync, and no points, levels or leaderboard. There are no polls, and you cannot go live inside a community: events link out to Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams or another meeting tool. Communities have no free trial option. If chat is what members pay for, keep Discord or choose Circle or Mighty Networks.
How much does WithMe cost?
WithMe is $25 per month billed annually (UK £25), with a 14-day trial and 0% WithMe commission. Stripe and PayPal fees still apply. One plan covers courses, memberships, community, coaching, webinars, digital products and email. Free migration of up to 10 GB of your courses and members comes with the yearly plan.
Discord alternative questions
Can I charge for a Discord server outside the US?
Not with Discord's own Server Subscriptions. Discord's Creator Revenue FAQ, checked 11 November 2026, says they will not be available outside the United States. Creators elsewhere use a bot such as LaunchPass, Whop or Patreon's Discord integration.
Does WithMe have chat like Discord?
No. A WithMe community is a feed with posts, replies, comments, likes and events. There are no chat rooms, voice channels or member direct messages.
Which Discord alternative has real-time chat?
Circle lists direct messaging and group chat on every plan, and Mighty Networks lists chat spaces and private messaging, on their pricing pages checked 11 November 2026. Skool's help centre describes Skool Chat for messages between members. Check each one for current limits.
Can I keep Discord and use WithMe for the paid part?
Yes. Some creators keep a free Discord for chat and sell the course, coaching and paid community on WithMe. Members then use two places, so tell them which one is for what.
What does WithMe cost?
$25 per month billed annually (UK £25), with a 14-day trial. WithMe takes 0% commission. Stripe and PayPal fees still apply.
Start your 14-day trial at https://www.withme.so/become-a-creator.
