Finding the best NeoForge mods can feel overwhelming when you are not sure which mods have NeoForge support and which are still Forge-only. NeoForge has grown quickly since its July 2023 fork from Forge, and many of the most popular Minecraft mods now offer official NeoForge builds. This roundup covers the best mods available for NeoForge across tech, performance, utility, and visual categories — plus a compatibility section explaining which Forge mods work on NeoForge and how to tell.
New to NeoForge? Read What Is NeoForge to understand how it relates to Forge, or jump to our install guide if you need to set it up first.
Quick Picks
If you just want a fast answer, here are the standout NeoForge mods at a glance:
| Mod | Category | One-Line Summary |
|---|---|---|
| Create | Tech | Build mechanical contraptions, factories, and trains |
| Mekanism | Tech | Industrial machinery, power generation, and ore processing |
| Embeddium | Performance | Rendering optimization for better frame rates |
| FerriteCore | Performance | Reduces Minecraft's memory usage |
| JEI | Utility | In-game recipe viewer — essential for modded play |
| Jade | Utility | Shows block and entity info when you look at them |
| Oculus | Visual | Shader support for NeoForge |
Read on for detailed descriptions of each mod and more picks in every category.
Best Tech Mods
Create
Create is widely considered one of the best Minecraft mods ever made, and it has full NeoForge support. The mod adds a mechanical engineering system built around rotation, stress, and kinetic energy. You can build conveyor belts, mechanical presses, windmills, water wheels, automated farms, and even working trains — all without touching a single line of code or configuring abstract power units.
What makes Create special is that everything is visual and physical. You can watch gears turn, see items move along belts, and trace the mechanical chain from power source to output. It is equally appealing to players who love building and those who love automation.
Mekanism
Mekanism is a long-running industrial tech mod that adds ore processing chains, power generation systems, and advanced machinery. It is one of the most content-rich tech mods available, offering everything from basic alloy smelting to fusion reactors and digital mining systems.
The mod has supported NeoForge since relatively early in the fork's history. Mekanism is often the backbone of tech-focused modpacks, and its multi-step ore processing system — which can multiply your ore yield significantly — is a defining feature for players who enjoy optimizing production chains.
Applied Energistics 2
Applied Energistics 2 (AE2) is a storage and automation mod that lets you digitize items into a network, autocraft complex recipes on demand, and manage enormous inventories through a terminal interface. If you have ever felt overwhelmed by chests full of items in a modded playthrough, AE2 solves that problem entirely.
AE2 has official NeoForge builds and is a common companion to other tech mods. Setting up your first ME (Matter Energy) system is a satisfying milestone in any modded survival world.
Best Performance Mods
Embeddium
Embeddium is a rendering optimization mod for NeoForge that is based on the Sodium project (Fabric's premier performance mod). It rewrites Minecraft's rendering engine to significantly improve frame rates, especially on lower-end hardware or in worlds with heavy mod content.
We have not benchmarked Embeddium ourselves, so we cannot provide specific FPS numbers. However, it is generally considered one of the most impactful performance mods for NeoForge, and it appears frequently in performance-focused mod lists and modpacks.
FerriteCore
FerriteCore focuses on reducing Minecraft's memory (RAM) usage rather than improving frame rates. It optimizes how the game stores block state data and other internal structures, which can make a meaningful difference when running large modpacks with hundreds of blocks and items.
This mod works quietly in the background — you will not see a visual difference, but you may notice that the game runs more smoothly and is less prone to out-of-memory crashes in heavily modded setups. FerriteCore has official NeoForge support.
ModernFix
ModernFix is a collection of miscellaneous performance patches that target various aspects of Minecraft and the mod loading process. It can help reduce startup times, improve chunk loading, and address specific performance issues that other performance mods do not cover.
ModernFix is designed to be compatible with Embeddium and FerriteCore, so you can run all three together for cumulative improvements. It supports NeoForge and is a common inclusion in optimized modpacks.
Best Utility Mods
Just Enough Items (JEI)
JEI is arguably the single most essential mod for any modded Minecraft setup. It adds a searchable item list overlay to your inventory screen, showing every item and block from all your installed mods. Click any item to see its crafting recipe, or right-click to see what it is used in.
In a modpack with dozens of mods adding thousands of items, JEI is what makes the experience navigable. Without it, you would need to constantly look up recipes on external wikis. JEI has supported NeoForge from early on and receives regular updates.
Jade
Jade adds an in-world tooltip (sometimes called a WAILA/HWYLA replacement) that shows information about whatever block or entity you are looking at. Point at a machine, and Jade shows its name, mod, storage contents, and current state. Point at a crop, and it shows the growth stage.
This is another quality-of-life mod that becomes difficult to play without once you have tried it. Jade supports NeoForge and is lightweight enough to include in any modpack without concerns about performance impact.
JourneyMap
JourneyMap is a real-time mapping mod that generates a minimap and full-screen map as you explore. It tracks your position, shows waypoints, and maps caves and surface terrain. You can also view the map in a web browser for a larger overview.
JourneyMap has been a staple of modded Minecraft for years and has NeoForge support. It is useful in virtually every modded playthrough, especially when exploring new dimensions or large cave systems.
Controlling
Controlling improves Minecraft's key binding menu by adding a search bar and the ability to filter by conflicts. When you have dozens of mods each adding their own key binds, finding and resolving conflicts becomes tedious. Controlling makes it manageable. It is a small mod with NeoForge support that belongs in every installation.
