There’s much to like about Discord, the go-to chat server for communities. It’s free to use and manage, has VOIP support, and thanks to support for bots, it’s pretty customizable too.
Do note that if you’re looking for music-based bots, that in recent times many of the most popular ones – like Groovy and Rythm – have been getting shut down due to cease-and-desists from Google (they relied on YouTube videos to play music through Discord). Don’t be too surprised to see other music bots go the same way in the near future.
With that in mind, here are the best Discord bots you should consider using.
Note: before reading this list, you may want to learn how to add a bot to your Discord server.
1. Skyra
A robust multi-purpose bot that’s a great all-in-one for servers
Skyra asks the pertinent question in its description: “Why have 10 bots that do one thing, when you can have 1 bot that does 10 things.” Good thinking Skyra, good thinking.
This bot has tons of features including levels, music, memes, economy, a bunch of moderation actions and even a few simple games like Connect-4, Tic-Tac-Toe and, errr, Hunger Games. You also earn points by simply engaging in the social stuff, which you can then spend on profile banners or on-server gambling!
2. Arcane
Level-up bot with a better free version than the more famous MEE6
When it comes to levelling bots – that is, bots with various systems for “levelling up” and rewarding members of a given server – MEE6 is probably the most famous, but as non-premium versions go Arcane probably is the better option.
It’s highly configurable, letting moderators manage levelling, xp options, rewards and everything else from a convenient dashboard. It also features reaction roles and powerful moderation options.
There’s a good reason arcane is fast staking its claim as the best levelling bot out there.
3. Mudae
Anime fans will immediately fall for this addictive anime-based bot
Not everyone loves anime, but if you do you probably really love it. Mudae is for the anime-obsessed, the manga-maniacal. It’s a fun concept, as you collect famous anime and manga character from comics, movies and TV shows, then “marry” them.
You build up a harem of waifu and husbando anime characters, competing with the millions of other players doing the same thing. You can trade characters, build your relationships with them, and even catch Pokemon in a little side-game.
Utterly strange to outsiders, utterly compelling to fans.
4. Dank Memer
Immerse yourself in the world of memes.
You can’t fully immerse yourself in the world of Discord communities without embracing the world of memes. Dank Memer collects the most popular memes from Reddit every day so that you can shower your server with whatever is hot on the internet rather than making outdated “arrow to the knee” jokes.
It’s not just about the memes, as there’s a whole currency that this bot brings with it – a trading system that lets you rob banks, steal virtual money from other players – but be careful, because there are police officers out there to halt you!
Add to that pets, gambling and an assortment of unique items, and you have a fun crime-based Discord bot that should help increase engagement with your server.
5. Confessions
Let server members submit anonymous confessions and secrets.
Now this is an interesting – and slightly scary – concept. Confessions is a Discord bot that allows members of your server to anonymously submit confessions about whatever they like! Secret crushes on other people on the server, embarrassing childhood stories, murder confessions – you name it.
Confessions is also a fun way to play a kind detective game: users can make a confession, and other server members can try to figure out who it was. Note that if the channel mods get the “Premium” version of Confessions, then they will have a log of the people who submit confessions, so don’t reveal too much information.
6. Pollmaster
Run all kinds of polls – multiple-choice, emoji voting, anonymous voting – on your Discord server.
Everyone likes a poll. Whether it’s getting your guild in an MMO to pick a raid location or simply asking people about their favorite type of pizza topping, it’s a great way to see which direction a given Discord server is swinging in a subject.
Pollmaster takes a little setting up, but once you do, it’s the most comprehensive polling bot out there for DIscord. There are all kinds of functions, like anonymous voting, emoji/reaction voting, multiple-choice polls or polls that let you make more than one choice.
You can set deadlines for your polls and even assign different “weights” to peoples’ answers depending on their role on the server. Higher-ranking folks get more votes, for example.
7. EPIC RPG
Engage server members and gamify your Discord server by turning it into an old-school RPG experience.
EPIC RPG is purely for the fun factor, allowing members of the channel to participate in a neverending RPG, complete with its own economy, dungeons, shops and even PvP combat!
Of course, Discord channels are based around communities anyway, but adding a text-based game to it is a great way to encourage bonding, as users share their levels, their loot, their rankings in the leaderboards and so on. It’s also a pretty compelling game in itself, with plenty of RNG events and battles making things nice, and unpredictable, with new stories being created for players to share.
It’s a deep little game and a great addition to game-related Discord channels.
8. Rythm (Shut Down)
Quite possibly the best music-focused Discord bot out there has recently shut down after five years. This was to comply with a YouTube cease-and-desist, presumably relating to the fact that the bot linked to YouTube and allowed its nearly 600 million users to play music from YouTube videos in Discord.
So that’ll come as sad news to many. The developers have, however, announced that they have a new music-based project in the pipeline that’ll again revolutionize how we listen to music online. If you want to stay tuned, subscribe to Rythm’s newsletter to see what’s next.
9. YAGPDB
One of the best moderation bots that’s also capable of serving up cat facts.
