What is the difference between Paper and Fabric?

Paper runs plugins, Fabric runs mods. Plugins change the server only, so players join with an unmodified Minecraft client. Mods change the game itself, so every player must install the same mod set to connect. That single difference decides most of the choice: if you want people to join without setup, use Paper; if you want new blocks, items or dimensions, use Fabric.

Is Paper faster than vanilla Minecraft?

Yes, noticeably. Paper rewrites large parts of the server internals and adds configuration for things vanilla handles inefficiently, such as entity behaviour, redstone and chunk loading. On the same hardware a Paper server generally supports substantially more concurrent players than vanilla before the tick rate drops.

What is Purpur and should I use it?

Purpur is built on top of Paper and adds a large set of extra configuration options, mostly gameplay tweaks that vanilla and Paper do not expose. It keeps Paper plugin compatibility, so it is a reasonable choice if you want that extra control. If you do not have a specific setting you are looking for, plain Paper is the simpler starting point.

Can I run mods and plugins on the same server?

Not directly, since they use different loaders. There are compatibility layers that let some plugins run on a modded server, but they add moving parts and break more often. The more reliable approach for a mixed setup is a proxy such as Velocity, with a modded server and a plugin server behind it.

Can I change server software later?

Yes. In the StormNodes panel the server software and version can both be changed without opening a ticket, and your world files stay in place. Moving between Paper, Purpur and vanilla is usually straightforward; moving to or from a modded setup needs more care, because mods add blocks and items that the other software will not recognise.

Guide

Paper, Fabric or vanilla: which should you run?

The server software you pick decides whether you can run plugins, whether players need to install anything, and how many people the server holds before it starts lagging. Here is how the options actually differ.

See Minecraft plans

The one distinction that decides it

Plugins run on the server and change how it behaves. Players connect with a completely normal Minecraft client and never know the difference. Mods change the game itself, adding blocks, items and mechanics that do not exist in Minecraft, which means every player needs the identical mod set installed to join.

So the question is rarely "which is best" and almost always "do my players need to install anything". If the answer is no, you want Paper or Purpur. If you are building a modpack experience, you want Fabric.

Paper

Paper is the default choice for most public servers, and for good reason. It is heavily optimised compared to vanilla, supports the enormous Bukkit and Spigot plugin ecosystem, and exposes configuration for the parts of the game that cause performance problems at scale.

Practically, Paper is what you want for a survival server, a minigame server, or anything where you want permissions, land claims, an economy or anti-grief. All of those are plugins, and they are mature and well maintained.

Best performance-to-effort ratio for public servers
Players join with an unmodified client
Huge plugin ecosystem, installable from the panel plugin browser
The safe default if you are not sure

Purpur

Purpur builds on Paper and keeps full plugin compatibility, adding a long list of extra configuration options. Most of these are gameplay behaviours that neither vanilla nor Paper lets you change.

It is worth choosing when you have something specific you want to configure. If you do not, Paper is fewer moving parts for the same result.

Fabric

Fabric is a lightweight mod loader, and the usual choice for modded servers on current Minecraft versions. It starts faster and updates to new Minecraft releases sooner than the heavier alternatives.

The tradeoff is coordination. Every player needs the same mods at the same versions, so you will be distributing a modpack rather than just an IP address. Memory requirements are also considerably higher, because a modpack loads its content before anyone joins.

Required for modpacks and new game content
Every player must install the same mods
Needs substantially more RAM than a plugin server
Updates to new Minecraft versions relatively quickly

Vanilla

Vanilla is the unmodified server from Mojang. It is the right answer when you want exactly the game as designed, for a small private world among friends, and you do not need permissions, claims or moderation tooling.

For anything public it is usually the wrong choice, not because it lacks features but because it lacks the performance work and the moderation plugins that keep a public server usable.

When you need a proxy

Once you want more than one world behind a single address, a hub connected to a survival server and a minigame server, you add a proxy. Velocity is the current recommendation and Waterfall the older option; both are supported on StormNodes.

A proxy is also the practical way to combine modded and plugin servers, since each backend server runs its own software and the proxy moves players between them.

Keep reading

How much RAM do you need?

Sizing by player count, plugins and modpacks.

All Minecraft hosting plans

Every plan provisions Paper, Purpur, Fabric or vanilla.

Hosting in Portugal

Low-latency hosting for Portuguese and Spanish players.

The StormNodes panel

Switch software and version without a support ticket.

FAQ

Server software questions

What is the difference between Paper and Fabric?: Paper runs plugins, Fabric runs mods. Plugins change the server only, so players join with an unmodified Minecraft client. Mods change the game itself, so every player must install the same mod set to connect. That single difference decides most of the choice: if you want people to join without setup, use Paper; if you want new blocks, items or dimensions, use Fabric.
Is Paper faster than vanilla Minecraft?: Yes, noticeably. Paper rewrites large parts of the server internals and adds configuration for things vanilla handles inefficiently, such as entity behaviour, redstone and chunk loading. On the same hardware a Paper server generally supports substantially more concurrent players than vanilla before the tick rate drops.
What is Purpur and should I use it?: Purpur is built on top of Paper and adds a large set of extra configuration options, mostly gameplay tweaks that vanilla and Paper do not expose. It keeps Paper plugin compatibility, so it is a reasonable choice if you want that extra control. If you do not have a specific setting you are looking for, plain Paper is the simpler starting point.
Can I run mods and plugins on the same server?: Not directly, since they use different loaders. There are compatibility layers that let some plugins run on a modded server, but they add moving parts and break more often. The more reliable approach for a mixed setup is a proxy such as Velocity, with a modded server and a plugin server behind it.
Can I change server software later?: Yes. In the StormNodes panel the server software and version can both be changed without opening a ticket, and your world files stay in place. Moving between Paper, Purpur and vanilla is usually straightforward; moving to or from a modded setup needs more care, because mods add blocks and items that the other software will not recognise.