When comparing Stride (previously HipChat) vs Mumble, the Slant community recommends Stride (previously HipChat) for most people. In the question“What is the best team chat software?” Stride (previously HipChat) is ranked 5th while Mumble is ranked 10th. The most important reason people chose Stride (previously HipChat) is:
You can access HipChat from pretty much every common platform. HipChat even allows chatting via SMS.
Specs
Ranked in these QuestionsQuestion Ranking
Pros
Pro Available on Web, Mac, Windows, Linux, iOS, Android
You can access HipChat from pretty much every common platform. HipChat even allows chatting via SMS.
Pro Powerful @mentions
You can ping people to get their attention even if they are not online by @mentioning them. Depending on how the person has set their account up it can be by notifications via in-app sounds, visual alerts, and even email, SMS, or mobile app push notifications.
Pro Huge list of integrations
Including Asana, Github, Zendesk, WordPress, MongoDB, TeamCity, JIRA, Confluence, PowerShell and more that 40 others.
Pro Cheap
Free with unlimited users, $2/user/month for voice + video calls, screencasts, full history retention and management. (Even enterprise feature like SAML)
Pro Simple, easy to use
An intuitive, easy to overview interface listing both online and offline users.
Pro Embeds files
Things like photos get automatically embedded in the chat thread once you upload them.
Pro Guest access
You can invite people to join conversations even if they don't have a HipChat account. HipChat will generate a link to share and the guest will only need to enter their name to join the conversation.
Pro Desktop client
HipChat has an optional desktop client powered by Adobe AIR.
Pro Good audio and video support
HipChat audio and video works on mobile platforms and web browsers.
Pro "Rooms" for persistent group chat
Participate and keep tabs on ongoing discussions on particular topics or amongst certain groups of people.
Pro Self-Hosting available
If you are worried about third-parties getting access to your data you should consider self-hosting. With self-hosting you are in control over where your data is stored, who has access to it. You will also not be vulnerable to exploits of a third-party provider.
Pro Plentiful GIFs and custom Emoticons
Pro Syntax coloring
Pasted code can be colored based on syntax.
Pro Will be updated to have more functions in the future
A big company with experience will bring in more options like Google Apps One Time Login.
Pro Reliability has been great
Pro Powerful command system
E.g. part, away, all, here etc.
Pro Code available to anyone to inspect or use, no spy- or adware
Mumble is available as a free download and source code is available on GitHub.
Pro Free and open-source server software
The server software Murmur is licensed under a free and open-source BSD-style license.
Pro Can be used on a gamers preferred platform
Available on Windows, Linux, OS X, Android and iOS which allows for the user to choose what operating system works for them and still be able to use Mumble.
Pro Excellent voice quality
Since version 1.2.4, Mumble uses an audio codec named Opus that's specifically developed to provide low-latency voice communication over Internet. This means that there is no delay time, while audio still comes out clear.
Pro Low latency and resource usage
Dedicated servers and low overhead allows Mumble to have the least delay between users speaking and others hearing their speech, which can be very important for fast paced games.
Pro Push-to-Talk
A push-to-talk key allows you to only transmit audio when you want it. Others won't hear you chewing or your mom entering the room unless you want to.
Pro Free to download and use as a client
Mumble is completely free, even hosting your own server.
Pro Use of certificates offers more security and easy people management
Mumble uses certificates for user identification. A certificate can be generated by the user himself or issued by a third-party organization with organization certificates having 2 classes. A self-generated certificate is not tied to anything, a Class 1 certificate is tied to an e-mail address and a Class 2 certificate requires proof of identity. Depending on the server a different level of certification might be required.
Pro Server works on Raspberry Pi
Mumble server side is easy to setup and works smooth even on Raspberry Pi, which is pretty short on resources.
Pro Easily overlay over game
An in-game overlay can be enabled to show users in the channel or users talking. Overlay can be disabled completely or on a per-game basis by going to Settings->Overlay. This allows for users to see their chat but not obstruct the game they are playing.
Pro Sub-channels
By default, only users in the same channel can hear each other. Channels can be nested to better organize yourself according to what you want to be talking about.
Pro Secure & encrypted
This encryption is mandatory and cannot be disabled. The so-called control channel, which transports your chat messages and other non-time critical information, is encrypted with TLS using 256 bit AES-SHA. The voice channel carrying speech and positional audio is encrypted with OCB-AES 128 bit.
Pro Good audio normalization
Mumble includes great automatic volume adjustment functionality that can be used to prevent big volume changes while still allowing good communication.
Pro Positional audio
Mumble supports positional audio for over 50 games, including versions of Call of Duty, Battlefield and Counter-Strike. This allows you to hear the audio from the direction of the player speaking, making gameplay more immersive and giving competitive players an edge. You can find a full list of supported games here.
Pro Portable version on PortableApps
Pro Server can be put on alternative firmware wireless routers
Cons
Con Will be discontinued Feb 2019
Slack acquired Stride / Hip Chat. Both Stride and Hip Chat will cease to exist. Sad since they were quite usable.
Con Prioprietary (non-free/libre)
Con Reliability of service has been weak
The reliability of the hosted HipChat service, particularly in the early days of version 4.x, has not been a strong suit.
Con Free plan has limited storage
Free plan comes with 5GB of storage, where as paid plan has "Unlimited".
Con Only one-on-one video calls in free version
There is no option for multi-user conference calls.
Con No emoji
There's no emoji support. Instead there are some strange custom emoticons which only make sense for people steeped in internet subculture and never get updated.
Con API calls are limited even on paid plan to 500 calls in 5min by default
This will force you to contact them when you need more calls.
Con Non-synced notifications
Messages read on one client don't sync their status to another client.
Con A bit more difficult to set up than similar solutions
The process of generating and/or acquiring certificates can be time-consuming and a bit more complex than setting up a username/password authentication that's found in other clients.
Similarly, setting up a server that includes configuring user permission system requires advanced technical knowledge.
Con Disconnect issues
Can have occasions of disconnect or users keep getting booted.
Con Relatively poor voice quality
While Mumble's voice quality is fine, and you can understand what's being said, there is a noticeable difference between it and many other platforms.