A welcome bot is the first thing every new Discord member meets. If yours is broken, unbranded, or too pushy, first impressions are already gone. Most guides push MEE6 and stop there, but the Discord welcome bot landscape shifted after MEE6’s 2024 pricing overhaul and the wave of community distrust that followed. We tested seven apps for Discord welcome bots on desktop-friendly deployments and lined them up by cost, feature depth, and whether you can self-host if the bot ever vanishes.
Two are open source. Three are hosted with generous free tiers. One is a full server-utility suite that happens to have excellent welcome features. Every option gives you branded card images and role automation.
What to look for in a Discord welcome bot
Onboarding needs are similar across servers, but the priorities move around.
- Custom welcome card images with the user’s avatar
- Auto-role assignment based on rules or captcha
- Verification challenges (reaction, captcha, human-check)
- DM welcome messages with server rules and links
- Farewell messages for departures (moderator visibility)
- Multi-message onboarding flows (welcome, then rules, then role picker)
- Ability to test the flow without inviting a real account
The last one saves days of debugging. Bots that make you kick and re-invite a test account to verify a welcome flow are a false economy.
Quick comparison
| App | Best for | Self-host? | Free plan | Starting price | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vortex | Servers that self-host | Yes | Full featured | $0 | Community trusted |
| ProBot | Rich welcome cards | No | 1 welcome message | $3.99/mo | Widely used |
| MEE6 | Familiar and fast | No | Basic welcome | $11.95/mo | Widely used |
| Carl-bot | Rule-driven verification | No | Full welcome | $5/mo (music) | Trusted |
| Sesh | Scheduled onboarding | No | Full welcome | $5/mo (premium) | Newer, growing |
| Welcomer | Best welcome card designer | No | 1 background | $5.99/mo | Popular |
| Statbot | Servers that track growth | No | Basic | $4.99/mo | Solid |
| Aki | Bot with games baked in | No | Basic welcome | $6/mo | Niche |
The apps
1. Vortex, best for servers that self-host
Vortex is the open-source moderation and utility bot from jagrosh. Welcome and farewell messages are a core feature: template variables, embed styles, per-channel targeting, and a modmail-style flow are all built in.
Where it falls short: no custom card image renderer. Welcomes are rich embeds, not full graphics.
Pricing:
- Free (self-host)
- Public bot available at no cost
- No premium tier
Platforms: Windows, macOS, Linux (Java, Docker)
Download: Vortex on GitHub
Bottom line: install if you want a self-hosted welcome bot that lives inside a full moderation suite.
2. ProBot, best for rich welcome cards
ProBot renders one of the prettiest welcome cards on Discord. Custom backgrounds, avatar frames, and animated text are all in the free-adjacent tier, and the dashboard is friendly enough that a moderator can build a welcome flow in five minutes.
Where it falls short: the free tier locks to one welcome message per server. Custom images and multiple channels are premium.
Pricing:
- Free: 1 welcome message per server
- Premium: $3.99/mo per server
- Premium Plus: $9.99/mo (custom domain, priority)
Platforms: any Discord client (bot lives on ProBot infra)
Download: ProBot
Bottom line: the visual pick for servers that want welcome cards without design work.
3. MEE6, best-known welcome bot
MEE6 is the bot every Discord server has used at some point. The welcome plugin is basic (one message, one channel, template variables), the dashboard is smooth, and reliability is fine now that the outages of 2023 are behind us.
Where it falls short: MEE6’s 2024 pricing changes moved much of the good stuff to a $11.95/mo tier. Anyone who used the free tier before now finds it thinner.
Pricing:
- Free: basic welcome message
- Premium: $11.95/mo per server
- Premium annual: about $89/year (saves ~40%)
Platforms: any Discord client (bot lives on MEE6 infra)
Download: MEE6
Bottom line: fine if you already trust MEE6, but you can get more for less elsewhere.
4. Carl-bot, best for rule-driven verification
Carl-bot treats onboarding as a workflow: user joins → auto-role → reaction to accept rules → captcha if wanted → welcome message posted → farewell logged on leave. Every step is configurable in the dashboard, and the whole system holds up on servers with 100,000+ members.
