SHSelfHostIndex

Leaf vs Paper Note - PaperMC server alt Spigot

A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted game servers options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.

Not the right match-up?
LE Leaf Lightweight, scalable game server framework in Go VS PA Paper Note - PaperMC server alt Spigot High-performance Minecraft server software
FeatureLeafPaper Note - PaperMC server alt Spigot
CategoryGame ServersGame Servers
LicenseApache-2.0GPL-3.0
LanguageGoJava
Setup difficultyMediumMedium
Min. RAM256 MB1,024 MB
Deploymentbare-metal, sourcedocker, bare-metal, binary
GitHub stars★ 5,517★ 12,564
First released20152014
Replacesproprietary game backendsVanilla Minecraft server

Why pick each one

Choose Leaf if…

  • Released under the Apache-2.0 license
  • Mature project with 5.5k GitHub stars
  • Written in Go
  • Tiny footprint — runs in 256 MB RAM
Leaf details

Choose Paper Note - PaperMC server alt Spigot if…

  • Excellent performance
  • Massive plugin ecosystem
Paper Note - PaperMC server alt Spigot details

Frequently asked questions

Is Leaf or Paper Note - PaperMC server alt Spigot better?

Neither is universally better. Paper Note - PaperMC server alt Spigot has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.

Are Leaf and Paper Note - PaperMC server alt Spigot free and open-source?

Yes. Leaf is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Paper Note - PaperMC server alt Spigot under GPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.

Can I run Leaf and Paper Note - PaperMC server alt Spigot with Docker?

Leaf: check the project docs for container support. Paper Note - PaperMC server alt Spigot: yes.

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