Discord is a rapidly growing platform with over 150 million monthly active users. While it is free to use, users can pay a subscription every month to get more value out of the service.

If you're a regular Discord user, you would have noticed how you run into certain limitations as you use the platform. Discord sets these limitations to incentivize users to pay for its service.

Here, we'll dig into the two paid subscription plans that Discord offers so you can decide if it's worth paying for. So what are Discord Nitro and Nitro Classic—and how do these plans differ?

What Is Discord Nitro?

Discord Nitro is a paid membership that lets users unlock a bunch of additional features like global emotes, animated avatars, larger upload sizes, and more.

It comes in two different subscription tiers called the Discord Nitro and Discord Nitro Classic. If you haven't noticed, Discord doesn't run ads like Twitter or Facebook. So, if you ever wondered how Discord makes money, this is one of the ways it manages to do so.

The platform operates on a freemium business model, meaning anyone's free to use the service without paying a penny, but at the same time, you could gain a ton of benefits for a monthly fee.

Read More: Discord Does Not Run Ads, So How Does It Make Money?

Depending on how often you use Discord and what you use it for, you may or may not need a Nitro subscription.

Most people would be perfectly fine with the lower-tier Discord Nitro Classic subscription, but some others who are very engaged in various Discord communities would find the more expensive Discord Nitro plan quite beneficial.

Discord Nitro Classic Benefits

Discord Nitro Classic features

Let's start with the more affordable Discord Nitro Classic subscription. This is the original paid subscription plan that Discord first introduced in 2017. It gives users a bunch of chat-specific perks for a monthly fee of $4.99.

The yearly plan that sets you back at $49.99 will allow you to save the cost of two months' worth of your subscription. You unlock a total of five key perks with Discord Nitro Classic.

Starting with the most important one: you get access to custom emojis and animated emotes, which you can use across all the Discord servers you're a part of. Typically, you cannot use a server's custom emotes in another server as a free user. With Nitro Classic, you can use your server emotes anywhere you like, including direct messages with your friends.

You'll also be able to set an animated GIF as your Discord avatar. So, if you have a small video clip, you can convert it into a GIF and then use it as your animated profile picture. This is the easiest way to show off your Nitro subscription.

Every Discord account is assigned a four-digit hashtag which you cannot change as a free user. However, if you subscribe to Nitro Classic, you'll be able to choose your user hashtag, provided someone else with an identical username isn't using it. Once your subscription expires, Discord will automatically randomize your hashtag.

Discord isn't just a chatting platform. You can stream games and even share your screen with friends. Unfortunately, free users are limited to 720p at 30FPS for both screen sharing and streaming, but you can unlock 1080p resolution at 60FPS as a Nitro Classic subscriber.

Lastly, Discord's Nitro Classic subscription dramatically increases the file upload cap. Free users can only upload a maximum of 8MB at a time, which prevents you from sharing high-resolution image files. With Nitro Classic, this limit is raised to 50MB, meaning you should have no trouble uploading images or video clips.

In addition to all these perks, Discord also adds a fancy Nitro badge to your profile. You get to keep it as long as you're a subscriber. Also, you'll get 30% off on Server Boosts, which is yet another server-oriented feature that Discord makes money off of.

Related: How to Boost Your Discord Server

Discord Nitro Benefits

Discord settings menu

The more expensive Discord Nitro plan costs $9.99 per month and $99.99 per year. So, what exactly do you get for twice the money? Let's take a look...

In addition to all the Nitro Classic perks mentioned above, you get two free server boosts. This is a huge incentive for people who actually boost servers since each server boost costs $4.99 per month.

You also unlock Profile Banners. It's similar to Twitter headers or Facebook cover photos. These banners can be either static or animated according to your preference.

Discord limits free users and Nitro Classic subscribers to 2,000 characters per message. However, if you pay $9.99 a month for Nitro, Discord will double your character limit to 4,000 characters per message.

If you're in a ton of Discord servers, you may already know that Discord has a cap on how many servers you can join at a time. This limit is set to 100 for both free users and Nitro Classic subscribers. But, Discord Nitro users can be a part of 200 servers at any given time.

Related: How to Find the Best Discord Servers

Next, we have a couple of perks that are a step-up from Nitro Classic.

With the more expensive Nitro, your file upload cap is doubled to 100MB, meaning you'll be more comfortable sharing videos. Discord will also allow Nitro users to stream at source quality, including 4K streaming if you have the right hardware for it.

Finding the Right Subscription Plan

Discord running on iPhone

Not everyone needs Discord Nitro or Discord Nitro Classic. Why pay for something that you probably won't use in the first place?

The idea of paying for a platform immediately goes out of the window if you only use it occasionally. Discord's paid plans target regular users who're active in communities.

If you log on to Discord just to text your friends or join voice/video calls, you don't have to pay for Nitro unless you want to show off your cool animated avatar.

But if you think you need the higher file sharing limit or you want access to more emotes to express yourself, then, by all means, go for the Nitro Classic subscription.

You should only consider the more expensive Discord Nitro plan if you're into server boosting or if Nitro Classic's perks don't cut it for you. For example, if you want to join more than a hundred servers at once or send files larger than 50MB, you should opt for the premium subscription.

Keep an Eye Out for Free Discord Nitro Trials

If you're still skeptical about paying for the service, be on the lookout for free Nitro trials.

Discord occasionally partners with companies like Microsoft, Epic Games, and others to provide Nitro for free. Or, you could ask a generous friend to gift you a one-month Nitro subscription.

Discord's paid subscription model surely isn't for everybody, but to get a clear idea of whether or not you'll benefit from it, you can to try it out for yourself.