Minecraft anticheat guide
Top Minecraft Anticheats by Server Type
Compare GrimAC, Vulcan, Matrix, Polar, Intave, Spartan, NoCheatPlus and FairPlay by platform, PacketEvents need, price model and server type.
Which Minecraft anticheat is best?
There is no single best Minecraft anticheat. The right choice depends on your server software, whether you run Folia, whether Bedrock players join, your budget, and how many staff can review alerts. This list states the criteria it uses. It does not rank products by measured results: no benchmark, detection accuracy, or false-positive rate was tested for this page.
Criteria used in this list
Each product is described against the same six questions. Every answer below comes from the developer's own documentation or listing, or from our existing comparison pages. Verify each one against the exact version you plan to run.
How the eight anticheats compare on documented facts
Where a cell says check the vendor docs, we did not confirm that fact for this page. An empty answer is not a claim that the feature is missing.
Each name links to our comparison article for that product.
| Anticheat | Platform facts | PacketEvents | Price model | Bedrock and Folia notes | Comparison page |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GrimAC | Paper, Spigot, Folia, Fabric (per Grim docs) | Check Grim docs | Free, GPL-3.0 (per GitHub repository) | Geyser players are exempt (per Grim docs) | grimac-vs-fairplay-combat-layer |
| Vulcan | Spigot listing; check docs for version list | Required (per Vulcan docs) | Vendor listing, check current price | Folia support is not guaranteed (per Vulcan docs) | vulcan-anticheat-and-fairplay-hooks |
| Matrix | Check Matrix docs | Required (per Matrix docs) | BuiltByBit listing, check current price | Check Matrix docs | matrix-anticheat-fairplay-admin-workflow |
| Polar | Check Polar docs | Check Polar docs | Vendor site, check current terms | Check Polar docs | polar-ac-fairplay-combat-protection |
| Intave | Check Intave docs | Check Intave docs | Vendor site, check current terms | Check Intave docs | intave-anticheat-fairplay-integration |
| Spartan | Check Spartan docs | Check Spartan docs | Vendor site, check current terms | Check Spartan docs | spartan-anticheat-search-comparison |
| NoCheatPlus | Maintained forks of a legacy Bukkit stack | Check the fork you run | Open source fork, check its license | Check the fork you run | nocheatplus-modern-server-owner-guide |
| FairPlay | Paper and Spigot builds; Folia runtime evidence pending; confirm 1.8 with the seller | Required (per FairPlay 4.0.5 docs) | Purchase via BuiltByBit listing, check current terms | Bedrock eligibility setting; test with Geyser and Floodgate | is-fairplay-the-best-minecraft-anticheat-for-combat-servers |
Where FairPlay fits, and where it does not
FairPlay is a combat-focused anticheat. Its documented checks cover combat areas such as AimBot, AutoClicker, KillAura, Scaffold, Hitbox, and AutoTotem, plus inventory and Elytra behavior. It requires PacketEvents to run. It also offers optional hooks that read alert events from several other anticheats, including Grim, Vulcan, and Matrix.
FairPlay is not the default pick for every server. Its Folia behavior and its Spigot 1.8 compatibility are not verified on this page, so confirm both on your own stack before you choose it for either. If you need movement simulation as your main layer, compare it against the movement-focused options on this list first.
Which one for which server type
Use the server type to shortlist, then test each candidate on staging with scenarios you define. Keep the shortlist to two or three names. A mixed network, such as a PvP lobby with a Survival SMP behind it, needs a separate shortlist for each mode, because the abuse patterns differ.
What this list does not prove
This page does not measure detection quality, performance, or bypass resistance for any product. It does not test compatibility with any server build. Vendor documentation can lag behind releases, so re-check every fact after each Minecraft or plugin update.
Run a staging trial with labelled legitimate and prohibited scenarios before you enable punishments. Record false positives and missed cases, because those results are the only evidence that applies to your server.
FAQ
Is this list a ranking?
No. It lists documented facts and criteria. It does not rank products by measured detection, performance, or false positives, because none were tested for this page.
Where does FairPlay appear on this list?
It uses the same six criteria as every other product. It needs PacketEvents, focuses on combat, and has runtime evidence still pending for Folia and Spigot 1.8. It fits combat-heavy servers that match that scope.
Can I run two of these anticheats together?
Possibly. Each plugin needs a clear role, and alert routing must prevent duplicate punishments. Start with notification-only hooks, then read how-to-stack-minecraft-anticheats-safely before enabling enforcement from both.
Which of these anticheats is free?
GrimAC is listed as free and open source under GPL-3.0 in its GitHub repository. For NoCheatPlus forks, check the license of the exact fork you install, because forks can differ.