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Head-to-head · Minecraft Mod Development Tools

Minecraft Development vs ModDevGradle

  • Updated Oct 2026
  • Both researched from official sources
  • 5 checks side by side
Higher score Minecraft Development #2 in Minecraft Mod Development Tools 9.2/10 Open source ✓ 0 of 4 features Visit Minecraft Dev
ModDevGradle #3 in Minecraft Mod Development Tools 9.1/10 Open source Free plan✓ 3 of 4 features Visit NeoForged

Minecraft Development leads on 0 checks, ModDevGradle on 0, and 5 are even. Who comes out ahead on the 5 yes/no, price and count checks where we have data for both products. The editor score weighs everything else too.

Our verdict

  • Highest scoreMinecraft Development · 9.2/10
  • Free planonly ModDevGradle
  • Most featuresModDevGradle · 3 of 4

Minecraft Development scores higher on our rubric for minecraft mod development tools: 9.2 against 9.1 out of 10; our editors rank them #2 and #3.

Minecraft Development is the better fit for multi-loader IntelliJ projects. ModDevGradle is the better fit for neoForge and Forge developers.

  • Minecraft Development fits best

    Multi-loader IntelliJ projects

  • ModDevGradle fits best

    NeoForge and Forge developers

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Side by side

Feature Minecraft Development 9.2/10 Visit ↗ ModDevGradle 9.1/10 Visit ↗
At a glance
Editor score 9.2 9.1
Ranking #2 in Minecraft Mod Development Tools #3 in Minecraft Mod Development Tools
Best for Multi-loader IntelliJ projects NeoForge and Forge developers
Pricing model Free Free
Starting price Open source Open source
Free plan Not checked yet ✓ (best)
Free trial — —
Support Community, Docs Community, Docs
Built for Solo, Small business Solo, Small business
Features Minecraft Development 0/4 · ModDevGradle 3/4
Visual editor Not checked yet —
Code debugging Not checked yet ✓ (best)
Dependency management Not checked yet ✓ (best)
Artifact packaging Not checked yet ✓ (best)
Specs
Supported loaders Spigot, Paper, Sponge, Forge, NeoForge, Fabric, Architectury, Mixins, BungeeCord, Waterfall, Velocity NeoForge; Minecraft Forge
Minecraft versions Not checked yet 1.17–1.20.1; 1.21.1; 26.1.2; 26.2; 26.3
Supported platforms Not checked yet Not checked yet
Our review
Pros
  • Supports templates for Forge, Fabric, Paper, Spigot, and other loaders
  • Covers Java, Kotlin, Gradle, Maven, Mixins, and mappings
  • Offers custom local, remote, and archive project templates
  • Supports client, server, data, game, and game-test runs
  • Handles dependencies, decompilation, Jar-in-Jar packaging, and testing
  • Generates Gradle and IntelliJ configurations for debugging
Cons
  • Requires IntelliJ IDEA rather than operating as a standalone tool
  • Project generation and IDE support are its primary focus
  • Minecraft version support is not defined in the published details
  • No visual editor for no-code mod creation
  • Legacy Forge support ends at Minecraft 1.20.1
  • Requires a Gradle-based Minecraft development workflow
Our verdict

Minecraft Development is an open-source IntelliJ IDEA plugin for Java Minecraft mod and plugin projects. It supports IntelliJ IDEA Community and Ultimate editions, helping developers create projects for a wide range of server, modding, and…

Read the review →

ModDevGradle is an open-source Gradle plugin for developing Minecraft mods with NeoForge and Minecraft Forge. It is aimed at developers working in code-based, Gradle-managed projects rather than people seeking visual or no-code mod…

Read the review →
  1. Minecraft DevelopmentMinecraft Mod Development Tools 9.2Open source
  2. ModDevGradleMinecraft Mod Development Tools 9.1Open source

Strengths and trade-offs

  • Minecraft Development — where it wins

    • Supports templates for Forge, Fabric, Paper, Spigot, and other loaders
    • Covers Java, Kotlin, Gradle, Maven, Mixins, and mappings
    • Offers custom local, remote, and archive project templates

    Where it doesn't

    • Requires IntelliJ IDEA rather than operating as a standalone tool
    • Project generation and IDE support are its primary focus
    • Minecraft version support is not defined in the published details

  • ModDevGradle — where it wins

    • Supports client, server, data, game, and game-test runs
    • Handles dependencies, decompilation, Jar-in-Jar packaging, and testing
    • Generates Gradle and IntelliJ configurations for debugging

    Where it doesn't

    • No visual editor for no-code mod creation
    • Legacy Forge support ends at Minecraft 1.20.1
    • Requires a Gradle-based Minecraft development workflow
  • Minecraft Development9.2/10 · Open source

    A broad IntelliJ toolkit for multi-loader Minecraft projects, with focused build-system scope.

    Visit Minecraft DevFull verdict →
  • ModDevGradle9.1/10 · Open source

    A broad Gradle toolkit for developers building, testing, debugging, and packaging Minecraft mods.

    Visit NeoForgedFull verdict →

More comparisons

All minecraft mod development tools comparisons → · Full ranking →

Reviewed by iTechGuides Editors · Editorial team · Updated Oct 2026

Last updated · How we research and update