Side by side
Paper vs Sponge
Both stand on minecraft server software. Which one you can start free with, which one lets you read the code, and what each costs once you pay.
Free plan LinuxWindows
Visit Paper 
Free plan APILinuxMac+2
Visit Sponge The facts
| Paper | Sponge | |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Open source | Not published | Not published |
| Runs on | Linux, Windows | API, Linux, Mac, Self-hosted, Windows |
| Lowest paid plan | Not published | Not published |
| Plans published | None | None |
| Maker | Not published | Not published |
| Website | papermc.io | spongepowered.org |
| On minecraft server software | #24 of 25 | #20 of 25 |