Paper vs Spigot vs Purpur has a short answer: pick Paper unless you have a reason not to. All three run Bukkit-style plugins. Paper is performance-focused, comes as a ready-made download, and had stable builds for Minecraft 26.3 as of October 2026. Purpur is Paper with extra gameplay options. Spigot still works, but you have to compile it yourself. Vanilla is Mojang’s own server and runs no plugins at all.
How Vanilla, Spigot, Paper and Purpur relate
Each one builds on the one before it.
- Vanilla is Mojang’s own
server.jarfrom minecraft.net. It runs data packs, but no plugins. - Spigot is a fork of CraftBukkit that runs Bukkit and Spigot plugins. There is no ready-made download. You build the jar on your own computer with BuildTools, which needs Git and Java.
- Paper comes from PaperMC. It began as a fork of Spigot and has been developed separately since Minecraft 1.21.4, which PaperMC calls its hard fork. It still runs plugins written for Bukkit and Spigot, plus plugins written for Paper’s own API.
- Purpur builds on Paper. Purpur’s documentation describes it as a drop-in replacement for Paper with more configuration and gameplay options. It runs the same plugins as Paper.
Compatibility runs one way. Bukkit and Spigot plugins normally run on Paper and Purpur, but a plugin written for Paper’s own API may not run on Spigot.
None of the four runs mods. Plugins do not run on Fabric, Forge or NeoForge, and mods do not run on Paper. Paper’s docs call hybrid servers that try to do both “fundamentally flawed and not recommended”.
Paper vs Spigot vs Purpur at a glance
Checked on 12 October 2026. Look at each project’s download page before you choose a version.
| Software | Runs | How you get it | Status for Minecraft 26.3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vanilla | Data packs only | Download the jar from minecraft.net | Released |
| Spigot | Bukkit and Spigot plugins | Compile it yourself with BuildTools | Maintained; 26.3 build data published |
| Paper | Bukkit, Spigot and Paper plugins | Download from papermc.io | Maintained; stable 26.3 builds |
| Purpur | The same plugins as Paper | Download from purpurmc.org | Maintained; 26.3 builds exist, 26.2 still marked as current |
Minecraft 26.1 and later needs Java 25, whichever of these you run.
Which one to pick
- A survival server for friends, with or without plugins: Paper. It runs fine with zero plugins, and you can install plugins later without changing software.
- The game exactly as Mojang ships it, data packs only: Vanilla.
- A gameplay option Paper does not have: Purpur. Check its download page for a build for your Minecraft version before you commit.
- You already run Spigot and it works: you can stay, since Spigot is maintained. For a new server, Paper runs Spigot plugins without the compile step.
- Friends on Bedrock: Paper or Purpur with the Geyser and Floodgate plugins. As of October 2026, Geyser’s supported versions page lists Java 26.2, so a 26.3 server is not listed as supported yet. See Java and Bedrock crossplay.
- Mods that add blocks, mobs or items: none of these. You need a mod loader: compare Forge, Fabric and NeoForge.
On Severoo, the software you can pick is Vanilla, Paper, Purpur, Fabric, Forge and NeoForge, and plugins are allowed on the free plan.
Folia and Velocity: who needs them
Folia is a Paper fork that adds regionized multithreading: it splits the loaded chunks into regions that tick independently and in parallel. Folia’s FAQ says the servers that benefit most are ones that spread players out, such as skyblock or SMP, with a sizeable player count and ideally at least 16 CPU cores. It only runs plugins built for Folia. As of October 2026 its newest build is for 26.2, on the beta channel. A friends’ server does not need it.
Velocity is PaperMC’s proxy. A proxy sits in front of several servers and moves players between them, so a lobby, a survival world and a minigame server share one address. You need one only when you run more than one server as a network. PaperMC announced the end of life of Waterfall, its older proxy, in March 2024 and tells owners to move to Velocity.
How to switch software without losing your world
Your world lives in the world folder. The server software is only the jar that opens it. Three rules keep the world safe:
- Stop the server and back up first. Copy the whole server folder to your computer, through the file manager or SFTP, whichever your host offers.
- Keep the same Minecraft version. A world opened in a newer version cannot be downgraded.
- Change one thing at a time. Switch software, check the world, then update or add plugins.
On a host, switching usually means choosing other software in the control panel instead of replacing a jar by hand. If you are not sure your host keeps the world folder when you do that, download the world first. You can upload the world again afterward.
World folder layout on Vanilla and Paper
The layout changed in Minecraft 26.1.
| Version | Vanilla | Paper |
|---|---|---|
| 26.1 and later | One world/ folder. Dimensions are in world/dimensions/minecraft/overworld/, the_nether/ and the_end/. |
The same single world/ folder, plus a paper-world.yml file and a data/paper/ folder inside each dimension folder. |
| 1.21.11 and earlier | One world/ folder. The Nether is in world/DIM-1 and the End in world/DIM1. |
Three folders in the server root: world, world_nether and world_the_end. |
On old versions, this difference is why the Nether and the End could look brand new after a switch. The data was still there, in the folder the other software did not read.
Steps for each switch
Vanilla to Paper. Stop the server, back up, replace the Vanilla jar with the Paper jar, and start it. On a home PC, give the Paper jar the file name your start command uses. Paper changes how the world is stored automatically. Going back takes manual steps.
Paper to Purpur. Stop the server, back up, and swap the Paper jar for the Purpur jar of the same Minecraft version. Purpur’s documentation calls it a drop-in replacement for Paper servers.
Spigot to Paper. On 26.1 and later, Paper’s migration guide says a direct move is “fundamentally impossible”, because Spigot stores worlds in its own layout. Move the world to Vanilla first by following Spigot’s documentation. Then go from Vanilla to Paper.
Paper to Vanilla, 26.1 and later. Stop the server and back up. These paths assume the world folder has the default name, world. Move these five files from world/dimensions/minecraft/overworld/data/minecraft/ to world/data/minecraft/:
game_rules.dat
scheduled_events.dat
wandering_trader.dat
weather.dat
world_gen_settings.datThen replace the Paper jar with the Vanilla jar. Your plugins stop working, because Vanilla runs none.
Paper to Spigot. Paper does not support this and warns that data loss is possible.
How to check the switch worked
- Watch the console while the server starts and read any error. The same text is saved in
logs/latest.log. - Join and visit a build you know. Then check the Nether and the End.
- On Paper or Purpur, run
versionin the console to see what is running, thenplugins. Green names loaded, red names failed or are disabled.
What commonly goes wrong
- The version changed along with the software. If the world was opened by a newer version by mistake, restore your backup.
- A modded world moved to Paper. Blocks and items that mods added do not load. Keep a modded world on its mod loader.
- A plugin fails after the switch. Look for its name in
logs/latest.log, then download the build for your Minecraft version. - The server will not start at all. Work through why a Minecraft server won’t start.