Paper, Purpur or Spigot for your Minecraft plugin server?
Choose Paper unless you have a specific reason not to. It runs Bukkit and Spigot plugins, fixes many vanilla performance problems and is updated quickly for new Minecraft versions. Purpur is based on Paper and adds many extra settings for gameplay changes. Spigot still works, but Paper does everything Spigot does, only faster. All three hosts set up Paper by default. The three are compared in detail on Paper server hosting.
The big advantage of plugins over mods is that players join with a normal, unmodified Minecraft client. Nobody has to install anything.
How much RAM does a Minecraft plugin server need?
A Minecraft plugin server needs less RAM than a modded server, but more than vanilla. By our rule, a plugin server can handle about two players per gigabyte on top of a 2 GB base, compared to three players per gigabyte on vanilla. The number of plugins adds to that: 10 to 25 plugins add about 1 GB, 25 to 50 about 2 GB, 50 to 100 about 3 GB and more than 100 about 4 GB. Some plugins use more memory than others, such as web maps, large economy plugins and plugins that log every block change. On a busy server, those are worth a few extra gigabytes.
| Players online | Vanilla | Plugins | Modded | Modpack |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 to 10 | 6 GB | 7 GB | 10 GB | 18 GB |
| 11 to 20 | 9 GB | 12 GB | 15 GB | 28 GB |
| 21 to 30 | 12 GB | 17 GB | 20 GB | 38 GB |
| 31 to 50 | 19 GB | 27 GB | 30 GB | 58 GB |
| 51 to 75 | 27 GB | 40 GB | 43 GB | 83 GB |
| 76 to 100 | 36 GB | 52 GB | 55 GB | 108 GB |
Best plans for a Minecraft plugin server
The best plan for a Minecraft plugin server with twenty players is 12 GB, and up to twelve players fit on 8 GB.
For 11 to 20 players with a few plugins on Java in Poland (Warsaw), the finder recommends Lodehost Standard: 12 GB, AMD Ryzen 9 7950X, DDR5, for €23.95 a month when you pay monthly. As a new customer you pay €9.58 for the first month, 60% off. The best plans at the other two hosts are Astroworld Standard Performance at €23.95 and CheapestMinecraftHosting Builder at €9.60.
| If you want | Host and plan | Memory | Processor | Location | Per month |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lowest price | CheapestMinecraftHosting Builder | 12 GB | AMD Ryzen 9 7950X, DDR5 | Poland (Warsaw) | €9.60 |
| Balanced | Lodehost Standard | 12 GB | AMD Ryzen 9 7950X, DDR5 | Poland (Warsaw) | €23.95 (€20.95 on 24 mo) New customers: €9.58 for the first month, 60% off |
| More performance | Astroworld Standard Performance | 12 GB | AMD Ryzen 9 7950X, DDR5 | Poland (Warsaw) | €23.95 (€20.95 on 24 mo) New customers: €9.58 a month for the first 3 months, 60% off |
Essential plugins for a Minecraft server
Start your Minecraft plugin server with these plugins, which cover ranks, homes, claims, rollbacks, an economy and crossplay:
- LuckPerms, for ranks and permissions.
- EssentialsX, for homes, warps, kits and spawn.
- A land claim plugin such as GriefPrevention, and CoreProtect to roll back damage.
- Vault, which connects economy and shop plugins.
- Geyser and Floodgate, if Bedrock players should be able to join.
Every host lets you install plugins from the panel. All three also have an AI Copilot that installs and configures plugins for you and lets you undo every change, which is useful the first time a config file will not load. Read more about Minecraft server hosting with an AI Copilot.
How to install plugins on a Minecraft server
The easiest way is the plugin installer in your server panel, which all three hosts have. To install one yourself, download the .jar file, upload it to the plugins folder through the file manager or SFTP and restart the server. Most plugins create a config folder on the first start, where you change their settings. Download plugins from the sites the Paper community uses: Hangar, the plugin repository of the PaperMC team, Modrinth and SpigotMC. Check that a plugin supports your Minecraft version before you install it.
How to make a Minecraft plugin server faster
To make a Minecraft plugin server faster, find the cause before you add RAM:
- Install Spark and run a profile when the server feels slow. It shows exactly which plugin or farm uses the tick time.
- Avoid doubles. Two plugins that do the same job, such as two homes plugins, use memory and can conflict.
- Keep plugins up to date, and remove the ones nobody uses any more.
- Limit entities in Paper's configuration, so a single mob farm cannot slow down the whole server.
If the server lags with plenty of free memory, the processor is the limit. On a busy plugin server, the reserved Ryzen 9 threads of a Performance plan make the biggest difference.