Several popular Discord bots give new members a role on join for free. Where they differ is the extras: a delay before the role is given, waiting until a member passes rules screening, if/then conditions, and what else sits behind a paid plan. YAGPDB and Dyno suit owners who want a timed delay. Carl-bot suits servers built around reaction roles. PeakBot suits owners who want join roles, if/then rules and a verification role on one free dashboard. If you only need roles from a few questions, Discord's own Onboarding may do the job without a bot.
Checked on each bot's own site or docs on November 3, 2026. We make PeakBot. Nobody paid to be in this post.
How we chose
We ranked each bot on four things:
- A join role on the free plan, with no trial that runs out.
- Control over when and who. Can it wait a few minutes, wait for rules screening, apply conditions, or treat bots differently from humans?
- What else the free plan covers, so you don't need a second bot for welcome messages or reaction roles.
- What upgrading costs, taken from the bot's own site. If a bot doesn't publish prices on a page we could read, we link to its pricing page instead of guessing.
Do you need a bot at all?
Discord has a built-in option. Go to Server Settings > Onboarding. The first step is "Default Channels". After that you can add questions, and each answer can give a role. Members can change their answers later in the Channels & Roles tab. Anyone who leaves and rejoins goes through Onboarding again. Discord covers the details in its Onboarding article.
Onboarding gives roles based on what members answer. If you want everyone to get the same role without any questions, or you need a delay or a condition, you need a bot.
The picks
1. YAGPDB
YAGPDB is free and goes deep. Its free plan includes 25 automod rules (150 on Premium) and a custom-command scripting engine, so if the built-in options don't cover a role rule you need, you can often script it. Its autorole settings can wait a set time before giving the role. Check its docs for the exact options. The catch is that its dashboard and scripting take longer to learn than the other bots here.
Pick YAGPDB if: you want a delayed join role for free and don't mind a more technical setup.
2. Dyno
Dyno is a widely used general bot, and its Autoroles module can also add a delay. Tickets and transcripts became a free module on 29 May 2026. Levels launched on 11 December 2025 as a Premium feature. Free servers get 3 reaction roles, and Premium raises that limit. Dyno doesn't list prices on a readable public page, so see dyno.gg/upgrade.
Pick Dyno if: you want a delayed join role plus free tickets, from a bot many moderators already know.
3. PeakBot
PeakBot puts all its role automations on one Roles page in the web dashboard: auto roles on join, self-assign roles, and if/then rules. All three are on the Free plan, which has 30+ features and never expires. The separate Verification page shows new members a panel with a button and optional questions, hands out unverified and verified roles, and can auto-kick anyone who never verifies. That means you can hold back the "member" role until someone takes an action.
The limits: PeakBot's feature list doesn't include a timed delay or a separate join role for bots. If you need either, pick YAGPDB or Dyno. Welcome messages in a channel are free, but welcome DMs and welcome images need Starter ($5.75/month per server, or $48/year). Pro is $8.25/month and adds AI moderation and full use of the AI Server Builder. Full prices are on the pricing page. PeakBot has no music or economy features.
Pick PeakBot if: you want join roles, conditional role rules, verification and welcome messages on one free dashboard, with no commands to learn.
4. Carl-bot
Carl-bot is best known for reaction roles, and it handles join roles too. Leveling and level role rewards need Premium, which costs $7.99/month for one server ($12.99 for 2, $16.99 for 3, $24.99 for 5). Those bundle prices help if you run several communities.
Pick Carl-bot if: your role setup is mostly reaction-role menus and you want join roles in the same bot.
5. Sapphire
Sapphire gives you its core features for free, with limits. If you hit a cap, Limit Increase costs $2.99/month per server.
Pick Sapphire if: you want a modern free bot and would rather pay a small amount to raise limits than move to a bigger plan.
6. MEE6
MEE6 is the bot most people have heard of. Its own free-vs-Premium comparison (16 June 2026) marks XP and Levels, Welcome & Goodbye messages, Reaction Roles (up to 40 on Premium), Temporary channels and Moderation as Premium. Before you pick it for auto roles, read that comparison to see where join roles fall today. Prices are at mee6.xyz/premium.
