Discord bot hosting from $1/month

Your own small Linux server that keeps your bot online 24/7.

natbox offers NAT VPS hosting with root SSH, starting at $1.00 a month. A Discord bot is one of the best fits for a NAT VPS: it only makes outgoing connections to Discord, so it needs no public ports at all. You run your own code, in any language, and nobody else's bot shares your server.

Try a server free for a month or order Nano.

Which plan do you need?

Your bot	Plan	RAM	Price
Trying it out, one small bot	Free Trial (one month, not renewed)	256 MB	$0
Most Python or Node.js bots	Nano	512 MB	$1.00 a month
A bigger bot, or a bot with a database	Box	1 GB	$1.25 a month
Several bots, or a bot that needs steady CPU	Box CPU (1 dedicated core)	1 GB	$4.50 a month

How to set up a Discord bot

Order a server with Debian or Ubuntu. It is live in under a minute.
Log in over SSH with the address, port and password from the client area.
Copy your bot to the server and install its packages.
Run it as a systemd service, so it restarts after a crash or a reboot:

[Service]
User=bot
WorkingDirectory=/opt/bot/app
EnvironmentFile=/opt/bot/bot.env
ExecStart=/opt/bot/app/venv/bin/python bot.py
Restart=always
RestartSec=5

The full walkthrough, with every command, is in the guide: Host a Discord bot 24/7. It takes about 10 minutes.

Limits for Discord bots

Docker does not work on natbox, so run your bot directly with systemd.
Shared CPU is a fair share: short bursts are fine, but long periods at 100% may be throttled.
Servers are in Germany only.
You look after the server yourself. Backups and updates are your job (backup guide).

Discord bot hosting questions

Does a Discord bot work on a NAT VPS?

Yes. A bot connects out to Discord, so it needs no incoming ports. The shared IPv4 address makes no difference to it.

Which languages can I use?

Anything that runs on Linux, such as Python, Node.js, Java, Go or Rust. You have root, so you install what you like.

Can I run a dashboard for my bot too?

Yes. Use one of your forwarded ports, or link a domain in the client area and serve it on ports 80 and 443.

How do I pay for the $1 plan?

PayPal starts at $3 per payment and most exchanges will not send less than about $3 in crypto, so for Nano pick 3 months or longer, or add account credit first.

Also useful: Cheapest VPS for a Discord bot, Host a Telegram bot, What is a NAT VPS?