Gabri
FiveM's anti-cheat is a client-side system run by Cfx.re, the team behind FiveM, and it bans the account linked to any program it catches injecting into the game. Each server can then install a second anti-cheat of its own.
Search "fivem anticheat" and all eight organic results you get are about that second layer, from vendor homepages to threads asking which one to buy.
The two layers work separately: Cfx.re's ban covers every FiveM and RedM server at once, while a server's anti-cheat bans you from that one community.
On October 12, 2026 I read Cfx.re's Ban FAQ and Resource FAQ, txAdmin's ban docs, and the pages of the five server anti-cheats whose own sites ranked in Google's US top 10 for that search.
Did a FiveM server ban your PC rather than your account? The section on spoofed hardware IDs is the part for you.
If Cfx.re banned your account, no spoofer changes that, and your route is to appeal a FiveM global ban with Cfx.re instead.
What Anti-Cheat Does FiveM Use?
FiveM uses its own anti-cheat, built and run by Cfx.re, not BattlEye or Easy Anti-Cheat.
Cfx.re's Community Server Ban FAQ describes "our automated anti-cheat system", which looks for outside programs that try to inject information into the FiveM or RedM client. Those are the mod menus and Lua executors people mean when they talk about FiveM cheats.
If it catches one on your PC, the account linked to it is banned from FiveM and RedM, and every server you try to join with that account shows a message saying it's globally banned and for how long.
The Resource FAQ calls this the "client-side 'global' anticheat" and says its code sits in a private tree, so you can't see what it scans for.
Cfx.re's server security guide also admits that "sometimes things slip through." That gap is where server anti-cheats come in, and the Resource FAQ says plainly that anti-cheat resources are allowed.
GTA Online is where people mix this up. Rockstar's own online mode runs the BattlEye anti-cheat on PC, while FiveM doesn't run BattlEye.
Two layers, two owners, two different bans.
How FiveM Server Anti-Cheats Work
A FiveM server anti-cheat checks what players do against what the server allows, and the vendors I read describe five kinds of checks:
- Event protection. Cfx.re's security guide warns that "cheats can allow the client to trigger events in any context", so any server event that pays you cash or items is a target. PhoenixAC sells a feature it calls Event Protection for that.
- Behavior checks. Behavior checks judge results rather than programs, and Electron's detection modules cover aimbots, god mode, teleporting, noclip and speed changes.
- Client checks. A server anti-cheat's client script can look at the player's side too: FIREAC's README lists checks for blacklisted weapons, invisible players and spectating, and Electron lists a module for ESP and wallhacks.
- Prechecks. PhoenixAC checks you before you join: Anti-VPN, Steam account age, Discord whitelists and what it calls a "malicious player database".
- Staff tools. The ones I could read all come with an admin panel for banning and kicking players, and Electron adds session replay on some plans.
Each of those checks runs as a resource on the one server you're playing, and only Cfx.re's anti-cheat sits in the client for every server at once.
The FiveM Anti-Cheats Server Owners Name
Five server anti-cheats had their own pages in Google's US top 10 for "fivem anticheat" when I checked: FiveGuard, Electron, WaveShield, PhoenixAC and FIREAC.
I left out every "best", "#1" and server count on their pages, because I can't check any of them.
No rating, no ranking, no winner. What's below is what each one says about itself.
| Anti-cheat | Model | What its own pages say |
|---|---|---|
| Electron | Paid plans | Server resource, cloud dashboard |
| WaveShield | Paid license key | Panel, console and chat unbans |
| PhoenixAC | Paid license | Cloud panel, prechecks |
| FIREAC | Free, open source | Basic client and server checks |
| FiveGuard | Not confirmed | UNVERIFIED (site not readable) |
Electron
Electron describes itself as a cloud-based, server-side anti-cheat that installs as a FiveM resource and runs from a web dashboard. Its llms.txt file, the summary it publishes for AI tools, lists detection modules from aimbots and god mode to VPN use and server crash attempts.
If your server runs ESX, QBCore, QBOX or VRP, Electron says it works with that framework, on both GTA V Legacy and Enhanced. Its homepage adds a lookup for "any player who has joined an Electron server".
