Choosing the right server software directly determines your server's performance and what content you can run. The panel offers nine options when you create a server; this guide clarifies which one suits you in a couple of minutes.

First pick the family: plugins or mods?

The nine options really split into two families, and that's where the actual decision is made.

The plugin family adds capabilities to the server; players connect with standard Minecraft and install nothing. The mod family changes the game itself, and every player must install the same mod set.

Two constraints usually decide for you: the Bedrock bridge only works on the plugin family, and mod installs unlock from 8 GB. If friends will join from a phone, or your package is under 8 GB, the plugin family is already the only route.

Plugin side: Vanilla, Spigot, Paper, Purpur

Vanilla is Mojang's original server; it accepts neither plugins nor mods. Good for small groups wanting the pure experience, but it includes no performance work and is the first to struggle under a crowd.

Spigot adds plugin support and is compatible with thousands of plugins; its performance improvements are limited and it generally trails Paper today.

Paper is built on Spigot and is the de facto industry standard. It brings clear gains in chunk loading, entity handling and multi-core use, and stays backward compatible with Spigot plugins. For busy, plugin-heavy servers Paper is our first choice.

Purpur is a fork of Paper offering hundreds of extra settings: fine control over mob behaviour, player abilities and world rules. It's compatible with Paper plugins, so moving from Paper to Purpur is usually seamless.

Mod side: Fabric, Quilt, Forge, NeoForge

Fabric is a lightweight, fast loader and usually the first ecosystem to support new Minecraft releases. Quilt is an alternative from the same lineage.

Forge is the most established ecosystem and most large modpacks target it. NeoForge continues the Forge line and is increasingly common on newer versions.

Usually the modpack picks for you: a pack works only with the loader it was written for. For detail see the mods and modpacks guide.

Quick decision table

  • Vanilla experience with friends: Vanilla or Paper. Paper is more stable and lets you add plugins later — it can be run without changing vanilla gameplay at all.
  • Plugin-based survival or mini-game server: Paper. Purpur if you enjoy fine control.
  • Mixed group including phones: plugin-family software is required (Paper recommended) and at least 4 GB.
  • Playing a modpack: the loader the pack requires, and at least 8 GB.
  • Combining several servers under one address: network setups only run on plugin-capable software.

What to expect from performance

Software choice affects performance but isn't a magic fix. Moving to Paper gives a noticeable gain on most servers; even so, lowering view distance usually makes a bigger difference.

So order your work: pick the right family first, fix settings second, add resources last. The performance guide walks through that order.

Does Paper change vanilla gameplay?

This is one of the most common questions. The short answer is no. Paper exists to run the same rules more efficiently, not to change them. Run Paper with no plugins installed and players won't notice a difference from vanilla in everyday play.

Some Paper and Purpur settings can adjust fine-grained game behaviour in the name of lightening the server (entity behaviour, for instance). Left at their defaults, gameplay stays consistent with vanilla; the door to fine-tuning is open for those who want it.

So even if you're only playing with friends, choosing Paper costs you nothing: today it plays like vanilla, and tomorrow when you want a plugin you won't have to rebuild the server.

Version support and how current each is

When a new Minecraft version lands, not every software is ready the same day. In the plugin family Paper usually moves quickly; on the mod side Fabric is often first to adapt, with Forge and NeoForge following a little later.

In practice that means the mod ecosystem can hold you back if you chase the newest release. If you're playing for a specific modpack or plugin set, you need to stay on the version it wants anyway, so there's no reason to rush.

The version list is fetched live in the panel; that's where you see which versions are selectable for a given software.

Can you change software later?

Yes. Stop the server and pick different software from the Software section — moving from Spigot to Paper, for example, is usually seamless and your plugins keep working.

Crossing between families (plugins ↔ mods) is different: the content set changes fundamentally and your plugins won't run on a mod server. The good news is that all content from the old family is saved into a profile, so returning to the same software brings your worlds and plugins back intact.

Where a change involves a version downgrade, your current world isn't deleted — it's set aside under a backup name. Even so, we recommend taking a manual backup first.

When in doubt, Paper is the safe default: it runs plugins, performs well, allows the Bedrock bridge, and if you later want mods you simply change the software. For what you need on the package side, see the how much RAM guide.