Paper vs Vanilla vs Purpur vs Fabric: which to pick
When you make a Minecraft server you are asked what software it should run. The names sound alike and the differences matter, so here is a short guide.
The short answer
- Want plugins and good performance? Pick Paper.
- Want the game exactly as Mojang makes it? Pick Vanilla.
- Want mods that change the game, not plugins? Pick Fabric (or Forge/NeoForge for big modpacks).
- Want Paper with many extra options? Look at Purpur.
- Running a very large server across many regions? Look at Folia.
Vanilla
Vanilla is the official server from Mojang. It behaves exactly like the game, with no plugin support. It is a good fit for a small survival world with friends, and nothing can be different from what you know. Its weakness is performance on bigger servers.
Paper
Paper is a fork of Spigot, which is itself a fork of the old Bukkit project. It keeps the same plugin interface, so thousands of plugins work on it, and it adds many performance and bug fixes. Most plugin-based servers run Paper. It also exposes settings for many things the vanilla server does not, such as how far from a player mobs stay active.
Choose Paper if you want any of: permissions, homes and warps, claims, a map, voting, shops, minigames, or just a server that holds its tick rate with more players.
Purpur
Purpur is a fork of Paper. It keeps Paper's plugin support and performance work, and adds a large number of optional gameplay settings. It suits server owners who like to tune small details. If you do not know that you want those extras, Paper is the simpler choice.
Folia
Folia is a Paper fork from the Paper team that splits the world into regions and ticks them on different threads. That can let a very large server with players spread far apart use many CPU cores. It is also a big change: many plugins have to be written for it, and a lot of existing plugins do not work. It is not for a normal friend server.
Fabric
Fabric is a lightweight mod loader, not a plugin server. Mods can change the game itself: new blocks, creatures, dimensions. Players often need to install the same mods on their own computers. There are also Fabric mods that make the server faster. Fabric is the right pick if your group wants to play with mods.
Which versions are available?
All of these follow the Minecraft version you pick. Paper supports a long run of versions, including very old ones like 1.8, which matters if you want classic PvP. See how to run a 1.8 server.
What Saryno offers
Saryno runs Paper and Vanilla today, every version from 1.8 to the newest, with one-click plugins on Paper. If you need another server type, tell us.