An economy gives players a reason to keep playing. They earn money by mining, killing monsters, or trading, and spend it on items, land, or cosmetics. In this article, we explain how to set up a fully working economy.
What do you need?
- Vault: the bridge between economy plugins and other plugins. Vault itself does nothing, but lets plugins communicate with each other.
- EssentialsX: contains a built-in economy provider. Manages balance, payments, and basic commands.
- A shop plugin: lets players buy and sell items. EssentialsX has a basic sign shop, but there are better options.
- A permissions plugin: LuckPerms is the standard. Read our LuckPerms guide for the setup.
Step 1: Install Vault
Download Vault and place the .jar file in the plugins folder. Restart the server. Vault automatically detects which economy provider is available.
Step 2: Install EssentialsX
Download EssentialsX and place it in the plugins folder. After restart, it creates a config.yml. Important economy settings:
currency-symbol: '$' starting-balance: 100 max-money: 1000000000 min-money: 0 economy-log-enabled: true
Step 3: Choose a shop plugin
Popular options:
| Plugin | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
| ShopGUIPlus | GUI shop | Menu-based shop. Players open a GUI and click to buy/sell. Most user-friendly. |
| QuickShop-Hikari | Chest shop | Players create their own shops with chests. Ideal for player-driven economy. |
| EssentialsX Signs | Sign shop | Buy/sell via signs. Simple but limited. |
| DeluxeSellwands | Sell wand | Tap a chest to sell everything inside. Popular on skyblock and prison servers. |
Step 4: Balance prices
The most important step that many server owners skip. Bad prices destroy your economy:
- Sell prices too high: players get rich too quickly, making money worthless (inflation).
- Sell prices too low: players do not feel rewarded and leave.
- Buy price too close to sell price: players can flip items for free money.
Rule of thumb: the sell price should be 40-60% of the buy price. Adjust prices based on how easy items are to obtain.
Commands for players
/balance Check your balance /baltop See the richest players /pay [player] [amount] Send money to another player /shop Open the shop (if using ShopGUIPlus)
Commands for admins
/eco give [player] [amount] Give money to a player /eco take [player] [amount] Take money away /eco set [player] [amount] Set balance /eco reset [player] Reset balance to starting amount
Which economy plugin is best?
EssentialsX Economy is the most widely used and reliable option. It is free, stable, and works with virtually all other plugins via Vault. Alternatives like CMI Economy offer more features but are paid.
How do I prevent inflation on my server?
Limit the ways money enters the economy (money sinks vs. money faucets). Add costs to teleportation, land claims, enchanting, and repairs. Make sure there are more ways to spend money than to earn it.
Can I combine an economy with jobs?
Yes. Plugins like Jobs Reborn let players earn money by performing specific tasks (mining, building, fishing). This integrates via Vault with your economy.
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