Lodehost
Why most servers run Paper
A vanilla server has no way to add ranks, land claims, homes or a shop. Paper keeps the game as players know it and adds the plugin system that makes those possible, together with changes that make a busy world cheaper to run. That combination is why it is the default: you lose nothing from vanilla and gain the whole Bukkit and Spigot plugin ecosystem.
| Paper | Purpur | Vanilla | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Loads plugins | Yes | Yes, the same ones | No |
| Loads mods | No | No | No |
| Extra gameplay settings | Performance and anti xray settings | Hundreds more on top of Paper | Only server.properties |
| Crossplay with Bedrock players | Yes | Yes | No |
Deeper comparison, Spigot included: Paper vs Purpur vs Spigot. Moving from Paper to Purpur changes nothing about your plugins.
Getting a Paper server
Pick a plan
Every plan runs Paper, from Camp to Ultimate, on the Standard and the Performance line.
Leave Software on Paper
The Software list on the order page starts on Paper (recommended). The other choices are Purpur, Fabric, Forge, NeoForge, Spigot, Vanilla.
Pick a Minecraft version
Latest follows the newest build. Or pick an exact release: 26.2, 26.1.2, 26.1.1, 1.21.11, 1.21.8, 1.21.4, 1.21.1, 1.20.6, 1.20.4, 1.20.1, 1.19.4, 1.18.2, 1.16.5, 1.12.2 and 1.8.9.
Pay, and start installing plugins
The server is built with Paper for the version you picked, and the Plugins tab is ready as soon as it is.
Plugins on a Paper server
The Plugins tab searches a catalogue of 510 plugins in 15 categories and installs the stable build made for Paper and for your exact Minecraft version, after checking the download. There is no install from a link, so nobody can talk the panel into fetching a jar from an unknown site. How the plugin installer works.
| What most Paper servers add first | Guide |
|---|---|
| Homes, warps, kits and the basic commands | EssentialsX homes, warps and kits |
| An economy and player shops | Economy and shops |
| Protection against griefing | Stop griefing |
| Several worlds on one server | Multiverse |
| Players on older or newer clients | ViaVersion |
Set an exact version before installing
The installer picks a build for one Minecraft release. A server on Latest has no fixed release to match, so set the exact version in Settings first. Plugin not loading covers the usual reasons a plugin does not load.
Which size a Paper server needs
| Your Paper server | Players | Start with |
|---|---|---|
| A small world with a few plugins | 2 to 5 | 4 GB, from €6.95 |
| A plugin set: claims, an economy, a few minigames | 10 to 20 | 8 GB, from €10.95 |
| Several worlds with players in each | 10 or more | 24 GB |
Per month on a 24 month term, on the Standard line. On a plugin server, lag usually comes from the main thread rather than memory; Paper settings that fix lag and the Performance line help more there than a bigger plan.
Paper and Crossplay
Bedrock players on phones, tablets and consoles can join a Paper server through software that runs as plugins on it. That is why a Crossplay plan only offers Paper or Purpur when you order: on a mod loader or on vanilla that software has nothing to run in. We install and update it for you, and your other plugins keep working. How Crossplay works.
Moving to Paper, or away from it
- From Vanilla to Paper: your world loads as it is, and plugins become possible. This is the most common switch.
- From Paper to Purpur and back: nothing about your content changes, both run the same plugins.
- From Paper to Fabric, Forge or NeoForge: plugins stay on disk but stop loading, so what they provided stops too until you switch back.
- Every switch: the panel stops the server, takes a backup, waits until it has finished and only then converts. Nothing is deleted.
The switch is on the Settings tab. Changing version and server type has the details, and a network of Paper servers behind one address is in a lobby and survival network with Velocity.
Written and checked against the panel by the Lodehost team, last reviewed on 17 September 2026.
