Why Self-Host Minecraft?
Hosting your own Minecraft server gives you full control over game rules, mods, and who can play. Unlike Realms or Aternos free servers, you decide which plugins run and how many players can be online simultaneously.
Along the way, you'll learn Linux administration, Docker deployment, and server management – skills that are in demand in the IT industry. And the best part: Your own VPS often costs less than a Minecraft Realms subscription.
Hardware Requirements
Minecraft is RAM-intensive. The server tick runs single-threaded, which means good single-core performance is more important than many CPU cores.
Vanilla servers with few players can manage with 2-4 GB RAM. Paper/Spigot with plugins need 4-6 GB, and large modpacks like ATM or Feed The Beast quickly require 8-12 GB. View distance has enormous impact on RAM usage – every chunk must be kept in memory.
| Server Type | Players | RAM | CPU |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vanilla | 5-10 | 2-4 GB | 1-2 vCPU |
| Paper/Spigot + Plugins | 10-20 | 4-6 GB | 2-4 vCPU |
| Forge Mods | 5-15 | 6-8 GB | 2-4 vCPU |
| Large Modpacks (50+ Mods) | 5-10 | 8-12 GB | 4 vCPU |
Our Recommendation
For Vanilla servers with 5-10 players, 4 GB RAM is sufficient. Look for a CPU with strong single-core performance, such as the AMD EPYC systems at Hetzner.
Paper/Spigot servers with plugins run best with 8 GB RAM – enough headroom for Dynmap, Essentials, and other popular plugins.
For modpacks, plan for 16 GB RAM – what matters most here is a lot of RAM for the money, e.g. at Contabo. Which plans currently offer this at the lowest price is shown in the live table on this page (prices incl. VAT, updated twice daily).
