One of my favorite things about Discord is that you can make it entirely your own—whether you’re customizing your profile or building out a server with all the bells and whistles (literally). It nails that sweet spot between fun and functional.
A few years back, Discord added a new way to express yourself in voice chats: soundboards. It’s like using Discord emoji—but instead of a melting face, you’re dropping a perfectly timed trombone slide into the conversation.
Here’s everything you need to know about how to use a soundboard on Discord.
Table of contents:
What is a Discord soundboard?
Soundboard is a Discord feature that lets you play short audio clips during voice chats. You can upload just about any clip you want—classic sound effects like a sad trombone, a movie clip, or your own custom audio.
A few things worth noting:
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You need the Nitro plan (not Nitro Basic) to use soundboards outside of their own servers.
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You can’t use soundboards in stage channels, even if you’re an authorized speaker.
How to use soundboard on Discord
You can use the Discord soundboard on both the desktop and mobile app, but the steps vary slightly.
How to use soundboard on Discord (desktop)
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Click on a server, and join the voice channel where you want to share sound effects.
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Click the confetti icon (it looks like a megaphone, really) below Voice Connected.
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Hover over the sound you want to play, and click the speaker icon to preview it, or click the Play icon to play it for everyone in the channel.
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You can also click the Star icon to favorite a sound.
How to use soundboard on Discord (mobile)
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Tap on a server and join the voice channel where you want to share sound effects.
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Tap anywhere on your screen to reveal a toolbar at the bottom.
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Tap and drag the toolbar to expand it.
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Tap Soundboard.
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Tap the sound you want to play.
How to add sounds to a Discord soundboard
If you have the server role permission, here’s how to add sounds to your server’s Discord soundboard using your browser or the desktop app.
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Open the Discord server you want to add sounds to.
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Click Server Settings in the side panel.
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Click Soundboard (under Expression).
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Click Upload Sound to add sounds.
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In the Upload a Sound menu, upload your sound file, give it a descriptive name, and set the sound volume. You can also give the sound a related emoji.
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Click Upload.
To edit your sounds, go back to your server’s soundboard. Hover your mouse over the sound you want to edit, and click the pencil icon to adjust the settings. Or click X to delete it.
How to find sounds for your Discord soundboard
You have a few options for finding new sounds to add to your soundboard:
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Other Discord servers: You can find sounds for your soundboards in Discord servers dedicated to them. Click the compass icon at the bottom of your list of server icons, and then search “soundboard.” If you have the Nitro plan, you can also join servers and use their soundboards.
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Websites: You can download sounds from other sites. But proceed with caution: some sites make you sign up using your Discord account to connect you to irrelevant apps and servers.
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Create your own: Can’t find what you want on other servers or websites? Make your own by finding a stock sound or video and editing it to 5.2 seconds or less using your favorite audio editing app. Then save it as an MP3 file.
How to make a custom soundboard on Discord
The biggest drawback of Discord soundboards is that they’re dependent on servers rather than users—meaning you can play only what’s available on a given server. But if you want to create a custom soundboard on Discord, there are workarounds.
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Create a personal server. You can create a server for free with your own soundboard. Keep in mind: If you want to use your custom soundboard sounds across servers, you’ll need to have an active Nitro subscription.
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Use a third-party app. External tools like Voicemod let you build a custom soundboard that you can play through your sound output in Discord. It offers a free plan, but most of its features are gated behind the paid plan.
How to manage Discord soundboard permissions
If you want to give others the ability to modify your server’s soundboard, here’s how to edit their server role permissions.
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Click the dropdown next to your server name (top of the side panel), and select Server Settings.
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Under People, click Roles.
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Click Create Role to make a soundboard editor role. Or, if that role already exists, click it to edit.
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Click the Permissions tab at the top of the role editing page.
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Click the toggle next to Create Expressions or Manage Expressions to enable or disable that functionality. These permissions will let the role add and edit sounds, emoji, and stickers in your server.
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Scroll down to the Voice Channel Permissions section to manage two more soundboard-related permissions:
You’re all set.
Automate Discord
Discord isn’t just about fun and games—though that’s a big draw. It’s also a great team chat app, especially if your team relies on talking out loud to get work done. Discord becomes even more suited for business when you use Zapier’s Discord integration to connect it with thousands of other apps. This way, you can automatically do things like assign roles, get calendar reminders about upcoming Discord events, and cross-post between social accounts.
Learn more about how to automate Discord, or try out one of these pre-made workflows.
Zapier is the most connected AI orchestration platform—integrating with thousands of apps from partners like Google, Salesforce, and Microsoft. Use interfaces, data tables, and logic to build secure, automated, AI-powered systems for your business-critical workflows across your organization’s technology stack. Learn more.
How to use Discord soundboards: FAQs
Here are answers to the most common questions I’ve seen about Discord soundboards.
How many sounds can you have on your server’s soundboard?
The number of sounds you have varies depending on your server’s boost tier. Here’s a quick overview:
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No tier: 8 slots
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Tier 1: 24 slots
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Tier 2: 35 slots
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Tier 3: 48 slots
Remember: If you have Nitro and need more sounds, you can make as many servers—and, therefore, custom soundboards—as you want.
Can you mute soundboard sounds?
If you’re sick of hearing the John Cena theme, “ballerina cappuccino,” or whatever silly sound your voice chat members keep spamming, you can mute it.
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Click User Settings.
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Click Voice and Video > Soundboard > Soundboard Volume.
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From here, you can modify the volume of soundboard sounds or mute them altogether.
Why won’t Discord upload my sound file?
Discord no longer lists its file requirements for sounds, but here’s what they used to be:
If your file meets all those requirements and it’s still not working, close and re-open Discord, and then try again. It’s annoying, I know. But it worked for me.
How can I add sounds to my Discord soundboard from the mobile app?
You can’t. You can add sounds to your Discord soundboard only through your browser or the desktop app.
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