Published 2024-06-15 • Reading time: 4 mins
Back in the early days of Minecraft picking your launcher for Minecraft was simple, the default launcher that came with Minecraft. You would install the Forge modloader for that and then install your mods and you would be on your way.
However today it's much more complicated... You have a long list of launchers to choose from, like Curse Forge, ATLauncher, Modrinth, MultiMC, which then has clones made off of it resulting in PolyMC and PrismMC, then you have the likes of Lunar Client, BadLion, and more.
For a new player, navigating these launchers can be a hassle, to say the least, what do you use for what, which is best, and which can you trust? Well, today I'm going to help you guide your way through the launcher-madness, and by the end of this, you should know exactly which launcher is for what, and also what launchers you should stay away from.
Before we continue I'm not a huge expert, I just happen to have been dealing with launchers and mods for many years now so I know my way around, and some of the things I say will also be personal preference, but hopefully you will still find this helpful.
Let's start with Minecraft's launcher that comes with the game.
Let me put it this way, if you wish to purely just play Minecraft Vanilla, maybe lightly modded with something like Optifine, the Vanilla Launcher is perfectly suited for you. It's easy to navigate, the UI is good and it's just overall decent.
However, if you even want to REMOTELY get into anything more modding-related other than just having Optifine installed, you NEED to go elsewhere because your life will be SO MUCH EASIER if you do, trust me, I know...
When it comes to modding, Curse Forge is probably the launcher that either comes to mind or that you have heard of.
I hate this launcher with a large passion for multiple reasons:
These are just some of the points why this launcher is horrible to me.
Now instead of just saying it's horrible and ending it there, I'll give you some properly GOOD launchers to replace it, because believe it or not, they exist, and they work much, MUCH better!
Before we get to the much better though, for context I have to mention these modpack launchers as well, which are ATLauncher and Technic. Both are dedicated modpack sites individually supporting their own modpacks, however, they will become pretty much useless with the launchers that are about to follow.
I suppose if you only play modpacks from Technic or ATLauncher then they are fine, but for someone getting into Minecraft and modding, personally, I see these as more or less non-important and you shouldn't bother with them.
Let's talk about MultiMC. MultiMC is an Open Source Minecraft launcher that allows you to have multiple instances, meaning say you have a world playing in 1.21 with Optifine, and then you have a modpack with your friends in 1.16.5, with MultiMC you can instantly switch between them without moving mods around.
It also supports installing modpacks from the likes of ATLauncher, Technic, Modrinth, and FTB, but not Curse Forge.
I no longer recommend this launcher, nor do I use it myself anymore, but I'm mentioning it due to what it leads to, because off of MultiMC arrives PolyMC and Prism Launcher.
With both PolyMC and Prism Launcher, you can do so many things and have so many features right at your fingertips:
You might ask why are they split, originally there was only PolyMC, but some stuff happened with the project's leadership and the project split into two. They both have the same features, personally, I use PolyMC, but I can see why many people will prefer Prism Launcher, you can choose either one.
Now since we are still at modding, I need to mention Modrinth App. Modrinth App is a relatively new Launcher and also Open Source. But it's an offspring of Modrinth itself, which is a new Open Source and MUCH better alternative to Curse Forge.
The site is much better, the environment is better, the publishing process is MUCH better, and everything else is much better just in general. They even already have creator payouts for those publishing projects on the site.
They are the new Curse Forge and they are awesome, and one of their goals was to make their own launcher, which they did, and it's awesome.
It's primarily used for the modpacks on Modrinth itself, however, it also supports importing modpacks from the likes of MultiMC (includes PolyMC and Prism Launcher), ATLauncher, and Curse Forge.
All I can say is that it's great and I'm using it alongside PolyMC.
Finally, I wish to cover the likes of BadLion, Lunar Client, etc. These clients are made specifically for servers like Hypixel. They have all the mods you'd want already built-in so you don't have to install anything. Just get the launcher, and go play Bedwars on Hypixel!
I have played with both and it's honestly a personal preference. To pick you'd have to try each one out for yourself.
And that's it! You should now have a basic understanding of the different Minecraft Launchers. I know it's a lot, but I tried condensing it as much as possible! Happy crafting and mining :)
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