Most "free" Discord music bots are free to play a song and paid for everything you actually want: 24/7 mode, filters, volume control, autoplay, more than a handful of tracks in the queue, or a second server. This comparison looks at what each popular bot locks behind premium in 2026 and where Noxyr, which has no paid tier at all, fits in.
Why the music bot landscape looks like this
In 2021 YouTube sent cease-and-desist letters to the two biggest music bots, Groovy and Rythm, and both shut down within weeks. The bots that survived either moved to sources with clearer licensing, ran their audio through their own infrastructure, or split their features into a free tier that plays music and a premium tier that makes it pleasant. Pricing pages change often, so treat the notes below as what was true at the time of writing and check the bot's own site before you commit a community to it.
1. Noxyr: everything free, plus the rest of the server
Best for: servers that want a full music player without a paywall, especially if they already need tickets, a store, giveaways or security.
Noxyr plays from YouTube, YouTube Music, Spotify track links, Apple Music, SoundCloud and direct links. The player is one card with buttons and dropdowns: pause, skip, stop, shuffle, loop, volume, a filter menu (bass boost, nightcore, vaporwave, 8D, karaoke, speed and pitch) and a queue jump menu. Synced lyrics, personal playlists that follow you between servers, autoplay, 24/7, a DJ role with vote-skip, a request channel and a live player on the web dashboard are all included. If the bot restarts, the song resumes where it stopped. There is no premium tier, so nothing on that list costs anything. It also runs under your own bot name and avatar.
Trade-off: Noxyr is an all-in-one bot, so it is a bigger install than a single-purpose music bot. If you only want music and nothing else, you will leave most of its modules switched off.
2. Hydra
Best for: servers that like a song-request channel and a large, polished bot.
Hydra popularised the "request channel" pattern and has a big, stable user base. The free tier plays music and has a queue; audio effects, 24/7, volume control and some queue and playlist limits have historically been premium. If those are the features you care about, price it against the alternatives.
3. Jockie Music
Best for: servers that need several music bots running at once.
Jockie's distinctive feature is multiple bot instances, so different voice channels can each have their own player. The free version is generous on sources; 24/7, effects and some extras have been premium.
4. Chip
Best for: a simple, quick player.
Chip is easy to invite and easy to use. Volume, effects and around-the-clock playback have been part of its premium offering.
5. MEE6 music
Best for: servers already paying for MEE6 premium.
MEE6 bundles a music player with its levelling and moderation suite. The player is functional, but its music features sit inside a premium subscription, which is a hard sell if music is all you need. See Noxyr vs MEE6 for the wider comparison.
What to check before you pick
- Sources. YouTube alone is not enough anymore; a bot that also takes Spotify, Apple Music and SoundCloud links means members can paste whatever they have open.
- Volume and filters. Bass boost and nightcore are the most-requested features on any music server, and the most commonly paywalled.
- 24/7 and autoplay. Lo-fi and radio-style servers depend on these two. Ask whether they are free.
- Queue and playlist limits. Some free tiers cap the queue or the number of saved playlists.
- Restarts. Does a bot restart wipe the queue? On a long listening session that matters more than any effect.
- Who controls playback. A DJ role plus vote-skip stops one person from hijacking the channel.
- Your own bot name. A branded server may want the player to appear as its own bot. Noxyr's custom bot does that with a Top.gg vote rather than a subscription.
Side by side
- Noxyr: YouTube, YouTube Music, Spotify links, Apple Music, SoundCloud, direct links. Filters, volume, 24/7, autoplay, lyrics, playlists, resume after restart: all free. No premium tier.
- Hydra: free player and request channel; effects, 24/7 and volume have been premium.
- Jockie Music: free multi-bot player; 24/7 and effects have been premium.
- Chip: free basic player; volume, effects and 24/7 have been premium.
- MEE6: music inside the MEE6 premium subscription.
Common questions
Is there a free Discord music bot with 24/7? Noxyr includes 24/7 mode free. Most other bots charge for it.
Which music bot plays Spotify? None of them stream from Spotify directly; the good ones accept a Spotify link and play the same track from another source. Noxyr does this for track links.
Do I need a music bot at all? Discord's own "Watch Together" activity covers YouTube in a pinch, but it has no queue, no filters and no request channel.
Want to skip the pricing pages? Add Noxyr, join a voice channel and run /play. The full feature walkthrough is in the free Discord music bot guide.