Pick MEE6 if: your server already runs it and you're fine paying for Premium.
Comparison table
| Bot | Free join role | Delay or conditions | Upgrade price | Notable paywalls |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| YAGPDB | Yes | Delay; scripting for custom rules | See yagpdb.xyz | 25 automod rules free, 150 on Premium |
| Dyno | Yes | Delay | See dyno.gg/upgrade | Levels; reaction roles past 3 |
| PeakBot | Yes | If/then rules; verified role after Verification | Starter $5.75/mo, Pro $8.25/mo | Welcome DM and image, voice XP; AI moderation on Pro |
| Carl-bot | Yes | See carl.gg | $7.99/mo (1 server) | Leveling and level roles |
| Sapphire | Yes, with limits | See sapph.xyz | $2.99/mo Limit Increase | Higher limits |
| MEE6 | Check its comparison | See mee6.xyz | See mee6.xyz/premium | Levels, welcome, reaction roles, temp channels, moderation |
Why an instant join role can skip verification
Discord's verification level (None, Low, Medium, High, Highest) is set in Server Settings > Safety Setup. On Community servers it sits under DM and Spam Protection. Medium, for example, requires a verified email that has been on the account for more than 5 minutes (Discord's article).
The setting's description says it doesn't apply to members who have a role. Owners on Discord's community forums have pointed out the result: a bot that gives a role the moment someone joins lets them skip those checks. You can avoid this with a delayed role (YAGPDB, Dyno), a role that waits for rules screening, or a role given only after a verification step (PeakBot's Verification page).
Waiting for rules screening
Rules screening is in Server Settings > Safety Setup, under DM and Spam Protection (Edit), and needs a Community server (Discord's article). Older guides call it "Membership Screening". A member who hasn't accepted the rules joins in a "pending" state and can't take actions in the server. Discord tells bots when that member passes, so a bot that supports this can hold the role until then. Look for a "wait for screening" option in a bot's docs before you rely on it.
Fix: the bot isn't giving the role
Check role order first, then permissions.
- Open Server Settings > Roles.
- Drag the bot's role above the role you want it to give. A bot can only grant roles that sit below its own highest role (Discord's permissions docs).
- Make sure the bot's role has the Manage Roles permission.
- Make sure the role you're giving isn't a managed role (one owned by another bot or integration).
- Join with an alt account to confirm it works.
How to set it up in PeakBot
- Invite PeakBot and open the dashboard at peakbot.pro (see getting started).
- Open Roles in the sidebar and add an auto role on join.
- Optional: add an if/then rule, or use Verification so the verified role is only given after the member clicks the button.
- Move PeakBot's role above that role in Server Settings > Roles.
There's no setup command. You do all of this on the dashboard. The full walkthrough is in Give new members a role automatically. For a bot-by-bot how-to, see How to automatically assign a role when someone joins.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why isn't my auto role bot giving the role?
Most often, the bot's role sits below the role it's trying to give, or the bot is missing Manage Roles. Move the bot's role higher in Server Settings > Roles. If you use rules screening, the bot may also be waiting for the member to pass it.
How do I give bots a different role than members when they join?
Some bots have a separate bots-or-humans setting for join roles, so check the docs of the one you use. PeakBot's feature list doesn't include this. Bots you invite with permissions also get their own managed role from Discord, so in many servers you can just keep them out of the member role.
Can I give a role after someone has been in the server for 10 minutes?
Yes, with a bot that supports a delay, such as YAGPDB or Dyno. For roles based on longer tenure or activity, see auto-assigning roles by time in server and activity.
Can I give the role only after they accept the rules?
Turn on rules screening and use a bot that waits for members to pass it. You can also use a button-based verification step instead. PeakBot's Verification page gives a verified role after the member clicks.
Is there a way to auto role without a bot?
Yes. Onboarding questions in Server Settings > Onboarding give roles based on members' answers. Because roles come from answers, it can't hand everyone the same role with no questions, and it has no delay.
Does auto role work for people who were already in the server?
Usually not. Join roles fire when someone joins. For people already in the server, open the role in Server Settings > Roles and add members on its Manage Members tab, or use a bot with a bulk role tool.
