What is the best free lobby plugin for Minecraft in 2026?

DeluxeHub. It is free, still updated (now maintained by Zithium Studios), supports versions up to 26.3 and Folia, and covers the basics: server selector, join items, scoreboard, double jump and world protection.

Is DeluxeHub abandoned?

No. The original author's GitHub repo is archived, but the plugin moved to a maintained fork by ItzSave (Zithium Studios), which updated it in July and October 2026.

Which lobby plugin is best for a BungeeCord or Velocity network?

Phoenix Lobby, if you want the selector, queues, NPCs and menus in one plugin with support on the proxy. DeluxeHub, CommandPanels and DeluxeMenus can all send players to other servers through BungeeCord plugin messaging, which Velocity also supports.

Do I need a lobby plugin, or can I use a menu plugin?

A menu plugin like CommandPanels or DeluxeMenus can make a server selector, but it won't add a scoreboard, double jump, launch pads or world protection. You would add separate plugins for those.

Is there a free version of Phoenix Lobby?

Not yet. Phoenix Lobby is paid only. If you want to try a lobby setup for free first, DeluxeHub is the best free option.

Which lobby plugins work well for Bedrock players on Geyser?

Phoenix Lobby shows Bedrock forms for its menus, and CommandPanels can build native Bedrock forms through Floodgate. DeluxeHub, Akropolis, UltimateLobby and DeluxeMenus don't mention Bedrock on their pages, so Bedrock players see the normal Java chest menus.

Top Plugins

The Best Minecraft Lobby and Hub Plugins in 2026

For a BungeeCord or Velocity network that wants a server selector, queues and NPCs in one plugin, Phoenix Lobby is our pick. The best free option is DeluxeHub, which is still maintained. If you'd rather assemble your own hub, CommandPanels is the strongest free menu plugin to build it on.

Phoenix Plugins Engineering Team 27 October 2026 8 min read

We make Phoenix Lobby, so we're not neutral about it. To keep this useful, every competitor fact comes from that plugin's own SpigotMC, Modrinth, Hangar or GitHub page, checked on 27 October 2026. Where a page doesn't say something, we write "not stated".

1. Phoenix Lobby

Premium all-in-one lobby and hub plugin for single servers and BungeeCord or Velocity networks: server selector, join items, NPCs, scoreboards, queues, parkour and world protection in one plugin.

Price: €19.99 one-time, lifetime updates. No free version yet.
Versions: Minecraft 1.20.4 – 26.3 on Spigot, Paper, Folia (experimental), BungeeCord, Velocity.
Bedrock: Bedrock players through Geyser get Bedrock forms for menus.
Last update: 23 October 2026.
Rating: 4.8/5 from 20 reviews on our store.
Get it: Phoenix Lobby on our store.

It has five NPC types (player, custom entity, flying head, huge item and more), a queue system, scoreboards, tab list, boss bar, launch pads, double jump, parkour and 15+ world protection rules. It is set up in an in-game editor and has a developer API. It has been on sale since December 2022.

On a typical network hub, that replaces a hub plugin, a menu plugin, an NPC plugin and a scoreboard plugin. Fewer plugins means fewer things to update together when a new Minecraft version comes out.

Best for: networks that want one plugin for the whole hub instead of five.

The catch: there is no free version to try, so it costs more than every other option here. Folia support is experimental. If you only run a single small server, a free plugin may be all you need.

2. DeluxeHub

DeluxeHub is the best-known free hub plugin, with 313 ratings (4.4 average) and about 736,000 downloads on SpigotMC. It covers a server selector, custom join items, scoreboard, tab list, launch pads, double jump, a player hider, announcements and 15+ world protection toggles.

It was written by ItsLewizzz, whose repo is now archived. It lives on as a maintained fork by ItzSave (Zithium Studios), and that's the version on SpigotMC and Modrinth today.

Price: free.
Versions: 1.19 to 26.3.
Folia: yes. Bedrock: not stated.
Last update: 3.8.6 on 8 October 2026 (Modrinth). SpigotMC is on 3.8.1 from 31 July 2026.
Get it: SpigotMC, Modrinth.

Best for: most servers that want a free hub that covers the basics.

The catch: setup is all config files, NPCs and queues aren't among its listed features, and there is no public developer API. The SpigotMC and Modrinth versions are out of sync.

3. Akropolis

Akropolis started from DeluxeHub's code and modernised it for Paper. It uses MiniMessage formatting, and has hotbar items, menus, a server selector, scoreboard, tab list, chat formats, auto-broadcasts and a note block song player.

Price: free and open source (GPL-3.0).
Versions: Paper and Purpur 1.21+ only. No Spigot.
Folia: no. Bedrock: not stated.
Last update: 1.10.5 on 18 May 2026. Development builds continue on GitHub.
Get it: Modrinth, Hangar.

