# Vetox vs Zeppelin > Vetox and Zeppelin compared on automod depth, configuration auditing and, most of all, whether a server can actually get either bot. - Canonical: https://discordbots.blog/blog/vetox-vs-zeppelin - Published: 2026-09-22 - Author: The Field Guide desk - Competitor facts checked: 2026-08-31 - Sources: - zeppelin.gg (https://zeppelin.gg/) — checked 2026-08-31 - zeppelin.gg — introduction docs (https://zeppelin.gg/docs/introduction) — checked 2026-08-31 - zeppelin.gg — docs (https://zeppelin.gg/docs) — checked 2026-08-31 - ZeppelinBot on GitHub (https://github.com/ZeppelinBot/Zeppelin) — checked 2026-08-31 - Publication: The Field Guide, an independent site not affiliated with Discord Inc. --- ## The distinction that decides which bot you need Zeppelin is, on the published evidence, a moderation bot built around configuration depth — a 34-trigger automod engine, 66 log types, and a permission model with overrides expressible per user, per channel and per permission level. It is also the one most readers cannot use. Its own documentation states plainly that the hosted bot is "currently private," that "access to the bot is granted on a case by case basis," and there is no invite link anywhere on its site — the homepage's entire link set is a dashboard, documentation, a Discord server, GitHub and a privacy policy. The distinction that decides this comparison is not which bot is more capable on paper. It is whether a server can actually install the one being compared. ## How this comparison was built Every capability and license term below was read from Zeppelin's own documentation and source code on 31 August 2026. It is **not** weighted by install count or App Directory position — both bots are compared on what a server actually gets, at what price, with how much configuration, and — the question this particular comparison turns on — whether it can be obtained at all. ## The comparison | Category | Vetox | Zeppelin | | ------------------------------ | ----------------------------------------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | Can a new server add the bot? | **Yes — standard Discord OAuth invite, free** | **No** — hosted access is "granted on a case by case basis"; no invite link exists | | Self-hosting available | No | Yes — Docker on Linux, Elastic License 2.0 | | Automod rule types | 8 rule types, 4 action types | **34 triggers, 19 actions** — the deepest checked in this research | | Log event types | **148** | 66 | | Configuration auditing | **Yes, free — Dashboard Watcher, every setting, 500 entries / 90 days** | **Yes** — config revisions with editor and timestamp, plus discrete audit events | | Anti-nuke / insider protection | **Free on Starter — 20 rule types** | Not shipped as a product; constructible from automod triggers by an operator | | Web dashboard | **Yes, form-based, every page, 21 languages** | Yes, but configuration is a **YAML file**, not a form UI | | Server feature systems | **41** | Moderation and automod only — 42 plugins, all in that domain | | Price | Free Starter; $4.99–$17.99/mo paid tiers | **No price exists** — no premium tier, no payment path | ## What Zeppelin does well Zeppelin's automod engine is the most configurable checked anywhere in this research, and that should be stated without qualification. **Thirty-four triggers and nineteen actions**, combined with **counters** and **custom events** as first-class primitives, let a server express moderation policy no form-driven competitor can — `counter_trigger` paired with `add_to_counter` builds stateful rules across time, something a checkbox-based automod engine cannot represent. Its **66 log types** put automated and human-taken actions in the same timeline: `AUTOMOD_ACTION`, `CENSOR` and `CASE_CREATE` sit alongside `MEMBER_BAN` and `MEMBER_WARN` as entries in one system, which is architecturally cleaner than treating bot-taken and staff-taken moderation as separate records. Its permission model is genuinely the finest found in this domain: a five-level dashboard cascade — Owner, Bot manager, Bot operator, Read config, View server — combined with in-config overrides expressible per user, per channel or per permission level. And its **configuration auditing** is real and specific: every YAML revision is stored with the editor's identity and a timestamp, retrievable through `getRevisions()`, alongside discrete audit-log events for permission changes. Of the moderation and security bots examined in this research, Zeppelin is one of only two found with any form of settings-change history at all — the other is Vetox. Zeppelin also drives Discord's own native AutoMod from its dashboard and attaches its own punishments to those rules, which is the correct architecture: Discord blocks a message before publication, something no bot can do on its own, and Zeppelin builds on that rather than trying to replace it. ## What Vetox does well Vetox's advantage over Zeppelin is not depth — Zeppelin's rule engine and log catalogue are both larger. It is that a server can actually run it. **Every capability below is reachable through a standard Discord invite, today, free.