The best Discord bots in 2026, by what your server needs

The best Discord bot is the one that does the job your server needs, and no bot does everything well. So instead of a top 20 where the same all-in-one bot wins every time, this guide picks the best bots by use case: moderation, security, tickets, applications, leveling, music, games and events. We checked every price on the bots' official pages, and every server count on top.gg, on 23 October 2026.

Disclosure: Toscio is our bot. It appears once, in the applications and forms section, next to its main competitor, with its limits. Nobody paid to be in this list.

Quick picks

• All-in-one: MEE6, the easiest place to start.
• Moderation: Dyno, or Carl-bot if you rely on reaction roles.
• Free moderation: Sapphire.
• Anti-raid and anti-nuke: Wick.
• Verification against alt accounts: Double Counter.
• Support tickets: Ticket Tool, or Tickets for a cheaper Premium.
• Applications and forms (staff recruitment, member applications, ban appeals): Appy or Toscio.
• Leveling: Arcane.
• Music: Jockie Music or FlaviBot.
• Games: Dank Memer, Mudae, Pokétwo.
• Events: Sesh. Giveaways: GiveawayBot. Server stats: Statbot.

The best Discord bots compared

Server counts are the ones top.gg showed on 23 October 2026; "not listed" or "not shown" means the bot has no count there. Prices in euros are what the site showed to a visitor in Europe and may be shown in another currency where you are.

How to choose: three to five bots, picked by your server's stage

Most servers need fewer bots than they think. Each bot adds commands, notifications and permissions to look after, and two bots doing the same job usually step on each other. Start from where your server is now.

A new or small server. One all-in-one or moderation bot (MEE6, Dyno, Carl-bot, or Sapphire if you want everything free) plus Discord's own AutoMod is enough. Add one fun bot if your members like games. Write your rules first: our Discord server rules template gives you a version to copy.

A growing server. This is when the work starts piling up. Members need help: add a ticket bot. You need your first moderators: recruit them with a real application instead of picking friends, with an application bot and our staff application questions. Raids or alt accounts show up: add verification. Chat slows down: leveling can help.

An established or monetized server. Now you protect what you built and run a team. An anti-nuke bot covers what happens if a staff account is compromised. Applications get a team review, a trial period for new mods and a way for banned members to appeal. Events, giveaways and statistics keep a large community active and tell you what works.

Moderation and all-in-one bots

MEE6

The best known bot on Discord: moderation, leveling, welcome messages, reaction roles, custom commands and social alerts, all from a web dashboard. top.gg shows it on 19.5 million servers. It is the easiest to set up, but many features need Premium: €11.99/month, €49.99/year or €89.99 lifetime in Europe, and one subscription covers one server. Pick it if you want one bot for most things and don't mind paying for it.

Dyno

A moderation favorite with automod, timed mutes and bans, logs, custom commands, auto-roles and a clear dashboard. Premium is sold per server, by the year: Standard $49.99, Premium $59.99 (adds Twitch, YouTube, TikTok, Reddit and Kick feeds) and Custom $99.99. Pick it for solid moderation with a dashboard your whole team can use.

Carl-bot

The reference for reaction roles: 250 on the free plan, 1,000 with Premium. It also does automod, detailed logging, tags (saved replies) and embeds. Its levels and XP system is now Premium only. Premium goes through Patreon or Discord. Pick it if self-assigned roles are central to your server.

Sapphire

Moderation, automod, logging and social feeds, and the developers say it is completely free. top.gg shows it on 1,865,300 servers. Pick it if you want a capable moderation bot without paying anything.

ProBot

Known for its welcome images, protection features and leveling, with paid tiers for more. Pick it if a customizable welcome card matters to you.

Security and verification

Wick

Wick focuses on anti-raid and anti-nuke: it watches for mass bans, channel deletions and other destructive actions, including from a compromised staff account, and stops them. It has a Premium tier. Pick it once your server is big enough to be a target.

Double Counter

Double Counter makes new members verify and detects alt accounts, a common way around bans. It is free for most servers, with a Pro plan billed through Discord. Pick it if banned members keep coming back with new accounts.

Tickets and support

Ticket Tool

A long-standing ticket bot: members click a panel button, a private channel opens with your staff, and you can close and archive it. Premium adds more options. Pick it for a classic support desk.

Tickets

A popular alternative with similar ticket panels and one of the lowest Premium prices in this list: $2.99 per server per month, or $6.99 for a version under your own bot name and avatar. Pick it if you want Premium features on a budget.

Ticket bots are made for conversations. To compare candidates side by side, a form works better: that's the next section.

