BungeeCord vs Velocity vs Waterfall
Full comparison of BungeeCord, Velocity, and Waterfall proxy software for Minecraft server networks, covering security, performance, plugin support, and modern mode.
Running a Minecraft network with multiple backend servers (lobby, survival, skyblock, minigames) requires a proxy. The proxy accepts player connections and routes them to the correct backend. The bungeecord vs velocity vs waterfall comparison is the first architectural decision every network operator faces.
BungeeCord
BungeeCord is the original Minecraft proxy, maintained by md_5 and the SpigotMC team. It supports Java Edition clients connecting to multiple backend Spigot/Paper servers. BungeeCord has the largest plugin ecosystem of any proxy, with years of community plugins available on SpigotMC. Most tutorials, guides, and forum answers assume BungeeCord.
The main criticism is security. BungeeCord forwards player UUIDs to backend servers, and backends must trust the proxy blindly via bungeecord: true in spigot.yml. If a backend server's port is exposed, anyone can connect directly and impersonate any player, including operators. IP forwarding relies on firewall rules, not cryptographic verification.
Waterfall
Waterfall is a BungeeCord fork maintained by the PaperMC team. It applies performance patches, fixes bugs faster than upstream, and adds minor features like improved tab completion. Waterfall is fully compatible with BungeeCord plugins, so migration is a drop-in replacement. Think of Waterfall as "BungeeCord but better maintained."
However, the PaperMC team has officially deprecated Waterfall in favor of Velocity. While Waterfall still receives critical fixes, no new features are being developed. The bungeecord vs velocity vs waterfall discussion increasingly treats Waterfall as a transitional step rather than a long-term solution.
Velocity
Velocity is a ground-up proxy rewrite by the PaperMC team. It uses "modern" forwarding, where the proxy and backend servers share a secret key and player data is transmitted via an encrypted channel. This eliminates the UUID spoofing vulnerability that plagues BungeeCord. Velocity also outperforms BungeeCord in connection throughput and memory usage.
The trade-off is plugin compatibility. BungeeCord plugins do not work on Velocity. The Velocity plugin ecosystem is growing but smaller than BungeeCord's. Major plugins (LuckPerms, LibertyBans, Geyser) support Velocity natively. Niche BungeeCord plugins may not have Velocity equivalents yet.
Comparison table
| Feature | BungeeCord | Waterfall | Velocity |
|---|---|---|---|
| IP forwarding security | Trust-based | Trust-based | Secret-key (modern) |
| Performance | Baseline | Improved | Best |
| Plugin ecosystem | Largest | Same as BungeeCord | Growing |
| Active development | Maintenance | Deprecated | Primary focus |
| Bedrock support (Geyser) | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Configuration complexity | Low | Low | Low |
Version support
All three proxies work with ViaVersion to accept clients on multiple Minecraft versions. Velocity's modern forwarding requires Paper 1.13+ or Purpur on the backend. If you run legacy backends (1.12 or older), BungeeCord or Waterfall may be necessary until you migrate. For a detailed proxy setup walkthrough, see our BungeeCord and Velocity setup guide.
Our recommendation
New networks should start with Velocity. The security model alone justifies the switch, and the plugin ecosystem has matured enough for most use cases. Existing BungeeCord networks should plan a migration path, moving to Velocity when all critical plugins have native support. Waterfall is fine as a short-term bridge. The bungeecord vs velocity vs waterfall decision is clear in 2026: Velocity is the future.
Run any plugin stack on Astroworld Hosting, NVMe SSDs, Pterodactyl, 24/7 support.