When setting up a Minecraft server, there are many different types to choose from – such as Paper. This software is key to a smooth experience, while also providing various customizable features and more. Whether you want optimized performance or to install plugins, PaperMC is the best server type for Minecraft. Okay, but what are the exact benefits? Why would I choose this over Spigot? We’ll answer these questions and more in this blog post. Let’s begin 🔥
What is PaperMC?
PaperMC is a high performance fork of Spigot, which just means an upgraded version of it. This can run on any Bukkit or Spigot plugin, so compatibility isn’t an issue. It replaces the main server jar file and adds extra server files for customization, optimization, and other functions. From world management to general settings, PaperMC overhauls Vanilla Minecraft.
Minecraft Paper Server Benefits
Paper improves nearly every part of server management. Expect smoother gameplay, stronger protection against exploits, and tools to customize your world to fit any style. The following sections outline the benefits of Paper.
👉 How to Set Up a Paper Minecraft Server
Advanced Customization
This goes beyond Vanilla or Spigot. Some examples include:
- Mob Control – Define spawn limits per world and per entity type, set activation ranges, and tweak AI tick frequency.
- Redstone Tuning – Adjust block update order, repeater delays, and observer tick rates to balance performance with redstone contraption accuracy.
- Chunk Management – Configure asynchronous chunk loading and unloading, control view and simulation distances separately, and schedule chunk-save intervals.
- World Generation – Modify noise settings, biome weighting, cave frequency, ore distribution, and structure spawn rates.
- Entity Settings – Limit breeding, despawn ranges, and pathfinding complexity to reduce server strain.
These options give you the ability to create hardcore survival worlds, optimized creative hubs, or unique adventure maps while keeping resources in check.
Plugins for Extra Features
Paper supports all plugins, introducing new gameplay mechanics and systems:
- Economy & Shops – Vault, EssentialsX Economy, ChestShop, and dynamic pricing systems for in-game markets.
- Permissions & Security – LuckPerms for granular role control, CoreProtect for rollback and block logging, and AdvancedBan for detailed moderation.
- Gameplay Expansion – mcMMO for RPG-style skills, Jobs Reborn for professions, and MythicMobs for custom bosses and mobs.
- Infrastructure – Multiverse-Core for multiple worlds, Geyser for Bedrock cross-play, and Dynmap for live web-based world maps.
- Developer Utilities – ProtocolLib for packet-level control and PlaceholderAPI for dynamic placeholders in GUIs and chat.
Many plugin developers include Paper-specific optimizations or APIs, allowing more efficient event handling and deeper integration.
Enhanced Performance
Paper is designed to handle heavy worlds and big player counts. Key improvements:
- Async Chunk I/O – Asynchronous loading and saving reduce main-thread blocking, allowing faster teleportation and world generation.
- Entity Collisions & AI – Smarter collision checks and optional AI tick skipping lower CPU load during mob-dense events.
- Redstone Scheduler – Improved event batching keeps complex circuits stable while reducing lag spikes.
- Tick Management – Configurable timings and watchdog improvements help maintain a steady 20 TPS even with large farms or automated machines.
- Memory Efficiency – Better garbage-collection tuning and chunk caching allow larger worlds to remain in memory without excessive overhead.
These changes let servers sustain higher player counts, more complex automation, and larger builds with minimal performance loss.
Vanilla Exploits Are Fixed
Common Minecraft glitches can ruin a server economy or crash the world. Paper fixes that:
- Item Duplication – Fixes for piston-based dupe machines, bedrock break dupes, and nether portal item loops.
- Redstone Crashes – Prevention of infinite loop clocks and TNT dupers that overload tick calculations.
- Entity Glitches – Corrections for wither cage escapes, boat or minecart duplication, and mob AI exploits.
- Gameplay Abuses – Patches for X-ray detection, crop growth bypasses, and unintended portal linking.
This proactive patching reduces administrative overhead and keeps your economy and player experience fair.
Vanilla or Paper? You Decide
The vast majority of Minecraft servers use Paper or Spigot, as these are considered to be the best. However, there are some drawbacks. For instance, Paper can unintentionally prevent Vanilla features via fixing exploits or specific optimizations. This can be resolved, but requires configuration – so some server owners decide to use Vanilla or another one.
If you really want to get the most out of your experience, Fabric can be set up in a way that mimics Paper. An added benefit is that you can now use server-sided mods and even get plugins to work (with Cardboard installed). This is for more advanced users, but just goes to show that there are endless possibilities when setting up a Minecraft server.
