Spigot vs Paper: Why Most Servers Should Choose Paper in 2026

If you're choosing between Spigot and Paper for your free Minecraft server, the answer in 2026 is almost always Paper. Here's why.

Quick verdict

Pick Paper. It runs every Spigot plugin, performs better, gets updates faster, and has better security. The only reason to pick Spigot is if you have a very specific reason — and most people don't.

Spigot's history

Spigot was the lifeline of the Bukkit ecosystem after CraftBukkit was abandoned in 2014. For nearly a decade, it was the standard. But around 2018, Paper started outpacing it on every metric, and Paper's lead has only grown.

Performance

Paper is decisively faster:

• Async chunk loading (Spigot is sync, causes hitches)
• Better entity ticking (less CPU per mob)
• Faster lighting engine
• Smarter pathfinding
• More efficient region file I/O

On the same hardware, Paper sustains substantially better TPS under load. This matters even more on a free server with shared resources.

Plugin compatibility

Paper is a strict superset of Spigot's API. Every Spigot plugin works on Paper. Some new plugins also use Paper-only APIs — those won't run on Spigot. So Paper has everything Spigot has, plus extras.

Update speed

Paper builds for new Minecraft versions usually drop within hours of release. Spigot can take days or weeks. This matters when you want to play the latest version on day one.

Security

Paper patches security issues quickly. Spigot is slower. Public Minecraft servers are constant targets for log4j-style exploits, and Paper's faster patching cycle has saved a lot of servers.

Configuration

Paper adds paper-global.yml and per-world configs with hundreds of tuning options. Spigot has a simpler spigot.yml. If you want fine control, Paper wins.

When Spigot is fine

• You're running a tiny private server with 2–3 friends
• You want the most "vanilla Bukkit" experience for plugin development
• You have a specific legacy plugin that for some reason fails on Paper (extremely rare)

Switching from Spigot to Paper

It's a one-step migration: stop the server, install Paper, restart. Your world, plugins, and configs all transfer. On FreeMCServers.org just create a new Paper server and copy your world over via the file manager.

Bottom line

Pick Paper by default. Pick Spigot only if you have a specific reason. Both are free on FreeMCServers.org so you can try them side by side.