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The best Minecraft plugins for your server in 2026
Managing a Minecraft server without plugins is like driving a car without a dashboard: it runs, but you have no control. Plugins transform a basic vanilla server into a complete experience with permissions, anti-grief protection, an economy system, mini-games, and dozens of administration tools.
Unlike mods (Forge, Fabric, NeoForge) which require client-side installation, plugins work solely on the server side. Your players connect with the standard Minecraft client, without installing anything. This is one of the big advantages of plugins for a community server: zero friction to join the game.
This guide lists the best Minecraft plugins by category, with a description, compatibility (Paper, Spigot, Purpur, Folia), and a download link for each. Whether you're launching your first Minecraft server plugin or looking to complete your existing stack, you'll find the essentials here. For the full catalog, check out our dedicated Minecraft plugins page.
Before diving into the selection: how did we choose these plugins? Three main criteria. First, reliability: each listed plugin is actively maintained and compatible with recent Minecraft versions (1.20+). Then popularity: these plugins are used by thousands of servers, which means rich documentation and a responsive community in case of issues. Finally, complementarity: the selected plugins work well together without known conflicts.
Essential plugins (indispensable for any server)
These three plugins form the foundation of any Paper or Spigot server. Install them first, configure them, then add the rest.
EssentialsX
EssentialsX is the Swiss army knife of the Minecraft server. It adds over 130 commands: /home, /tpa, /warp, /spawn, /nick, /kit, /msg, /back, /afk, /god, and many more. It also includes a basic economy system, kit management, formatted chat, and spawn protections.
It's the most installed plugin in the world, and for good reason: it replaces a dozen separate plugins on its own. Configuration is done via a clear and well-documented config.yml file. EssentialsX also offers complementary modules (EssentialsX Chat, EssentialsX Spawn, EssentialsX AntiBuild) that you can activate separately.
Compatibility: Paper, Spigot, Purpur. Link: EssentialsX on SpigotMC
LuckPerms
LuckPerms is the standard for permission management on Minecraft. It allows you to create groups (Player, VIP, Moderator, Admin), assign specific permissions to each group, manage inheritance between groups, and configure temporary permissions (for example, a VIP rank that expires after 30 days).
What sets LuckPerms apart is its web editor: a graphical interface accessible from a browser that allows you to configure all permissions visually, without touching config files. Type /lp editor in-game, click on the generated link, and configure everything from your browser. It's a considerable time saver compared to older permission systems like PermissionsEx.
Compatibility: Paper, Spigot, Purpur, Folia, Fabric, Forge. Link: LuckPerms on luckperms.net
Vault
Vault is not a plugin that players see, but it's the glue that makes others work. It's an API that connects economy, permissions, and chat plugins together. Without Vault, EssentialsX cannot communicate with LuckPerms, and economy plugins cannot interact with shop plugins.
Install Vault from the start and forget about it: it runs in the background and does its job silently.
Compatibility: Paper, Spigot, Purpur. Link: Vault on SpigotMC
Protection and anti-grief plugins
Protecting your server against grief is a top priority, especially if you host unknown players.
CoreProtect
CoreProtect logs every action performed on the server: block placement and destruction, chest interactions, explosions, lava flows, and even chat messages. If a player destroys another's base, you can go back in history, identify the culprit, and restore the damage in seconds with /co rollback.
It's the most used investigation and rollback plugin. It's lightweight, efficient (logs are stored in SQLite or MySQL databases), and doesn't slow down the server even with millions of entries.
Compatibility: Paper, Spigot, Purpur. Link: CoreProtect on SpigotMC
WorldGuard
WorldGuard allows you to define protected regions in the world. You outline an area (with WorldEdit), then apply rules: prohibit block destruction, block PvP, prevent explosions, forbid the use of certain items, etc. It's essential for protecting spawn, shops, arenas, and any public area.
WorldGuard depends on WorldEdit for region selection. The two plugins work together.
Compatibility: Paper, Spigot, Purpur. Link: WorldGuard on EngineHub
GriefPrevention
GriefPrevention takes a different approach from WorldGuard: instead of the admin defining zones, players themselves protect their land. Each player receives a number of "claim blocks" that increase with playtime. To protect their base, they simply place a golden shovel and click on two opposite corners. Simple, intuitive, and it eliminates 90% of grief tickets on a survival server.
It's the best choice if you don't want to manually protect each player's base.
Compatibility: Paper, Spigot, Purpur. Link: GriefPrevention on SpigotMC
Gameplay plugins
These plugins add depth to the gameplay and encourage players to stay on your server.
mcMMO
mcMMO adds an RPG skill system to Minecraft. Each action (mining, fighting, fishing, farming, enchanting) levels up a skill, and each skill unlocks special abilities: double drop in mining, critical hits in combat, automatic harvesting in farming, etc.
Players love progression and leaderboards. It's one of the most effective plugins for retaining a survival community.
