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.
| Feature | Leaf | Paper Note - PaperMC server alt Spigot |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 83 · Excellent | 92 · Excellent |
| Category | Game Servers | Game Servers |
| License | GPL-3.0 | GPL-3.0 |
| Language | Java | Java |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 1,024 MB | 1,024 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal, binary | docker, bare-metal, binary |
| GitHub stars | ★ 1,084 | ★ 12,675 |
| First released | 2023 | 2014 |
| Replaces | Vanilla Minecraft server | Vanilla Minecraft server |
What are Leaf and Paper Note - PaperMC server alt Spigot?
Leaf
Leaf is a performance-oriented fork of the Paper Minecraft server software, applying additional optimizations and patches. It is a drop-in replacement aimed at large self-hosted Minecraft servers.
- Optimized Paper fork
- Drop-in replacement
- Extra performance patches
- Plugin compatibility
Paper Note - PaperMC server alt Spigot
Paper is a high-performance fork of the Spigot Minecraft server that significantly improves server performance and stability while maintaining plugin compatibility. It is one of the most widely used self-hosted Minecraft server platforms.
- Optimized Minecraft performance
- Bukkit/Spigot plugin support
- Async chunk loading
- Configurable game mechanics
Read the full Paper Note - PaperMC server alt Spigot guide →
Leaf vs Paper Note - PaperMC server alt Spigot: key differences
Both projects are written in Java. Paper Note - PaperMC server alt Spigot is the more established project (first released 2014), while Leaf arrived in 2023. Paper Note - PaperMC server alt Spigot has the considerably larger community, at 12,675 GitHub stars versus 1,084.
Why pick each one
Choose Leaf if…
- Good performance gains
- Easy migration
Watch out for
- Newer project
- Same Java requirements
Choose Paper Note - PaperMC server alt Spigot if…
- Excellent performance
- Massive plugin ecosystem
Watch out for
- Requires Java tuning
- Mojang license caveats
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 GPL-3.0 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: yes. Paper Note - PaperMC server alt Spigot: yes.