Best Minecraft Mod Development Tools in 2026
Updated
In short: IntelliJ IDEA is ranked #1 of 31 as of 4 October 2026, ahead of Gradle and Visual Studio Code. The best-ranked option with a free plan is Gradle. The lowest first paid tier on this page is IntelliJ IDEA at $8.33/mo.
A Minecraft mod project may involve code, dependencies, visual editing, and preparing an artifact for use. Compared on supported Minecraft versions, loaders, and platforms, these tools also vary in dependency management, code debugging, artifact packaging, and visual editor support. Free-plan availability and paid-from pricing offer further points to weigh. IntelliJ IDEA, Gradle, and Visual Studio Code are among the options, while Blockbench is also listed. Consider the development tasks you need to handle and compare the published compatibility and workflow details with your setup.
31 Minecraft mod development tools ranked on what their makers publish — plans and prices, free tiers, platforms and the facts on their own pages.
Minecraft Mod Development Tools, ranked on how quickly a newcomer can get going. 11 of the 25 on this page can be tried for free.
- 1 IntelliJ IDEAPaid from $8.33/mo
- Free to practise on: yes
- Free trial: yes
- Well documented: yes
- Runs where you work: yes
- 2 GradleFree plan
- Free to practise on: yes
- Free trial: not on record
- Well documented: yes
- Runs where you work: yes
- 3 Visual Studio CodeFree plan
- Free to practise on: yes
- Free trial: not on record
- Well documented: yes
- Runs where you work: yes
- 4 BlockbenchFree plan
- Free to practise on: yes
- Free trial: not on record
- Well documented: yes
- Runs where you work: yes
- 5 ForgeGradleFree plan
- Free to practise on: yes
- Free trial: not on record
- Well documented: yes
- Runs where you work: yes
- 6 Architectury LoomFree plan
- Free to practise on: yes
- Free trial: not on record
- Well documented: yes
- Runs where you work: yes
- 7 FabricFree plan
- Free to practise on: yes
- Free trial: not on record
- Well documented: yes
- Runs where you work: yes
- 8 Eclipse IDEFree plan
- Free to practise on: yes
- Free trial: not on record
- Well documented: yes
- Runs where you work: yes
- 9 Minecraft ForgeFree plan
- Free to practise on: yes
- Free trial: not on record
- Well documented: yes
- Runs where you work: yes
- 10 MCreatorFree plan
- Free to practise on: yes
- Free trial: not on record
- Well documented: yes
- Runs where you work: yes
- 11 ModDevGradleFree plan
- Free to practise on: yes
- Free trial: not on record
- Well documented: yes
- Runs where you work: not on record
- 12 Retrom
- Free to practise on: not on record
- Free trial: not on record
- Well documented: yes
- Runs where you work: yes
- 13 Recaf
- Free to practise on: not on record
- Free trial: not on record
- Well documented: yes
- Runs where you work: yes
- 14 McDeob
- Free to practise on: not on record
- Free trial: not on record
- Well documented: not on record
- Runs where you work: yes
- 15 Minecraft Development MCP Server
- Free to practise on: not on record
- Free trial: not on record
- Well documented: not on record
- Runs where you work: yes
- 16 CurseForge Gradle Publish Plugin
- Free to practise on: not on record
- Free trial: not on record
- Well documented: not on record
- Runs where you work: not on record
- 17 mc-publish
- Free to practise on: not on record
- Free trial: not on record
- Well documented: not on record
- Runs where you work: not on record
- 18 MixinExtras
- Free to practise on: not on record
- Free trial: not on record
- Well documented: not on record
- Runs where you work: not on record
- 19 Tiny Remapper
- Free to practise on: not on record
- Free trial: not on record
- Well documented: not on record
- Runs where you work: not on record
- 20 Mod Publish Plugin
- Free to practise on: not on record
- Free trial: not on record
- Well documented: not on record
- Runs where you work: not on record
- 21 Neo-Loom
- Free to practise on: not on record
- Free trial: not on record
- Well documented: not on record
- Runs where you work: not on record
- 22 NeoForge
- Free to practise on: not on record
- Free trial: not on record
- Well documented: not on record
- Runs where you work: yes
- 23 Quilt Loom
- Free to practise on: not on record
- Free trial: not on record
- Well documented: not on record
- Runs where you work: not on record
- 24 Ravel Remapper
- Free to practise on: not on record
- Free trial: not on record
- Well documented: not on record
- Runs where you work: yes
- 25 CurseForgeGradle
- Free to practise on: not on record
- Free trial: not on record
- Well documented: not on record
- Runs where you work: not on record
Is your platform on this list?
Numbered spots on this list can be sponsored. They are labelled, and the editorial order and scores never change for payment.
Questions about this list
Which Minecraft mod development tool is ranked first on The Geeks Club?
IntelliJ IDEA is ranked #1 of 31 with a score of 7.6. Gradle is second and Visual Studio Code third.
How many of these have a free plan?
11 of the 25 on this page publish a free plan on their own pricing pages.
Which is the cheapest paid option?
On this page, IntelliJ IDEA has the lowest first paid tier we found: $8.33/mo.
How is this list ranked?
Ranked on how quickly a newcomer can get going: documentation depth, a free tier or trial, and the platforms it runs on. Paid placements never change a rank.