As a new streamer, managing your chat while trying to play a game and be entertaining can feel overwhelming. What happens when someone posts a sketchy link? How do you answer the same questions over and over? The answer lies in one of the most powerful tools a streamer can have: a chat bot. Choosing from the best twitch bots is a game-changer for your channel’s professionalism and engagement.
A Twitch bot is essentially a robot moderator and entertainer that lives in your chat. It can automatically filter out spam, respond to commands, post scheduled messages, and run fun games for your viewers. Best of all, the most popular and powerful options are completely free.
This guide will introduce you to the best twitch bots for new streamers. We’ll focus on the two industry giants—Nightbot and StreamElements—explain what they do, and help you decide which one is the perfect fit for your channel.
What Can the Best Twitch Bots Do for Your Stream?
Before we compare the top contenders, let’s break down the core functions that make a chat bot so essential.
- Automatic Spam & Link Filtering: This is the most important moderation feature. You can set your bot to automatically delete messages with excessive caps, spammy text, or unauthorized links, keeping your chat clean and safe.
- Custom Chat Commands: This is the most popular feature. You can create simple commands that viewers can type to get information. Common commands include:
- !socials – Posts your Twitter and TikTok links.
- !uptime – Shows how long you’ve been live.
- !lurk – A welcome message for viewers who are watching but not chatting.
- Scheduled Messages (Timers): You can have your bot automatically post messages in chat on a timer. For example, every 20 minutes, it can post a reminder to follow the channel or join your Discord server.
- Giveaways and Polls: Easily run a giveaway or ask your chat to vote on the next game you should play.
- Song Requests: Allow your viewers to request songs to be played live on stream (use with caution to avoid DMCA issues).
Nightbot: The Simple & Reliable Classic
Nightbot is one of the oldest and most trusted bots in the streaming world. Its strength lies in its simplicity and reliability. It’s a standalone bot that does one job and does it exceptionally well: chat management.
How to Set Up Nightbot:
- Go to the Nightbot website and log in with your Twitch account.
- Click the “Join Channel” button. Nightbot is now in your chat.
- Go to your own Twitch channel’s chat and type /mod nightbot to give it moderator permissions.
To create a custom command, go to the “Commands -> Custom” tab in your Nightbot dashboard. It’s a fantastic choice for beginners who don’t want to be overwhelmed.
StreamElements Cloudbot: The All-in-One Powerhouse
StreamElements is a complete suite of tools for streamers (alerts, overlays, tipping pages), and their “Cloudbot” is integrated directly into this ecosystem. This is one of the best twitch bots because it connects to everything else.
How to Set Up StreamElements Cloudbot:
- Go to the StreamElements website and log in with your Twitch account.
- Navigate to the “Chat bot” section in the left-hand menu.
- Make sure the “Bot is enabled” toggle is on.
- Just like with Nightbot, go to your chat and type /mod streamelements to make it a moderator.
The power of Cloudbot is in its “Modules.” You can enable chat games, loyalty points (viewers earn points for watching), and dozens of other fun, interactive features that are all part of the same system as your alerts.
Which of the Best Twitch Bots is Right for You?
So, which one should you choose? Here’s a simple breakdown:
- Choose Nightbot if: You want a simple, lightweight, and incredibly easy-to-use bot for basic moderation and custom commands. If you already have your alerts and overlays set up somewhere else and just need a dedicated chat manager, Nightbot is perfect.
- Choose StreamElements Cloudbot if: You want a single, powerful system to control everything. If you plan on using StreamElements for your alerts, overlays, and tipping, using their integrated bot is a seamless and powerful experience.
Conclusion: A Huge Step for Your Channel
You can’t go wrong with either of these choices. Setting up one of these chat bots is a massive step in making your stream more professional, safe, and interactive for your community. It frees up your mental energy to focus on your content and your viewers.
Automating your chat is a key part of building an engaged community. For more strategies on building your audience, be sure to check out our ultimate guide on how to grow your Twitch channel.