The best plugins for Minecraft server performance are Spark for profiling, ClearLagg for entity management, Chunky for pre-generation, and VillagerOptimiser for reducing AI overhead. These plugins target the most common causes of server lag and can dramatically improve TPS on struggling servers.
Before installing performance plugins, understand that plugins alone won't fix fundamental issues like insufficient RAM or an overloaded CPU. But when combined with proper server software and configuration, these plugins make a significant difference.
Understanding Server Lag
Server lag happens when your server can't keep up with the game's tick rate. Minecraft runs at 20 ticks per second (TPS), and when it drops below that, players experience lag, rubber-banding, and delays.
Common Causes of Lag:
- Too many entities (mobs, items, armor stands)
- Unoptimized redstone contraptions
- Chunk generation while players explore
- Villager AI calculations
- Large farms with excessive breeding
- Plugin conflicts or poorly coded plugins
- Insufficient server resources
The plugins below address these specific issues.
1. Spark
The essential diagnostic tool for any server.
Before fixing lag, you need to know what's causing it. Spark profiles your server's performance and shows exactly where resources are being spent.
Key Features:
- CPU profiling to identify slow plugins or processes
- Memory analysis and garbage collection tracking
- TPS and tick duration monitoring
- Shareable web reports for easy analysis
- Minimal performance impact while profiling
- Works on Spigot, Paper, Fabric, and Forge
Why It's Essential: You can't fix what you can't measure. Spark tells you whether your lag comes from entities, plugins, world generation, or something else entirely. It's the first plugin to install when troubleshooting.
Download: Spark on SpigotMC
2. ClearLagg
Automatic entity and item management.
ClearLagg periodically removes ground items, limits entities, and prevents common lag sources from accumulating on your server.
Key Features:
- Scheduled ground item clearing with warnings
- Entity limiter per chunk or world
- TNT and mob stacking options
- RAM monitoring and alerts
- Configurable clear intervals
- Whitelist items from being cleared
Why It's Essential: Dropped items and excessive entities are among the most common lag sources. ClearLagg handles this automatically, giving players warnings before clearing items so they can pick up important drops.
Download: ClearLagg on SpigotMC
3. Chunky
Pre-generate your world to eliminate exploration lag.
Chunk generation is expensive. When players explore new areas, the server has to generate terrain, structures, and features on the fly. Chunky generates chunks in advance so this work is already done.
Key Features:
- Pre-generate world borders or specific regions
- Adjustable generation speed to balance with gameplay
- Progress tracking and time estimates
- Pause and resume generation
- Works with all world generators
- Supports Nether and End dimensions
Why It's Essential: If your server lags when players explore, pre-generation is the solution. Generate your world up to the border before opening to players, and exploration becomes lag-free.
Download: Chunky on SpigotMC
4. VillagerOptimiser
Reduce villager AI overhead.
Villagers are notoriously expensive for server performance. Their AI constantly checks for workstations, calculates pathfinding, and processes trades. VillagerOptimiser reduces this burden.
Key Features:
- Disable AI for villagers that don't need it
- Reduce pathfinding calculations
- Optimize villager breeding checks
- Configure based on player distance
- Lobotomy mode for stationary traders
- Per-villager or per-area settings
Why It's Essential: Large trading halls can tank server performance. A single village with 20+ villagers can cause noticeable TPS drops. This plugin lets you keep your villagers while eliminating most of their performance cost.
Download: VillagerOptimiser on SpigotMC
5. FarmLimiter
Prevent entity farms from killing your server.
Players love building massive mob farms, but hundreds of entities in a small area destroy performance. FarmLimiter caps entity counts to prevent this.
Key Features:
- Limit entities per chunk
- Different limits for different mob types
- Warning messages when limits are reached
- Automatic culling of excess entities
- Whitelist specific areas
- Per-world configuration
Why It's Essential: Without limits, a single player's mob grinder can lag the entire server. FarmLimiter lets players build farms that work but prevents them from becoming server-wide problems.
Download: FarmLimiter on SpigotMC
6. Anti-RedstoneClock
Detect and disable lag machines.
Whether intentional or accidental, redstone clocks can run thousands of times per second and devastate server performance. This plugin detects and stops them.
Key Features:
- Automatic detection of rapid redstone pulses
- Configurable thresholds for what counts as a clock
- Notify admins when clocks are detected
- Automatically disable offending redstone
- Whitelist areas for legitimate contraptions
- Log clock locations for review
Why It's Essential: One player building a fast redstone clock can lag everyone. This plugin catches these automatically without requiring staff to constantly monitor for problems.
Download: Anti-RedstoneClock on SpigotMC
7. EntityTrackerFixer
Optimize how the server tracks entities.
Minecraft's entity tracker determines which entities each player can see. The default implementation isn't optimized for large servers. This plugin improves it.
Key Features:
- Reduces unnecessary entity tracking calculations
- Optimizes packet sending for entities
- Configurable tracking ranges
- Lower bandwidth usage
- Reduces CPU overhead for entity management
Why It's Essential: On servers with many players and entities, the default tracker becomes a bottleneck. This plugin reduces the work required without changing gameplay.
Download: EntityTrackerFixer on SpigotMC
8. Insights
Scan and limit tiles and entities per chunk.
Insights gives you detailed information about what's in each chunk and lets you set limits to prevent performance problems before they start.
Key Features:
- Scan chunks for entity and tile counts
- Set limits per chunk or region
- Block placement when limits are reached
- Detailed breakdowns by entity/tile type
- Integration with WorldGuard regions
- Admin commands for investigating lag areas
Why It's Essential: Insights helps you find problem areas (like a chunk with 500 item frames) and prevents players from creating new ones. It's both diagnostic and preventative.
