In this article we take a look at the most played version of Minecraft Java in 2026.
When a Minecraft Java player joins a custom server, the player has to run the Minecraft version that the server supports.
We wanted to build an understanding of not only which Minecraft Java version was most being played in 2026, but also what type of server software was being used since there are many unique frameworks being used to run Minecraft servers.
Inside this article we will ask the following questions given the data currently available on the internet:
- What is the most used version of Minecraft Java?
- What version do most Minecraft servers use?
- What is the most popular Minecraft version for mods?
- Is Fabric or Forge more popular?
What is the most used version of Minecraft Java?
Averaged across the five kinds of server, 1.20.1 is the most used version of Minecraft Java, at 24.64%. It is the most downloaded version for Forge mods, with 66.30% of their downloads, and the second for Fabric, NeoForge and Quilt mods. 26.3 comes next at 15.01%, and it is the top version on Paper-family servers and for Fabric and Quilt mods.
Show how the average is calculatedHide how the average is calculated
For each version, we add up its share on each of the five kinds of server, then divide the total by five:
average = (Paper family + Fabric + Forge + NeoForge + Quilt) ÷ 5
For 1.20.1: (2.20% + 16.19% + 66.30% + 21.71% + 16.80%) ÷ 5 = 123.20% ÷ 5 = 24.64%.
The Paper-family figure is a share of servers and the other four are shares of one week of mod downloads. Each kind counts the same, however many servers or downloads stand behind it, and each kind's shares add up to 100%, so the averages do too. The next section shows each kind on its own.
What version do most Minecraft servers use?
26.3 is the most used version on Paper-family servers, at 23.38%, and the most downloaded version for Fabric and Quilt mods. Forge mods are downloaded most for 1.20.1, and NeoForge mods for 1.21.1.
How this was gathered
Paper-family servers report their version to bStats1. bStats is the built-in reporting engine that keeps track of global usage, so we were able to collect data on over 196,558 servers. The Paper family is Paper itself, Spigot, which Paper is built on, and the servers built on Paper, such as Purpur, Leaf and Folia.
Fabric, Forge, NeoForge and Quilt servers do not have the same reporting mechanisms, so we had to take a different path to understand version-usage stats by reviewing known statistics of the last week of mod download data publicly available from each platform’s 500 most downloaded mods on Modrinth2, one of the most popular mod hosting sites.
What is the most popular Minecraft version for mods?
It depends on the platform. On Modrinth, Fabric and Quilt mods are downloaded most for 26.3, Forge mods for 1.20.1 and NeoForge mods for 1.21.1.
Fabric servers
Fabric’s most downloaded version is 26.3 at 22.14%. The next two are 1.20.1 at 16.19% and 1.21.1 at 14.89%. These are shares of one week of downloads of the 500 most downloaded Fabric mods on Modrinth.
Fabric API by version
Fabric API is a library mod that most Fabric mods need, according to Fabric’s own documentation3, so its downloads are the clearest single sign of which versions Fabric runs on.
| Minecraft version | Weekly downloads | Share of the week |
|---|---|---|
| 26.3 | 2,745,580 | 37.96% |
| 1.21.11 | 1,292,528 | 17.87% |
| 26.2 | 837,048 | 11.57% |
| 1.21.1 | 802,316 | 11.09% |
| 1.20.1 | 562,513 | 7.78% |
| 1.21.4 | 145,301 | 2.01% |
Fabric API on Modrinth, 17 October 2026 to 24 October 2026.
Is Fabric or Forge more popular?
It depends on the site. Fabric mods are downloaded most on Modrinth, ahead of Forge. On CurseForge, NeoForge mods are downloaded most and Forge is second, ahead of Fabric. Quilt is fourth on both. This table gives each platform’s total mod downloads for the week on Modrinth and on CurseForge4, the two mod sites we measured. A mod made for several platforms counts in each of their rows, so the rows cannot be added together. CurseForge appears only here, because its per-version download counts barely moved during the week.
| Platform | Modrinth, weekly downloads | CurseForge, weekly downloads |
|---|---|---|
| Fabric | 263,147,623 | 241,759,579 |
| Forge | 206,867,186 | 275,835,894 |
| NeoForge | 237,817,761 | 289,926,225 |
| Quilt | 168,295,563 | 124,002,301 |
The 500 most downloaded mods per platform, 17 October 2026 to 24 October 2026.
Version leaders on Paper-family servers since 2018
The oldest Internet Archive5 copy of bStats’ version chart is from July 2018. Across the archived copies, 15 versions led. 1.21.4 held the top spot longest, leading in nine consecutive copies from February 2025 to August 2025.
Leaders held between 19.61% and 51.83%, putting 26.3’s 23.38% within the usual range. The chart marks the archive’s gap from August 2018 to July 2020; other missing months may hide versions that led briefly.
Java runtimes and proxies
Minecraft servers run on Java, the programming language. Of the servers reporting to bStats, 66.34% run Java 25 and 23.78% run Java 21. Every year-based version needs Java 256, and more servers run Java 25 than run a year-based version (53.67%), so some servers still on 1.21 already use Java 25.
A proxy joins several servers into one network that players move between. Velocity passed BungeeCord in July 2024, by monthly average, and in October 2026 Velocity averaged 13,391 proxies to BungeeCord’s 2,115, counting only proxies that run at least one bStats plugin.7
Short answers about Minecraft Java versions
What is the latest version of Minecraft Java?
The latest release is 26.3. Mojang shipped it on 15 September 20268.
Which versions do Fabric and Forge players use most?
On Modrinth, in the week we measured, Fabric's most downloaded version was 26.3. Forge's was 1.20.1. NeoForge's was 1.21.1, and Quilt's was 26.3.
Minecraft plugins from GBTI
The GBTI Network builds Fabric plugins for Minecraft servers. Here is what each one does and which versions it runs on.
Jockey RadioLive radio, streams and your own audio on music discs, heard through Simple Voice Chat.See the plugin
Traveler's ChestChests that refill themselves after a cooldown you set.See the plugin
Traveler's JournalAn in-game book you write in a Markdown file on the server.See the plugin
Traveler's LecternLecterns whose book comes back after a player takes it.See the pluginThanks for reading!
The GBTI Network offers publishing and networking opportunities to content creators and product developers across the internet. Every Tuesday we send a free digest of the week’s member-submitted content. If you are looking for a private community of people who keep each other informed, see our membership options. We also make a Chrome extension for following the network from your browser.
Footnotes
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bStats global charts: bStats collects usage statistics from Minecraft servers, and its charts give the share of servers on each Minecraft version, server software and Java runtime, read several times a day from 17 October 2026 to 24 October 2026. ↩
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Modrinth API: one week of downloads, 17 October 2026 to 24 October 2026, for the 500 most downloaded mods of each platform, split by Minecraft version. ↩
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Fabric documentation: most Fabric mods need Fabric API installed. ↩
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CurseForge API: each platform’s total downloads for the same week. ↩
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Internet Archive: archived copies of the bStats version chart since July 2018, for the most used version over time. ↩
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Mojang 26.1 release notes: every year-based version needs Java 25. ↩
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bStats proxy charts for Velocity and BungeeCord: the proxy counts. ↩
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Mojang version manifest: the release date of every Minecraft Java version. ↩
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