Where it falls short: no custom card renderer for the welcome message itself.
Pricing:
- Free: full welcome features
- Premium: $5/mo (music streaming, some music-related upsells)
Platforms: any Discord client (bot lives on Carl-bot infra)
Download: Carl-bot
Bottom line: the pick if verification is the point of your welcome flow.
5. Sesh, best for scheduled onboarding
Sesh started as an event scheduler and grew into a welcome and onboarding tool. The distinguishing feature: multi-step onboarding that fires messages on a schedule. A new member gets a welcome, then two hours later a “have you visited the intro channel?” nudge, then a role prompt.
Where it falls short: newer, smaller catalogue of integrations than MEE6 or Carl-bot.
Pricing:
- Free: full welcome and event features
- Premium: $5/mo per server (advanced scheduling, custom timezones)
Platforms: any Discord client (bot lives on Sesh infra)
Download: Sesh
Bottom line: install if your onboarding is more than one message deep.
6. Welcomer, best welcome card designer
Welcomer is a bot whose entire personality is the welcome card. The image designer is the most flexible of any welcome bot: layered backgrounds, custom fonts, gradient overlays, animated GIF frames. If you want a welcome card that looks like a magazine cover, Welcomer is the tool.
Where it falls short: the free tier limits you to one background image. Serious use is premium.
Pricing:
- Free: 1 background, basic templates
- Welcomer Pro: $5.99/mo per server
- Welcomer Free Pro: $2.99/mo (thanks-give-back tier)
Platforms: any Discord client (bot lives on Welcomer infra)
Download: Welcomer
Bottom line: install if the welcome card is the marketing.
7. Statbot, best for tracking growth
Statbot cares less about the welcome message and more about who joins and stays. The welcome features are competent, and the retention charts are unmatched.
Where it falls short: welcome card design is basic. If pretty cards matter, pair Statbot with Welcomer.
Pricing:
- Free: basic stats and welcome
- Premium: $4.99/mo per server (advanced analytics)
Platforms: any Discord client (bot lives on Statbot infra)
Download: Statbot
Bottom line: install if your welcome flow is part of a growth measurement plan.
8. Aki, best for servers with games baked in
Aki ships welcome messages plus a mini-games layer (trivia, coin flip, dice). New members get a welcome and an invitation to join a game with existing regulars. Weird for corporate servers, great for gaming communities.
Where it falls short: niche appeal. Servers that do not want games see the extra commands as noise.
Pricing:
- Free: basic welcome, some games
- Premium: $6/mo per server (all games, custom rewards)
Platforms: any Discord client (bot lives on Aki infra)
Download: Aki Bot
Bottom line: install for gaming communities that want onboarding tied to something fun.
How to pick the right one
If you want the simplest option: MEE6 free tier still works. If you want visual polish: ProBot or Welcomer. If verification is the point: Carl-bot. If your onboarding needs multiple steps over time: Sesh. If you value self-hosting and want a full moderation suite: Vortex. If growth measurement matters: Statbot.
Welcome card renderers, verification flows, and multi-step onboarding are the three features that separate hosted bots. Every hosted bot on this list has one of them, and only a few have all three.
FAQ
What is the best free Discord welcome bot?
Carl-bot and Sesh both offer full welcome features on the free tier. ProBot has the prettiest free card but limits the free tier to one message.
Can I self-host a Discord welcome bot?
Yes. Vortex is the community-trusted self-hosted option. It handles welcome, farewell, and full moderation, and it runs on any Java 17 host.
Do these bots work if my server has verification screening on?
Yes. Every bot on this list detects membership screening completion and fires the welcome message only after the user passes verification.
What is the difference between MEE6 and Carl-bot for welcomes?
MEE6 has the friendlier dashboard and the pricier premium plan. Carl-bot has a stronger free tier and better rule-driven verification. Carl-bot wins on price and features for welcome flows.
Can a welcome bot DM new members?
ProBot, MEE6, and Sesh all support DM welcome messages. Discord’s DM privacy setting means some new members will not receive them; a fallback channel message is the workaround every bot recommends.
