These twelve Minecraft plugins cover the jobs a Paper or Spigot survival server usually needs: permissions, everyday commands, land protection, block logging, web maps, crossplay and economy. LuckPerms handles permissions, CoreProtect handles block logging and rollback, and Geyser with Floodgate is the pair for Bedrock players. Our server plugin listing holds every page of this topic, so this page is a short cut through it, and the plugin install guide covers the folder and the restart.
How we picked these plugins
We chose twelve from the 121 server plugins we list, grouped by the job each does. Modrinth download counts, read on 5 October 2026, are shown in the table, but they did not decide every pick: other plugins we list have more downloads than several here. Floodgate has no Modrinth count, so it is here as Geyser's companion and is not ranked by downloads. All twelve are Java Edition plugins. We did not benchmark or play-test any of them. Downloads favour older projects, and a count is not a score.
| Plugin | Job | Newest Paper range | Licence | Modrinth downloads | Last updated |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LuckPerms | Permissions | 1.8.8 to 26.3 | MIT | 2,837,566 | 2026-09-19 |
| EssentialsX | Everyday commands | 1.8.8 to 26.1.2 | GPL-3.0 | 853,719 | 2026-05-31 |
| WorldGuard | Regions | 1.8 to 26.3 | LGPL-3.0 | 900,037 | 2026-09-18 |
| GriefPrevention | Player claims | 1.17 to 26.3 | GPL-3.0 | 209,557 | 2026-03-05 |
| CoreProtect | Logging and rollback | 1.14.1 to 26.2 | Artistic-2.0 | 540,630 | 2026-09-24 |
| BlueMap | 3D web map | 1.13 to 26.3 | MIT | 519,260 | 2026-09-25 |
| Dynmap | 2D web map | 1.10.2 to 1.21.4 (beta) | Apache-2.0 | 495,988 | 2026-01-14 |
| squaremap | 2D web map | 1.19.3 to 26.3 | MIT | 157,760 | 2026-09-17 |
| ViaVersion | Version bridging | 1.8.9 to 26.3 | GPL-3.0 | 3,187,328 | 2026-09-20 |
| Geyser | Bedrock crossplay | 1.16.5 to 26.2 | MIT | 1,389,030 | 2026-10-04 |
| Floodgate | Bedrock sign-in | 1.8 to 26.2 | MIT | None on Modrinth (Hangar listing) | 2023-03-19 (Hangar) |
| Vault | Economy API | 1.1 to 26.3 | LGPL-3.0 | 154,074 | 2026-09-16 |
Permissions
LuckPerms
LuckPerms
@lucko · Server Plugin
Checked Source and install notes
LuckPerms is the permissions layer, and several plugins here assume one exists. Its Modrinth page describes creating groups and assigning permissions through commands, config files or a web editor, and calls it fast and reliable. It is MIT licensed and also ships for Fabric, Forge, NeoForge and the Velocity and BungeeCord proxies, so it stays useful if the server software changes. The trade-off is setup: admins create the groups and assign the permissions themselves. The LuckPerms guide covers that.
Everyday commands
EssentialsX
EssentialsX
@mdcfe · Server Plugin
Checked Source and install notes
EssentialsX is the everyday command layer. Its Modrinth page describes a suite of over 130 commands for Spigot and Paper, a modern continuation of the original Essentials, and it points to LuckPerms for permissions. It is GPL-3.0 licensed. The limit is the version range: Modrinth lists its newest release only up to 26.1.2, while its readme names 26.2 and 26.3 as supported, so check that range against your server before updating.
Land and region protection
WorldGuard
WorldGuard
@me4502 · Server Plugin
Checked Source and install notes
WorldGuard suits admins who want to draw regions and set rules inside them. Its page lists protected areas, PvP and TNT switches, mob damage control and item blacklists, and says everything is off by default, so installing it changes nothing until it is configured. It is LGPL-3.0 licensed and has Folia releases. The catch is the pairing. Its page tells admins to install WorldEdit alongside it, and only opped users or holders of a permission can use it. The WorldGuard guide walks through regions.
GriefPrevention
GriefPrevention
@RoboMWM · Server Plugin
Checked Source and install notes
GriefPrevention takes the other route to protection. It supports Spigot, Paper and Purpur and is GPL-3.0 licensed. The trade-off is support. It says it targets only the latest releases of those platforms, that older GriefPrevention releases are no longer supported, and that other Bukkit implementations should work but are untested. Community addons are listed in its GitHub discussions.
