The best free Discord bot maker in 2026
Many free plans for Discord bots are a small cap meant to get you paying. Here's what $0 gets you on Buildcord, how it compares with other free plans, and what needs paying for.
What is the best free Discord bot maker?
Buildcord is the best free Discord bot maker in 2026. Its Free plan runs up to three bots of your own that answer slash commands, with no Buildcord limit on how many commands they have, plus buttons, select menus, forms, embeds, variables, collections, API requests and 10 AI agent turns a week. Buildcord hosts them around the clock at no cost.
What to look for
- How many commands you can make for free.
- Whether the bot is yours, or a shared bot added to your server.
- Which building blocks are included.
- Whether hosting is included and the bot stays available.
- Whether AI help is included.
Why Buildcord
No cap on commands
BotGhost's free plan allows 3 custom commands and Dyno's 25. Buildcord sets no limit of its own, so you're only held to Discord's: up to 100 slash commands per bot.
Three bots of your own, in any number of servers
Each is your Discord application, with your name and avatar. BotGhost's free plan is one bot in up to 5 servers, and a free ready-made bot is the same shared bot in every server.
The full set of building blocks
Replies, embeds, buttons, select menus, forms, roles, timeouts, kicks and bans, conditions, loops, variables, collections and API requests are all on the Free plan.
Hosting included, always on
Discord delivers each slash command, button press and form to the bot as it's used, so a command bot is always available without anything running for it. There's nothing for you to host.
AI included
20 agent turns a month to build flows and explain them. Building from ChatGPT or Claude doesn't use them at all.
Templates that run free
The tickets, economy, verification, suggestions, looking for group, warnings, role picker, polls, reminders and applications templates all run on the Free plan, and you can change every step of them.
Build with friends
Share each bot with up to 2 people, who can edit it, deploy it and read its logs.
Free plans for Discord bots, compared
| Name | Whose bot | What the free plan includes |
|---|---|---|
| Buildcord | Yours, 3 bots in any number of servers | Slash commands with no Buildcord limit, buttons, menus, forms, embeds, stored data, API requests, hosting, 12 free templates, 20 AI turns and 100 AI replies a month |
| BotGhost | Yours, 1 bot in up to 5 servers | 3 custom commands and 3 custom events, plus its modules |
| Dyno | Dyno's, shared across servers | Its modules, 25 custom commands and 10 autoresponders |
| MEE6 | MEE6's, shared across servers | Its plugins; changing its name and avatar comes with yearly or lifetime Premium |
| Carl-bot | Carl-bot's, shared across servers | Its modules and TagScript commands; your own avatar and banner need Premium |
What this page says about other products comes from their own sites, read Oct. 17 to Oct. 30, 2026, at list prices. Plans and prices change. Buildcord publishes this page and isn't affiliated with the others. See the fullcomparisons.
Good to know
- Free-plan bots answer slash commands, right-click commands, buttons, menus and forms. Server events, such as members joining, schedules, voice, a custom status and custom code need the Paid plan, at $8 a month.
- Free-plan bots show “Made with Buildcord” on their profile.
- Logs are kept for 7 days on the Free plan.
Questions
Is Buildcord really free?
Yes. The Free plan costs nothing and isn't a trial. It runs up to three bots that answer slash commands, with buttons, menus, forms, embeds, variables and collections.
Can a free Discord bot stay online 24/7?
Yes. On Buildcord a bot that answers slash commands, buttons, menus and forms is always available on the Free plan, because Discord delivers each command to it as it's used.
What isn't free?
Anything that needs the bot connected to Discord all the time: reacting to server events, running on a schedule, voice, a custom status and custom code. Those are on the Paid plan, at $8 a month for two bots.
Can I make a welcome bot for free?
Welcome messages react to members joining, which is a server event, so they need the Paid plan. Tickets, economy, verification, suggestions, looking for group and warnings all run free.
Can I make an economy bot for free?
Yes. Buildcord's economy template runs on the Free plan: /daily, /work, /pay, /coinflip, /balance and a /richest list, with every wallet kept in a collection you can edit.
Can I make a leveling bot for free?
Earning XP for chatting means the bot has to see every message, which needs it connected to Discord all the time, so Buildcord's leveling template is on the Paid plan, at $8 a month for two such bots.
Can I make an AI chatbot for Discord for free?
Yes. On the Free plan, a slash command can send an API request to an AI model's API, with your key kept as a secret, and reply with the answer.