What's the Best Minecraft Version for Your Server?

When people ask for the best Minecraft version for their server, they usually mean the server software: the jar that runs the game. There are a lot of them, and the right one depends on whether you want plugins, mods, a network of servers or Bedrock players.

In this guide, we will cover every major option in 2026: Vanilla, Paper, Purpur, Folia, Fabric, Quilt, Forge, NeoForge and the Velocity proxy for Java, plus Bedrock Dedicated Server, PocketMine-MP and PowerNukkitX for Bedrock. For each one you will see what it is, what it is best for, what it supports and how mature it is.

By the end of this guide, you will know which software to pick and which deeper comparison to read next.

Start With the Edition

Java and Bedrock servers are different programs. Java players can't join a Bedrock server, and Bedrock players can't join a Java server unless it runs Geyser. If you haven't decided yet, read Bedrock or Java: What to Choose for Your Next Server first.

Java Server Software

Vanilla

The official server from Mojang, exactly as the game ships.

• Best for: small friend groups, exact vanilla redstone, playing a new release on day one.
• Supports: datapacks only.
• Maturity: official, always on the latest release.

Paper

A high-performance server that grew out of Spigot, with its own extended plugin API. It has been a hard fork since 1.21.4.

• Best for: most plugin servers: survival, SMP, public servers and minigames.
• Supports: Bukkit, Spigot and Paper plugins.
• Maturity: very active, with 26.3 builds. PaperMC doesn't backport exploit fixes once a newer version has been stable for a while, so stay on the latest build (source: PaperMC).

Purpur

A drop-in replacement for Paper with a large set of extra options in purpur.yml, all off until you enable them.

• Best for: survival servers that want tweaks like ridable mobs or silk touch spawners without extra plugins.
• Supports: the same plugins as Paper.
• Maturity: active, follows Paper closely (26.3 is out).

Folia

A Paper fork with regionised multithreading: separate areas of the world tick in parallel on different CPU cores.

• Best for: very large servers with players spread out and lots of cores. Its README recommends at least 16.
• Supports: only plugins marked as Folia-compatible. PaperMC says it will break most public plugins.
• Maturity: active (26.3), but a specialist tool. PaperMC says it "won't be useful for the majority of servers" (source: PaperMC).

Paper, Purpur and Folia are compared in detail in Paper vs Purpur vs Folia.

Fabric

A lightweight, modular mod loader. Most mods also need Fabric API.

• Best for: performance mods on vanilla-style servers, lighter modpacks, new versions early.
• Supports: Fabric mods. Server-side mods like Lithium don't need to be installed by players.
• Maturity: very active. It supports 26.3 and already lists 26.4 snapshots, and it has the most mods on Modrinth for 26.3.

Quilt

A community fork of Fabric's loader, started in 2021, that loads most Fabric mods and adds extra loader features.

• Best for: modpacks that require it.
• Supports: Quilt mods and most Fabric mods.
• Maturity: the loader is still developed, but Quilt retired its own standard libraries for 26.1 and newer (source: QuiltMC). See Fabric vs Quilt.

Forge

The original Minecraft mod loader, home of many classic modpacks.

• Best for: modpacks on 1.20.1 and older.
• Supports: Forge mods.
• Maturity: mature and still updated (Forge 66.1 for 26.3), but most new modding on 1.21.1 and newer happens on NeoForge.

NeoForge

The community fork of Forge, created in 2023 by most of the old Forge team.

• Best for: modpacks on 1.21.1 and newer.
• Supports: NeoForge mods. Forge mods don't load on it from 1.20.2 on.
• Maturity: very active, with 26.3 builds and continued updates for 1.21.1. See Forge vs NeoForge.

Velocity

A proxy, not a game server. It sits in front of several servers (for example a lobby, survival and minigames) and lets players move between them.

• Best for: networks with more than one server.
• Supports: Velocity plugins. BungeeCord plugins don't run on it.
• Maturity: active and PaperMC's recommended proxy since Waterfall reached end of life in 2024. Velocity 4.x needs Java 25. More in What Is Velocity?

Bedrock Server Software

Bedrock Dedicated Server

Mojang's official Bedrock server for Windows and Ubuntu.