Block logging and rollback
CoreProtect
CoreProtect
@Intelli · Server Plugin
Checked Source and install notes
CoreProtect answers the question every survival admin asks after a grief: who did this, and can it be undone. Its page lists block, container and entity logging with inspect, lookup, rollback and restore commands, and says processing is multi-threaded so server performance is not impacted. Data goes into embedded DuckDB storage by default, with ClickHouse, SQLite and MySQL optional. It is Artistic-2.0 licensed. The trade-off is what it records, which includes player chat messages and commands, a point to weigh on a public server.
Web maps
BlueMap
BlueMap
@BlueColored · Server Plugin
Checked Source and install notes
BlueMap reads world files and builds 3D models of the surface, shown in a browser. Its page says it renders asynchronously and does not block the server thread directly, though a fully used CPU can still slow things. It is MIT licensed, runs as a plugin on Paper, Spigot, Folia, Purpur and Sponge, and as a Fabric, Forge or NeoForge mod, with Fabric needing Fabric API. The trade-off is a network port. Its built-in web server is on by default, bound to all network interfaces on port 8100, and can be changed or disabled in the config.
Dynmap
Dynmap
@mikeprimm · Server Plugin
Checked Source and install notes
Dynmap is the older, flat alternative: a Google Maps-like 2D view with live player faces, chat balloons and markers, served by an integrated web server on port 8123 or through Apache. Its page lists region overlays for WorldGuard, Residence, Towny and Factions through companion plugins. It is Apache-2.0 licensed. The limit matters on Paper and Spigot. Their newest release is a beta, 3.7-beta-8 from 15 January 2025, stopping at 1.21.4, while the Fabric and Forge releases reach 1.21.11 and the plain Bukkit builds stopped at 1.19.4.
squaremap
squaremap
@jpenilla · Server Plugin
Checked Source and install notes
squaremap is the light option. Its page calls it a minimalistic, lightweight live map with a vanilla-style top-down 2D view, player markers and ultra fast render times. It is MIT licensed and made by jpenilla. It lists Paper, Sponge, Fabric (with Fabric API) and NeoForge, plus Folia releases. For this page's audience the catch is that Spigot is not on its platform list, so a Spigot server has no listed release, and the Forge builds stopped at 1.20.1 in 2023. It offers no 3D view.
Crossplay and version bridging
ViaVersion
ViaVersion
@kennytv · Server Plugin
Checked Source and install notes
ViaVersion lets players on newer releases join an older server, so a survival world can stay put while friends update. Its page says Paper servers and ViaFabricPlus give it direct access to client and server state, and lists ViaBackwards and ViaRewind as optional companions, all to be kept on the same release channel. It is GPL-3.0 licensed, and its BungeeCord and Sponge releases stopped at 1.20.6. The trade-off is timing. Since 1.20.5 it ships a day or so after a Minecraft update unless the protocol changes are trivial, and its newest listed release is a beta.
Geyser
Geyser
@GeyserMC · Server Plugin
Checked Source and install notes
Geyser is a proxy that lets Bedrock Edition players join a Java Edition server. It is MIT licensed and runs as a plugin on Paper, Spigot, Velocity and BungeeCord, or as a Fabric or NeoForge mod. Its Modrinth page states the aim as joining as seamlessly as possible, then warns not to expect everything to work perfectly because it translates packets between two different games. Its newest listed release is a beta. For how the two editions differ, see Minecraft Java vs Bedrock.
Floodgate
Floodgate
@GeyserMC · Server Plugin
Checked Source and install notes
Floodgate is Geyser's companion. Its Hangar page describes a hybrid mode plugin that lets Bedrock players join online mode Java servers without a Java Edition account, though they must still sign in through Microsoft. It is MIT licensed, and the page says it should work out of the box in the plugins folder of a Paper server or a Velocity or Waterfall proxy, with extra steps if Geyser runs standalone or elsewhere. The limit is age: Hangar shows one release, last updated 19 March 2023. It is listed from Hangar, so it has no Modrinth count.
Economy
Vault
Vault
@TheNewEconomy (creatorfromhell) · Server Plugin
Checked Source and install notes
Our Vault page covers VaultUnlocked, a drop-in fork of the original Vault. Its Modrinth page describes an API that gives plugins one interface to permissions, chat and economy systems instead of hooking each plugin separately, and adds multicurrency and Folia support. It is LGPL-3.0 licensed. The limit is that it is a bridge, not a shop or a balance system, so an economy plugin still has to sit behind it.
How to choose between them
Start with the job, not the count. Most servers begin with a permissions plugin, because WorldGuard and EssentialsX both lean on one. Choose WorldGuard for regions you draw yourself and GriefPrevention for claims players make. For maps, the split is 3D against flat 2D, and whether a release exists for your software, which rules out Dynmap's current Paper line and squaremap on Spigot. Bedrock players need Geyser, with Floodgate if they have no Java Edition account. Everything we left out is in every server plugin we list.