Short answer: pick Cobblemon for a new server or a friend group that wants Pokémon to feel like part of Minecraft, especially if you want to combine it with other mods. Pick Pixelmon if you want every Pokémon up to Generation 9 right now, the classic towns with Poké Centers and Gym Leaders, or if your community already plays it. Both are current in 2026 and both run on Minecraft 1.21.1.
Pixelmon vs Cobblemon at a glance
Checked on 30 September 2026 against both mods' Modrinth pages. Both version numbers were checked again on 28 October 2026.
| Cobblemon | Pixelmon | |
|---|---|---|
| Latest version | 1.8.4 (27 October 2026) | 9.4.2 (22 October 2026) |
| Minecraft version | 1.21.1 | 1.21.1 |
| Mod loader | Fabric and NeoForge | NeoForge (older versions ran on Forge) |
| Source code | Open source, MPL 2.0 licence | Closed source, all rights reserved |
| Pokémon | Over 800, according to its Modrinth page | Every Pokémon from Generations 1 to 9, 1,000+ according to its Modrinth page |
| Battles | Pokémon Showdown engine, with free movement during battles as an option | Pixelmon's own battle system |
| World | Pokémon spawn into normal Minecraft terrain, plus habitat structures in 1.8 | Towns with Poké Centers, Poké Marts, Gym Leaders and Dynamax Dens |
The real differences
How it feels. Cobblemon's own description says it aims to integrate better into modpacks and Minecraft itself than other Pokémon mods. You play normal survival and the Pokémon live in that world. Pixelmon leans towards a full Pokémon game inside Minecraft, with handmade models, towns, gyms and trainer facilities built by its team.
Which Pokémon are in. Pixelmon lists every Pokémon up to Generation 9. Cobblemon says over 800 and adds more with its releases. If one specific Pokémon matters to your group, check the mod's wiki before you pick.
Loader and other mods. Cobblemon is on Fabric and NeoForge, so you can build it into either kind of modpack. Pixelmon for 1.21.1 is NeoForge only. If you want Fabric mods on the same server, that decides it for Cobblemon.
Open source. Cobblemon's code is public on GitLab under the MPL 2.0 licence, so addon makers can read it and the project explicitly encourages forks. Pixelmon is closed source. For players that makes little day-to-day difference; for server owners who want to write addons or dig into a bug, it does.
Existing communities. Pixelmon has been around for over a decade and many long-running Pokémon servers are built on it. If your players already have Pixelmon teams, moving to Cobblemon means starting over, because Pokémon and items do not carry over between two different mods.
Which one for your server
| Your situation | Pick |
|---|---|
| New private server with friends | Cobblemon |
| You want Fabric mods on the same server | Cobblemon |
| You want every generation and gym towns now | Pixelmon |
| Your community already plays Pixelmon | Pixelmon |
| You want to write addons or datapacks against open code | Cobblemon |
Running a server for either one
Both mods run on the server and on every client, so all players need the same mod version, the same loader and the same modpack version as the server. For Cobblemon we size servers at 8GB for up to 10 players, 12GB for 10 to 25 players or when you add sidemods, and 16GB past that. The step by step setup is in our Cobblemon server setup guide, and the Pixelmon side is in our Pixelmon server guide.
To host it with us, use Cobblemon server hosting for Cobblemon or Pixelmon server hosting for Pixelmon. On both you pick the loader for Minecraft 1.21.1 in the panel (Fabric or NeoForge for Cobblemon, NeoForge for Pixelmon) and upload the mod, plus anything it needs, to the mods folder over SFTP.
See our Cobblemon 1.8 server update guide for what changed in 1.8.
Related guides
- Cobblemon mod download and install guide
- Best Cobblemon servers
- Cobblemon modpack server requirements
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