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Head-to-head · Minecraft Permissions Plugins

ThunderPerms vs PermissionCore

  • Updated Oct 2026
  • Both researched from official sources
  • 3 checks side by side
Higher score ThunderPerms #5 in Minecraft Permissions Plugins 8.5/10 Free plan Free plan✓ 2 of 4 features Visit ThunderPerms
PermissionCore #8 in Minecraft Permissions Plugins 7.9/10 Free plan Free plan✓ 2 of 4 features Visit PermissionCore

ThunderPerms leads on 0 checks, PermissionCore on 0, and 3 are even. Who comes out ahead on the 3 yes/no, price and count checks where we have data for both products. The editor score weighs everything else too.

Our verdict

  • Highest scoreThunderPerms · 8.5/10
  • Free planboth

ThunderPerms scores higher on our rubric for minecraft permissions plugins: 8.5 against 7.9 out of 10; our editors rank them #5 and #8.

ThunderPerms is the better fit for paper servers needing auditing and recovery. PermissionCore is the better fit for free Spigot servers needing standard permissions.

  • ThunderPerms fits best

    Paper servers needing auditing and recovery

  • PermissionCore fits best

    Free Spigot servers needing standard permissions

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Side by side

Feature ThunderPerms 8.5/10 Visit ↗ PermissionCore 7.9/10 Visit ↗
At a glance
Editor score 8.5 7.9
Ranking #5 in Minecraft Permissions Plugins #8 in Minecraft Permissions Plugins
Best for Paper servers needing auditing and recovery Free Spigot servers needing standard permissions
Pricing model Free Free
Starting price Free plan Free plan
Free plan ✓ ✓
Free trial — —
Deployment Self-hosted Self-hosted
Integrations 6 integrations 2 integrations
Built for Small business, Mid-market Solo, Small business, Mid-market
Features ThunderPerms 2/4 · PermissionCore 2/4
Group inheritance ✓ ✓
Network support Not checked yet Not checked yet
Web editor Not checked yet Not checked yet
Temporary permissions ✓ ✓
Specs
Storage backends YAML, SQLite, MySQL, MariaDB YAML
Supported platforms Paper Spigot
Our review
Pros
  • Free and open-source with inheritance and temporary grants
  • Supports YAML, SQLite, MySQL, and MariaDB storage
  • Includes audits, backups, verification, and repair tools
  • Free plugin with inheritance, temporary permissions, wildcards, and negation
  • Supports caching, hot reload, chat prefixes, and suffixes
  • Integrates with Vault and PlaceholderAPI
Cons
  • Verified platform coverage is limited to Paper
  • Storage and permission administration require server configuration
  • Its feature set is focused on permissions rather than broader server management
  • YAML is currently the only supported storage type
  • Platform coverage is specified for Spigot
  • Management is delivered through server commands
Our verdict

ThunderPerms is a free, open-source permissions-management plugin for Paper Minecraft servers. It is intended for small and medium servers that need structured control over players, groups, inherited permissions, temporary grants, and…

Read the review →

PermissionCore is a free, self-hosted Minecraft server plugin for administrators managing players, groups, ranks, and permission nodes. It supports Minecraft 1.10 through 1.21 and is intended for survival, PvP, creative, minigame, network,…

Read the review →
  1. ThunderPermsMinecraft Permissions Plugins 8.5Free plan
  2. PermissionCoreMinecraft Permissions Plugins 7.9Free plan

Strengths and trade-offs

  • ThunderPerms — where it wins

    • Free and open-source with inheritance and temporary grants
    • Supports YAML, SQLite, MySQL, and MariaDB storage
    • Includes audits, backups, verification, and repair tools

    Where it doesn't

    • Verified platform coverage is limited to Paper
    • Storage and permission administration require server configuration
    • Its feature set is focused on permissions rather than broader server management

  • PermissionCore — where it wins

    • Free plugin with inheritance, temporary permissions, wildcards, and negation
    • Supports caching, hot reload, chat prefixes, and suffixes
    • Integrates with Vault and PlaceholderAPI

    Where it doesn't

    • YAML is currently the only supported storage type
    • Platform coverage is specified for Spigot
    • Management is delivered through server commands

More comparisons

All minecraft permissions plugins comparisons → · Full ranking →

Reviewed by iTechGuides Editors · Editorial team · Updated Oct 2026

Last updated · How we research and update