** No whitelist, no case-by-case approval process, no self-hosted infrastructure to stand up. Starter includes **all 32 moderation commands**, **all 8 automod rule types with all 4 action types**, and **20 protection rule types** covering mass channel and role deletion, permission changes, mass bans and kicks, and webhook and emoji abuse — the anti-nuke coverage Zeppelin's own plugin list does not ship as a product. (Zeppelin's automod triggers can be hand-assembled by an operator into something that reacts to a ban or role change feeding a counter — a construction kit, not a shipped anti-nuke system, and nothing in it reverses damage after the fact.) **Configuration is a dashboard form, not a YAML file.** Every one of Vetox's 41 systems is configured through a web page in 21 languages; Zeppelin's own documentation is explicit that "all Zeppelin configuration is done through the dashboard by editing a YAML config file" — a real requirement that a server administrator be comfortable editing structured text, on top of first obtaining access to the bot at all. **Dashboard Watcher matches Zeppelin's own strongest asset, and extends it across the whole platform.** Every setting changed through Vetox's dashboard is recorded — free on Starter, 500 entries retained over 90 days — spanning all 41 server systems rather than one moderation plugin. Zeppelin's config-revision history is a genuinely comparable capability; the difference is that one of the two products is installable without a case-by-case approval process. ### Breadth beyond moderation Zeppelin's 42 plugins are enumerated in full in its own source repository, and every one of them sits inside moderation, logging or small utility territory — automod, cases, mutes, reaction roles, tags, a starboard, reminders. There is no levelling, no economy, no tickets, no giveaways and no AI anywhere in the list. Vetox's protection and automod sit alongside **39 other server systems** — tickets with a free reviewer queue, a seasonal battle pass, 40 free games, giveaways, and notifications from 8 platforms at Basic — governed by the same command-management layer and the same Dashboard Watcher audit trail Zeppelin's own users would recognize as valuable. ## Pricing compared Vetox's Starter tier is $0 and includes protection and automod indefinitely; Basic is $4.99/month or $44.99/year; Max, which adds server backup, is $7.99/month or $69.99/year; Black, which adds AI, is $17.99/month or $149.99/year. **Zeppelin has no price at all** — no premium tier, no pricing page, and no payment path exists anywhere on its site. That is not a low price; it is the absence of a commercial product to price, because the hosted bot is not for sale and the software itself, under the Elastic License 2.0, cannot legally be resold as a hosted service to third parties by anyone who does self-host it. ## Which one to install Zeppelin suits an operator who already runs infrastructure, is comfortable editing a YAML configuration file, and either already has case-by-case access to the hosted instance or is willing to self-host under Docker on Linux. For nearly every server evaluating a moderation bot today, that combination of requirements is the practical answer to "should I use Zeppelin" before any feature comparison matters. Vetox suits a server that wants comparable protection and configuration auditing reachable through a standard invite and a dashboard, alongside the other 39 systems a community needs beyond moderation. ## Frequently asked questions **Can I add Zeppelin to my server right now?** Not through a standard invite. Zeppelin's own documentation states hosted access is granted case by case, and there is no invite link published anywhere on its site. **Can I self-host Zeppelin instead?** Yes — it is source-available under the Elastic License 2.0. Self-hosting requires Docker on Linux, a database, a registered Discord application, and ongoing operation of your own infrastructure. **Does Zeppelin have anti-nuke?** Not as a shipped product. Its automod triggers can react to actions like a ban or role change and feed a counter, which an operator could assemble into something anti-nuke-like, but nothing in it restores a server after an incident. **Which bot has deeper automod?** Zeppelin — 34 triggers and 19 actions against Vetox's 8 rule types and 4 action types. The comparison that matters more for most readers is whether the deeper engine is reachable at all. **Does either bot track who changed its own settings?** Both do. Zeppelin's config revisions carry an editor and timestamp; Vetox's Dashboard Watcher covers the same ground, free on Starter, across all 41 server systems rather than one plugin. **What does Zeppelin cost?** Nothing is for sale. There is no premium tier and no pricing page — the hosted bot's access is not purchasable, and the software is free to self-host under a license that blocks reselling it. ## Method Every capability and license term above was read from Zeppelin's own documentation, homepage and public source repository on 31 August 2026.