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.