Best Minecraft Performance Mods: Sodium, Lithium and More FPS Mods

What are Minecraft performance mods?

Performance mods are mods that make Minecraft Java run faster without changing how the game plays – they raise your FPS, cut stutter, lower RAM use or reduce lag on a server. Most of them rewrite slow parts of the game code: how chunks are drawn, how mobs think, how memory is used.

There are two kinds, and mixing them up is the most common mistake:

A simple rule: if your game shows few frames per second, the fix is on your PC; if blocks break slowly, mobs freeze or "Can't keep up!" appears in the server console, the fix is on the server. Sodium on your PC won't help a lagging server, and Lithium on the server won't give you more FPS.

All mods below are for Minecraft Java Edition and need a mod loader – Fabric, NeoForge or Forge. If you're not sure which one to pick, see Forge vs NeoForge vs Fabric. Bedrock Edition doesn't use these mods.

The best Minecraft performance mods (overview)

For most players the best combination is Sodium + Lithium + FerriteCore + Entity Culling + ImmediatelyFast on Fabric, plus Iris if you want shaders. Here is what each mod does and where it runs:

Loaders listed are the ones each project publishes on Modrinth (state November 2026). Not every mod has a build for every Minecraft version – always pick the file for your exact version and loader.

What is Sodium?

Sodium is a free client mod that replaces Minecraft's rendering engine and greatly improves frame rates and reduces micro-stutter. It is the single biggest FPS boost you can install, and it's the base most other client performance mods are built around.

• Loaders: Fabric and NeoForge. NeoForge builds exist since Minecraft 1.21.1; older versions are Fabric only.
• No Forge version. On Forge 1.20.1 and older, players use Embeddium, a fork of an older Sodium codebase. It isn't supported by Sodium's developers, so report problems to the Embeddium project.
• Not with OptiFine. Sodium and OptiFine both replace the renderer and can't run together. For shaders, install Iris next to Sodium – Iris requires Sodium and loads most OptiFine shader packs. More on that in the best Minecraft shaders.
• Video settings. Sodium replaces the "Video Settings" screen with its own, with extra options sorted into pages. If you want even more toggles, add-ons like Sodium Extra exist, but they aren't needed for the FPS gain.

Sodium is client-only. It does nothing on a server, and a modded server doesn't need it for players who use it – each player decides for themselves.

How to install Sodium and other FPS mods

Install the Fabric loader (or NeoForge) for your Minecraft version, then put the mod .jar files into the mods folder and start the game with that loader's profile. A launcher can do it all for you.

The easy way – a launcher:

1. Install the Modrinth App (or Prism Launcher, or CurseForge).
2. Create a new profile/instance with Fabric and your Minecraft version.
3. Search for Sodium, Lithium, FerriteCore, Entity Culling and ImmediatelyFast and add them to the profile. The launcher picks matching versions and dependencies.
4. Launch the profile.

Manually with the official launcher:

1. Download and run the Fabric installer, choose your Minecraft version and install the client.
2. Download each mod for the same Minecraft version and Fabric.
3. Some mods need Fabric API – Entity Culling does, Sodium, Lithium and FerriteCore don't. If a mod page lists Fabric API as required, download it too.
4. Put all .jar files into .minecraft/mods (on Windows: %appdata%\.minecraft\mods).
5. In the official launcher choose the fabric-loader profile and press Play.

The full walkthrough, with screenshots of every launcher, is in how to install Minecraft mods.

Still low FPS? Lower Render Distance first – it matters more than any mod. Then check that the game uses your dedicated graphics card (laptops often pick the integrated one), and that it has enough memory: how to allocate more RAM to Minecraft. More RAM than the game needs doesn't add FPS.

Best performance mods for Forge and NeoForge

On NeoForge you can use almost the same set as on Fabric; on Forge, Sodium is replaced by Embeddium and Lithium isn't available.

Modpacks usually include performance mods already. Before adding mods to a modpack, check its mod list – two mods that do the same job (for example two different rendering engines) often crash the game.

Best server performance mods for a modded server

On a Fabric or NeoForge server install Lithium, FerriteCore and ModernFix, pre-generate the world with Chunky and use spark to find what's lagging. On Forge, use FerriteCore, ModernFix, Chunky and spark.

Two things to know:

• Lithium is safe for players without mods. Its goal is to not change any vanilla mechanics, and it can run on the server without players installing it (and the other way round).
• Never put client-only mods on a server. Sodium, Iris, Entity Culling and ImmediatelyFast only draw graphics; on a server they do nothing at best and stop it from starting at worst.

Find the cause of lag with spark

spark records what the server spends its time on and gives you a link to a report. Install it, wait until the lag happens, then type in the server console:

spark profiler start --timeout 600

After 10 minutes you get a link. Sort the report by the biggest entries: a single mod, a mob farm with hundreds of animals or a chunk full of hoppers usually stands out. spark tps shows the current TPS (20 is perfect).

