decal vs Emerald Chat: how the two compare
In short
Emerald Chat is an established random video chat service built around interest based matching, and it requires an account to use. decal is a newer, account required random video chat with a free country filter, a paid gender filter, in browser nudity detection before broadcast, and an appeal for every suspension.
What Emerald Chat is
Emerald Chat is an established random video chat service built around interest based matching: you list interests, and it tries to pair you with people who share them, rather than pairing entirely at random.
Its own site states that an account, made with an email address and a password, is required to use the service, and that the core product, including interest matching, text and video chat, and group channels, is free. Gender, country and language filters sit behind paid subscription tiers.
decal compared to Emerald Chat
| decal | Emerald Chat | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free. Gender filter only: €9.99/month, one day free trial, cancel anytime. | Core service free, per Emerald Chat’s own site. Paid subscription tiers add extras. |
| Account required | Yes, currently via Google. Apple sign in announced. | Yes, email and password, per Emerald Chat’s own site. |
| Interest based matching | Not offered. Matching is random. | Yes, a core free feature. |
| Nudity detection | In the browser, before a stream is broadcast. | Not published. |
| Report and appeal | Every report reviewed. Every suspension can be appealed, reporter identity never shared. | Not published. |
| Country filter | Free. | Paid, per Emerald Chat’s own site. |
| Gender filter | Paid. | Paid, per Emerald Chat’s own site. |
| Mobile app | None. Runs in the browser. | Not published. |
| Video path | Peer to peer (WebRTC). Server relays only signalling and text. | Not published. |
What Emerald Chat does better
Interest based matching is a real feature and a real difference. If you would rather talk to someone who shares a hobby or a topic than to whoever comes up next, Emerald Chat offers that and decal, deliberately, does not. Random is the whole point of how we match people.
Emerald Chat is also the more established of the two services. decal is new, and at the time of writing you will generally wait longer for a match here than on a site that has run for longer and built up a bigger audience over time.
How decal handles moderation and filters
- Nudity is detected before it is broadcast, in the browser, not after someone has reported it.
- Every suspension can be appealed by writing to hello@decal.ink. A person reads it and answers within 72 hours. An account suspended in error is restored in full. See the community rules.
- The country filter is free. Only the gender filter is paid, and its price is shown before any charge.
- Video never passes through our servers. It goes peer to peer, and the server only relays connection setup and text messages.
What we will not pretend
decal is new and small. At the time of writing, you will wait longer here than on an established site with a large audience already online, and at some hours you may find very few people at all.
We would rather say that plainly than show a counter picked to look bigger than it is. What you find when you sign in is what is actually there.
Looking at other alternatives
We also compare decal to OmeTV and to Chatroulette. If you are looking more broadly, see our page on Omegle alternatives.
How to start
Open decal, sign in, allow the camera, and press Start. You are matched with someone within seconds when people are online. Press the decal button to move on, at any time, without explaining yourself.
Common questions
Does Emerald Chat require an account?
Yes. Emerald Chat states on its own site that it requires a simple account, made with an email address and a password, to use the service.
What is interest based matching on Emerald Chat?
It is Emerald Chat’s core feature: you list interests, and the service tries to pair you with people who share them. decal does not offer this. We match at random instead.
Is Emerald Chat free?
The core service is free, including interest matching, text and video chat, and group channels, per Emerald Chat’s own site. Its gender, country and language filters sit behind paid subscription tiers.
Is decal free?
Yes. Video chat and the country filter cost nothing on decal. Only the gender filter is paid, and the price is shown before any charge.
Which one should I use, decal or Emerald Chat?
If matching by shared interests matters to you, Emerald Chat offers that and decal does not. If you want a country filter that stays free, that is decal.
Free, nothing to install. Adults only.
Reviewed on September 16, 2026