Let‘s clear this up right away – no, Discord Nitro is not free after the initial 1 month trial period ends. But don‘t worry, throughout this complete Nitro guide, I‘ll share tips to extend your free access along with everything else you need to know about Discord‘s premium subscription in 2023 and beyond.
With over 150 million active users, Discord has become the #1 chat app for communities focused on gaming, streaming and even business. And while the core app is free, Nitro subscriptions unlock bonus perks like…
- HD video streaming
- Larger file uploads
- Custom emoji & stickers
- Exclusive profile cosmetics
- Server boosts to unlock more features
Intrigued? Let‘s dive deeper into all things Discord Nitro. I‘ll explain the different plans, pricing, how to get it free, what you really get with a paid subscription, whether it‘s worth it, and more!
Overview: What is Discord Nitro?
Discord Nitro is the optional premium subscription that gives you access to enhanced features and customization options for just $9.99/month. It exists in a few different versions:
| Plan | Price |
|---|---|
| Nitro Basic | $2.99/month |
| Nitro Classic | $4.99/month or $49.99/year |
| Nitro | $9.99/month or $99.99/year |
Nitro Basic – This gives you a limited set of bonus perks like larger file uploads (50 MB vs 8 MB), extra custom emoji slots, animated avatar, and expanded Discord tag (e.g. SuperCoolUser#1234).
Nitro Classic – Includes everything in Nitro Basic plus server-wide perks like HD video streaming, animated server emoji, monthly server boosts to unlock more features.
Nitro – Has all the same benefits as Nitro Classic, but with 2 server boosts per month instead of 1, the ability to use custom emoji across all servers, and access to subscribers-only chat rooms.
Now that you know the Nitro tiers, let‘s look at how you can get your hands on a subscription for free or as a gift.
Getting Nitro Free: Trials, Gifts and Legit Ways to Unlock Perks
Discord offers free 1-3 month Nitro trials pretty frequently. You can also get gifted subscriptions or score deals through promotional partnerships.
Here are some of the top ways to access Discord Nitro for free:
1. Free Trials
New user trial – Verify your phone number on a brand new Discord account to get 1 month of free Nitro.
Recurring trials – Discord runs occasional 1-3 month free trial promotions for new or lapsed Nitro users.
2. Gift a Friend
- Gifted subscriptions – Discord lets users purchase 1, 3 or 6 months of Nitro or Nitro Classic as a gift for friends.
3. Gaming Platform Perks
PlayStation Plus – Sony offered 1 month free Nitro to PS Plus subscribers in late 2022.
Xbox Game Pass – Select Game Pass members got 3 months of free Nitro in 2021.
Epic Games Store – Epic gave 1 month free Nitro to users who claimed Rocket League in 2021.
4. Discord Rewards Programs
HypeSquad – Members of Discord‘s community leader program get 3 months of free Nitro.
Events – Attendees of official Discord events like DISCORDCon sometimes get a free subscription.
Partner Program – Discord partners with 1000+ subscribers can unlock free Nitro to customize servers.
5. Buy from a Reseller
- DiscordNitro.shop – This site sells legit Nitro codes for discounts as low as $2.99 if you catch a promo.
6. Server Contests
- Giveaways – Some Discord servers run contests to win Nitro subscriptions.
7. Use Free Promo Codes
WAMBOT – Unlocked Nitro Basic for 1 month [Expired Nov 2022]
EnjoyYourStay – Worked for 1 free month of Nitro [Expired 2021]
The catch is that most of these free offers convert to a paid monthly subscription when they expire. So you need to cancel in your Discord settings to avoid being charged.
Next up, let‘s look at what you actually get with a Nitro subscription to help decide if it‘s worth paying for.
Nitro Perks and Features: What Do You Really Get as a Subscriber?
Here‘s an overview of the extra perks unlocked at each Nitro tier:
| Nitro Basic | Nitro Classic | Nitro |
|---|---|---|
| 50MB file uploads | 50MB file uploads | 50MB file uploads |
| 8 emoji slots | 200 emoji slots | 200 emoji slots |
| Animated avatar | Animated avatar | Animated avatar |
| Expanded Discord tag | Expanded Discord tag | Expanded Discord tag |
| Team emojis | Team emojis | Team emojis |
| – | HD video streaming | HD video streaming |
| – | 1 Server boost/month | 2 Server boosts/month |
| – | Animated server emoji | Animated server emoji |
| – | Exclusive profile badge | Exclusive profile badge |
| – | – | Subscriber-only chat rooms |
| – | – | Use emotes globally |
Some of the standout highlights include:
File size limit increased from 8MB to 50MB – Great for sharing large videos, photos or other media without slow uploads or compression.
HD video streaming – Boosts Go Live stream and screen share quality up to 1080p/60fps resolution. Makes it easier to see details in shared games and video chats.
Global emoji use – Lets you use custom emoji from any of your shared servers across all servers with Nitro. Fun for reacting in channels server-wide.
Server boosts – Level up your servers with extra features like more emoji slots, better audio quality, member role rewards, vanity invite links and more.
Profile cosmetics – Nitro subscribers unlock options like animated avatars, badges, expanded Discord tags and the ability to claim rare user IDs.
Subscriber chat rooms – Talk and play games in member-only group chats just for Nitro users.
Now let‘s compare Discord Nitro to premium offerings from competitors like Slack, Teamspeak, Skype and Guilded.
