ThunderPerms vs ServerRoles

ThunderPerms8.5Visit SServerRoles8.4Visit

Higher score ThunderPerms #5 in Minecraft Permissions Plugins 8.5/10 Free plan Free plan✓ 2 of 4 features Visit ThunderPerms

vs

S ServerRoles #6 in Minecraft Permissions Plugins 8.4/10 Free plan Free plan✓ 2 of 4 features Visit ServerRoles

• ThunderPerms fits best

  Paper servers needing auditing and recovery

• ServerRoles fits best

  Paper servers needing role management

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Side by side

Feature	ThunderPerms 8.5/10 Visit ↗	SServerRoles 8.4/10 Visit ↗
At a glance
Editor score	8.5	8.4
Ranking	#5 in Minecraft Permissions Plugins	#6 in Minecraft Permissions Plugins
Best for	Paper servers needing auditing and recovery	Paper servers needing role management
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	Small business, Mid-market
Features ThunderPerms 2/4 · ServerRoles 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, SQLite, MySQL
Supported platforms	Paper	Paper, Purpur 1.21.11
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	Inherited and temporary roles with automatic expiry YAML, SQLite, and MySQL storage options PlaceholderAPI, TAB, and developer API integrations
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	Support is limited to Paper and Purpur 1.21.11 Requires Java 21 or newer Self-hosted deployment requires server administration
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 →	ServerRoles is a self-hosted Minecraft permissions plugin for Paper and Purpur 1.21.11 servers running Java 21 or newer. It is aimed at administrators who need to create, edit, and delete roles, assign permission nodes, control prefixes… Read the review →

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

• ServerRoles — where it wins

  • Inherited and temporary roles with automatic expiry
  • YAML, SQLite, and MySQL storage options
  • PlaceholderAPI, TAB, and developer API integrations

  Where it doesn't

  • Support is limited to Paper and Purpur 1.21.11
  • Requires Java 21 or newer
  • Self-hosted deployment requires server administration

• ThunderPerms8.5/10 · Free plan

  A free, open-source Paper permissions plugin with auditing, backups, and repair tools.

  Visit ThunderPermsFull verdict →
• SServerRoles8.4/10 · Free plan

  A free, open-source role manager for Paper servers that need inheritance and temporary roles.

  Visit ServerRolesFull verdict →