Anyone setting up a Minecraft server has roughly three options: a free hosted server, self-hosting on a computer at home, or renting a server. All three are the right choice in certain situations. Below is an honest look at what each route gives you and what it actually costs, even when there is no number on an invoice.
Free hosted servers
Services like Aternos and Minehut offer free Minecraft servers. That is not a gimmick: those servers work, you can run plugins and modpacks on them, and for many people it is a perfectly fine way to start. The cost is not in money but in availability.
These services run thousands of servers on shared hardware, and they can only afford to do that because most servers are shut down most of the day. This leads to the well-known characteristics:
- The server stops automatically when the last player disconnects, and starts again only when someone manually turns it on.
- During busy hours you may face a queue before the server is allowed to start.
- Allocated memory and CPU time are limited, which becomes obvious with larger modpacks.
- You share an address on a subdomain with no dedicated IP or custom port.
- The server is unreachable while you sleep, so players in other time zones cannot play.
For an evening of building with three friends, for testing a modpack or for a school project, that is absolutely sufficient. For a community that plays on a schedule or wants to grow, it quickly becomes the bottleneck.
Self-hosting on a computer at home
The second route is an old desktop or laptop tucked away somewhere. It feels free because you already own the hardware. But do the math.
An average desktop running a Minecraft server continuously draws somewhere between 50 and 90 watts. Take 60 watts as an example: that is 0.06 kW times 24 hours times 30 days, roughly 43 kWh per month. At a rate of about EUR 0.30 per kWh, you end up at roughly EUR 13 per month in electricity alone. That is more than an 8 GB hosted plan costs.
On top of that, practical hassles pile up:
- Port forwarding. You need to forward port 25565 in your router. If you are behind CGNAT, which is common with many ISPs and nearly all mobile connections, you simply do not have a public IP and it will not work.
- Changing IP address. Many providers rotate your IP periodically. Without dynamic DNS, players have to ask for the new address every time.
- Your home address becomes visible. Everyone who connects sees your home IP. In a conflict with a player, that is a real risk of an attack that takes your entire household offline.
- Upload speed matters. A Minecraft server sends data. Your upload speed determines quality, and it is often much lower than the download speed advertised.
- The machine must stay on. A restart for a system update, a power outage or someone unplugging it means the server is gone until you get home.
If you have a low-power mini PC, a static IP and enjoy the administration, self-hosting is a great learning experience. If you see it mainly as the cheap option, it often disappoints in practice.
What you get when you rent
With a rented server you are not just paying for memory. You are paying for a server that runs while you do not think about it. That includes a datacenter connection with DDoS filtering, a dedicated IP and port, automatic backups, a management panel for files, versions and console, and someone to contact when something breaks.
Our servers are located in the Netherlands, Germany, France and Poland, running on AMD Ryzen 9 7950X hardware with NVMe storage. Plans start at EUR 2.80 per month for 2 GB, and everything is cancellable monthly.
A practical guideline
Start free if you like. Once you find yourself constantly waiting for the server to start, losing players because it was offline, or hitting the limits of a modpack, that is the moment to switch. For a friend group that plays casually, a free server is fine. For a server that needs to be there when your players are there, you are really paying for availability, and that is exactly where free solutions have to make cuts.
Can I move my world from a free host to paid hosting?
Yes. Download the world from your current host and upload it via SFTP. The process is the same regardless of where you are coming from.
Is paying monthly more expensive than a longer term?
At many hosts, yes. At HostValues, there is no surcharge for monthly billing. You pay the same rate whether you commit for a month or a year.
What if I just want to try it for a week?
Monthly billing means you can cancel after one month. There is no minimum contract or setup fee. Try it, and cancel if it is not for you.
Want to know what your server needs? Read how much RAM your Minecraft server needs or browse the plans on Minecraft hosting.
