Minecraft Server Alternatives

Minecraft Server is described as 'The official Minecraft server software made by Mojang' and is an app. There are more than 10 alternatives to Minecraft Server for a variety of platforms, including Linux, Windows, Mac, Self-Hosted and Minecraft Server apps. The best Minecraft Server alternative is Pterodactyl, which is both free and Open Source. Other great apps like Minecraft Server are Game Server Watcher, Spigot, Cuberite and Glowstone.

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Minecraft Server alternatives are mainly Minecraft Servers but may also be Server Management Tools. Filter by these or use the filter bar below if you want a narrower list of alternatives or looking for a specific functionality of Minecraft Server.

Minecraft Server

Free • Proprietary

Minecraft Server is the official Minecraft server software made by Mojang.

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Minecraft Server alternatives page was last updated Oct 13, 2023

Pterodactyl
Pterodactyl is the free game server management panel designed by users, for users. Featuring support for Vanilla Minecraft, Spigot, Source Dedicated Servers, BungeeCord, and many more.
32 Pterodactyl alternatives
License model
- Free • Open Source
Application type
- Server Management Tool
Platforms
- Linux
- Online
- Self-Hosted
+5
Pterodactyl Features
1. Game server management
2. Support for Docker
3. Ad-free
4. Based on Laravel
5. Multiple Account support
6. Built-in File Manager
7. Support for SFTP
8. Nginx
9. Support for Multiple Users
10. Task Scheduling
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Pterodactyl VS Minecraft Server
Is Pterodactyl a good alternative to Minecraft Server?
- Pterodactyl is the most popular Web-based, Linux & Self-Hosted alternative to Minecraft Server.
- Pterodactyl is the most popular Open Source & free alternative to Minecraft Server.
- Pterodactyl is Free and Open SourceMinecraft Server is Free and Proprietary

Game Server Watcher
Game Server Watcher, often abbreviated as GSWatcher, is a straightforward application designed to monitor the status of your preferred game servers and remotely manage your personal servers. It incorporates a buddy list feature and has the capability to alert you when a friend...
29 Game Server Watcher alternatives
License model
- Free • Open Source
Platforms
- Linux
- Flathub
Game Server Watcher Features
Game server management
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Game Server Watcher VS Minecraft Server
Is Game Server Watcher a good alternative to Minecraft Server?

Spigot
Simply put, Spigot is it. Spigot is the most widely-used modded Minecraft server software in the world. It powers many of the top Minecraft server networks around to ensure they can cope with their huge player base and ensure the satisfaction of their players.
8 Spigot alternatives
License model
- Free • Open Source
Application type
- Minecraft Server
Platforms
- Mac
- Windows
- Linux
- Self-Hosted
- Minecraft Server
- Minecraft
Spigot Features
Extensible by Plugins/Extensions
Multiplayer
Minecraft
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Spigot VS Minecraft Server
Is Spigot a good alternative to Minecraft Server?
- Almost everyone thinks Spigot is a great Minecraft Server alternative.
- Spigot is the most popular Windows & Mac alternative to Minecraft Server.
- Spigot is Free and Open SourceMinecraft Server is Free and Proprietary
- Spigot is MultiplayerMinecraft Server is not according to our users

Cuberite
A custom Minecraft compatible game server written in C++. It's a fast, lightweight, and awesome replacement for Vanilla.
9 Cuberite alternatives
License model
- Free • Open Source
Application type
- Minecraft Server
Platforms
- Mac
- Windows
- Linux
- Android
- BSD
- Minecraft Server
- Minecraft
Cuberite Features
Multiplayer
Minecraft
C++
Show all NaN Cuberite features ▾
Cuberite VS Minecraft Server
Is Cuberite a good alternative to Minecraft Server?
- Cuberite is the most popular Android alternative to Minecraft Server.
- Cuberite is Free and Open SourceMinecraft Server is Free and Proprietary
- Cuberite is MultiplayerMinecraft Server is not according to our users

Glowstone
Glowstone is a lightweight, from scratch, open source Minecraft server written in Java that supports plugins written for the Spigot (and Bukkit) API.
10 Glowstone alternatives
License model
- Free • Open Source
Application type
- Minecraft Server
Platforms
- Mac
- Windows
- Linux
- Minecraft Server
- Minecraft
Glowstone Features
Portable
Minecraft
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Glowstone VS Minecraft Server
Is Glowstone a good alternative to Minecraft Server?

