Cheap Minecraft server hosting

What a Minecraft server costs for your group

Each column is our smallest plan with the memory our performance guide says that kind of server needs to run without lag. A plan that’s too small isn’t cheap: it lags, and you end up paying for a bigger one anyway.

Where the guide gives a range, the table starts at its low end, so a big world or lots of farms may need the next plan up. Prices in US dollars + applicable taxes, and monthly plans renew at the price shown. Not sure how many will play, or how heavy your mods are? Our RAM calculator works it out.

What a modpack server costs

A modpack’s size decides its memory more than your group does. These are the sizes from our modpack guide, for up to about 6 players, on the smallest plan that holds each one.

Why the kind of server changes the price

• Bedrock. The lightest of all. Mojang’s Bedrock Dedicated Server runs up to 8 players on our smallest plan. It’s the server for friends on phones, tablets, consoles and Windows.
• Vanilla, Paper and Purpur. Java servers need more memory than Bedrock as your group grows. Paper plays like Vanilla but runs faster, and it takes plugins, which run only on the server, so friends install nothing.
• Mods on Fabric, NeoForge or Forge. Every mod loads its own code, items and data into memory when the server starts. Even 2 to 4 players with mods need about three times the memory of plain Java.
• Modpacks. A pack can hold hundreds of mods, so its size decides the memory more than your group does. A big pack needs a big plan even for two players.

Only playing on phones, consoles or Windows? See Minecraft Bedrock server hosting. Not sure which Java server to run? The server types guide compares them.

Five ways to pay less

1. Run the lightest server that does the job. Paper runs a few Java friends on Seed 2 GB and takes plugins. Bedrock is lighter still. Add mods only when your group will play with them.
2. Let it nap. Your server sleeps when nobody plays and wakes when a friend joins. That saving is already in the price, so you don’t pay for the hours nobody plays.
3. Use a 3-day pass for a weekend. One payment, from $1.35, that never renews. It’s also a cheap way to try a modpack first: a medium pack on Grove 8 GB is $4.85 for 3 days.
4. Pay for longer. Paying every 3 months saves at least 10%, and paying yearly at least 15%, against paying monthly.
5. Lower the view distance before you upgrade. Each player keeps every chunk within the view distance loaded. On Java, going from 10 chunks to 8 cuts that area by about a third, and often stops the lag.

And your first order is 20% off, on a plan or a pass, so Seed 2 GB is $5.19 for the first month. Then the normal price. Cancel any time.

What to avoid in a cheap host

Whoever you rent from, a low price shouldn’t come with these.

• Plans sold by player slots. A slot count says nothing about memory, and memory decides whether your mods or modpack fit. Look for the RAM.
• Only one kind of server. You want Paper for plugins, Fabric or NeoForge for mods, and the freedom to change your mind. A host that only runs Vanilla costs you a move later.
• Backups you can’t restore yourself. A griefer or a broken mod can wreck a world in minutes. You should be able to roll it back from the panel, without a ticket.
• A first month that hides the second. A deal is only cheap if the renewal price is fair too. Check what the plan renews at before you pay.
• Extra fees for the basics. Changing the server type, installing a modpack or switching to another game shouldn’t cost extra. On Wilderack none of them do.
• A crowded machine. Minecraft runs 20 ticks a second, and when that drops below about 18, players notice lag. Memory you paid for doesn’t help if the machine under it is overloaded. Each of our servers keeps the memory on its plan to itself while it runs.

Comparing hosts? Our guide to choosing a Minecraft host has the full checklist.

When cheap is the wrong choice

• A big modpack. A large pack, with 200 to 300 mods, needs Grove 10 GB or more, even for a few friends. On a smaller plan it crashes with an out of memory error, however cheap the plan was.
• A busy public server. 20 or more players on Paper start at Grove 8 GB, and the world keeps growing. Size it for your busiest evening, not your quietest.
• Just you and 2 friends on Bedrock. Realms Core costs $3.99 a month for you and 2 friends, less than our smallest plan. If you don’t need mods, plugins or Java, it may suit you better.
• When free is fine. Friends in the same house can play together over your home network for free, and Mojang’s server software is free to run on your own computer if it can stay on.

Weighing a Realm against a server? Realms or your own server puts them side by side.

Where we fall short

• No free plan or free trial. The cheapest way to try us is a 3-day pass, from $1.35, and each card can buy one pass every 90 days.
• Bedrock on Xbox, PlayStation and Switch has no button to join a server by address. Console players get in with a community tool such as BedrockConnect, which takes a few extra steps. Realms is the only way built into consoles.
• Two regions open so far: US East and Europe. Players in Asia, Oceania or South America will have higher ping than with a host nearby.
• We are new, so we can’t show you years of uptime yet.

Console players can follow our steps for joining from Xbox, PlayStation or Switch.

How we checked

The memory each kind of server needs comes from the tables in our Minecraft guides, which our team checks against the documentation from Microsoft, PaperMC and the other projects listed under Sources below. This page reads those tables and our price list each time it’s built, so the plans and prices match the Minecraft plans. If something here is out of date, email support@wilderack.com and we will fix it.