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Key takeaways
5- Paper is the safe default: Spigot-based, wide plugin support, suits most servers.
- Purpur is a drop-in style Paper fork that adds purpur.yml with many gameplay and per-world options.
- Folia runs regions in parallel but will break most public plugins, so only use it with plugins marked folia-supported.
- Folia is for very large servers with spread-out players on many-core hardware, not for most servers.
- Back up and test on a copy before swapping the jar, and check each plugin's page first.
This post is for server owners who keep seeing three names, Paper, Purpur and Folia, and want to know which jar to put in their server folder. By the end you will know what each one is for, what happens to your plugins, and how to switch without losing your world.
All three come from the same family. Paper is based on Spigot, Purpur is based on Paper, and Folia is a fork of Paper. That family tree explains most of the differences below.
How we compared them
We read each project's own page and GitHub README on 3 October 2026 and only use what they say. We did not run benchmarks, so you will not find made-up TPS numbers here. Where a page does not say something, we leave it out.
We looked at four things: what the project is for, how plugins behave on it, what it costs you in effort, and who it suits.
1. Paper
Paper describes itself as a Minecraft server based on Spigot, built to improve performance and offer a more advanced API. Its site points to asynchronous chunk loading and optimisations to the light engine, hoppers and entities. Its GitHub README opens by calling it a high-performance server that aims to fix gameplay and mechanics inconsistencies.
What it does well
- It extends the Bukkit and Spigot APIs, so the plugin ecosystem you already know applies.
- Its plugin repository, Hangar, listed 3,731 plugins built for Paper when we checked.
- Its download page shows Paper 26.2 (build 129) today, with an option to show experimental builds for 26.3.
Who it suits
Almost everyone: survival, lobbies, minigames, SMPs, small friend servers. If you have no specific reason to pick something else, Paper is the safe default.
What to watch out for
Paper focuses on performance and fixes. For many gameplay tweaks, see Purpur below or look for a plugin. Our Paper setup guide covers the install from scratch.
2. Purpur
Purpur calls itself server software based on Paper, aimed at configurability. Its site says it supports plugins written for the Bukkit, Spigot and Paper APIs, and its GitHub README calls it a drop-in replacement for Paper servers with extra gameplay features.
What it does well
- It adds a
purpur.ymlfile with global and per-world settings. The docs list things such as hunger mechanics, farmland trampling, bed explosions, breeding cooldowns, elytra damage and which of 80+ mobs can be ridden. - Per-world settings let a minigame world behave differently from your survival world.
- It follows Paper: its download page lists 26.2 (build 2633) and links to bleeding-edge 26.3 builds.
Who it suits
Owners who want to change vanilla rules without writing or buying a plugin for each tweak. Survival and SMP servers with house rules are the usual fit.
What to watch out for
Purpur's site stresses configurability. We ran no benchmarks, so test speed on your own server with spark before you switch jars. Every extra setting is one more thing to test after each update, so check each plugin's page for the software it supports. Keep a backup so you can go back to Paper if something behaves oddly.
3. Folia
Folia is a fork of Paper that adds regionised multithreading. Instead of one main thread running the whole world, it groups nearby loaded chunks into independent regions, and each region ticks in parallel on its own tick loop.
What it does well
- It can use many CPU cores for one server. The Folia README recommends at least 16 cores (not threads) and notes that pregenerating the world cuts the worker threads chunk generation needs.
- It suits players who spread out, which PaperMC names as SkyBlock and SMP style servers with very high player counts.
Who it suits
Large servers where players are far apart and a single thread is the bottleneck. PaperMC's own page says Folia will not be useful for the majority of servers.
What to watch out for
- PaperMC says it is not a drop-in replacement for Paper and will break most public plugins.
- Only plugins whose authors set
folia-supported: trueinplugin.ymlwill load. - The README lists gaps such as a broken scoreboard API and no world loading or unloading, and says
Entity#teleportis gone in favour ofteleportAsync. - Release timing differs: its download page showed 26.1.2 (build 8) while Paper showed 26.2. Check both pages before you plan an update.
One plugin of ours is built with this in mind. AT-AuctionHouse, made by our team, lists real Folia support. Its listing also says that on Folia, Vault and your economy plugin must be Folia-compatible too, and that upstream Vault is not.
Side by side
| Question | Paper | Purpur | Folia |
|---|---|---|---|
| Based on | Spigot | Paper | Paper |
| Main idea | Performance, fixes, API | Configurability, extra gameplay options | Regionised multithreading |
| Bukkit, Spigot and Paper plugins | Yes, that is its ecosystem | Supported per its site | Only plugins marked folia-supported |
| Extra config file | Paper's own configs | purpur.yml | Paper's configs plus thread settings (threaded-regions) |
| Best for | Most servers | Servers with custom vanilla rules | Very large, spread-out servers |
| Main risk | For many gameplay tweaks, see Purpur or plugins | More settings to retest | Plugin gaps, needs many cores |
Which one should you pick?
- New server, or not sure: Paper. It has the widest plugin support and the simplest path.
- You want vanilla tweaks without extra plugins: Purpur, after testing your plugin list on it.
- You run a large server with players spread across a big map and have a many-core machine: look at Folia, with a short list of plugins you have confirmed work.
- You run minigames or lobbies: Paper. Players there are packed together, so regions help little.
Switch the server jar safely
Paper and Purpur share a lot, so moving between them is a jar swap. Folia is a bigger move: treat it as a new server and test it on a copy.
- Stop the server and copy the server folder somewhere safe.
- Download the jar from the official page: Paper, Purpur or Folia.
- Put it next to the old jar and start it with your usual flags, changing only the file name:
java -Xms4G -Xmx4G -jar server.jar nogui- Watch the console for plugins that fail to load, then join and test.
- Stop the server and create a backup in the Backups tab.
- Upload the new jar in the File Manager (or over SFTP).
- In the Startup tab, point the server jar variable at the new file name. The exact variable depends on your host's egg, and some hosts offer a software choice instead, so ask your host if you do not see it.
- Start the server and read the Console for plugin errors.
- Stop the server and download your files from the Files / FTP page as a backup.
- Upload the new jar, or choose it on the JAR selection page if your host lists it.
- Start the server and check the console for errors.
If you are on Folia and use many plugins, also pregenerate your world, since the Folia README says it reduces the chunk worker threads needed.
Frequently asked questions
Is Purpur faster than Paper?
Purpur's site stresses configurability and extra gameplay features. We did not benchmark it, so profile with spark before switching jars. If lag is your problem, fix the cause first rather than assuming a different jar will solve it.
Do my Paper plugins work on Purpur?
Purpur's site says it supports plugins designed for the Bukkit, Spigot and Paper APIs. Test your full plugin list on a copy of the server before you move the live one.
Can I run my existing plugins on Folia?
Only plugins whose authors marked them with folia-supported: true in plugin.yml will load, and PaperMC says Folia will break most public plugins. Check each plugin's page for Folia support first.
Who actually needs Folia?
PaperMC says Folia is not useful for most servers. It targets servers with very high player counts and game modes that spread players out, such as SkyBlock or SMP, and its docs recommend at least 16 cores.
Can I go back from Purpur to Paper?
We could not confirm an official migration note either way, so treat it as a one-way test. Keep a full backup from before the switch and test the move back on a copy.
