vidstickerDiscord emoji and sticker size, format and limits
Discord rejects a sticker that is 1 pixel off or a few kilobytes too heavy, and its error message doesn't say which limit you hit. Here are all the limits in one place — and how to fit an animated sticker into them.
Limits at a glance
| Server sticker | Custom emoji | |
|---|---|---|
| Size | exactly 320×320 | 128×128 |
| File size | up to 512 KB | up to 256 KB |
| Formats | PNG, APNG, GIF (Lottie — only on verified and partnered servers) | JPEG, PNG, GIF, WebP, AVIF |
| Animation | APNG or GIF, up to 5 seconds | GIF |
| Name | 2–30 characters plus a related emoji | at least 2 characters: letters, numbers, underscores |
| Slots without Boosts | 5 | 50 static, and separate slots for animated |
| With Server Boosts | 15, 30, 60 | 100, 150, 250 |
| Who can use | everyone on the server; with Nitro — everywhere | static — everyone on the server; animated — with Nitro |
You upload stickers and emoji in Server Settings on a computer or in a browser, with the Create Expressions permission or as the server owner. The mobile app can't upload stickers.
How to fit an animated sticker into 512 KB
A video sticker at 320×320 in full color weighs megabytes, so every animated Discord sticker is a compromise. What helps, from most to least effective:
- Remove the background. Transparent areas compress to almost nothing.
- Shorten the clip. 1–2 seconds instead of 3 leave room for more frames.
- Lower the frame rate. 10–15 frames per second still look smooth at sticker size.
- Use fewer colors. An animated PNG has a palette of up to 256 colors; 128 or 64 are often enough.
Our Discord page works as a free Discord emoji and sticker size converter and does this for you: it tries 15 frames per second and 256 colors first, and if the sticker doesn't fit, it lowers the frame rate and then the colors step by step. Pixels that don't change between frames are stored once, so a steady camera or a cartoon keeps more frames.
The vidsticker bot does the same right in Discord: /sticker or /emoji — and the file already fits the limits, with a button to add it to your server.
APNG or GIF?
Both are accepted for stickers. A GIF pixel is either fully transparent or fully opaque, so the edge of a cut-out hero turns into steps, and on Discord's dark theme the leftover light pixels show. An APNG pixel can be half-transparent: the edge stays soft. That's why we make stickers as APNG and emoji as GIF — Discord animates emoji only from GIF, and at 128 pixels the edge isn't noticeable.
FAQ
Why does Discord say my sticker is invalid?
Usually the size isn't exactly 320×320 or the file is over 512 KB. A WebP or MP4 won't do either — only PNG, APNG or GIF.
Why does my sticker play in the picker but not in chat?
If you sent the file as an attachment, Discord shows an APNG as a still image. Upload it as a sticker in Server Settings.
How do I resize and compress a GIF for Discord?
Upload it on our Discord page: it resizes the GIF to 128×128 for an emoji or 320×320 for a sticker and compresses it under 256 or 512 KB, lowering the frame rate and colors only as much as needed.
Can I make a sticker longer than 5 seconds?
No, that's Discord's limit. Speed the clip up instead — on our page from ×0.5 to ×3.