Taverns

Taverns is a hosted community platform for gaming and hobby groups that need organized text, voice, events, and moderation spaces. It suits communities building a persistent shared hub rather than users seeking voice chat alone. The free core, browser entry, and unusually large media allowances make it compelling, while migration limits can make a move from an established server laborious.

Overview

Taverns structures each community as a Tavern with text and voice halls, roles, forums, events, and moderation tools. Browser access means members can join without installing software, useful for occasional participants or mixed-device groups. Native apps are offered alongside the web version, and MEKASMITH Co., Ltd. operates the service from Tokyo, Japan.

Key features

Communication and community organization

Text and voice halls cover everyday conversation and live sessions, while roles, forums, events, and moderation tools give larger hobby groups more structure than a single chat room. The model is a good fit for communities that need recurring activities and organized discussion areas.

Media and watch parties

Free file uploads reach 2 GB, a practical allowance for sharing substantial recordings or project files. The homepage describes screen sharing at 1080p and 60 fps. Stage halls synchronize playback for YouTube, TikTok, X posts, Vimeo, Twitch clips, and video files, so members can watch together without separately coordinating timing.

Every Tavern includes up to 700 custom emoji and 1,000 stickers without a subscription or boosts. Groups that use distinctive visual shorthand get considerable room before hitting those caps.

Calls, privacy, and account controls

Voice, video, and screen-sharing calls are end-to-end encrypted, except when a voice hall streams to or from a third-party service that does not support end-to-end encryption. Account settings let users review active sessions, disconnect linked accounts, export data, and delete an account; help materials also cover two-factor authentication and recovery codes. MEKASMITH says it does not sell personal information or share it with unrelated third parties for their own marketing. Connected services can include Twitch, YouTube, and Spotify, and bot developers may receive data permitted by their bot permissions.

Discord migration

The free migration tool can copy supported server identity, channels, categories, roles, permission mappings, emoji, and stickers. It does not copy members, messages, message history, webhooks, or integrations. Communities changing platforms therefore retain some structure and branding but must rebuild their membership and historical archive.

Pricing

The Free plan costs nothing. Account creation, Tavern creation, community membership, chat, voice, and community tools are included, while optional extras use Prisma. There is no free trial because the core plan is permanently free. The 2 GB upload allowance, 700 custom emoji, and 1,000 stickers apply without a subscription or boosts. This plan suits volunteer-run groups and clubs that can work within those quotas; groups needing extras should budget for Prisma, although no separate paid-plan price is given.

Platforms

Taverns is hosted and runs on the web, with mobile apps for iOS and Android. The wider platform listing also identifies Windows, macOS, and Linux support, giving desktop users alternatives to the browser.

Who it's for

Choose Taverns for gaming clans, fan communities, and hobby groups that want persistent spaces combining live voice, organized text, events, and moderation. Browser joining helps communities whose members resist downloads. It is less suitable for a migration that must preserve member rosters or years of message history, since those elements are excluded from the migration tool.

Pros and cons

• Pros: A free plan includes core community, chat, and voice functions, plus browser access.
• Pros: 2 GB free uploads, 1080p/60 fps screen sharing, synchronized watch parties, and generous emoji and sticker caps support media-heavy groups.
• Pros: End-to-end encryption covers voice, video, and screen sharing except incompatible third-party streams.
• Cons: Discord migration omits members, messages, message history, webhooks, and integrations, creating manual setup work.
• Cons: Optional extras use Prisma, and the free plan has stated upload, emoji, and sticker limits.

Alternatives

Discord is the safer choice for communities wanting voice, video, and text chat with browser, desktop, and mobile access and established community servers.

GameVox fits groups needing a free server capped at 100 members, five voice channels, eight text channels, 2 GB storage, and 500 MB per file.

CallSign suits users who value a basic AI assistant alongside voice channels and 25 MB file uploads on its free plan.

Lag is appropriate when you want free voice chat with no per-seat pricing, plan tiers, or feature gates.

SONIX is an alternative for low-latency calls, AI noise cancellation, multi-user screen sharing, and up to 5 GB storage per user on its free plan.

TeamSpeak is worth considering for communities seeking scalable slot options and a free-trial community offering without server hardware.

Bedrock Voice Chat is a self-hosted option with no seat count or per-player billing and multitrack recording included.

Mumble is the choice for free, open-source voice chat that can be self-hosted.

Verdict

Taverns is a strong choice for gaming and hobby communities that want a free, browser-friendly home combining structured discussion, live voice, events, moderation, and watch parties. Its main reason to choose it is the breadth of media and community features included without a subscription. Look elsewhere if preserving members, messages, or integrations during a Discord move is essential, or if you prefer self-hosting and direct control of the server.