How Does Discord Nitro Stack Up Against Other Platform‘s Premium Tiers?
Most chat and community platforms offer premium subscriptions above their free base experience. Here‘s how Nitro compares to paid upgrades from alternate options:
| Platform | Premium Tier | Price | Key Features |
|---|---|---|---|
| Discord | Nitro | $9.99/month | Expanded emoji, HD streaming, server boosts |
| Slack | Slack Pro | $8/month | Unlimited msg history, admin controls, 24/7 support |
| Guilded | Guilded Premium | $5.99/month | File attachments, channel analytics, video uploads |
| TeamSpeak | TeamSpeak 5 | $3.99/month | No server limits, channel mods, priority support |
| Skype | – | – | No premium tier |
Of these competitors, only Guilded directly targets the gaming community like Discord. But Guilded Premium is limited to file attachments and analytical insights compared to Nitro‘s more robust feature set and server customization.
Slack offers a strong professional focus including enterprise-grade admin tools, but lacks the fun social features of Nitro like custom emoji, GIF reactions and member rewards.
Overall, Discord Nitro occupies a unique space providing the most gaming-centric features that also appeal to casual social users in a blend that competitors have yet to match at its price point.
Next up, let‘s dive into the big question – whether paying for Nitro is really worth it for the average user.
Is Discord Nitro Worth It? Who Should (and Shouldn‘t) Buy It
With 80 million monthly active Discord users, but only about 2.5% subscribing to Nitro as of late 2022, it‘s clear that not everyone finds enough value to pay. Let‘s weigh the pros and cons.
Nitro Could Be Worth It For:
- Heavy Discord users in 5+ active servers who want to customize and support their communities.
- Streamers and gamers benefiting from HD Go Live and screen sharing to engage their audience.
- Artists and creators needing expanded file limits for sharing high-res works or quickly sending drafts.
- Emoji lovers always reacting and interacting with new customized emoji.
- Server owners looking to unlock more features and stand out with profile upgrades.
- Mobile users who voice chat or send lots of videos and images on the go.
Based on Nitro reviews, these types of highly engaged users seem to find the most value from the expanded features and higher limits.
Nitro May Not be Worth it For:
- Casual or infrequent Discord users who lurk more than post.
- Budget-conscious users unable to justify any recurring subscriptions.
- People rarely uploading large files who don‘t care about expanded limits.
- Individuals mainly chatting via text who don‘t benefit from HD streaming.
- Those focused on just a couple gaming servers that already meet their needs.
For these groups, Nitro is lower priority and the free Discord experience often suffices, especially with a Pinterest browser extension providing emoji access.
The Key Evaluation Factors:
When deciding if Nitro is worth it for you, consider:
How heavily do you use Discord? Nitro scales in value for highly engaged users active daily in multiple servers.
Will you utilize the expanded features? HD streaming, bigger uploads and server boosts only matter if useful to you.
How customizable do you want the experience? Profile cosmetics and custom emoji provide personal flair.
What‘s your budget for subscriptions? Nitro runs just $9.99/month, but still adds up over time.
How satisfied are you currently? If the free Discord experience already meets all your chat needs, Nitro becomes optional.
If you‘re still unsure, take advantage of the 1 month free trials or ask for a gift subscription so you can preview Nitro at no cost.
Let‘s wrap up with tips on gifting Nitro plus what happens when you go to cancel it.
Gifting Nitro Subscriptions to Friends
Giving the gift of Nitro is an awesome way to support fellow Discord users for special occasions or just because.
To gift Nitro:
- In Discord, open User Settings and select the Nitro tab
- Click "Gift Nitro" or "Gift Nitro Classic"
- Pick a gift duration – 1, 3 or 6 months
- Enter the recipient‘s Discord username and tag
- Complete the payment for the Nitro gift subscription
The lucky recipient will receive a direct message from Discord with a personal link to redeem their gifted membership.
Gifting a subscription is the same price as buying Nitro for yourself. And the recipient gets full access to either Nitro or Nitro Classic benefits for the duration of the gift period.
What Happens When You Cancel Discord Nitro?
You can cancel an active Nitro subscription anytime by navigating to your User Settings. Here‘s what to expect:
Monthly subscription – You immediately lose Nitro perks, but retain access until the end of the current billing period.
Yearly subscription – You keep Nitro benefits until your next renewal date, when the subscription will expire unless you re-enable auto renewal.
Either way, existing server boosts stay active until their next renewal, but you do lose the 30% member discount on additional boosts. Custom emoji also remain available to the servers they were uploaded in.
The Bottom Line on Discord Nitro
Discord Nitro unlocks a host of extra features to enhance the core chat experience – especially for power users active in multiple creative communities.
The good news is you can try Nitro risk-free with the frequent 1 month trials. And choose between affordable tiers like Nitro Basic or Nitro Classic.
While not universally needed across all Discord members, Nitro subscribers who actively utilize the expanded limits, HD streaming, emojis, boosts and profile upgrades tend to find excellent value from the upgrade.
So give one of the Nitro tiers a shot if you‘re a highly engaged user looking to upgrade your Discord experience. Or consider gifting it to a fellow Discord fan who would appreciate the perks.
Either way, may your chats and servers be more customizable and fun thanks to Nitro! Additional benefits surely to come as Discord continues enriching its premium offering in 2023 and beyond.