Mouse Tweaks
Mouse Tweaks is a simple but essential quality-of-life mod that improves inventory management. It adds features like scrolling items between slots, holding right-click to pick up items one at a time, and shift-click dragging to move multiple stacks quickly. In modded Minecraft, where you frequently manage large inventories with hundreds of different items, these small interactions save a surprising amount of time.
Configured
Configured adds a graphical configuration screen for mods that use Forge/NeoForge's configuration system. Instead of manually editing .toml config files, you can adjust mod settings directly from an in-game menu. This is especially useful in modpacks where you want to tweak individual mod behavior without leaving the game. Configured has NeoForge support and pairs well with Controlling for a smoother settings experience.
Best Visual Mods
Oculus
Oculus brings shader support to NeoForge, allowing you to use shader packs like Complementary Shaders, BSL, and Sildur's Vibrant Shaders. It is based on the Iris project (Fabric's shader loader) and is designed to work alongside Embeddium for optimal compatibility.
Shader performance varies depending on your hardware and the shader pack you choose. Oculus makes it possible to use shaders in modded NeoForge setups, which was not easily achievable before this mod existed.
Rubidium (Embeddium dependency)
Rubidium was the original NeoForge/Forge port of Sodium's rendering engine. In recent versions, Embeddium has largely taken over this role and is generally considered the more actively maintained option. If you see Rubidium listed as a dependency for Oculus or other mods, check whether Embeddium can serve as a replacement — in many cases it can.
Entity Texture Features
Entity Texture Features (ETF) adds support for OptiFine-style random and emissive entity textures in resource packs. If you use resource packs that include custom mob textures or glowing elements, ETF makes them work on NeoForge without needing OptiFine. It has NeoForge builds available.
Entity Model Features
Entity Model Features (EMF) is the companion to ETF, adding support for OptiFine-style custom entity models in resource packs. Together, ETF and EMF cover the visual customization features that many resource packs were designed for when OptiFine was the only option. Both mods support NeoForge and are designed to work alongside Embeddium and Oculus.
Forge Mod Compatibility — What Works on NeoForge
One of the most common questions when building a NeoForge mod list is whether you can use your existing Forge mods. Here is a practical breakdown:
Mods with official NeoForge support
Many popular mods now publish NeoForge-specific builds on Modrinth and CurseForge. When downloading a mod, look for "NeoForge" in the loader filter. All the mods listed in this article have verified NeoForge versions.
Forge mods that work without changes
Some Forge mods work on NeoForge without any modifications because they only use the public Forge API, which NeoForge largely preserves. However, this is not guaranteed for any specific mod, and compatibility can break with NeoForge updates. Test carefully.
Forge mods that do not work
Mods that use internal Forge APIs, certain Access Transformers, or deep Forge internals may crash or fail to load on NeoForge. If a Forge mod does not work on NeoForge, the fix usually needs to come from the mod developer — you cannot patch it on the player side. See our NeoForge Mods Not Working guide for troubleshooting help.
How to check compatibility
- Visit the mod's page on Modrinth or CurseForge
- Check the loader filter — if "NeoForge" is listed, the mod has official support
- If only "Forge" is listed, the mod may work on NeoForge but is not guaranteed
- Check the mod's changelog or issue tracker for NeoForge mentions
- If you are unsure, test the mod in a separate NeoForge instance before adding it to your main setup
The general trend in the modding community is that NeoForge mod support is growing steadily. Mods that are actively maintained tend to add NeoForge builds relatively quickly, while abandoned or infrequently updated mods may remain Forge-only indefinitely.
Looking for curated mod collections instead of individual mods? Check out our Best NeoForge Modpacks roundup. And if you want to compare with Forge's ecosystem, see our Best Forge Mods list.
Other Mod Loader Guides
Using a different mod loader? Check out these best mods lists:
- Best Forge Mods
- Best Fabric Mods
- Best Quilt Mods
- NeoForge vs Forge — Understanding the fork
- Forge vs Fabric vs NeoForge — Complete 3-way comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Are NeoForge mods the same as Forge mods?
Not exactly. While many mods support both loaders, NeoForge mods are built against NeoForge's API, which has diverged from Forge's since the July 2023 fork. Always download the NeoForge version of a mod when available rather than assuming the Forge version will work.
How many mods does NeoForge support?
The number grows regularly as more mod developers add NeoForge support. Major mod hosting sites like Modrinth and CurseForge both include NeoForge as a loader filter, making it easy to browse available mods. We have not counted the exact number and it changes frequently.
Can I use Fabric mods on NeoForge?
No. Fabric mods and NeoForge mods use completely different APIs and are not compatible with each other. You need to choose one loader and use mods built for that loader.
Do performance mods stack?
Generally yes — Embeddium, FerriteCore, and ModernFix target different aspects of performance and are designed to work together. Always check each mod's compatibility notes, but running multiple performance mods is common practice in optimized setups.
What if my favorite mod does not have a NeoForge version?
You can check the mod's issue tracker or community channels to see if NeoForge support is planned. If the mod is Forge-only, it may still work on NeoForge due to API compatibility, but this is not guaranteed. If the mod is critical to your experience and Forge-only, you may want to stay on Forge for now.
