Gather.Town is better suited for businesses needing customizable virtual spaces with strong security and moderation features, while Clubhouse (Revived) is more appropriate for large-scale audio conversations and real-time collaboration, provided users are aware of the accessibility and privacy concerns.
| Attribute | Gather.Town | Clubhouse (Revived) |
|---|---|---|
| Spatial Audio Quality | Uses spatial audio to mimic real-life conversations, enhancing the sense of presence. | Integrates spatial audio for a more immersive chat experience, simulating real-world conversations. Some users suggest disabling Spatial Audio for better listening quality, especially when using Bluetooth headphones. |
| Customizable Virtual Spaces | Highly customizable spaces to reflect brand, culture, and values. | Limited information on customizing virtual spaces within the Clubhouse platform itself. Users can customize their profiles by adding a bio and selecting interests. |
| Interactive Engagement Tools | Includes polling, quizzes, whiteboards, screen sharing, collaborative documents, and in-world games. | Offers tools to encourage audience participation, including the ability to 'raise a hand' to request to speak. Moderators can invite audience members to the stage to become speakers. Features like live polls, surveys, and Q&A sessions can also be used. |
| Ease of Navigation | Generally easy to navigate with a straightforward design; users move avatars using arrow keys or double-clicking. | Some sources suggest Clubhouse is not particularly intuitive or user-friendly. Navigating to find specific chat rooms can be difficult and relies on the user's network. |
| Integration with Other Platforms | Integrates with Google Calendar, Outlook Calendar, and Slack; allows embedding of other tools and resources. | Integrates with project management platforms like Pipeliner CRM. It also integrates with other tools like GitHub, Slack, Sentry, and Rollbar. Users can connect their Twitter accounts to find connections on Clubhouse. |
| Real-time Collaboration Features | Offers proximity chat, embedded documents and videos, screen sharing, whiteboards, and breakout rooms. | Clubhouse Write, a real-time collaborative knowledge base tool, allows users to collaborate and comment on documents. The platform also uses Kanban boards, epics, and milestones to show how tasks contribute to company goals. |
| Audience Size Capacity | Free plan for up to 10 concurrent users; paid subscriptions up to 500. | Allows up to 5,000 people in a conversation room. |
| Moderation and Control Options | Tools to mute, block, kick, and ban users; password protection available. | Moderators have several control options, including muting speakers, removing speakers from the stage, and managing the audience queue. They can also turn off hand-raising. |
| Accessibility Features | Actively working on accessibility improvements; recommends Chrome with live captioning. | Has been criticized for accessibility issues, particularly for users who are deaf or hard of hearing, as there is no closed captioning. However, Clubhouse has worked to expand accessibility features with VoiceOver and TalkBack. |
| Data Security and Privacy | SOC 2 Type II certified and complies with GDPR; offers a Data Processing Agreement. | Has faced scrutiny regarding data security and privacy. Concerns include the use of a Chinese start-up for back-end infrastructure. Clubhouse records conversations temporarily for incident investigations but does not encrypt them end-to-end. |
| Mobile App Availability | Mobile app available, but functionality is not as robust as the desktop version. | Available on both iOS and Android. The Android app was launched in May 2021. The Android version is similar to the iOS version. |
| Pricing and Subscription Model | Free plan available; paid plans include monthly and annual subscriptions with more features; one-time reservations are also available. | Does not currently have a direct revenue stream or a clear pricing model. The platform has explored options such as tipping, brand partnerships, ticketed content, and a potential subscription model for premium features. |