Pre-generate the world with Chunky

Generating new chunks is one of the heaviest things a server does, so generate the area players will explore before they arrive. With Chunky installed, type in the console:

chunky radius 3000
chunky start

That generates a square 6,000 × 6,000 blocks around the world centre (0, 0) in the Overworld. chunky pause stops it and saves progress, chunky continue resumes it, and chunky world <name> selects another world or dimension before you start (for example world_nether on Paper). Run it when nobody is playing, and keep in mind that every generated chunk takes disk space. A world border plugin or /worldborder then stops players from walking beyond the generated area.

How to make a Paper or Purpur server faster (no mods)

Paper and Purpur can't load Fabric or Forge mods, but Paper itself is already an optimised server – speed it up further with lower view and simulation distance, a few Paper settings, Chunky and spark. Lithium, FerriteCore and ModernFix won't load there.

1. Distances. view-distance decides how far players see, simulation-distance how far around them mobs, crops and redstone are ticked (both 10 by default). Lowering simulation-distance to 6–8 saves the most CPU while players still see far.
2. Paper settings in config/paper-world-defaults.yml:
   • environment.optimize-explosions: true – caches entity lookups during explosions; big TNT and creeper farms lag much less.
   • misc.redstone-implementation: ALTERNATE_CURRENT – a much faster redstone dust implementation. It changes how redstone dust behaves, so test technical contraptions first.
   • hopper.disable-move-event: true – dramatically improves hopper performance, but breaks protection plugins that rely on this event. Leave it off if you use claim or protection plugins.
3. Chunky plugin – the same pre-generation as the mod, with the same commands.
4. spark is built in. Since Minecraft 1.21, Paper bundles the spark profiler, so spark profiler start --timeout 600 works without installing anything.

The differences between Paper, Purpur and the mod loaders are explained in Minecraft server software.

Performance mods on a Spot.gg server

On Spot.gg you install server performance mods in one click from the "Addons" tab, and change view and simulation distance in "Configuration" – no files to edit.

1. Open your server and go to "Addons" → "Available to install".
2. Search for Lithium, FerriteCore, ModernFix, Chunky or spark. The list only shows add-ons that match your engine and version.
3. Open the mod, pick the file marked "Compatible with your server", click "Install" and confirm.
4. Restart the server when the panel asks.

A few things that help:

• Client-only mods are hidden. The panel doesn't offer mods that only work on the player's side (like Sodium), so you won't install them on the server by accident. Your players install Sodium, Iris and the other FPS mods in their own game.
• Distances in two clicks. "Configuration" → "Most popular" has "View distance" and "Simulation distance". A simulation distance higher than the view distance does nothing.
• Paper settings. The config/paper-world-defaults.yml file is in "Files" – click "Edit", change the value, "Save" and restart.
• Vanilla server? Vanilla doesn't load mods or plugins. Go to "Information" → "Modify" → "Change engine" and switch to Paper (or Fabric for mods) on the same Minecraft version – the world and settings are preserved.
• Something crashes after installing a mod? The "Detected errors" window (bug icon) shows recognised problems from the server log, and you can ask the AI assistant in the panel.

You can test a server with performance mods for free for 24 hours; paid servers start from $3.90 per month.

FPS or TPS: which one is your problem?

FPS (frames per second) is how smoothly your own game draws the picture; TPS (ticks per second) is how fast the server runs the world, and 20 TPS is the maximum. They have different causes and different fixes.

FAQ

What is the best FPS mod for Minecraft?

Sodium. It replaces the rendering engine and gives the biggest FPS increase of any mod. On Forge 1.20.1 and older, where Sodium isn't available, Embeddium is the usual alternative.

Does Sodium work with Forge?

No. Sodium is available for Fabric and NeoForge (NeoForge from Minecraft 1.21.1). On older Forge versions, players use Embeddium, a separate fork.

Can I use Sodium and OptiFine together?

No. Both replace the renderer. Use Sodium with Iris for shaders instead – Iris loads most OptiFine shader packs.

Do I need to install Sodium on the server?

No. Sodium is client-only. Each player installs it in their own game, and the server doesn't care whether they use it.

Does Lithium change vanilla gameplay?

Its goal is to keep vanilla mechanics exactly the same while making them faster. It can be installed on a server without players having it.

What are the best performance mods for a Minecraft server?

On Fabric or NeoForge: Lithium, FerriteCore, ModernFix, plus Chunky to pre-generate the world and spark to find lag. On Paper or Purpur, use Paper's own settings, the Chunky plugin and the built-in spark.

Do performance mods work on Bedrock Edition?

No. These mods are made for Minecraft Java Edition with Fabric, NeoForge or Forge.

Will more RAM give me more FPS?

Only if the game was running out of memory. Above what the game needs, extra RAM adds nothing, and FerriteCore or ModernFix reduce how much it needs in the first place.