After spending hours developing your Discord bot, you don’t want it to crash when people are first using it. Good hosting is what separates a bot that runs from a bot that everyone in your server is frustrated with.
So if you are hosting a basic Discord bot for you and yours or an extremely advanced bot for a large community, here are 10 tips for choosing the best Discord bot hosting.
1. Have Your Bot Online at All Times
Nothing kills a bot faster than downtime. If someone reaches out to your bot and gets no response, don’t expect them to try again. That’s why uptime is so critical.
When you are comparing hosting providers, make sure they promise 99.9% or greater uptime. Anything less than that is taking a risk on daily downtime. Good hosts usually display real-time server status pages so you can make sure they’re not just speaking out of their backsides.
And make sure they include monitoring alerts so if something crashes, you’re notified first, not your community.
2. Don’t Ignore Security
Even tiny bots are targets of DDoS attacks, token theft, or simple trolls attempting to crash things. You do not wish for your bot to become a target.
Your hosting provider should also provide DDoS protection, a firewall with security, and a safe web-based panel.
Pro tip: Update all default passwords as soon as you access any server or admin control panel. And don’t embed your bot token in plaintext sources. Store it in environment variables or encrypted stores.
If you’re handling any form of user information at all, even usernames or IDs, take security seriously.
3. Know What You’re Paying For
Discord bot hosting ranges anywhere between a few dollars a month up to several hundred a month, and what differs is performance, resources, and support.
For instance:
• A small meme bot executing sporadic commands? A shared plan with 1 CPU and 512MB RAM is fine.
• A music bot involving audio streams? Higher CPU and memory are okay.
• A mod-bot hitting multiple servers? Connecting a lot of API sources? That requires a lot of bandwidth and a large CPU.
Ensure they are not charging for additional traffic, congestion, or access to a panel; some sketchy providers hide those in fine print. Don’t just go for the cheapest option, Think about what you’re actually getting for your money.
Pro tip:If a host is “too cheap to be true”, it probably is.
5. Deploying Shouldn’t Be an Issue
You’ll probably update your bot’s software regularly, repairing bugs, adding new features, and making miscellaneous improvements.
It should best come with:
• Git integration: so you can git pull your code directly from GitHub.
• Terminal access or at least a web console for quick repairs and commands.
If you’re often struggling to upload zip files using a poor UI, you’re wasting time and getting frustrated. A server with current deployment tools can save you real effort. Some hosts even support CI/CD pipelines (automatic builds when you push updates). That’s overkill for small bots, but very helpful for larger projects.
6. Easy-to-Use Control Panel
You don’t need a technical background to manage your bot. A good host offers you a clean, fresh, and updated control panel, not a 1990s control panel.
Look for panels like:
• Pterodactyl: widely used, open-source, solid, and feature-rich.
• Custom dashboards: just make sure they are neither laggy nor too confusing.
The committee may permit you:
• Upload/download files
• Console logs in real time
• Start/Restart/Stop/Kill your bot
• Track in real-time RAM, CPU, and disk utilization
And if it includes cron jobs or a task scheduler, even better. Then you can restart or script updates without having to sit in front of the bot.
7. Test Your Support Before You Need It
Even the best bots malfunction at times, perhaps a fresh update crashes it, or a config file gets corrupted. That’s when you’ll most likely require assistance from your hosting provider.
Good hosts provide:
• Fast and efficient 24/7 support (chat, ticket, or Discord).
• Comprehensive product manual and FAQs for daily problems.
• An automated AI bot to help with simple questions, and also a human agent to help with advanced problems or bugs.
Test first by sending a support question, something simple, and note how quick and professional the response is. When they ghost you or respond with a lazy note, do not hope for a sudden concern when everything goes south.
8. Backups are a Lifesaver
You never consider backup until you lose everything.
A misplaced typo in your program code, a bad update or even a crash corrupts your entire bot. Without any sort of backups in effect, you are starting fresh.
Seek out hosting that provides:
• Automatic daily or weekly periodic backups
• Manual prep for major change operations
• Simple one-click restoration capabilities
Pro tip:Hold a local copy of precious files on GitHub or PC as a safety net. It only takes a minute but saves an hour.
9. Select a Server Location Near Your Users
The server’s physical location impacts how promptly your bot is responsive. Hundreds of additional milliseconds in ping can render it slow or even unresponsive.
If a majority of your neighbours are in:
• Europe: Select a server with servers in the EU (London, Amsterdam, Frankfurt)
• US: make use of either East or West Coast servers based on where users are most clustered
• Asia: Servers in Tokyo or Singapore are a great option
Most let you pick which region during installation. If it doesn’t support your region at all, then it is a concern.
Bonus advice:If you end up with a global bot, research providers with several regions and think about load balancing. Then everyone gets respectable response times, no matter where in the world you are.
10. See What Other Devs Say
Additionally, check what other developers are saying through Discord communities like Discord Experiments, Vencord servers, or developer forums.
You can also visit Reddit (r/Discord_Bots, r/selfhosted).
It’s helpful to glance at TrustPilot, Google Reviews, or ScamAdvisor, especially regarding hosting providers.
Generally, avoid hosts with frequent negative reviews about downtime, poor support, or hidden fees. However, if several respected developers recommend a host, that’s a strong positive sign.
Be cautious of hosts that have been around for a long time, as many old hosts drop off rapidly. Also, don’t rely solely on “sponsored reviews” from YouTubers; look for honest reviews from individuals who operate bots similar to yours.
Looking for affordable Discord Bot Hosting? Prices start at $1.49. Make an account at Cybrancee.com and start hosting your Discord bot for a fair price.
Happy coding!
