Simple Poll alternative Simple Poll alternative for Discord: what to use instead
Simple Poll is one of the oldest and most widely installed poll bots on Discord. For years it was the default: post a question, and members vote by clicking an emoji reaction. That long head start is why it still shows a huge install count, and why people keep searching for an alternative to it.
Here’s the honest starting point. The thing Simple Poll does, a quick reaction-style vote, is now built into Discord itself, for free. So for a lot of servers the real answer to “what should I replace Simple Poll with?” isn’t another bot at all. It depends on whether a basic vote was ever all you needed.
For the wider field of poll bots, see the best Discord poll bots roundup. This page is about what to move to when you’re done with Simple Poll specifically.
What Simple Poll actually is
It’s worth being clear about what you’re replacing. Simple Poll is a reaction-poll bot: a question with a set of options, each shown as an emoji reaction that members click to vote. That’s the core of it, and it’s the same approach people used before Discord had polls of its own.
As a poll tool it stops at the basics. A solid poll bot gives the creator real control over how a vote runs, and this is the table-stakes layer Simple Poll doesn’t have:
- No privacy modes. Reactions are public by nature, so anyone can see who voted for what. There’s no anonymous option.
- No scheduling. You can’t set a start time or an automatic close. It opens when you post it and stays until you take it down.
- No cap on selections. You can’t limit how many options each person picks, so there’s no “pick your top 3.”
- No vote-change control. You can’t choose whether people can change their vote or lock it in.
- No required role to vote. You can’t restrict voting to a specific role.
- No editing, duplicating, or reposting. You can’t fix a live poll, clone one to reuse it, or move it to another channel. Every poll is built from scratch where you first posted it.
- The paid tier removes ads, rather than adding any of the above.
None of that made it a bad tool in its day. It’s just that its day was before Discord shipped native polls, which now cover the same ground without a bot.
To be fair to it: Simple Poll is still maintained and running, and it offers a premium tier for supporters who want to help keep it going. If you already use it and it does what you need, there’s no urgency to leave. The reason to look at an alternative is capability, not whether it’ll keep working.
Option A: Discord’s native polls (for the quick vote)
If you used Simple Poll for a fast “which day works?” or “yes or no?”, you probably don’t need a bot anymore.
Start a poll straight from the message bar with the + button: type a question, add up to 10 answers, pick a duration, and post. The results animate in Discord’s own interface, with nothing to install and nothing to learn.
The trade-offs are the same ones Simple Poll had, plus a lower option cap. Native polls max out at 10 options, there’s no anonymity, and there are no rewards, no export, and no way to reuse a poll. For a throwaway vote, none of that matters. We break down exactly where the line falls in Discord native polls vs Subo.
Use native polls if: you want a quick, public, casual vote and nothing more. They’ve made the old reaction-poll bots redundant for this.
Option B: Subo (when a vote count was never enough)
If you’re leaving Simple Poll because a reaction poll couldn’t do what you actually needed, this is the more useful direction.
Subo is a Discord survey and poll app. It covers the polling basics a reaction bot never had, then keeps going:
- Anonymous by default. Three privacy modes: Transparent (everyone sees who voted), Semi-Private (only you can), and Anonymous (no one can, not even you). New servers start on Anonymous, so honest answers are the default. Here’s how the privacy modes work.
- Room to breathe. Up to 24 options, with effectively no character limit in emoji-only mode, plus timers, role restrictions, live edits, scheduling, and vote-change control.
- Work you can keep. Every poll lives in the Subo web app, not just in a channel that scrolls away, so you can find, clone, and reopen past polls instead of rebuilding them.
Then it goes past what any poll bot does:
- Rewards for voting. Grant XP and roles for taking part, with a leaderboard.
- Actions from an answer. Grant a role based on how someone voted.
- Scoring. Mark correct answers and a poll becomes a quiz or a prediction contest.
- Full surveys, quizzes, and forms. The same app runs multi-question surveys with skip logic, scored quizzes, and forms: applications, sign-ups, feedback, basically anything you’d otherwise build in Google Forms or Typeform. Respondents answer privately, and Subo can summarize open-text answers with AI.
Use Subo if: you want the poll controls a reaction bot never had (anonymity, scheduling, caps, editing, reuse), plus the room to run a real survey, quiz, or form when you need one.
Simple Poll vs native polls vs Subo
| Feature | Simple Poll | Native polls | Subo |
|---|---|---|---|
| Poll style | Emoji reactions | Built-in Discord UI | Buttons or select menu |
| Anonymous / privacy modes | No | No | Yes (3 modes, anon default) |
| Max options | ~20 (reactions) | 10 | 24 (no char limit in emoji mode) |
| Cap selections (top-N) | No | No | Yes |
| Schedule start / auto-close | No | Auto-close only | Yes |
| Edit a live poll | No | No | Yes |
| Duplicate / reuse a poll | No | No | Yes |
| Repost or move to another channel | No | No | Yes |
| Restrict who can vote by role | No | No | Yes |
| Allow / block vote change | No | No | Yes |
| Web app / history | No | No | Yes |
| Rewards, scoring & full surveys | No | No | Yes |
| Price | Free (paid tier removes ads) | Free | Free tier + paid plans |
Which one is right for you
Match it to why you’re switching:
You mostly ran quick votes. Discord’s native polls replace what Simple Poll did, with zero setup and no bot. Start there.
You wanted honest answers. Reaction polls are public, and native polls are too. Subo’s Anonymous mode is on by default, so people can answer without their name attached.
You outgrew basic voting. Real poll controls like scheduling, selection caps, reuse, and vote-change, and then rewards, scoring, or a survey, quiz, or form when you need one. That’s past every reaction-poll bot, and it’s where Subo fits.
To skip the setup, the template library has poll builds ready to clone, including a one-tap this-or-that poll and an anonymous proposal vote.
Add Subo to your Discord server for free →, see everything it does on the polls page, learn how to create a Discord poll step by step, or compare plans.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best Simple Poll alternative for Discord?
For a quick vote, Discord's own native polls replace Simple Poll entirely and need no bot. If you want control over how the vote runs, anonymity, scheduling, a cap on selections, rewards, or full surveys, use a bot like Subo. We build Subo, so read that with the appropriate scepticism.
Is Simple Poll still working?
Yes. Simple Poll is still maintained and running, with a premium tier for supporters. If it does what you need there is no urgency to leave. The reason to look elsewhere is capability, not whether it will keep working.
Does Simple Poll support anonymous voting?
No. Simple Poll is a reaction-poll bot, and reactions are public by nature, so anyone can see who voted for what. There is no anonymous option.
Why did reaction poll bots become less useful?
Discord shipped native polls in 2024, which cover the same ground without a bot: a real poll UI, a live tally, and a duration. Reaction polls were a workaround for a feature Discord did not have, and now it does.