Compatibility: Paper, Spigot, Purpur. Link: mcMMO on SpigotMC
Jobs Reborn
Jobs Reborn allows players to choose a profession (miner, lumberjack, farmer, hunter, fisherman, enchanter, etc.) and get paid for each action related to that profession. Combined with an economy plugin (Vault + EssentialsX), it creates a complete economic ecosystem where players earn money by playing naturally.
It's the perfect complement to mcMMO for a survival/RPG server.
Compatibility: Paper, Spigot, Purpur. Link: Jobs Reborn on SpigotMC
AuctionHouse
AuctionHouse creates an in-game auction house. Players can list items for sale, bid, and buy from an in-game graphical interface (command /ah). It's essential for the economy to function: without a marketplace, players have no efficient way to trade.
Compatibility: Paper, Spigot, Purpur. Link: AuctionHouse on SpigotMC
World management plugins
WorldEdit
WorldEdit is the ultimate building tool. It allows you to select, copy, paste, replace, and transform entire areas of blocks with a few commands. Fill a 1,000-block rectangle with stone? One command. Copy a structure and paste it 500 blocks away? Two commands. Replace all gravel in an area with stone? One command.
Indispensable for builders and admins setting up spawns, arenas, or lobbies.
Compatibility: Paper, Spigot, Purpur, Forge, Fabric. Link: WorldEdit on EngineHub
Multiverse-Core
Multiverse-Core allows you to manage multiple worlds on a single server. Create a survival world, a creative world, a flat world for testing, a custom Nether world, etc. Each world has its own gamerules, difficulty, and restrictions. Players move from one world to another via portals or commands.
Compatibility: Paper, Spigot, Purpur. Link: Multiverse-Core on SpigotMC
Dynmap / BlueMap
These two plugins generate an interactive web map of your server, accessible from a browser. Players can view the map in real-time, locate structures, bases, and connected players. Dynmap is the oldest and most popular. BlueMap is newer, with 3D rendering and a lighter server footprint.
It's a powerful community tool: players share the map link, and it makes others want to join the server.
Compatibility: Paper, Spigot, Purpur (both). BlueMap also supports Forge/Fabric. Link: Dynmap on SpigotMC · BlueMap on SpigotMC
Mini-games and entertainment plugins
If you want to offer mini-games in addition to survival, several options exist.
PlaceholderAPI. This is not a mini-game, but it's the foundation that allows displaying dynamic variables (name, rank, money, kills) in chat, scoreboards, and menus. Essential for customizing the display. PlaceholderAPI on SpigotMC
Citizens. Creates interactive NPCs in the world. Useful for quests, shops, guides, and spawn decorations. Combined with the Denizen plugin, you can script complex dialogues and events. Citizens on SpigotMC
TAB. Customizes the player list (Tab list) with colored groups, prefixes, suffixes, and animations. It's a visual detail that gives a professional look to your server. TAB on SpigotMC
Skript. A simplified scripting language to create mini-games, events, and automations without coding real Java plugins. If you want a voting system, a Halloween event, or a custom mini-game, Skript allows you to do it in a few lines. Skript on GitHub
How to install a plugin
Installing a plugin takes less than 5 minutes. Download the plugin .jar file from SpigotMC, Modrinth, or the official site. Log in to OuiPanel and open the File Manager. Navigate to the plugins/ folder at the root of the server. Click "Upload" and upload the .jar file. Restart your server (not /reload, a real restart). Check that the plugin is active with the /plugins command in-game.
After the first start, the plugin automatically creates a configuration folder in plugins/PluginName/. Modify the config.yml file according to your needs, then restart.
For a detailed tutorial with screenshots, check out our complete plugin installation guide.
What hosting for a server with plugins?
Plugins consume RAM and CPU, especially when you stack 20 or 30 of them. Here are our recommendations for a smooth server.
Vanilla server + 5-10 basic plugins (EssentialsX, LuckPerms, WorldGuard, CoreProtect). 4 GB of RAM is enough for 10-15 players. This is the profile of a small community server or a server among friends. You can even start with our free Minecraft server to test.
Survival server + 15-25 plugins (base + mcMMO, Jobs, AuctionHouse, Dynmap). 6 to 8 GB of RAM for 15-30 players. The Dynmap map and economy systems consume memory continuously. Also plan for a good processor to maintain 20 TPS with all the plugin events running.
Multi-activity server + 30+ plugins (survival + mini-games + PvP + creative). 8 to 12 GB of RAM for 30-50+ players. At this level, consider a proxy (Velocity/BungeeCord) with multiple servers behind to distribute the load. Multiverse-Core helps, but each active world consumes resources.
A frequently underestimated point: the type of server matters as much as the plugins. Paper is significantly more efficient than Spigot for handling many plugins. If you're still on Spigot, switch to Paper, the gain is immediate, and the migration takes 5 minutes (all Spigot plugins are compatible with Paper).
For high-load servers (50+ players), consider Purpur or Pufferfish, forks of Paper with additional optimizations. And if you're managing a multi-server network, Folia (the multithreaded fork of Paper) is starting to be supported by major plugins like LuckPerms, even though the ecosystem is still young.