Vanilla, Paper, Forge, or Fabric: Which Minecraft Server to Choose?
Comparison of the main Minecraft server types (Vanilla, Paper, Forge, Fabric) to pick the one that matches your play style.
Vanilla — official simplicity
The official Mojang server. No plugins, no mods. Ideal for playing in a small group with an experience identical to single player. Average performance beyond 6 players.
Paper — the plugin standard
Optimized fork of Spigot, Paper is 3 to 5 times more performant than Vanilla and accepts all Bukkit/Spigot plugins. It's the recommended choice for most survival or mini-game servers. It's what we use by default at FreeMCHost.
Purpur — for control purists
Fork of Paper with even more configuration options. Reserved for those who want to fine-tune every detail of gameplay.
Forge — the historical mod ecosystem
Forge allows installing mods (not plugins): new blocks, dimensions, mobs. Players must install Forge on their client side. Ideal for modpacks (RLCraft, SkyFactory, etc.).
Fabric — the modern and lightweight mod loader
Alternative to Forge, faster to update with new Minecraft versions. Compatible with many modern mods (Sodium, Lithium, Iris).
Which one to choose?
- You want to play with friends without adding anything → Vanilla
- You want plugins (economy, protection, RPG) → Paper
- You want a modpack or mods → Forge or Fabric
At FreeMCHost, you can change server type at any time via the file manager, without losing your world.