Levels give lurkers a reason to talk: XP per message, roles at milestones, a leaderboard to climb. Searches for leveling bots rose ~40% this year, mostly from people escaping MEE6's paywall. Current state:
1. Arcane
The default MEE6-levels replacement. XP, role rewards, leaderboards, voice XP. Free tier covers most servers; some limits crept in this year (search interest dipped ~10%).
2. Lurkr
The generous one — high free limits, level import from MEE6, flexible XP curves. Less polished dashboard.
3. MEE6
Still the most complete leveling system, and the most expensive. Custom level-up cards and role rewards mostly premium now.
4. Sapphire / Carl-bot XP modules
Fine if you already run them; neither is a levels specialist.
Setup advice that actually matters
- Space role rewards: 5 / 15 / 30 / 50. Early wins hook people; late ranks keep veterans.
- Turn off XP in bot-command and spam channels.
- Announce level-ups in one channel, not everywhere.
- Give the top rank something real: image perms, a colour, access to a lounge.
Leveling pairs best with a welcome flow that gets people talking in the first place — see best welcome bots.