Short answer: use Paper if your server is built on plugins (EssentialsX, LuckPerms, WorldGuard, an economy) and players join with a normal unmodded client. Use Fabric if you want mods that add content or change how the game works, or a technical server that has to behave exactly like vanilla. Paper cannot load Fabric mods and Fabric cannot load Paper plugins, so the real question is which of those two ecosystems your server needs.
Paper vs Fabric at a glance
| Paper | Fabric | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | A server software built on the Bukkit and Spigot API | A mod loader for client and server |
| Runs | Bukkit, Spigot and Paper plugins | Fabric mods |
| Players need | A normal Minecraft client | Usually the same mods, unless every mod is server-side only |
| Where to get add-ons | Hangar, Modrinth, SpigotMC | Modrinth, CurseForge |
| Vanilla behaviour | Fixes some exploits and duplication bugs by default | Unchanged unless a mod changes it |
| Built-in profiler | spark is bundled | Add the spark mod |
| Typical use | SMPs, minigames, economy and protection servers | Modded survival, Cobblemon, technical servers |
When Paper is the right choice
Paper is a Minecraft Java server designed, in its own words, to greatly improve performance and offer more advanced features and API. In practice that means three things for a server owner.
Plugins. Paper runs the Bukkit and Spigot plugin ecosystem plus Paper's own plugins, which covers most of what a community server wants: permissions, homes and warps, land claims, shops, anti-cheat, Discord bridges.
Players do not need to install anything. Plugins run only on the server, so anyone with a normal client can join. For a public server that is often the deciding point.
Tuning and profiling. Paper, and the Spigot base it grew out of, add configuration for things like entity activation range and per-world mob spawn limits, and Paper bundles the spark profiler. The old Timings profiler is deprecated and turned off by default since 1.21, and Paper's documentation points you to spark instead.
Paper does not load Fabric, Forge or NeoForge mods. If a feature you want only exists as a mod, Paper is out.
When Fabric is the right choice
Fabric is a lightweight mod loader. Mods can change the game far more deeply than plugins can: new blocks, items, mobs, dimensions and mechanics.
Content mods and modpacks. Cobblemon, for example, runs on Fabric (and NeoForge), and many modpacks on Modrinth are built on Fabric. Content mods have to be installed on the client too, so every player needs the same mod list.
Technical play. Fabric leaves vanilla mechanics alone unless a mod changes them, which is why technical players use it with Carpet and similar mods. Paper fixes a number of vanilla duplication bugs by default, which some farms and contraptions rely on.
Server-side mods. Some Fabric mods only run on the server and need nothing on the client: Lithium and FerriteCore for performance, Chunky for pregeneration, LuckPerms for permissions (it has a Fabric build). Client mods such as Sodium and Iris do nothing on a server, so do not install them there.
Performance
Both can run a well-behaved server at 20 TPS, and both can be dragged down by the same things: too many entities, big farms, chunk generation and too much view distance. Paper applies its optimizations out of the box. On Fabric you add them yourself, usually Lithium, which optimizes game logic while keeping vanilla behaviour, and FerriteCore for memory.
We do not put a number on which one is faster, because it depends on your world, your player count and your add-ons. Measure your own server with spark on either platform, and read our guide to MSPT and server lag for what the numbers mean.
Can you run plugins and mods together?
Not on plain Paper or plain Fabric. Projects like Cardboard try to load Bukkit plugins on Fabric, but plugins that reach into server internals break, and neither Paper nor Fabric supports that setup. Keep them off a server people depend on.
The clean way to offer both is a proxy network: a Velocity proxy in front of a Paper server and a Fabric server, with players switching between them. On the Fabric side you add FabricProxy-Lite so Velocity can forward player data. Our Velocity and BungeeCord network hosting page covers that setup.
How to choose
- Plugins such as EssentialsX, LuckPerms and WorldGuard, players on normal clients: Paper.
- Content mods, a modpack or Cobblemon: Fabric (or NeoForge, if the pack is built for it).
- Technical survival with vanilla mechanics intact: Fabric with Lithium and Carpet.
- Both plugins and mods: two servers behind a Velocity proxy.
- Not sure and no mods planned: start with Paper. It has the largest plugin ecosystem and players join without installing anything.
Running either on Space-Node
Space-Node supports Paper, Fabric, Forge, NeoForge and Purpur on all Minecraft plans, with one-click installs from the control panel. See Minecraft server hosting for plans, or the PaperMC hosting page if you already know you want Paper.
Related: Forge vs Fabric Server Hosting 2026