PaperMC
Paper is a fork of the Spigot server implementation (which is itself a fork of CraftBukkit). Paper strives to bring improved performance, more features, and more APIs for developers to build awesome plugins with.
9 PaperMC alternatives
License model
- Free • Open Source
Application type
- Minecraft Server
Platforms
- Mac
- Windows
- Linux
- BSD
- Self-Hosted
- Minecraft Server
PaperMC Features
Minecraft
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PaperMC VS Minecraft Server
Is PaperMC a good alternative to Minecraft Server?

MC Server Soft
A completely free server manager that you easily can host Minecraft servers with. A clean and simple interface makes it easy to navigate through server settings and functions...
9 MC Server Soft alternatives
License model
- Free • Proprietary
Application types
- Server Management Tool
- Minecraft Server
Platforms
- Windows
MC Server Soft Features
No registration required
Dark Mode
Minecraft Server Hosting
Minecraft
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+6
MC Server Soft VS Minecraft Server
Is MC Server Soft a good alternative to Minecraft Server?

McMyAdmin
McMyAdmin is a web interface and administration utility for Minecraft Survival Multiplayer (SMP) servers. It lets you monitor the servers status, chat with users, manage groups and permissions, schedule events, perform updates and more.
16 McMyAdmin alternatives
License model
- Free Personal • Proprietary
Platforms
- Mac
- Windows
- Linux
McMyAdmin Features
Server Monitoring
Minecraft
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McMyAdmin VS Minecraft Server
Is McMyAdmin a good alternative to Minecraft Server?

Pufferpanel
PufferPanel is an open source game server management panel designed for both small networks and game server providers. PufferPanel supports Minecraft, Spigot, Sponge, Source Dedicated Servers, BungeeCord, PocketMine and much more.
31 Pufferpanel alternatives
License model
- Free • Open Source
Platforms
- Linux
- Self-Hosted
Pufferpanel Features
Minecraft
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Pufferpanel VS Minecraft Server
Is Pufferpanel a good alternative to Minecraft Server?

Crafty Controller
Crafty is a wrapper for a Minecraft server which runs in the background. It has tons of features, including a slick AdminLTE-based GUI, auto-backups and console commands.
24 Crafty Controller alternatives
License model
- Free • Open Source
Application type
- Minecraft Server
Platforms
- Mac
- Windows
- Linux
- Self-Hosted
+4
Crafty Controller Features
1. Ad-free
2. Web-Based
3. Community-based
4. Active discord support system
5. Command line interface
6. Minecraft
7. Free Speech
8. Graphs
9. Python-based
10. Support for FTP
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Crafty Controller VS Minecraft Server
Is Crafty Controller a good alternative to Minecraft Server?

MineOS CRUX
MineOS CRUX is a specialized distribution with a specific goal: To provide the ultimate server solution for Minecraft and to provide a robust and extendible platform for server mods and related value-added functionality.
14 MineOS CRUX alternatives
License model
- Free Personal • Proprietary
Application type
- Minecraft Server
Platforms
- Linux
MineOS CRUX Features
Minecraft
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MineOS CRUX VS Minecraft Server
Is MineOS CRUX a good alternative to Minecraft Server?

Multicraft
Multicraft is a Minecraft multi-server management solution running thousands of servers.
18 Multicraft alternatives
License model
- Freemium • Proprietary
Platforms
- Windows
- Linux
Multicraft Features
Minecraft
Show all NaN Multicraft features ▾
Multicraft VS Minecraft Server
Is Multicraft a good alternative to Minecraft Server?