SHSelfHostIndex

Paper Note - PaperMC server alt Spigot vs Steam Headless

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 ST Steam Headless Docker container for headless Steam game streaming
FeaturePaper Note - PaperMC server alt SpigotSteam Headless
CategoryGame ServersGame Servers
LicenseGPL-3.0GPL-3.0
LanguageJavaShell
Setup difficultyMediumHard
Min. RAM1,024 MB4,096 MB
Deploymentdocker, bare-metal, binarydocker
GitHub stars★ 12,564★ 4,539
First released20142022
ReplacesVanilla Minecraft serverGeForce NOW

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 Steam Headless if…

  • Released under the GPL-3.0 license
  • First-class Docker support for quick deployment
  • Active community (4.5k GitHub stars)
  • Written in Shell
Steam Headless details

Frequently asked questions

Is Paper Note - PaperMC server alt Spigot or Steam Headless 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 Steam Headless if its specific feature set fits your needs better.

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

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

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

Paper Note - PaperMC server alt Spigot: yes. Steam Headless: yes.

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