Paper vs Spigot: Which Should You Use in 2025

If you’re setting up a Minecraft server, you’ve probably seen both Paper and Spigot recommended in different places. They look similar, run the same plugins, and do essentially the same job - so what’s the actual difference?

Here’s the short version: Paper is the better choice for nearly all servers. It’s faster, more actively developed, and maintains full compatibility with Spigot plugins. Across our Minecraft servers at WinterNode, Paper runs on virtually all plugin-based setups. We’ve recommended it since we started hosting because the performance difference is real and consistent.

That said, there are a handful of edge cases where Spigot still makes sense. This guide covers what actually separates these two, why Paper became the standard, and how to know if you’re one of the rare exceptions.

Paper vs Spigot at a Glance

How We Got Here

Both Paper and Spigot exist to solve the same problem: vanilla Minecraft servers don’t support plugins. If you want to add commands, permissions, minigames, or any kind of server-side customization, you need modified server software.

The lineage goes like this:

CraftBukkit was the original. Back in the early 2010s, it was the only way to run plugins. It worked, but performance wasn’t great.

Spigot forked from CraftBukkit and added performance optimizations. For years, it was the standard - if you ran a plugin server, you ran Spigot.

Paper forked from Spigot and pushed the optimizations further. It started as a performance-focused fork and evolved into a more comprehensive replacement for most servers.

The key thing to understand: Paper includes everything Spigot has, then adds more on top. It’s not a different direction - it’s a continuation. This is why Spigot plugins work on Paper without any changes. They use the same API.

What Paper Actually Adds

Paper’s improvements fall into three categories: performance, bug fixes, and tooling.

Performance

This is the main reason Paper took over. The optimizations aren’t minor tweaks - they’re fundamental improvements to how the server handles load.

Chunk loading and saving is smarter. Entity processing (mobs, item frames, armor stands) is more efficient. Redstone calculations are optimized. Memory usage is reduced in many common scenarios. These improvements compound on each other, especially as player count increases or worlds age.

We see this constantly in support. A server struggling to maintain 20 TPS on Spigot will often run smoothly at the same player count on Paper with identical hardware. The ceiling is just higher.

Bug Fixes

Paper patches vanilla bugs that Mojang hasn’t addressed - some of which have been open for years. It also fixes exploits by default: item duplication, chunk loading exploits, and various other issues that can destabilize a server or break your economy.

This is occasionally a point of friction (more on that below), but for most server owners, having these patched out of the box is a feature, not a problem.

Better Tooling

Since 1.21, Paper bundles Spark, a profiler that helps diagnose what’s actually causing lag. Instead of guessing whether it’s a plugin, mob farms, or something else, you can generate a report and see exactly where tick time is going. Run /spark profiler start --timeout 600, wait ten minutes, and you get a shareable link breaking down your server’s performance.

Paper also exposes more configuration options than Spigot. If you want to tune entity activation ranges, adjust chunk loading behavior, or tweak mob spawning mechanics, Paper gives you the knobs to do it.

When Spigot Still Makes Sense

Paper is the right choice for most servers, but “most” isn’t “all.” There are a few legitimate reasons you might stick with Spigot.

Plugin Compatibility Issues

Rare, but it happens. Some older or poorly-maintained plugins behave differently on Paper. Usually this is because the plugin relies on behavior that Paper optimized or fixed - which often means the plugin was doing something questionable to begin with.

If you’re locked to a specific plugin that genuinely breaks on Paper and there’s no alternative, Spigot is a workaround. But before you go that route, check if the plugin has been updated or if there’s a Paper-compatible replacement. The ecosystem has matured a lot.

Technical Minecraft and Vanilla Parity

Here’s where it gets nuanced. Paper patches certain vanilla mechanics that some players consider features: TNT duplication, sand duplication, bedrock breaking, and various other exploits-turned-techniques.

If you’re running a technical Minecraft server where players rely on these mechanics, you have two options. First, Paper lets you re-enable most of them through configuration files - check paper-global.yml and paper-world-defaults.yml for the relevant toggles. Second, if you want fewer default patches without hunting through configs, Spigot diverges less from vanilla behavior out of the box.

Most servers don’t care about TNT dupers. But if yours does, it’s worth knowing the option exists.

