Minecraft is one of the popular classic games with millions of fans; this online multiplayer game has gained much more popularity and hundreds of players love playing it with their friends. There are four ways to play Minecraft with friends; LAN, Realms, Split-screen multiplayer, and online server. LAN is not so good option if your friends live far away and split-screen multiplayer is only for gaming consoles and not for desktop and mobile users. Moreover, Minecraft realms; a subscription-based service to play Minecraft online with friends is good but you cannot mod or monetize it. So, I list out the best free Minecraft Server Hosting with Mods and Monetization.
Jump to – 6 Best & Free Minecraft Server Hosting
Free Minecraft Servers – Aternos and Minehut
Cheap Minecraft Server – ShockByte
Best and Cheap Minecraft Servers – Hostinger, Apex Hosting & BiscetHosting
Minecraft Server Hosting Requirements and Guide
As said earlier, Server hosting is the best option to play Minecraft with friends and monetize to make money along with playing. But which is the best Minecraft server hosting? What are the requirements?
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Minecraft Server Hosting Requirements –
| Requirement | Minimum | Recommended |
|---|---|---|
| RAM | 1 GB RAM | 2 GB RAM |
| CPU | 1 CPU Core | 2 CPU Core |
Storage on Minecraft server depends on number of groups that will be playing on the server. If you have a great popularity in Minecraft and have a lot of groups, the requirements will increase with time. The best possible option is to go with any cheap plan that offers SSD.
But remember one thing, cheap server hosting is not that fast and take some time loading the game for you. This can be reduced if you are using SSD based Minecraft server hosting. There are a lot of choices; you can try hostinger and shockbyte servers or you can also for BiscetHosting.
What to look for in a Minecraft Server – A Perfect Guide
1. Processor
Processor time is measured in MHz and GHz and is an important factor to play quality games. Shared hosting divides the processor among the users and you may face a few problems. But a VPS (Virtual Private Server) is the best option as it let you have the whole processor for yourself. You can also opt for cloud servers for best and quality performance.
Most of the free Minecraft servers are shared hosting and you can always go with it. The only problem is you cannot load heavy gaming as it will clock out the processor.
2. Memory
Shared hosting will make a large pool of data and this will result in lower performance. It is better to have a server with recommended amount of RAM memory and eliminate unnecessary memory swapping. Moreover, you can use a VPS and cloud server to keep the RAM to yourself. This engages high performance and quality gaming on your very own Minecraft server hosting.
3. Storage
There are various types of servers but there is something specific when it comes to choosing a Minecraft server; storage. The best option is to choose a SSD drive storage that gives you a fast data retrieving and good gaming performance.
4. Server Location
The server location determines the performance of your Minecraft game. If the server is located in a far off location from where the gamers actually are, this can cause the game to lag. If the gaming groups are from a region or territory, it is better to go with a server from that particular location only.
5. Minecraft Dedicated [Bonus]
A few servers are designed particularly only for playing Minecraft games and these offer installation and technical support. To be honest, it is an advantage to use a Minecraft dedicated server for assistance and easy setup. You can fairly use other servers non-dedicated to Minecraft and set it later accordingly.
6 Best & Free / Cheap Minecraft Server Hosting with Mods
There are several hosting providers and most of them are cheap and offer a heavy discount for first-time users.
That said – Let us list out the Best, Free & Cheap Minecraft Server Hosting
1. Aternos – Minecraft Dedicated [Free Server]
Aternos is one of the best Minecraft dedicated server hosting that allows you to add your customizable mods. It is used by almost 27,273,050 users worldwide and around 600,000 players every day.
Features –
- Fully customizable
- Mods and Plugins
- DDOS Protected
- Automatic backups
- Custom world
- Available in 40 languages
- Tech Support
2. Minehut – Full Package Minecraft Server
Minehut is another best and free Minecraft dedicated server hosting that is new but has served almost 3,123,405 servers so far. The Minehut server provides you 2 free servers and almost 500k monthly users community space. You can upgrade to Minehut pro hosting for $7.99/month.
Features –
- 2 Free Minecraft dedicated servers
- Community area
- No time limit on play
- Instant setup
- Discussion Forum
3. Apex Hosting – Cheap Minecraft Server
Apex hosting is cheap and affordable Minecraft server hosting and provides a ton of great features. This hosting server has hosted over 200,000 Minecraft servers and is the official host of technic launcher.
Features –
- High clock speed CPU, SSD, and lag-free servers
- One-click mod packs
- DDOS Protection
- 24/7 servers & support
- Ultra-low latency
- Instant setup
- Free subdomain
- Automated backups
- Powerful Control Panel
4. Hostinger – Minecraft Dedicated Hosting Server
Hostinger is one of the popular hosting services with thousands of users around the world. The best part? They have Minecraft dedicated server hosting with almost 99.9% uptime and a Multicraft panel.
Features –
- 99.9% uptime
- DDOS protection
- Instant Setup
- Multicraft panel
- Dual CPU
- Web/FTP file access
- Free MySQL
- Mobile app
- PCI-DSS compliant
- Automatic Off-Site Backup
5. ShockByte Minecraft Server – Budget-Friendly & Scalable
ShockByte is one of the budgets free and business level Minecraft server. You can find servers ranging from $2.5 to almost $25 per month; additionally, you can choose heavy Minecraft gaming plans ranging from $25 to $40 per month based on your requirements. The basic plan includes only 1GB of RAM($2.5) and it increases along with the price ranges. If you are looking for customizable Minecraft server hosting, you can get a quote from the 24/7 ShockByte team.
Features –
- 100% uptime
- DDOS Protection
- Free Subdomain
- Instant Setup
- 24/7 tech support
- Multicraft panel
- Unlimited SSD
6. Biscethosting – Cheap and Best Minecraft Server Hosting
BiscetHosting is cheap and budget-friendly Minecraft server hosting; they have tons of great features at this low price and server locations in almost 16 places. Additionally, you get unlimited SSD storage and the nodes are never oversold or unavailable.
You can run either the Bedrock or the JAVA version of Minecraft on this server with the custom JAR support. Additionally, you get free MySQL and daily backup benefits.
Features –
- DDOS Protection
- Free unlimited slots, IP, and Modpack installations
- Custom JAR support
- Free subdomain
- Full access to FTP
- Daily backups
- Control Panel
- Multiple Locations
- Free MySQL
- SSD storage
Conclusion
This guide walked you through the best and free Minecraft server hosting with mods along with a server guide. Aternos is one of the best free Minecraft server hostings that allows you to host Minecraft games for free and forever. The other Minecraft servers are Hostinger and ShockByte that gives you easy scalability and good performance.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, there are other three options to play Minecraft with friends. These include, LAN connection, split-screen, and online servers.
Owning a server is costly infrastructure wise but there are free options to host a Minecraft server. One of the options is Aternos Minecraft server or MineHut. You can also monetize it later to earn money.
Yes, you can later monetize your Minecraft server and earn money from it. One of the ways to monetize your Minecraft Server is by registration fee or game fee.
Yes, you can create a free Minecraft server with Hosting providers such as Hostinger and ShockByte. They offer cheap and best subscriptions. Moreover, you can get a free Minecraft server from Aternos and Minehut.
You need at least 1GB of RAM to run your Minecraft Server. Although, it is recommended to use a 2GB of RAM server with an SSD storage type and at least 2 CPU cores.