Best for: modern Paper servers that want an open-source DeluxeHub alternative.

The catch: a small project with no release in over five months, no Spigot support and no Folia.

4. UltimateLobby

UltimateLobby by geturplugins is a newer free plugin (first released January 2026). Its page claims a long feature list: an in-game menu editor, BungeeCord and Velocity server groups with load balancing, a queue, gadgets, holograms, double jump, launch pads and a developer API.

Price: free.
Versions: Paper 1.21 to 1.21.11, Java 21.
Folia / Bedrock: not stated.
Last update: 4.0 on 28 May 2026.
Get it: Modrinth, SpigotMC.

Best for: trying a free all-in-one hub with an in-game editor.

The catch: almost no reviews, closed source, no 26.x support listed, and its own pages disagree on supported versions. Several older, dead plugins share the name, so check you have the right one.

5. Build your own: CommandPanels or DeluxeMenus

Some owners skip lobby plugins and build the hub from parts: a menu plugin for the selector, plus separate plugins for the scoreboard, NPCs and protection. It's more work, but you control every piece.

CommandPanels is free (GPL-3.0), runs on Paper and Folia from 1.21.4 to 26.3, and is the only free option here with native Bedrock forms through Floodgate. It has a browser-based editor and a developer API. Last update: 4.2.5 on 2 October 2026. Version 4 dropped Spigot. Get it on Modrinth or Hangar.

DeluxeMenus by HelpChat is the most used menu plugin, with 636 ratings (4.3 average) on SpigotMC. It is free, supports 1.16 to 26.3, and needs PlaceholderAPI. Menus are YAML only, there is no Folia support, and the last stable release was June 2025 (newer builds are on its build server). Get it on SpigotMC.

Best for: experienced admins who already run a plugin stack they like.

The catch: neither is a lobby plugin. You'll still need separate plugins for the scoreboard, double jump, NPCs and world protection, and keep them all compatible on every update.

Comparison table

Plugin	Price	Free version	Folia	Bedrock / Geyser	In-game editor	API	Last update
Phoenix Lobby	€19.99	No	Experimental	Bedrock forms	Yes	Yes	23 Oct 2026
DeluxeHub	Free	Yes	Yes	Not stated	No	No	8 Oct 2026
Akropolis	Free	Yes	No	Not stated	No	Not stated	18 May 2026
UltimateLobby	Free	Yes	Not stated	Not stated	Yes (claimed)	Yes (claimed)	28 May 2026
CommandPanels	Free	Yes	Yes	Floodgate forms	Web editor	Yes	2 Oct 2026
DeluxeMenus	Free	Yes	No	Not stated	No	Not documented	Jun 2025 (stable)

Which one should you pick?

A BungeeCord or Velocity network: Phoenix Lobby. Selector, queues, NPCs and menus in one plugin, with proxy support built in.
NPCs without another plugin: Phoenix Lobby. None of the other plugins here lists NPCs.
A free hub that covers the basics: DeluxeHub. Large community, Folia support, still updated.
Open source on modern Paper: Akropolis.
Your own stack with Bedrock players: CommandPanels for the menus.
Your own stack on older versions: DeluxeMenus.

Want the longer case for Phoenix Lobby? See why Phoenix Lobby suits premium hub servers.

FAQ

What is the best free lobby plugin for Minecraft in 2026?: DeluxeHub. It is free, still updated (now maintained by Zithium Studios), supports versions up to 26.3 and Folia, and covers the basics: server selector, join items, scoreboard, double jump and world protection.
Is DeluxeHub abandoned?: No. The original author's GitHub repo is archived, but the plugin moved to a maintained fork by ItzSave (Zithium Studios), which updated it in July and October 2026.
Which lobby plugin is best for a BungeeCord or Velocity network?: Phoenix Lobby, if you want the selector, queues, NPCs and menus in one plugin with support on the proxy. DeluxeHub, CommandPanels and DeluxeMenus can all send players to other servers through BungeeCord plugin messaging, which Velocity also supports.
Do I need a lobby plugin, or can I use a menu plugin?: A menu plugin like CommandPanels or DeluxeMenus can make a server selector, but it won't add a scoreboard, double jump, launch pads or world protection. You would add separate plugins for those.
Is there a free version of Phoenix Lobby?: Not yet. Phoenix Lobby is paid only. If you want to try a lobby setup for free first, DeluxeHub is the best free option.
Which lobby plugins work well for Bedrock players on Geyser?: Phoenix Lobby shows Bedrock forms for its menus, and CommandPanels can build native Bedrock forms through Floodgate. DeluxeHub, Akropolis, UltimateLobby and DeluxeMenus don't mention Bedrock on their pages, so Bedrock players see the normal Java chest menus.

See Phoenix Lobby

Features, screenshots, reviews and the full update log are on the product page.

View Phoenix Lobby Read the docs →