What is a sticker, and how is it different from an emoji?

Stickers vs. emojis

Emojis are standardized characters defined by the Unicode Consortium and rendered by operating systems. When you type a thumbs-up emoji on iOS and someone reads it on Android, the two operating systems each draw their own version of the same character. Emojis are text, technically speaking. They have Unicode code points.

Stickers are images, not text. They are not standardized across platforms. A sticker pack you create for WhatsApp only works in WhatsApp. A Discord sticker can only be used in Discord. You install a sticker pack on a specific device in a specific app, and it is available only there.

Emojis are universal and system-managed. Stickers are custom and app-managed. That distinction is the main one.

Custom emoji vs. stickers in Discord

Discord makes this a little confusing because it has both custom emoji and stickers. Custom emoji in Discord are small (112x112 px, or 128x128 for animated) images that get added to a server and can be used in messages with the :name: syntax. They behave like emoji in that they appear inline with text.

Discord stickers are larger (320x320 px) and are sent as standalone messages, not inline with text. They have a separate interface in the message input area. Stickers in Discord can be animated (APNG or Lottie format), while custom emoji are either static or GIF.

The line between custom emoji and stickers in Discord is purely about use: emoji go inside sentences, stickers are their own message.

How WhatsApp sticker packs work

WhatsApp sticker packs were introduced in 2018. A pack contains a set of images in WebP format. Each image must be exactly 512x512 pixels. The file size per sticker cannot exceed 100 KB. A pack must have at least 3 stickers and can have up to 30.

Each pack also requires a tray icon, a 96x96 pixel WebP image that represents the pack in the sticker picker. WhatsApp generates this automatically when you use a tool like wemakeit.app, but if you are building a pack from scratch you need to supply one.

WhatsApp stickers do not support animation in the standard in-app sticker interface on most platforms. Animated sticker support has been rolled out in stages across platforms, and as of 2024 it is available in some regions and builds but not universally. If you are making stickers for a general audience, treat static as the safe default.

Stickers are shared as a download link. The recipient taps the link, which opens WhatsApp and prompts them to add the pack. Once added, the stickers appear in their picker like any other pack.

How Discord stickers work

Discord stickers are tied to a server. A server admin uploads stickers to the server, and members of that server can use them in messages within that server. Unlike WhatsApp packs, there is no shareable link that lets someone install a sticker. They get access by joining the server.

Discord also sells stickers in its premium store and allows Nitro subscribers to use stickers from other servers. The supported formats are PNG (static), APNG (animated PNG), and Lottie (vector animation). Maximum file size is 500 KB. Dimensions must be 320x320 pixels.

If you want to share a sticker pack with a friend group on Discord, the workflow is: create a server, upload the stickers to that server, and share the server invite link. Everyone in the server can then use the stickers.

Why sticker packs get built in the first place

Most sticker packs start the same way: a group of people has a running joke, a meme, or a set of inside references that they want to use in conversation. Custom stickers let you put a face on an abstract emotion. The person's actual expression, a pet's specific look, a screenshot from a video call, something that means something to this specific group.

That is the thing generic sticker packs, even good ones, cannot do. They can be funny without being yours. A sticker pack made from photos of someone everyone in the group knows is more useful than a polished commercial pack, because every sticker in it carries specific meaning.

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