Discord Users in 2024: How Many People Use This Top Chat App?

Hey there! As an avid tech user myself, I often get asked: how many people actually use Discord in 2024?

It‘s a great question. Discord has grown from a niche chat app to a mainstream juggernaut with over 150 million monthly active users.

In this post, I‘ll give you a detailed look at Discord‘s current user statistics and growth trends. I‘ll also provide expert commentary on why this app got so popular, how Discord makes money, and what lies ahead.

Let‘s dive in!

Discord‘s Meteoric Growth Since 2015

First, let‘s look at Discord‘s overall growth trajectory.

Since its launch in 2015, Discord has experienced massive user base growth:

• In 2016, Discord had 25 million registered users.
• By 2017, registered users doubled to 45 million.
• In 2018, the user base exploded to over 130 million registered accounts.
• By 2019, total registered accounts reached 250 million.
• In 2020, Discord surpassed 300 million total registered users.
• Most recently, Discord hit over 390 million total users in September 2021.

This chart shows Discord‘s rocket-ship growth over the past 6 years:

Year – Total Registered Users
2016 – 25 million
2017 – 45 million
2018 – 130 million
2019 – 250 million
2020 – 300 million
2021 – 390 million

As you can see, Discord has essentially doubled its user base every couple of years since launch. The app just seems to keep growing at a stunning clip!

Now let‘s look specifically at monthly active users.

Discord Now Has 160-190 Million Monthly Active Users

While Discord passed 300 million total users in 2020, it reported only 100 million monthly active users that same year.

Monthly active users refers to accounts that are logged into Discord at least once per month. This better reflects the core user base.

Fast forward to today, and Discord said it has surpassed 150 million monthly active users as of January 2022.

Based on Discord‘s continued growth, I estimate the current number of monthly active users is likely between 160-190 million in early 2024.

Here‘s a summary of Discord‘s self-reported monthly active user milestones:

• 2017 – 10 million
• 2018 – 45 million
• 2019 – 56 million
• 2020 – 100 million
• 2021 – 140 million
• 2022 – Over 150 million

As you can see, massive growth occurred between 2018-2022. Discord more than tripled its monthly active user base within just a few years.

The platform is showing no signs of slowing down when it comes to onboarding new users month after month.

Why Discord Got So Popular Across Many User Groups

So what‘s driving this influx of millions of new Discord users?

While many think of it as an app for gamers, Discord has broad appeal across tons of user groups:

• Gaming – Discord remains a go-to for real-time voice chat and text chat when gaming. The low latency voice is ideal for competitive gaming coordination.
• Fandoms – Public Discord servers let fans of games, TV shows, sports teams, and more gather to geek out together. It‘s a digital home for every fandom imaginable.
• Students – High school and college students use Discord to collaborate on group assignments. Study groups also use it for remote learning.
• Remote work – Discord has become a "virtual office" for remote teams. The flexibility of channels and chatting makes it perfect for hybrid work.
• Friends & Family – During the pandemic, friends and family started using Discord as a way to hold group video calls and stay in touch.
• Events & Communities – Community servers help online events and local groups stay organized. Non-profits also use it to coordinate volunteers.

This versatility across niches has fueled incredible growth. Gamers may have gotten Discord off the ground, but now the app succeeds at being "everything chat" – gaming and beyond.

Next up, let‘s look at how Discord actually makes money off all these users.

Discord‘s Revenue Sources: Subscriptions, Games, and More

Given that Discord provides free servers and is used by over 150 million people, how does this startup actually turn a profit?

Discord makes money primarily through:

• Nitro subscriptions – For $9.99/month, users can upgrade to Nitro for extras like animated avatars, expanded custom emoji, higher quality video uploading, and a profile badge.
• Games store – Discord earns commissions by selling games through its integrated storefront. This allows game devs to directly market and sell games to the platform‘s highly engaged audience.

