Mighty Networks vs Discord: free chat server or paid member platform

Discord has no server price, Mighty Networks is a paid platform with a member list you hold

Discord sells no plan to community owners, and Mighty Networks starts at $79 a month on annual billing. That is $950 a year on Mighty's pricing page, or $95 month to month per its help center. Discord's paid product, Nitro, is bought by individual users for perks such as larger uploads. Its page lists Nitro Basic at $2.99 a month and Nitro at $9.99 a month, shows no annual price, and notes that cost varies by country. Nothing on that page ties running a server to a Nitro subscription. Prices are as read on 3 October 2026.

So the question is not which is cheaper. It is whether chat is enough, or whether your group needs things Discord's help pages do not describe: a member list with email addresses, courses, and payments open to owners outside the United States.

Cost, fees and control compared

What Discord does better and what only Mighty Networks does

Discord only: voice and text channels that people hop in and out of without calling or inviting anyone. Enabling the Community setting adds announcement channels other servers can follow, Server Insights, onboarding questions that assign roles and channels, and a listing in Server Discovery for servers above 1,000 members. A Discord account works across every server a person joins, so there is no new login to ask for.

Mighty Networks only: against Discord the difference is records and structure. The Launch Plan gives hosts a downloadable list with each member's name, email, member type and notification settings. It adds events, courses with quizzes, a custom domain, a landing page and paid plans with subscriptions, installments and free trials. How alerts reach members also changes after a move, which the notifications page covers.

Who should stay on Discord and who should pay for Mighty Networks

• Stay on Discord if the group is social, lives on voice and fast chat, charges nothing, and members would not install another app.
• Move to Mighty Networks if you charge dues or want to, are outside the United States and cannot use Server Subscriptions, need to email members directly, or teach a program that needs lessons in order.
• Use both if chat is working. You can keep Discord for live talk and put courses, events and billing on the paid platform. Weigh that against a full move with Mighty Networks vs your existing group.

Why a Discord move is an invitation campaign, not an import

Every other platform comparison here involves a member file. Discord is different. Its help center documents how an individual user can request a copy of their own account data. We found no documented way for a server owner to download members' email addresses or export channel history. Mighty's bulk invitation needs an email address for each person, so there is nothing to upload.

1. Post the new network's invite link in an announcement channel. Mighty's help center says anyone who joins through the shared link gets access.
2. Once people join, their email addresses appear in Mighty's member list, so the list becomes yours from that point.
3. Copy the reference material worth keeping by hand: rules, guides, common answers. Decide what to leave behind using the content map.
4. Keep the server open for a set period and plan for some members not following.

Moving from Mighty to Discord is simpler: download the Excel member list and email everyone a server invite.