• Best for: vanilla Bedrock survival with friends on consoles and phones.
• Supports: add-ons (behavior and resource packs) and the Script API, no plugins.
• Maturity: official, updated with each Bedrock release.

PocketMine-MP

A Bedrock server written from scratch in PHP, with its own plugin API.

• Best for: minigames and custom servers. Its README says it is poorly suited to vanilla survival, since it lacks features like vanilla world generation and redstone.
• Supports: PocketMine plugins.
• Maturity: the official project ended. It was archived on July 9, 2026, and the last release (5.44.3) targets Bedrock 26.30 (source: GitHub). Community forks continue it.

PowerNukkitX

A Bedrock server written in Java, with plugins and vanilla features like world generation, mob AI and commands.

• Best for: Bedrock servers that want plugins and survival gameplay.
• Supports: PowerNukkitX plugins. It needs Java 21.
• Maturity: active. Version 3.0.6 (October 28, 2026) supports Bedrock 26.60 (source: GitHub).

The full Bedrock comparison is in BDS vs PocketMine-MP vs PowerNukkitX.

Comparison Table

Software	Edition	Adds	Best for	Status (Nov 2026)
Vanilla	Java	Datapacks	Pure vanilla	Official
Paper	Java	Plugins	Most servers	Very active
Purpur	Java	Plugins + options	Tweaked survival	Active
Folia	Java	Folia plugins	Huge servers	Active, specialist
Fabric	Java	Mods	Performance, new versions	Very active
Quilt	Java	Mods	Packs that need it	Loader active, libraries retired
Forge	Java	Mods	1.20.1 modpacks	Maintained
NeoForge	Java	Mods	1.21.1+ modpacks	Very active
Velocity	Java	Proxy plugins	Networks	Active
BDS	Bedrock	Add-ons	Vanilla Bedrock	Official
PocketMine-MP	Bedrock	Plugins	Minigames	Archived, forks only
PowerNukkitX	Bedrock	Plugins	Bedrock with plugins	Active

Pick This If...

• Pure vanilla with friends → Vanilla on Java, or Bedrock Dedicated Server on Bedrock.
• Plugins and better performance → Paper.
• Paper, plus lots of gameplay settings → Purpur.
• Hundreds of players spread over a huge map, and 16+ cores → Folia.
• Vanilla feel with better performance, or mods on a brand-new version → Fabric.
• A modpack that lists Quilt → Quilt. Otherwise use Fabric.
• A 1.20.1 modpack → Forge.
• A 1.21.1 or newer modpack → NeoForge, unless the pack says Forge or Fabric.
• Several servers under one address → Velocity in front of Paper servers.
• Bedrock with plugins → PowerNukkitX.
• A Java server with some Bedrock friends → Paper with Geyser. See How to Let Bedrock Players Join Your Java Server.

The Minecraft Version Number

Minecraft Java switched to year-based numbers. The last 1.x release was 1.21.11 in December 2025, followed by 26.1 (March 2026), 26.2 (June) and 26.3 "Wilderness Bound" on September 15, 2026. 26.4 is in snapshots now (source: Minecraft Wiki).

• Plugin servers: run the latest release your plugins support.
• Modded servers: follow the modpack. 1.20.1 and 1.21.1 still have the biggest mod libraries.
• Java: 26.1 and newer need Java 25, 1.20.5 to 1.21.11 need Java 21, and 1.18 to 1.20.4 need Java 17.

Warning: Updating a world only goes one way. PaperMC warns that you can't downgrade a world after upgrading it to 26.1, so take a backup first.

For more detail, read Should Your Server Run the Latest Minecraft Release? and Which Java Version Does Your Minecraft Server Need?

On EternalZero, every Java option in this article is in the Versions Changer along with Bedrock versions, and the Startup tab sets the Java version. You can try one, keep a backup, and switch if it doesn't fit.

Wrapping Up

For most new Java servers, Paper is the best place to start. Move to Purpur when you want more settings, Fabric when you want mods with a vanilla feel, and NeoForge or Forge when you run a modpack.

On Bedrock, start with Bedrock Dedicated Server and only move to PowerNukkitX when you need plugins. Start simple and upgrade later.