WaveShield
WaveShield's homepage sits behind a bot check, but its documentation is open.
The docs say you redeem a license key on WaveShield's panel after purchase, and that a ban can be lifted from the server console or txAdmin, from in-game chat, or from the web panel.
They also tell owners whose servers sit behind a proxy to turn IP bans off, since the shared address can't identify one player and people connect to find someone else's ban. It's a small line in the docs, and if you run a server, it's the one to read first.
PhoenixAC
PhoenixAC's homepage leads with a cloud panel that lets your staff ban, kick and screenshot players without being on the server.
It sells licenses from one month up to lifetime, adds a free admin menu, and lists Event Protection and its prechecks among its features.
FIREAC
FIREAC is the free one: an open-source FiveM anti-cheat on GitHub, released under the AGPL-3.0 license by Amirreza Jaberi.
Its README lists basic client-side checks such as god mode, noclip and teleporting, plus server-side checks for blacklisted events and explosion spam. It supports ESX, QBCore and standalone servers, and the same README credits the support of fiveguard.net for keeping FIREAC free.
FiveGuard
FiveGuard's site and its docs both sat behind a "verify you are human" check when I tried them, so I couldn't read FiveGuard's own description of itself.
Beyond its name and its place in the results, treat anything you read about FiveGuard here as UNVERIFIED.
Read the docs, not the badges.
Is There a Free FiveM Anti-Cheat?
Yes: FIREAC is free and open source, and Cfx.re itself tells server owners to build their own server-side checks.
The Resource FAQ asks owners to use server-side code where they can, to build a server-side anti-cheat and maintain it "together with the community", and to send any working cheat they find to [email protected].
If a script pays out money or items without checking who asked, a cheater can ask too, so validating events on the server costs you nothing but time.
Why Nobody Can Name the Best FiveM Anticheat
Nobody can name the best FiveM anticheat with evidence, because I couldn't find a public, independent test of detection rates when I searched on October 12, 2026. One of the vendors says no such test exists.
Electron's own comparison page states that there's no public independent test of detection rates, and that vendor percentages shouldn't decide what you buy.
Cfx.re says something close about the whole category: it has "no way to verify the quality of every anticheat".
What you can compare is what each one documents: whether it checks the client or only the server, how bans and unbans work, and what it tells you to do about false bans.
Compare documents, not adjectives.
How a Server Anti-Cheat Ban Works
A FiveM server anti-cheat ban is a record on that one server, saved against the identifiers the server collected when you joined.
Cfx.re's scripting docs list six identifier types a server can read from a player: steam, discord, license and license2 (Rockstar Online Services), fivem (your Cfx.re account) and ip.
A server can also read your player tokens, which Cfx.re's reference says "can be used to enhance banning logic" but "are specific to a server".
txAdmin, the official FiveM server panel that its GitHub page puts on over 29,000 servers, has recorded what its docs call "hardware ID tokens" with bans since version 6.0.
That list can be empty, so not every server ban touches your hardware.
Who lifts the ban is local too: Cfx.re's client docs tell anyone who thinks a server banned them unfairly to "contact the server owners", and say FiveM "cannot and will not provide support for this matter."
WaveShield's docs show the owner's side of that: an unban is a console command, a chat command or a click in the panel. Not sure which ban you're under? Check whether a FiveM ban is global or server-only first.
Ask the server's staff first, because they own the record.
Can One Server's Anti-Cheat Ban You Everywhere?
Not under Cfx.re's rules: its Resource FAQ lists global ban lists as a resource it doesn't want on FiveM, because a list like that could block players from a large number of servers without good reason.
The only ban Cfx.re describes as covering every server is its own global ban. That one is a ban on the account, decided by Cfx.re and appealed to Cfx.re.
Two of the anti-cheats above do share information across servers. Electron's lookup covers anyone who has joined an Electron server, and PhoenixAC lists a "malicious player database" among its prechecks.
What a server does with a match on you is up to the people running it, and I won't guess at how each one uses it.
