Best Minecraft Anti-Cheat Plugins for 2025: Free vs. Premium Solutions

Running a Minecraft server means facing a constant challenge: how to protect your community from cheaters without ruining the game for everyone else. There are dozens of anti-cheat plugins out there, and picking the right one means weighing the pros and cons of detection methods, server performance, and support for different versions of the game.

Here, we'll break down some of the leading anti-cheat plugins, looking at the key things you need to consider to find the best fit for your server and its players.

Free Anti-Cheat Solutions: Open Source vs. Community-Driven

GrimAC: Mathematical Precision Meets Performance

Among the free options, GrimAC stands out for its unique, prediction-based approach. It supports Minecraft versions 1.8 through 1.21 and, being open-source, features a fully asynchronous, multithreaded design that scales well no matter how big your server gets.

What really makes this plugin shine is its prediction engine. It's built to understand every possible player movement, making it mathematically impossible to get around. This gives it a major edge in catching cheaters compared to older systems that just track violation scores.

Themis: Cross-Platform Excellence

If your server welcomes both Java and Bedrock players, Themis is an excellent choice for genuine cross-platform support. While some plugins just ignore Bedrock players to avoid issues, Themis actually runs its anti-cheat checks on everyone.

The performance numbers are also impressive. Themis only uses about 0.015% of server resources per player, which is a lot more efficient than something like AAC, which can take up 0.026%-0.028%. Even with 15 players online, the total server tick usage stays low at around 0.23%.

Matrix: Bedrock-First Design

Matrix is designed with Bedrock Edition servers in mind. It focuses on catching common cheats like AutoClicker, Fly, and Killaura. It goes beyond just movement hacks, too, offering chat filtering and item banning to give you more complete control over your server.

Premium Solutions: Advanced Features and Support

Vacan (Formerly Spartan): User-Friendly Configuration

Vacan, which you might know as Spartan, supports a wide range of Minecraft versions from 1.7 to 1.20. It's pulled in around 9,400 downloads and holds a 5-star rating on Spigot. What makes it so popular is how easy it is to use; admins can tweak all the settings from in-game menus instead of digging through complicated config files.

Its punishment system is also flexible, giving you options to warn, kick, or ban players. This lets you set up different consequences for different types of infractions.

Voltage: Hybrid Cloud Analysis

Voltage takes a hybrid approach, combining standard server-side checks with cloud-based analysis. As a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) tool, it processes player behavior data in real-time. This can help it spot sophisticated cheats that a purely local plugin might not catch.

Because part of it is in the cloud, its cheat-detection methods can be updated continuously without you having to update the plugin on your server.

Key Selection Criteria

Cross-Platform Support

If you have players on both Java and Bedrock, you'll need a plugin with real support for both. Themis and Matrix are the standouts here, whereas GrimAC is built mainly for Java Edition.

Performance Impact

Don't forget to look at how much of your server's resources each plugin uses per player. Themis's low 0.015% impact is a great example of how an efficient design can keep your server running smoothly, even with strong anti-cheat measures in place.

Detection Philosophy

Different plugins have different philosophies on how to catch cheaters. GrimAC's mathematical model is, in theory, superior to older threshold-based systems. Meanwhile, hybrid solutions like Voltage leverage the cloud to enhance their catching capabilities.

Making the Right Choice

Ultimately, the best anti-cheat plugin is the one that fits your server's needs. Free options like GrimAC and Themis can provide solid protection without a subscription, while premium plugins often come with better support and more advanced features.

If supporting both Java and Bedrock is your priority, Themis is a strong contender with its efficient performance and real Bedrock support. For servers that are only on Java, GrimAC's precise, math-based detection is hard to beat.

For a deeper dive into choosing an anti-cheat, including budget factors and advanced configuration, check out our complete guide to selecting an anti-cheat plugin. It will help you find the perfect match for your server.