If you’re looking for a bot that does a whole bunch of things to a high standard, then YAGPDB (Yet Another General Purpose Discord Bot) is a great option.
It has a bunch of self-assignable roles for moderation, letting you assign roles via reactions, assign multiple roles at once, or add roles to specific groups within your channel. It has a great auto-moderation setup for rules, letting you set them up and auto-kick, auto-warn and even time-ban violators.
Rounding out the features are various cleaning parameters, fast feeds from Reddit and YouTube, and cat facts. Yes, with a single command, you can get treated to one of 250 unique facts about cats for your channel. So there’s that.
10. Carl Bot
A robust and deep moderation and roles bot for advanced users.
One of the most useful shortcut features in Discord is reaction roles, which let you type commands and even emojis into Discord to give yourself permission to make various changes to the server – like changing embed colors, prefixes to your servers, and so on. Carl Bot has a whopping 250 roles for you to play with, among many other features.
Carl Bot is brimming with automod functions that make it one of the best moderation bots out there, and it lets you log name changes among people on your server, so you can make sure no one’s up to mischief. There are tons more features here. (Auto-feeds and DMs on name mention are just a few.)
There’s quite a bit to learn with Carl Bot when it comes to custom commands and more advanced server tinkering, but if you’re willing to put in the time, you’ll be treated to one of the best server management/dashboard bots around.
11. MEE6
Server moderation for serious admins, with strike systems, leveling and more.
There’s a reason MEE6 is one of the best Discord bots currently available. It comes with extensive features and support. You can also upgrade to a “premium” subscription package for even more features.
Many Discord bots are designed for server moderation, and MEE6 doesn’t disappoint. You can set up automated mod rules to cover problems like server spam. MEE6 admins can also configure a “strike” system to automate punishments if users regularly break the rules.
The bot is customizable, so you’re able to create your own commands for users as well as personalized welcome messages. If you want users to be able to set their own roles, you can set up your own commands for this.
There’s also a leveling system for users. Regular users can “level up” with higher ranks based on their server activity. You can set your own rewards, such as extra room access or new roles.
If you already know how to add Discord bots to your server, you won’t find it hard to hit the ground running with MEE6. Just invite the bot to your server to get started.
12. RED
Moderation, trivia bots, music playback and more in one big package.
If you want a bot you can truly customize, RED should be on your radar. It’s self-hosted, so you’ll need your own server to host it.
RED’s modular approach means no two servers running RED are equal, but there are some core features. Like MEE6, moderation is a central feature, with commands to kick or ban as well as filter messages.
There are also trivia bots and casino games, music playback, GIF searching, auto-server messages and more. Like MEE6, you can also customize bot commands. You can even customize the name and avatar of your bot to match the individual style of your server.
If there isn’t a feature you’re looking for, you can extend RED with python-coded plugins (or “cogs”). You can search for community-created plugins on the RED website.
13. Dyno
Moderation tool that’s managed through an accessible online dashboard.
Another polished Discord bot worth considering is Dyno, used on over 1.6 million Discord servers. One of its biggest benefits is its extensive web dashboard, giving you full control over customization.
You don’t need to self-host, as everything is hosted by Dyno, controlled via the web dashboard. Moderation tools are extensive, with customized triggers for automatic moderation.
Dyno makes role creation easy, allowing server admins to create new ranks (linked to server roles). You can also do server channel tuneups with “purging” commands that mass-delete messages based on user, server, or age.
It’s not just about moderation, though. You can set up a bot DJ with individual playlists, play slot games, search for random facts, and even search for random pics.
14. Tatsumaki
Playful bot designed to increase member engagement with facts, memes and other commands.
Fun is the buzzword best associated with the Tatsumaki bot. It’s colorful and has plenty of fun features for your server users to take advantage of to “increase user activity,” in the project’s own words.
This Discord bot covers all the bases, with features designed to improve moderation and increase server usage, as well as give your users fun commands to play with.
Tatsumaki’s moderation features require no configuration. They’re ready to use, with commands to control users (ban, mute, etc.), prune messages, configure welcome messages, and more.
You can also search YouTube, look for cat facts, and play a number of assorted games, as well as run server-wide polls. There’s an extensive leveling system with XP available for users based on their activity.
15. Pancake
Moderation, music playback and hundreds of commands for members and admins.
Over 300,000 servers use Pancake on their Discord server and for good reason. It’s simple to use, with a healthy balance between fun commands for users and extensive moderation for admins. It’s another invite-to-get-started bot, so you don’t need to worry about server hosting.
A customizable moderation system lets you control everything from voice chat to user banning, with a permissions system to set up your moderating teams with different powers.
There’s an easy-to-use music playback system with support from multiple sources, including SoundCloud and YouTube. Social features – like games, image searches, and joke commands – also help to make your server a little more vibrant.
With hundreds of commands available, there’s something for everyone on a Pancake Discord server.
If you want more Discord-related guides, check out how to use Discord’s “Go Live” feature and connect Spotify to your Discord account.
Content Manager at Make Tech Easier. Enjoys Android, Windows, and tinkering with retro console emulation to breaking point.
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