Applications and forms: staff recruitment, member applications, ban appeals

When a server grows, it starts receiving applications: people who want to join the staff, a team or a creator program, members who must be approved before joining, partnership requests, banned members asking for a second chance. Handling them in DMs or tickets gets messy fast. An application bot posts a form behind an Apply button and sends every answer to your staff in the same format, with buttons to decide.

Appy

The most installed application bot: top.gg shows it on 943,095 servers. Questions are asked in DMs with the bot or on an online form, and it also does tickets and questions that give a role. The free plan has 2 forms with 10 questions; Premium costs £4.99/month for one server or £8.99/month for three. Pick it if you want the most used option, or tickets and applications in the same bot.

Toscio (our bot)

Toscio opens the form right inside Discord, so members with closed DMs can still apply, and posts each application to a staff channel with Accept, Decline and Interview buttons. Accepting gives the roles and messages the applicant, in 8 languages. It's built for team review: staff votes that decide on their own at the threshold you set, a graded quiz, a trial stage before final acceptance, notes and applicant history, and ban appeals that lift the ban when accepted.

The free plan has 2 forms with 20 questions and unlimited applications; Premium costs $4.99/month or $49.90/year per server, with a 14-day free trial when you create your first form. Toscio does not do moderation, tickets or music: pair it with the bots above. It's newer and much less installed than Appy. For a detailed comparison, read Appy vs Toscio; for what a form bot can do, see our Discord form bot page.

What people use it for: staff and moderator recruitment, member applications before joining, ban appeals, partnership requests, creator programs, esports tryouts and whitelists for game servers.

Leveling and engagement

Arcane

A dedicated leveling bot: members earn XP by chatting, climb a leaderboard and unlock roles at the levels you choose. top.gg shows it on 3,128,189 servers, and Premium is sold per server. Pick it for leveling without an all-in-one bot. MEE6 also has leveling, and Carl-bot's levels are now Premium only.

Music bots that still work in 2026

Many famous music bots are gone. Groovy and Rythm shut down in 2021 after cease-and-desist letters, Hydra dropped music, and old lists still recommend bots that no longer work. Rythm came back in 2024 as a Discord Activity, which works differently from a classic bot. Whatever you pick, test it before announcing it to your members.

Jockie Music

Jockie Music lets you run up to four music bots on the same server, acting as one, so several voice channels can play at once. Premium works with "boosts" bought through Patreon; 24/7 playback needs five.

FlaviBot

A music bot with extra modules, free to use. Premium raises the queue limit from 500 to 10,000 tracks and adds 24/7 playback.

Fun and games

Dank Memer

An economy and collecting game: members earn coins, gamble, rob each other and collect items. Free, with an optional premium. Pick it for an active, playful chat.

Mudae

A character collecting game: members roll, claim and trade characters from anime and video games. Free to play, with Patreon tiers from $5/month.

Pokétwo

Pokémon appear in chat; members catch, trade and battle them. Free and open source.

Events, giveaways and stats

Sesh

Event scheduling with calendars, RSVPs, reminders and time zones handled for you. Premium costs $6.99/month for one server or $12.99/month for three, billed yearly, or $149.99 lifetime. Pick it for raids, tournaments, community nights or classes.

GiveawayBot

Start a giveaway with one command: members react to enter and the bot draws the winners. Free and open source.

Statbot

Server analytics: messages, active members, voice time and growth over time, with paid upgrades for more. Pick it to see what actually keeps your community active.

Bots that are gone or changed

• Groovy and Rythm (as classic music bots): shut down in 2021. Rythm is back as a Discord Activity since 2024.
• Hydra: dropped music.
• Carl-bot levels: now Premium only.
• FredBoat and other music bots in older lists: check they still work before adding them.

How to add a bot safely

• Add bots from their official website or a well-known bot list, never from a link sent in DMs.
• Read the permissions on the authorization screen. Few bots really need Administrator: untick what isn't needed.
• Place the bot's role correctly in Server Settings > Roles. A bot can only manage roles below its own, which matters for any bot that gives roles. See the role order rule.
• Test new bots in a private channel before opening them to everyone.
• Remove the bots you no longer use: fewer bots, fewer risks.

How we picked

We kept bots that are active in October 2026, have an official site or listing and do one job well. Every price comes from the bot's own website, docs or premium page, and every server count from its top.gg page, both checked on 23 October 2026; "see their site" means no price was published on those pages. Toscio is our bot, which is why it appears only in its category, with its limits and next to its main competitor. We update this page when a bot changes its prices or shuts down.

Need your first moderators? Start with our staff application questions and the trial moderator guide. Running appeals? Use our ban appeal template.