BungeeCord vs Velocity: Choosing a Proxy for Your Minecraft Network

Your survival server hit 50 concurrent players last weekend. The chat was busy, the TPS was struggling, and someone suggested splitting minigames onto a second server. Now you're staring at the words "proxy server" and wondering which one you actually need.

A proxy sits between your players and your backend servers. It routes connections, handles chat across servers, and lets players hop between worlds without disconnecting. The two main options in 2026 are BungeeCord and Velocity — and while they solve the same problem, they're built on very different foundations.

This guide breaks down what each proxy does, where they differ, and how to pick the right one for your network.

What a Proxy Actually Does

Without a proxy, each Minecraft server is an island. Players connect directly. If you want them to move from your survival world to your creative server, they have to disconnect and reconnect with a different IP.

A proxy changes that. It accepts the initial connection from the player and maintains it for the entire session. When the player types /server creative, the proxy opens a new connection to the creative backend and seamlessly transfers the player — no disconnect, no rejoin spam, no lost chat history.

Beyond server switching, proxies handle:

• Global chat and messaging — plugins like LuckPerms and PremiumVanish can sync across all backends
• Shared player data — one ban list, one permissions system, one economy
• Load distribution — spread players across multiple lobby servers automatically
• Single entry point — players memorize one IP address, you manage routing behind the scenes

If you're running a single server with no plans to expand, you don't need a proxy. But the moment you add a second server — whether for performance, minigames, or a test environment — a proxy becomes the glue that holds everything together.

BungeeCord: The Original Standard

BungeeCord appeared in 2012, back when Minecraft multiplayer was simpler and server networks were rare. It became the default because it was the only option. For years, if you ran a network, you ran BungeeCord.

What BungeeCord Gets Right

Maturity. Twelve years of plugins, tutorials, forum threads, and Stack Overflow answers. When something breaks, someone has already solved it. The BungeeCord API is battle-tested and widely understood.

Plugin library. SpigotMC hosts thousands of BungeeCord plugins. Some have been maintained for a decade. If you need a specific feature — cross-server parties, network-wide tablist, global punishments — there's almost certainly an existing plugin.

Familiarity. Most Minecraft hosting panels expect BungeeCord. Documentation assumes it. Tutorials default to it. If you're following an older guide, it's probably written for BungeeCord.

Where BungeeCord Falls Short

Performance overhead. BungeeCord was designed for 2012 hardware and player counts. Its threading model and packet handling haven't kept pace with modern Java or modern server sizes. Under heavy load, it becomes a bottleneck.

Security model. BungeeCord uses IP-based forwarding. The backend server trusts connections from the proxy's IP address and accepts whatever player identity the proxy claims. This works — until someone figures out how to connect directly to your backend, bypassing the proxy entirely. Suddenly they can join as any username they want.

Development pace. BungeeCord is maintained but not actively improved. Updates tend to be compatibility fixes, not new features. The codebase is old and carries legacy decisions that can't easily be changed without breaking plugins.

If you're running an established network with plugins that only support BungeeCord, you have a working setup and no urgent reason to migrate. But for new networks, there's a more modern option.

Velocity: The Modern Alternative

Velocity is developed by the PaperMC team — the same people behind Paper and Waterfall. It was built from scratch in 2018 with the explicit goal of fixing BungeeCord's architectural problems.

What Velocity Gets Right

Performance. Velocity was designed for modern hardware. It uses a more efficient threading model, handles packet compression with libdeflate on Linux (roughly twice as fast as zlib), and maintains lower memory usage under load. Networks report handling significantly more players per proxy instance compared to BungeeCord.

Security by default. Velocity's "modern forwarding" doesn't rely on IP trust. Instead, player data is signed with an HMAC using a shared secret between the proxy and backends. The backend verifies the signature before accepting the connection. Without the secret, forging a player identity is impossible — even if someone connects directly to a backend server.

Active development. Velocity receives regular updates, protocol support for new Minecraft versions ships quickly, and the API continues to evolve. The PaperMC team responds to security issues and performance regressions.

First-class support for modern server software. Velocity works natively with Paper, Purpur, Fabric, Forge, and Sponge. Configuration is straightforward, and modern forwarding is documented for each platform.

Where Velocity Falls Short

Smaller plugin ecosystem. Velocity's plugin API is different from BungeeCord's. While most major plugins now support Velocity natively — and there are over 300 plugins on PaperMC's Hangar repository — some older or niche BungeeCord plugins have no Velocity equivalent.

Migration effort. If you're running BungeeCord with a dozen plugins, switching to Velocity means auditing each one. Some will work with the experimental Snap adapter, some will need replacements, and some might not have alternatives at all.

Less documentation. Velocity is younger. When you hit an edge case, there are fewer forum threads and tutorials to reference. The official docs are solid, but community knowledge is still catching up.

