Velocity vs BungeeCord: which proxy to choose

For a new network on 1.13 or newer, choose Velocity. It forwards player data to your servers securely (modern forwarding with a secret key), PaperMC actively develops it, and it supports Minecraft 1.7.2 through 26.3. BungeeCord makes sense if your network already runs on it and depends on plugins that don't exist for Velocity. Waterfall, PaperMC's BungeeCord fork, officially reached end of life in March 2024.

What a proxy is and why you'd want one#

A proxy is the front door of your network. Players connect to one address, and the proxy routes them to the right game server: lobby, survival, BedWars. Switching servers happens without leaving the game — with /server or a lobby menu.

Game servers behind the proxy (backends) run in offline mode: the proxy authenticates the player's account and then passes their name, UUID, IP and skin to the server. How that data is passed is the main security difference between proxies.

You need a proxy once you have more than one server: a lobby plus game modes, worlds on different machines, a separate event server. A single survival server doesn't need one.

Velocity, BungeeCord and Waterfall compared#

Velocity#

Velocity is the PaperMC team's proxy; its docs call it "the ridiculously scalable, flexible Minecraft proxy". Its biggest practical advantage is modern forwarding: player data reaches the server in a binary format with a MAC code, which makes it much harder to impersonate your proxy without the secret key. It works with Minecraft 1.13 and newer, and Paper supports it out of the box.

Velocity plugins are written against its own API — BungeeCord plugins don't run on it. The third-party Snap offers experimental compatibility, but the Velocity team doesn't maintain it. Popular network plugins ship for both proxies: LuckPerms, for one, has Velocity and BungeeCord builds. Look for Velocity plugins on Hangar and Modrinth.

The Paper team "strongly recommends" Velocity over Waterfall and BungeeCord. One practical detail: current Velocity requires Java 25.

BungeeCord#

BungeeCord is a "Layer 7 proxy designed to link Minecraft servers", maintained by SpigotMC, the team behind Spigot. Per its README, it is the latest incarnation of similar software its author has written since 2011 — and a lot of plugins have been written for it over the years.

Its weak spot is data forwarding. BungeeCord passes the player's IP and UUID in the legacy format (ip_forward: true in its config.yml and settings.bungeecord: true in each server's spigot.yml) with no signature. The Velocity docs call this format "fundamentally insecure": anyone who reaches a server around the proxy can pose as any player. Protection comes from a firewall, binding servers to 127.0.0.1, or the BungeeGuard plugin, which adds a secret token.

What happened to Waterfall#

Waterfall is PaperMC's BungeeCord fork: per its README, it was made because BungeeCord didn't accept many contributions meant to improve the ecosystem. On 26 March 2024 PaperMC announced its end of life: updates will be even more sporadic, and you shouldn't count on support for new Minecraft versions. Old builds remain downloadable, but the official advice is clear — migrate to Velocity.

If your network still runs Waterfall, a move is unavoidable. For plugins without a Velocity version, the PaperMC team suggests asking the authors for support or finding a replacement.

Which one to choose#

• A new network on 1.13+ — Velocity: secure forwarding, active development, support for current versions.
• An existing BungeeCord network that works and depends on Bungee-only plugins — you can stay, but firewall your servers without fail. Plan the move to Velocity ahead: check which plugins have replacements.
• A Waterfall network — move: the project is closed.
• Servers older than 1.13 — modern forwarding isn't available; Velocity handles them in legacy or BungeeGuard mode, just like BungeeCord.
• Modded servers — Velocity supports Fabric (via the FabricProxy-Lite mod) and Forge newer than 1.20.2 (via ProxyCompatibleForge). More on mods: Modded servers.

The comparison on Velocity's site is written by the Velocity team, which openly admits it "may be somewhat biased". That's why the conclusions above rest on things you can verify: how data is forwarded, project status and supported versions.

Where the anticheat goes in a network#

A proxy relays packets but knows nothing about the world: it can't see how a player moves, builds or fights. That's why the anticheat goes on the game servers, not the proxy. The proxy is the place for anti-bot and network protection: Sonar, for example, installs on Velocity or BungeeCord, and its docs explicitly say not to put it on every backend when you have a proxy. More in Bots and DDoS.

DGuard goes on every game server in the network, each with its own key. Add the server in the panel, paste the dg_… key into its plugins/DGuard/config.yml, and put the latest PacketEvents release next to it. Protection is the same on every plan, you pay for online players and the number of servers, and the free plan covers one server with up to 30 players online. Setup steps: installation; building the network itself: Setting up Velocity.

FAQ#