Best Minecraft Anticheat Plugins for 2025: Protect Your Server

If you run a Minecraft community, you know the constant struggle: keeping cheaters out without ruining the experience for everyone else. Finding the right Minecraft anticheat plugin is crucial. This guide breaks down the top contenders, looking at how they catch cheaters, their impact on performance, and how well they play with different server setups, so you can pick the best fit for your community.

Matrix: Commercial Reliability with Paper Optimization

Matrix is one of the most popular commercial anti-cheat choices out there, known for its thorough checks against exploits related to movement, combat, timers, and world interactions. The plugin works with both Paper and Spigot, though the Matrix documentation is clear: "We recommend using Paper, because it is the most optimized server software."

Key strengths:

• Trusted by thousands of servers
• Active development and regular updates
• Covers a wide range of cheats (movement, combat, world interaction)
• Strong community support and documentation

Matrix is a great fit for established servers that can budget for a commercial plugin and for admins who value stability above deep customization.

GrimAC: Open-Source Performance Leader

What makes GrimAC stand out is its technical design: a fully asynchronous, multithreaded architecture combined with world-replication technology. It's incredibly versatile, supporting Minecraft versions all the way from 1.8 to 1.21, so it works for legacy and modern servers alike. GrimAC simulates each player's movement, which leads to highly accurate cheat detection while spreading out the processing load to keep things running smoothly.

Technical advantages:

• Free and open-source
• Supports a wide range of versions (1.8–1.21)
• Asynchronous design lightens the load on the main server thread
• Uses world-replication for accurate movement checks

This plugin is ideal for tech-savvy admins who appreciate the transparency of open-source code and want the freedom to tweak the cheat detection logic themselves.

Themis: Bedrock Integration Specialist

Themis fills a huge need for cross-platform servers by providing real support for Bedrock/Geyser players. Most anti-cheats just ignore Bedrock players to avoid issues, but Themis actively checks them for cheats. Performance tests show it has a tiny footprint, using just 0.23% of a server tick (around 0.015% per player) in a test with 15 people online for an hour.

Unique features:

• Actively checks Bedrock players (doesn't just ignore them)
• Proven low impact on performance
• Ensures consistent rules for all players

Themis is therefore invaluable for any server that caters to both Java and Bedrock players.

AntiSpoof: Specialized Client Detection

AntiSpoof tackles a very specific but important problem: catching modified clients pretending to be the standard vanilla Minecraft client. It works by checking the client's brand information and plugin channels to spot fakes. AntiSpoof isn't meant to be a standalone solution; it's designed to work alongside your main anti-cheat that handles movement and combat.

Implementation strategy:

• Use it with a primary anti-cheat (like Matrix or GrimAC)
• Catches clients that fake their identity
• Very light on server resources
• Stops bypasses that rely on fooling client checks

Defense-in-Depth Implementation Strategy

The best way to protect your server is to use several layers of defense instead of just one plugin. A solid strategy involves combining:

1. A primary anti-cheat for movement and combat (Matrix, GrimAC, or Vulcan)
2. A client verification tool (like AntiSpoof)
3. Optimized server software (Paper or a similar fork)

This layered approach makes it much harder for cheaters to find a single weak point to bypass, all while keeping your server running smoothly.

Choosing Your Anti-Cheat Solution

The right Minecraft anticheat plugin for you will depend on your server's needs:

• For commercial servers with a budget: Matrix offers battle-tested reliability and professional support.
• For technical teams who love to customize: GrimAC's open-source nature gives you transparency and the power to modify it.
• For cross-platform communities: Themis is essential for properly handling Bedrock players, a feature many other plugins lack.
• For any setup: Add a client verification plugin like AntiSpoof as an extra layer of security.

For even stronger protection that goes beyond what individual plugins can do, look into specialized services that can identify cheaters before they even join your server. Learn more about advanced anti-cheat strategies in our complete guide to server security, or explore proactive cheater detection solutions that work alongside your plugins.