Feature Comparison

Both proxies support the core features you'd expect: server switching, plugin messaging, player info forwarding, and configuration hot-reloading. The differences are in how they achieve them and how they perform at scale.

Plugin Ecosystem: Which Has What You Need

The plugin question is usually the deciding factor for established networks. Here's how to think about it:

Plugins That Work on Both

The major cross-server plugins support both proxies. LuckPerms, LiteBans, TAB, PremiumVanish, Geyser, and most economy bridges have native Velocity support. If your plugin list consists of mainstream tools, you're probably fine on either proxy.

BungeeCord-Only Plugins

Older plugins, abandoned projects, and niche tools often only support BungeeCord. Before choosing Velocity, grep your current plugin list:

1. Check each plugin's SpigotMC or GitHub page for Velocity support
2. Search PaperMC's Hangar for Velocity-native alternatives
3. For plugins without native support, test the Snap adapter (experimental, not guaranteed)

If more than one or two critical plugins are BungeeCord-only with no alternative, migration becomes a heavier lift.

Velocity-First Plugins

Some newer plugins are Velocity-only. The Velocity plugin ecosystem is smaller but growing — and because Velocity's API is more modern, new plugins tend to be cleaner and more performant.

If you're building a network from scratch in 2026, starting with Velocity means access to both ecosystems: native Velocity plugins plus BungeeCord plugins via adapters where necessary.

Performance and Security Differences

Performance

Velocity's architecture handles high player counts more efficiently. The difference matters when you're pushing past a few hundred concurrent players. For smaller networks, both proxies perform adequately.

The key architectural differences:

• Threading model — Velocity uses Netty more efficiently, with less lock contention under load
• Packet compression — libdeflate on Linux is measurably faster than zlib
• Memory allocation — Velocity pools buffers more aggressively, reducing garbage collection pressure

If your network runs into lag issues at scale, the proxy can be a contributor. Velocity reduces that risk.

Security

This is where Velocity has an unambiguous advantage.

BungeeCord's IP forwarding assumes that only the proxy can reach your backend servers. If you've firewalled correctly, this holds. But if someone discovers a misconfigured backend, they can connect directly and claim to be any player — including admins.

Velocity's modern forwarding uses cryptographic signing. Even if someone bypasses the proxy, the backend rejects the connection because the signature is invalid. The shared secret stays on your servers; the attacker can't forge it.

For networks handling real money (donations, ranks, in-game purchases), Velocity's security model is worth the migration effort alone.

How to Choose: Decision Flowchart

Use this to shortcut the decision:

Starting a new network? Choose Velocity. There's no legacy to migrate, and you get better performance, better security, and an API that's still improving.

Running BungeeCord with plugins that only work on BungeeCord? Audit your plugin list. If you can find Velocity alternatives or adapter support for everything critical, migrate. If not, stay on BungeeCord — but firewall your backends carefully.

Network works fine, no urgent problems? Don't migrate for the sake of migrating. Wait until you hit a concrete issue (performance ceiling, security concern, need for a Velocity-only plugin) and migrate then.

Mixing 1.8 and modern clients? Both proxies support version bridging, but plugin compatibility varies. Test before committing.

Running Forge modpacks? Velocity has better native Forge support. If you're building a modded network, lean toward Velocity.

Setting Up Either Proxy on Swelis

If you're running multiple Minecraft servers on Swelis Hosting, setting up a proxy follows the same pattern:

1. Create a new Minecraft service — select BungeeCord from the version manager (Velocity support follows the same process)
2. Configure config.yml (BungeeCord) or velocity.toml (Velocity) via the file manager or FTP
3. Add your backend servers to the proxy config, pointing to their internal addresses
4. Set up player forwarding on each backend (enable bungeecord: true in spigot.yml or configure Velocity modern forwarding in paper-global.yml)
5. Update your custom domain to point to the proxy's address

The proxy becomes your single entry point. Players connect to one address; the proxy routes them to whichever backend they belong on.

Understanding how much RAM your proxy needs is simpler than for game servers — proxies are lightweight. A few hundred megabytes handles most networks. Scale up only if you're pushing thousands of concurrent connections.

Quick Reference

Related Guides

• Minecraft Server Hosting 101 — the complete beginner's guide to server types, hosting options, and what to look for
• How Much RAM Does a Minecraft Server Need? — practical guidelines for sizing your servers, including proxies
• How to Fix Minecraft Server Lag — diagnose and resolve performance issues across your network
• How to Add a Custom Domain to Your Minecraft Server — set up a memorable address for your proxy
• Best Minecraft Server Plugins 2026 — plugins that work across networks and single servers
• How to Optimize Server Performance — tuning tips that apply to both backends and proxies