Stable Existing Servers

If you have a Spigot server that’s been running fine for years, there’s no emergency. It’s not going to stop working. Switching to Paper is easy and generally worth it, but “working fine” is a valid state to be in.

That said, we do see servers switch after they start having performance issues they can’t solve with plugins or configuration. Paper often buys headroom they didn’t have before.

Quick Decision Guide

Use Paper if:

• You’re starting a new server in 2025
• You want better TPS and more headroom as your server grows
• You want more configuration options for performance tuning
• You’re not sure which to pick (Paper is the safe default)

Use Spigot if:

• A critical plugin breaks on Paper and has no alternative
• You’re running a technical server and want fewer default patches
• You have a stable legacy setup and don’t want to change anything

The Vanilla Mechanics Question

This comes up enough that it’s worth addressing directly.

Some players get frustrated when they discover Paper changed default behavior for mechanics they use. The most common complaints involve:

• TNT duplication (patched by default)
• Sand and gravel duplication (patched by default)
• Certain bedrock breaking methods (patched by default)
• Some zero-tick farm designs (behavior differs)

Paper’s position is that these are bugs or exploits, not features. That’s a reasonable stance - Mojang generally agrees, even if they’re slow to fix things themselves.

But Paper also recognizes that servers have different needs. Most of these patches can be toggled off in configuration. If you need TNT duping for your quarry, you can have it - you just have to enable it explicitly.

If you’re not sure what any of this means, you probably don’t need to worry about it. These mechanics matter for a small subset of technical players, not the average SMP or minigame server.

Making the Switch

Switching from Spigot to Paper is straightforward. Your world transfers directly. Your plugins transfer directly. Your configuration files are compatible.

Before you start, take a full backup of your server. The switch is usually painless, but backups are cheap insurance if a plugin behaves unexpectedly.

The process is essentially:

1. Stop your server
2. Back up your world and configs
3. Replace the Spigot jar with the Paper jar
4. Start your server

Paper will generate its own configuration files on first run. Your existing server.properties, spigot.yml, and bukkit.yml carry over unchanged.

If you’re on WinterNode, the Edition Installer in your control panel handles this automatically - you pick Paper from the dropdown and it swaps the files for you. Check our help center guide for the specific steps.

One note: the first startup after switching might take a bit longer than usual. Paper sometimes optimizes data structures or converts files to more efficient formats. This is normal and only happens once.

What About Purpur, Pufferfish, and Other Forks?

Paper isn’t the end of the line. Other projects have forked Paper the same way Paper forked Spigot.

Purpur adds extra configuration options and some gameplay features that Paper doesn’t include - things like rideable mobs, custom mob behavior, and more granular control over game mechanics. It’s Paper with more knobs.

Pufferfish focuses on additional performance optimizations, particularly for high-player-count servers. It’s more aggressive with some changes, which occasionally means behavior differences.

For most servers, Paper is plenty. These forks are options if you’re pushing limits or want specific features they offer - but we usually recommend starting on Paper and only moving to a fork if you hit a specific limitation. We’ll cover them in more detail in a future comparison.

Our Recommendation

Paper is the right choice for most Minecraft servers in 2025. This isn’t really a debate in the community anymore - it’s the established standard for plugin-based servers.

The performance improvements are measurable. The plugin compatibility is maintained. Development is active and transparent. When new Minecraft versions release, Paper typically has stable builds faster than alternatives.

Spigot still works. If you have a specific reason to use it - a plugin that breaks, a technical server that needs exact vanilla mechanics, or just an existing setup you don’t want to touch - that’s fine. But if you’re starting fresh or considering a switch, Paper is where you should land.

Try It Out

We’re biased, but WinterNode exists because we wanted hosting that didn’t nickel-and-dime people. All our Minecraft servers are $1.99/GB of RAM with no extra charges for CPU, storage, or features that other hosts mark up.

If you want to test the waters, we offer a 48-hour free trial on Minecraft servers - no credit card required. Our Edition Installer makes it easy to switch between Paper, Spigot, Forge, Fabric, and other server software if you want to experiment.

Questions? Our support team actually plays Minecraft and knows this stuff - we can help you review Spark profiler reports if you’re hunting down lag. We’re available via tickets and active on Discord if you prefer chatting there.