Mumble Ventrilo Skype

Latency Extremely low: communications happen in milliseconds, not seconds. High: even low-ping servers have a 1-2 second delay due to the Ventrilo protocol High: Skype is optimized for casual chatter, not realtime-when-it-counts communications.

Platform Support Windows, Linux, and OS X Windows, partial OS X support (some codecs not available), no Linux support Windows, Linux, and OS X

Authentication Certificate and password-based authentication. Strong certificate authentication ensures account security and user authenticity. Password-based Password-based

Voice Quality Great – Mumble uses the cutting-edge CELT codec for maximum clarity. Good – Ventrilo uses several codecs, such as Speex and GSM , though not all codecs are available on all platforms. Average – Lower bitrate and high encryption overhead reduce quality.

Normalization Automatic. Mumble adjusts volume automatically so you don’t have to set up complex filters or tweak individual volume levels to get everyone sounding right. Manual. Not available

Noise canceling Automatic Not available Automatic

Push-to-talk Available Available Not available

Positional Audio Available – hear your teammates as though they are speaking from their relative position in-game. Not available Not available

Linked channels Available Not available Not available

Temporary channels Available Not available Not available

User groups Available Not available Not available

Overlay Great – customize position, font, color, and even add custom user textures. Poor – Overlay obscures a significant portion of the screen, not customizable. Not available

Text messages Per-channel and per-user (private messages) Not available Per-conference and per-user

Administration Done in the client. Add channels, manage users, and modify permissions in realtime. Requires external web interface. Not available

Access Control Great – powerful ACLs allow for fine-grained control over all aspects of the server. Coarse – users are either administrators or normal users. Not available

Volume Attenuation Mumble will automatically lower other system sounds when someone is talking. Play with music and game sound on – you’ll never miss a message. Not available Not available

Customizability Very high. Create custom layouts or skin the client to match your preferences. Not available Not available

Maximum users Unlimited 8 for free server; unlimited with licensed server 10 on conference call

Comments & Channels Rich text – include images and links as desired Plain text Not available

Scriptability Great – Mumble is scriptable from many languages, including C++, Java, . NET , Python, PHP , Ruby, and Objective-C. Not available Not available

Logitech G15 Support Available Available Not available