Spoofed Hardware IDs and FiveM Anti-Cheats
Spoofed hardware IDs matter for one kind of FiveM ban only: a server ban saved against hardware ID tokens. Start with what a spoofer can't touch:
- A Cfx.re global ban. Cfx.re describes it as a ban on the linked account, so it stays whatever your PC reports.
- Any banned account. Cfx.re, Rockstar, Steam and Discord accounts stay banned.
- A server staff's decision. If the people running a server banned you, they decide whether you come back.
- An IP ban. That one follows your connection, not your hardware.
Some FiveM anti-cheats also say they look for spoofers. PegasusAC's README, which I read on October 12, 2026, describes a "Spoofer Detection" feature for players who reconnect after a ban with spoofed hardware identifiers.
Rockstar's terms, which FiveM's license pulls in, list circumventing "access controls, or technical protective measures" among the things you agree not to do. Going back onto a server that banned you is your call, with that risk attached.
That's where Saturn fits, and where it stops. Saturn is an HWID spoofer, not a cheat, and it doesn't hide a cheat or change what any anti-cheat looks for.
It changes the hardware identifiers Windows reports, from disk and motherboard serials to the MAC address, TPM and monitor EDID, so tokens a server saved against your old values stop matching that PC. The mechanics of how an HWID spoofer swaps those serials are the same for every game.
FiveM coverage comes inside Saturn's BattlEye license and runs from the same single loader, even though FiveM itself doesn't run BattlEye. If a server banned your PC rather than your account, Saturn's FiveM spoofer is built for that case, and the 24-hour trial needs an email address but no card.
Some of the anti-cheats above say they're looking for spoofers, so here's where Saturn stands. As of October 12, 2026, Saturn is currently undetected by every anti-cheat it supports, FiveM included, and the live status page tracks FiveM on its own line, community servers too.
I'd keep one thing straight, though: that's Saturn's own footprint, not a cheat's. If Cfx.re's anti-cheat or a server's catches a mod menu, the account is banned all the same.
A hardware ban on one server is Saturn's job, and nothing else on this page is.
FiveM Anti-Cheat FAQ
Can I get banned for using FiveM?
Not for using FiveM itself: Cfx.re's anti-cheat bans accounts linked to programs that inject into the game client, and each server can ban players under its own rules. Cfx.re also warns that outside programs running next to the game can cause a false ban, and it takes appeals.
Does FiveM use BattlEye?
No, FiveM runs Cfx.re's anti-cheat plus whatever each server installs. BattlEye protects Rockstar's GTA Online on PC, a separate mode with separate bans.
What is the best FiveM anti-cheat?
No answer is backed by a public, independent detection test, and Electron's own comparison page says no such test exists. Compare what each one documents instead: client or server checks, ban tools and false-ban handling.
Do FiveM anti-cheats use HWID bans?
Some server bans do: txAdmin has stored hardware ID tokens with bans since version 6.0, and PegasusAC says it inspects hardware tokens on every connection. By Cfx.re's own description, its global ban is an account ban.
Who can lift a FiveM server anti-cheat ban?
Only that server's staff, or the ban's own timer. Cfx.re says it won't handle server bans, so an appeal goes through the server's own channel, such as a ticket in its Discord.
Does an HWID spoofer hide cheats from a FiveM anti-cheat?
No, a spoofer changes the hardware IDs your PC reports, which matters only for bans tied to those IDs. It doesn't hide a cheat from Cfx.re's anti-cheat or a server's.
Final Thoughts
FiveM's anti-cheat question has two answers: Cfx.re's own system, which bans accounts across every server, and whatever each server installs on top, which bans you from that server alone.
If you run a server, read each vendor's docs for how it bans, unbans and handles false bans, because that's the part you'll live with.
If you got banned, find out which layer did it before you do anything else. Cfx.re calls its global ban an account ban, and only server bans are documented with hardware tokens.
Checked by Gabri on October 12, 2026. Sources: Cfx.re's Community Server Ban FAQ (updated December 15, 2025), Resource FAQ, server security guide, client troubleshooting docs and scripting reference; txAdmin's GitHub page and event docs; Rockstar's Terms of Service (read October 8, 2026); the own pages of Electron, WaveShield, PhoenixAC and FIREAC, and PegasusAC's README. FiveGuard's pages could not be read.