I’m trying to decide between building my own Discord bot or using existing public bots. At first I thought making my own would be completely free and I could customize the avatar and bot name however I want. But then I learned that I need to pay for hosting which changes everything. Now I’m not sure what’s the better option. What do you think - should I go ahead and build plus host my own bot or just stick with public bots? If you recommend using public bots, what are some good ones to consider? I’d like to keep it simple with just one or two bots maximum. It would be great if the bot allows some customization options. I don’t mind spending a little money each month but free options are obviously preferred.
totally getcha! if coding ain’t your jam, just stick with MEE6 or Carl-bot. they’re easy to use and have some cool features. building your own is fun, but yeah, the upkeep and costs can be tricky. keep it simple!
Been there myself - start with public bots first to see what you actually need. Most people think they’ll use way more customization than they do. Discord.js hosting on Railway or Heroku runs $5-10/month, but that’s just the start. You’ll spend hours maintaining, updating, and fixing stuff when it breaks at 2am. If you’re dead set on custom development, run it locally first or use free hosting to test before paying for anything. For public options, YAGPDB’s been solid for me - tons of customization through the web interface and handles most server needs without needing multiple bots.
I faced this same choice last year and went with existing bots after wasting weeks on a custom build. Hosting costs get expensive fast, especially when you need reliable uptime. For what you’re doing, I’d go with Dyno as your main bot - handles moderation, music, and custom commands pretty well. Free tier covers most basic stuff and you can always upgrade later. Carl-bot’s another good option with solid reaction roles and automod. Both give you decent customization without the headache of managing your own server. Only build custom if existing bots can’t do what you need.