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March 16, 20265 min read1,070 reads
Beatra vs Other Discord Music Bots: Why Beatra Is the Best Choice in 2026
Groovy and Rythm are gone. MEE6 music is paid. How does Beatra compare to the remaining Discord music bot alternatives in 2026?
Beatra vs Other Discord Music Bots: Why Beatra Is the Best Choice in 2026
The Discord music bot landscape has changed dramatically. Groovy was shut down by YouTube in 2021. Rythm followed in 2021. This left a gap that several bots tried to fill. Here is how Beatra compares.
The Current Alternatives
Beatra
- Free tier: Full playback, queue management, effects, lyrics, autoplay, 24/7 (with caveats)
- Sources: YouTube, Spotify, SoundCloud, Apple Music, and more
- Audio quality: High, with configurable effects
- Languages: 20+
- Premium: Affordable tiers for larger servers
- Uptime: Actively maintained and updated
MEE6
- Originally a moderation bot that added music
- Music features moved to paid tier
- Limited source support compared to dedicated music bots
- Better suited as a moderation bot than a music bot
Hydra
- Comparable feature set
- Smaller community, less frequent updates
- Premium required for multi-source support
FredBoat
- Open source, self-hostable
- Less polished user experience
- Requires technical knowledge to self-host for best features
Chip
- Basic playback features
- Limited source support
- Smaller development team
Feature Comparison Table
| Feature | Beatra | MEE6 | Hydra | FredBoat |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| YouTube (free) | Yes | Paid | Limited | Yes |
| Spotify (free) | Yes | Paid | Limited | No |
| SoundCloud (free) | Yes | No | Limited | Yes |
| Audio effects | Yes (8 effects) | No | Limited | No |
| Autoplay | Yes | No | Yes | No |
| 24/7 mode | Yes (Premium) | No | Paid | Self-host |
| Lyrics | Yes | No | Yes | No |
| Languages | 20+ | Limited | Limited | Limited |
| Wrapped/stats | Yes | No | No | No |
| Web dashboard | Yes | Yes | No | No |
| Active development | Yes | Yes | Uncertain | Slow |
Why Beatra Wins
1. Broadest free tier — Most features are available without paying anything. You get YouTube, Spotify, SoundCloud, audio effects, lyrics, autoplay, and queue management for free.
2. Multi-source support — Beatra searches across multiple platforms automatically, so if a track isn't available on one source, it finds it on another.
3. Audio effects — 8 real-time audio effects (bass boost, nightcore, 8D, vaporwave, and more) with no other bot matching this for free. See the full effects guide.
4. Beatra Wrapped — A unique feature that gives you a personalized music stats recap, similar to Spotify Wrapped but for your Discord server. See the Wrapped guide.
5. 20+ languages — No other free music bot comes close for multilingual communities.
6. Active development — Beatra is actively maintained with regular updates, unlike some alternatives that have become unmaintained.
When Might You Use Another Bot?
- Self-hosting preference: FredBoat is the go-to if you want to control your own bot infrastructure
- Already using MEE6 for moderation: MEE6 music might be convenient if you are already paying for MEE6, despite its limitations
For almost every other use case, Beatra provides more value, especially for free.
Get Started with Beatra
Add Beatra to your server and see the difference. Check the setup guide to get started in minutes, or explore Beatra Premium for maximum features.