SHSelfHostIndex

Paper Note - PaperMC server alt Spigot vs Pterodactyl

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?
PA Paper Note - PaperMC server alt Spigot High-performance Minecraft server software VS PT Pterodactyl Free game server management panel
FeaturePaper Note - PaperMC server alt SpigotPterodactyl
CategoryGame ServersGame Servers
LicenseGPL-3.0MIT
LanguageJavaPHP
Setup difficultyMediumHard
Min. RAM1,024 MB2,048 MB
Deploymentdocker, bare-metal, binarydocker, bare-metal, source
GitHub stars★ 12,564★ 9,115
First released20142015
ReplacesVanilla Minecraft serverTCAdmin, Multicraft

Why pick each one

Choose Paper Note - PaperMC server alt Spigot if…

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

Choose Pterodactyl if…

  • Secure container isolation
  • Huge supported game library
Pterodactyl details

Frequently asked questions

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

Paper Note - PaperMC server alt Spigot is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler medium setup. Consider Pterodactyl if its specific feature set fits your needs better.

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

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

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

Paper Note - PaperMC server alt Spigot: yes. Pterodactyl: yes.

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