Additional revenue streams include premium stickers, a premium subscription for developers to access key game data, and selective monetization of large public community servers.

However, despite these revenue streams, Discord itself is likely still unprofitable on a net income basis. Operating expenses like infrastructure and payroll probably still exceed revenues.

Discord has raised over $480 million in funding from investors to fuel its growth, reaching a valuation of $15 billion in 2021. The long-term plan is to keep scaling up users and monetization.

Next up, let‘s take a closer look at Discord‘s Nitro subscriptions and how they make money.

Breaking Down Discord‘s Nitro Subscription Tiers

To upgrade from Discord‘s free experience, the platform offers two monthly subscription tiers called Nitro:

Nitro Classic ($4.99/month)

Nitro Classic provides:

• Custom emoji slots
• 50MB file upload size (vs 8MB free)
• Animated avatar
• Special badge on profile

Nitro ($9.99/month or $99.99/year)

Nitro includes all Classic benefits plus:

• 1080p 60fps screen sharing (vs 720p)
• Increased file uploads (100MB)
• Two server boosts
• Animated emojis
• Higher resolution profile badge

Millions of active Nitro subscriptions make up a significant chunk of Discord‘s annual revenue. The extra customization and features are compelling upgrades for power users.

In 2020, Discord shared that Nitro subscriber growth outpaced free user growth, indicating strong adoption of its paid offerings.

Now let‘s look at Discord‘s historical revenue and valuation growth.

Discord‘s Revenue History and Valuation Milestones

Since Discord is a private company, it doesn‘t disclose its detailed earnings. However, some key financial highlights include:

Annual Revenue

• 2016 – $5 million
• 2017 – $10 million
• 2018 – $30 million
• 2019 – $45 million
• 2020 – $130 million

Revenue grew slowly for the first few years, then ramped up as Discord‘s user base expanded.

Discord said Nitro revenue grew 233% between 2019 and 2020, indicating the impact of subscriptions.

Company Valuation

• 2017 – $1.6 billion
• 2018 – $2.0 billion
• 2019 – $3.5 billion
• 2020 – $7.0 billion
• 2021 – $15 billion

Discord‘s valuation has skyrocketed from $3.5 billion in 2019 to over $15 billion in 2021 based on investment rounds.

This demonstrates the red-hot growth potential investors see in Discord and its future monetization avenues. The company raised over $480 million to date.

The Future Looks Bright for Discord

Given Discord‘s wild growth over the past few years, what does the future look like?

Here are my predictions as a tech industry veteran:

• User growth will continue – Discord still has room to expand further into mainstream social, enterprise use, education, and beyond. There‘s plenty of global chat app market share left to grab.
• Monetization will ramp up – Expect Discord to keep expanding Nitro tiers, server monetization, the games store, and more creative premium offerings. Converting free users to paid is the next frontier.
• Discord may go public – An IPO in 2024-2024 could be on the horizon. Going public would let Discord raise more funds to compete for top talent with the likes of Facebook and Slack.
• Discord could get acquired – If growth stalls out, acquisition by a tech giant is a possibility. However, Discord still seems poised to remain independent if the current trajectory continues.

No matter what happens next, Discord has cemented itself as a beloved communication platform across gaming, work, school, and everyday chat.

With over 150 million monthly active users in 2024, this startup‘s future remains vibrant. Discord is a case study in viral product-market fit and smart scaling of a digital community.

The Bottom Line

So in summary, here are the key stats:

• Discord has over 390 million registered accounts
• Between 160-190 million log in monthly
• Monthly active users have doubled since 2020
• Revenue comes mostly from Nitro subscriptions
• Valuation last measured at $15 billion in 2021

From gamers to enterprise teams, Discord meets the evolving needs of online communication and community. With strong continued growth ahead, Discord has cemented itself as a top contender in the digital chat space for the long run.

Thanks for reading! Let me know if you have any other Discord stats or trends you‘re curious about. I‘m always happy to chat more about this fast-growing chat app.