Download: Insights on SpigotMC
9. LagAssist
All-in-one lag prevention toolkit.
LagAssist bundles multiple performance features into one plugin, handling many common lag sources without needing separate plugins for each.
Key Features:
- Chunk analyzer to find laggy areas
- Smart entity limiter
- Redstone clock detection
- TPS-based mob spawning adjustments
- Automatic server restart scheduling
- Performance monitoring dashboard
Why It's Essential: If you want one plugin to handle multiple lag sources instead of managing several separate plugins, LagAssist provides a comprehensive solution.
Download: LagAssist on SpigotMC
10. ViewDistanceTweaks
Dynamic view distance based on server load.
When TPS drops, reducing view distance can immediately improve performance. This plugin adjusts view distance automatically based on current server performance.
Key Features:
- Automatically lower view distance when TPS drops
- Restore normal view distance when performance improves
- Per-world view distance settings
- Smooth transitions to avoid jarring changes
- Configurable TPS thresholds
- Manual override commands
Why It's Essential: View distance significantly impacts performance. Rather than permanently limiting it, this plugin only reduces it when needed, maintaining good visuals during normal operation.
Download: ViewDistanceTweaks on SpigotMC
Server Software Matters
Before installing plugins, make sure you're using optimized server software.
Recommended (Best to Least Optimized):
1. Purpur - Fork of Paper with additional optimizations and features. Best performance for most servers.
2. Paper - Fork of Spigot with significant performance improvements. The standard choice for serious servers.
3. Spigot - Better than vanilla but lacks Paper's optimizations. Only use if specific plugins require it.
4. Vanilla - No plugin support, no optimizations. Not recommended for multiplayer.
Switching from Spigot to Paper alone can improve TPS by 20-50% on some servers without changing anything else.
Quick Configuration Tips
Beyond plugins, these server configuration changes help performance:
paper.yml / paper-world-defaults.yml
# Reduce entity activation range
entity-activation-range:
animals: 16
monsters: 24
misc: 8
# Limit mob spawning
spawn-limits:
monsters: 50
animals: 8
ambient: 1
spigot.yml
# Reduce view distance if needed
view-distance: 8
# Merge items on ground
merge-radius:
item: 4.0
exp: 6.0
These are starting points—adjust based on your server's needs and player expectations.
When Plugins Aren't Enough
Performance plugins can't fix everything. Consider upgrading if:
- TPS stays low even after optimization - You may need better CPU or more RAM
- Player count exceeds what plugins can handle - More players = more resources needed
- You're running many heavy plugins - Some plugins are just expensive
- World size is massive - Large worlds need more resources regardless of optimization
Sometimes the answer is better hosting, not more plugins.
Looking for hosting that can handle your optimized server? Check out Minecraft Server Hosting with high-performance hardware and easy plugin management.
Quick Reference Table
| Plugin | Primary Function | Best For |
|---|---|---|
| Spark | Performance profiling | Diagnosing lag sources |
| ClearLagg | Entity/item clearing | General maintenance |
| Chunky | Chunk pre-generation | Exploration lag |
| VillagerOptimiser | Villager AI reduction | Trading halls |
| FarmLimiter | Entity farm limits | Survival servers |
| Anti-RedstoneClock | Redstone lag prevention | Public servers |
| EntityTrackerFixer | Entity tracking optimization | High player counts |
| Insights | Chunk analysis and limits | Diagnosing + prevention |
| LagAssist | All-in-one optimization | Simple setup |
| ViewDistanceTweaks | Dynamic view distance | Variable load servers |
Frequently Asked Questions
What plugins reduce lag on a Minecraft server?
The most effective lag-reducing plugins are Spark (for diagnosis), ClearLagg (for entity management), Chunky (for pre-generation), and VillagerOptimiser (for AI reduction). The right combination depends on what's causing your specific lag issues.
What causes lag on Minecraft servers?
Common causes include too many entities, chunk generation during exploration, villager AI calculations, redstone clocks, large farms, insufficient server resources, and poorly optimized plugins. Use Spark to identify your specific lag sources.
What is TPS in Minecraft servers?
TPS stands for Ticks Per Second. Minecraft runs at 20 TPS normally. When TPS drops below 20, players experience lag. Below 15 TPS is noticeable, and below 10 TPS makes the game nearly unplayable.
Is Paper better than Spigot for performance?
Yes, Paper includes significant performance optimizations that Spigot doesn't have. Switching from Spigot to Paper can improve TPS by 20-50% on some servers without any other changes. Most plugins that work on Spigot also work on Paper.
How many entities cause lag in Minecraft?
It depends on your server's resources, but generally more than 50-100 entities in a single chunk starts causing issues. Mob farms and villager trading halls are common problem areas. Use FarmLimiter or Insights to set reasonable limits.
Should I pre-generate my Minecraft world?
Yes, if your server experiences lag when players explore new areas. Chunky can pre-generate chunks up to your world border, eliminating generation lag during gameplay. This is especially important for survival servers with world borders.
Can too many plugins cause lag?
Yes, poorly coded plugins or too many plugins competing for resources can cause lag. Use Spark to identify if any plugins are consuming excessive CPU time. Quality matters more than quantity—well-made plugins have minimal performance impact.
What view distance should I use for my server?
For best performance, use 6-8 chunks. For better visuals with good hardware, 10-12 chunks. ViewDistanceTweaks can automatically adjust this based on current TPS, giving you the best of both worlds.
