The Arcane alternative with 10x the free tier.
Arcane’s free tier allows 5 custom commands and 1 auto role. Nano’s allows 50 and 10, and costs $4.99/mo against Arcane’s $7.00, or $49.99/yr against $75.00. Arcane still wins on free YouTube alerts and a subscription you can move between servers.
TL;DR
Nano is cheaper monthly and annually, and its free tier is substantially larger: 50 custom commands to Arcane’s 5, 20 reaction roles to 10, 10 auto roles to 1. Nano also ships tickets, giveaways, an economy and games that Arcane’s comparison table does not list. Arcane wins where it matters to some servers: 24 free YouTube alerts while Nano gates every social notification behind premium, unlimited role rewards and counters on its premium tier, and a subscription that transfers to another server.
Side-by-side comparison
Verify on Arcane →Nano: $4.99/mo or $49.99/yr per server. Arcane: $7.00/mo or $75.00/yr per server. Arcane figures read on 2026-08-23. Check the link above before acting on them: prices change without notice.
Pricing per server
| Nano | Arcane | |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly Nano is $2.01 a month less. | $4.99/mo | $7.00/mo |
| Annual Nano is $25.01 a year less, and works out at about $4.17 a month. | $49.99/yr | $75.00/yr |
| Transferable to another server Arcane's win, and a real one. Both Arcane plans are described as transferable to another server. A Nano subscription is tied to the server it was bought for. | ||
| Number of paid tiers Neither bot makes you pick between tiers. Both sell one premium plan, monthly or yearly. | 1 | 1 |
What you get on the free tier
| Nano | Arcane | |
|---|---|---|
| Custom commands Pre-defined responses triggered by a slash command. 10 times Arcane's free allowance. | 50 | 5 |
| Reaction roles Self-assignable roles via reaction or button. | 20 | 10 |
| Auto roles Roles handed to every member on join. | 10 | 1 |
| Level role rewards Roles granted automatically when a member reaches a level. | 25 | 15 |
| Server stat counters Live member and channel counters. | 5 | 3 |
| YouTube alerts Arcane's win, and a large one. Arcane gives 24 YouTube alerts to free servers. Nano gates every social notification, YouTube included, behind premium. | 24 | |
| Leveling (text XP) Both include text XP, a leaderboard and role rewards on the free tier. | ||
| Custom XP rates Nano's XP multipliers are free. Arcane lists custom XP values as premium-only. | ||
| Tickets Private support channels with staff routing. Arcane's free-vs-premium table lists no ticket module, read 2026-08-02. | 5 panels | Not listed |
| Giveaways Time-boxed prize draws with role and level entry requirements. | Not listed | |
| Economy and mini-games A server economy, a shop and 21 in-channel games (trivia, wordle, hangman, minesweeper and more). | Not listed | |
| Logging Different shapes. Nano posts 31 event types into a Discord channel you own, so history lasts as long as the channel. Arcane's free message log retains 1 hour, 12 hours on premium. | 31 event types | 1 hour retention |
What you get on premium
| Nano | Arcane | |
|---|---|---|
| Custom commands Nano's premium cap is double Arcane's. | 1000 | 100 |
| Reaction roles Nano's premium cap is now 500, five times Arcane's 100. | 500 | 100 |
| Auto roles Nano's premium cap is more than double. | 25 | 10 |
| Level role rewards Arcane's win. Arcane removes the cap entirely on premium; Nano raises it to 200. | 200 | Unlimited |
| Server stat counters Arcane's win again. Nano raises the cap to 25 rather than removing it. | 25 | Unlimited |
| YouTube alerts Arcane caps premium YouTube alerts at 54. Nano's premium social notifications cover YouTube, Twitch, Reddit and RSS. | 54 | |
| Twitch, Reddit and RSS alerts Arcane's comparison table lists YouTube alerts only, read 2026-08-02. | Not listed | |
| Voice XP XP for time spent in voice channels. Premium on both. | ||
| Custom rank cards Branded XP profile cards with custom backgrounds. Premium on both. | ||
| Custom bot (your own token) Nano runs the bot under a Discord application you create and own. Arcane's bot customizer rebrands Arcane's shared bot. | ||
| Automations and achievements Trigger-to-action automations and activity-milestone badges. Both are premium-only on Nano. | Not listed | |
| Music Nano does not ship music. | Not listed |
Convinced? Add Nano in 30 seconds.
Free forever on the core modules. Run side-by-side with Arcane while you compare.
Where Nano wins
Cheaper both ways.
$4.99 a month against $7.00, and $49.99 a year against $75.00. Over a year that is $25.01 back per server, and unlike some comparisons the annual gap is real.
A free tier ten times the size.
50 custom commands against 5, 10 auto roles against 1, 20 reaction roles against 10, 25 level rewards against 15. Most of what Arcane asks $7 a month for is already on Nano's free tier.
Tickets, giveaways, economy and games.
Arcane's comparison table lists none of them. With Nano you stop running a second and third bot to cover support tickets and community features.
A real custom bot.
Nano premium runs under your own Discord application token with isolated commands. Arcane's bot customizer changes the name and avatar of Arcane's shared bot.
Where Arcane wins
We're not going to pretend we beat them on everything. If these matter most to you, stay where you are — switching won't help.
- Free YouTube alerts. Arcane gives free servers 24 YouTube alerts. Nano gates every social notification behind premium, YouTube included. If free creator alerts are what you came for, Arcane does it and Nano does not.
- The subscription moves. Both Arcane plans are described as transferable to another server. Nano's is tied to the server you bought it for, so a server rebuild or a move means buying again.
- No caps on premium role rewards or counters. Arcane premium makes role rewards and counters unlimited. Nano raises them to 200 and 25. A large, heavily tiered server can outgrow Nano's numbers and not Arcane's.
Choose Nano if…
- You want the cheaper bot, monthly or annually, without giving up features.
- Arcane's 5 free custom commands and 1 free auto role are not enough.
- You want tickets, giveaways and an economy without adding more bots.
- You want the bot to run under your own Discord application.
Stick with Arcane if…
- You need free YouTube alerts (Nano's social notifications are premium-only).
- You want a subscription you can move to another server later.
- You are past 200 level rewards or 25 stat counters, where Arcane is uncapped.
- Arcane's free YouTube alerts matter more to you than the price difference.
Frequently asked
Is Nano actually cheaper than Arcane?+
Does Nano do YouTube alerts like Arcane's free tier?+
Can I move a Nano subscription to a different server?+
Will Nano import my Arcane levels?+
What is the migration path?+
/admin setup autosetup for sensible defaults, configure the modules you want from the dashboard, then remove Arcane once you are happy. They do not conflict, so run both for a week first.What if Nano does not work out?+
Try Nano free, no credit card.
Add Nano to one server and see the difference. Run it side-by-side with Arcane while you compare.
- Free forever on the core modules
- Premium $4.99/mo per server
- 7-day refund, no questions asked