Essential Plugins for New Minecraft Server Admins

When it’s your first time hosting a Minecraft server and can’t decide on what plugins to install, it can feel overwhelming. Whether you’re trying to protect spawn, set up an economy, have multiple worlds, or optimize the performance – you need the right plugins 👏
 
Don’t worry! Here at Nitrado, we have your backs. We asked our top specialist what plugins are the best for new server admins in Minecraft. Here’s what he had to say:
 
“I started working on Minecraft servers over 12 years ago and figured out some of the best plugins. These give you the foundation to set up virtually anything in-game. Let’s say you want Skyblock, Factions, SMP, or Minigames, yup. You can do that with the help of my top picks. There’s also some backend plugins that help you monitor performance, control chunks, and even allow different game versions to join. Here’s the list: EssentialsX, LuckPerms, WorldEdit, WorldGuard, CoreProtect, ViaVersion, GriefPrevention, Multiverse-Core, Geyser + Floodgate, and Spark.” – Nitrado Minecraft Specialist
 
Thanks to our expert, we created a list for essential plugins that you need to have in Minecraft.

1. EssentialsX

As the name implies, this plugin is the backbone of almost every Minecraft server. EssentialsX provides over 130 useful commands that the vanilla game lacks. Check out our guide here.

• Key Features: Sets up a basic economy, allows admins to create server warps and kits, provides moderation commands (kick, mute, jail), and enables players to set private homes to teleport back to.
• Requirement: If you plan on setting up shops or letting players buy ranks, you also need to install Vault. This required plugin acts like an invisible bridge that allows EssentialsX’s economy to seamlessly communicate with your other plugins.
• Why It’s Essential: It fills in all the basic administrative gaps of vanilla Minecraft.

2. LuckPerms

To give certain players commands (like letting mods use /ban or VIPs use special kits), you need a permissions plugin. LuckPerms is the modern gold standard. Check out our guide here.

• Key Features: Allows you to create groups (e.g., Default, VIP, Moderator, Admin), assign prefixes/chat tags, and manage what commands each group can use. It even comes with a highly intuitive web editor.
• Why It’s Essential: Without it, players are unable to use various commands from other plugins unless they are operators (OP).

3. WorldEdit

This plugin will save you hundreds of hours when building spawn or other structures, as it gives you certain in-game tools like a special wand. Check out our guide here.

• Key Features: Allows you to generate spheres, cylinders, and massive walls instantly. You can copy/paste entire buildings, replace specific blocks (e.g., turning a dirt mountain into stone), and terraform landscapes using brushes.
• Why It’s Essential: It is the ultimate builder’s tool, making the construction of custom server spawns and arenas incredibly efficient.

4. WorldGuard

This works hand-in-hand with WorldEdit to protect your server’s most important areas. Check out our guide here.

• Key Features: You can define a 3D region (like your server spawn) and apply flags to it. These flags can disable PvP, stop creepers from exploding, prevent fire spread, and stop regular players from breaking or placing blocks in that zone.
• Why It’s Essential: It is the best defense against players griefing or destroying public server builds.

5. CoreProtect

No matter how well you protect your spawn, griefers might still target regular player bases. CoreProtect is your security camera and time machine. Download here.

• Key Features: It logs everything. It records who placed or broke a block, who opened a chest, and what they took out. If a base is blown up or robbed, an admin can run a simple command to roll back that specific area to exactly how it looked hours or days ago.
• Why It’s Essential: It provides absolute peace of mind for both admins and players.

6. GriefPrevention

While WorldGuard protects public server regions and CoreProtect can rollback chunks, players protecting their own bases is important to combat griefing. Download here or view alternatives here.

• Key Features: Players use a Golden Shovel to select corners of their base, creating a claim. Inside this claim, other players cannot build, break blocks, kill animals, or steal from chests. They can authorize specific users to interact with their claims.
• Why It’s Essential: It empowers players to protect their own hard work, drastically reducing the moderation workload for admins.

7. ViaVersion + ViaBackwards

Some players use the latest version, while others prefer older versions. ViaVersion allows the server to accept connections from any game version you want. Download here.

• Key Features: Allows players running newer/older versions of Minecraft to connect to your server. Authorize certain versions that can join the server, from old to new.
• Why It’s Essential: It prevents players from being locked out of your server just because their client is using another version, maximizing your potential player base.

8. Multiverse-Core

If you want to have a creative world, a survival world, and a minigame world all on the same server, you need Multiverse. There’s also add-ons that implement more features! Check out our guide here.

• Key Features: Allows you to generate, import, and manage multiple distinct worlds on a single server. You can configure portals or commands to let players teleport between them.
• Why It’s Essential: It allows the server to be multi-functional and work with different types of players, without needing to run an entirely separate server.

9. Geyser & Floodgate

In the Minecraft server ecosystem, the community is split between Java Edition and Bedrock Edition. Geyser + Floodgate acts as a translator to bridge this gap, allowing players to join the same server regardless of editions. Download here or use our built-in installer.

• Key Features: Geyser allows Bedrock players to join your Java server seamlessly. Floodgate removes the requirement for those Bedrock players to own a separate Java account, letting them log in securely using their existing Microsoft accounts.
• Why It’s Essential: It instantly doubles your potential player base by allowing friends on Xbox, PlayStation, Switch, and phones to play on your server together.

10. Spark

Server lag is the number one reason players quit new servers. Spark is the premier tool for figuring out why your server is lagging. It also helps to monitor performance to see if recent changes helped or made it worse. Download here.

• Key Features: It profiles your server’s CPU and RAM usage, identifying exactly which plugin, entity, or chunk is causing TPS (Ticks Per Second) drops.
• Why It’s Essential: Instead of blindly deleting plugins or limiting mob spawns when lag happens, Spark gives you precise data to fix the root cause.

Best Minecraft Server Plugins

From creating an economy to managing which game versions can join, our list of the best plugins for new server admins in Minecraft is thanks to our Nitrado Expert in the field. With over 12 years of experience and knowledge, he determined that these top 10 plugins are essential. It makes sense too, as you need to have a way to set up permissions, monitor performance, protect world regions, have shops, warps, homes, and so much more.
 
Try out all of these plugins together and create your own perfect server in Minecraft 🎉

Helpful Resources

How to Install Minecraft Server Plugins
How to OP Someone in Minecraft
How to Enable Whitelist in Minecraft
How to Join Your Minecraft Server