7 Best Minecraft Server Hosting Platforms

As of 2020, Minecraft has sold over 200 million copies and has garnered a fairly large community with more than 126 million active players. This game has stood the test of time and the demand for more resources doesn't seem to be diminishing anytime soon. Players are constantly looking for ways to keep their game innovative, creative, and optimized, from modpacks to standalone mods to plugins to servers.

We've already discussed some popular Minecraft mods in our updated Minecraft Mods Guide. We've also included a list of the top Minecraft texture packs. In this article, we're going to look at Minecraft Servers.

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Minecraft servers are essentially dedicated to secure online platforms that allow Minecraft players to play and interact with other Minecraft players. It allows them to customize their games and hosts multiplayer game modes without using up all of their computer resources.

Can anyone create a Minecraft server? Yes, actually! In our How to Make a Minecraft Server guide, you'll find that the process, while a little daunting, is actually very doable.

It can take some time to set up and it takes a lot of trial-and-error! That's why people prefer specialized Minecraft server hosting platforms. Minecraft servers They are much more user-friendly and convenient.

The Best Minecraft Server Host?

It would be an understatement to say that there are many options available. There are dozens of established Minecraft server hosting platforms out there, and plenty more are popping up. Some of these platforms require that you pay a monthly or annual fee.

If you're not willing to pay upwards of $10 just to experience running a Minecraft server, don't worry; there are plenty of free and affordable servers out there. We've listed seven of the best below!

Server.pro

Server.pro offers professional Minecraft servers that are "easy to setup" and "easy to use." This Swedish game hosting company offers both paid or free plans to suit low risk, high-reward hosting strategies. The paid plans will, of course, have more perks and features than free accounts; ad-free, daily backups, and multi-admin capabilities, just to name a few.

The free option isn’t bad either. It's just as lag-less, customizable, and easy to edit (thanks to Server.pro's sleek file manager feature) as its paid counterpart.

Server.pro's paid plans are available for purchase at $5 to $10 per month. The Pro setup is $20 to $40 per monthly. Server.pro only offers the Pro setup, which includes a dedicated IP and MySQL Server with root access.

Pricing

Aternos

Aternos launched in 2013 and has grown to over 28,000,000 users with 600,000 players daily. It's a very popular and well-known platform that offers all of its features, from RAM to plugins to customizations, at no cost.

You're correct, everything is 100 percent free. Aternos' motto is, in fact; "Minecraft Servers - Free. Forever."

What's the catch? You get what you pay.

Aternos is a great platform for free. They offer a lot more than basic or starter plans from other hosting providers. You can add up to 20 players, you get up to 1.7GB of RAM, and you get access to their 24/7 Customer Support (which, by the way, is pretty quick to respond to questions).

Aternos won't ask for your credit card information.

We think this is a very big pro that makes all its possible cons (i.e., limited plugins and inability to modify configuration files) worthwhile.

Pricing

Minehut

Like Server.pro, Minehut offers both paid and free plans to suit specific Minecraft server needs. You can view two (2) servers for free as a free user. This is available to the 250,000 monthly visitors who visit the lobby. You also get 12 plugin slots, 1GB RAM, and a maximum 10 players.

It is pretty good, all things being equal. Especially if you compare it to Server.pro's and Aternos' own "no-cost" packages.

People approach Minehut with cautious curiosity because Minehut is more commonly known as a "freemium", or free premium, server hosting provider. Truly "free" servers are few and far between, and many of them come with plenty of drawbacks (i.e., lag, crazy limitations, hidden fees, hundreds of ads, etc.). But Minehut seems to pass muster.

If anything, plenty of reviews say it's a good hosting platform for pre-servers, or Minecraft servers that aren't ready for public opening. It gives you a safe space to test and refine your server without having to pay a single cent. Minecraft servers

Upgrades are also reasonable priced. They start at $5 per month for 10 more slots and an additional 1GB of RAM (for total of 2GB).

Pricing

BUDGET-FRIENDLY SERVICES

Shockbyte is one of the most user-friendly Minecraft server hosting platforms in the market. Although it's not free, it's very cost-friendly. Plans start at $2.50/month, and you can upgrade/downgrade as often you like. It's been around since 2013, and it's definitely made a name for itself since then.

Under the $2.50 Dirt plan (which is represented by a Minecraft dirt block), you get 1GB of RAM and a recommended 20+ slots. To help you attract more people, your server will be activated immediately after subscription. Other standard features include 24/7 standby support and 100% uptime.

Shockbyte is a winner if you want something safe and secured without breaking the bank.

Pricing: Dirt ($2.50/month)

ScalaCube is a flexible and accommodating game-hosting platform that offers many servers in addition to Minecraft (like Hytale or Ark). This widespread experience gives them the foresight they need to create packages that perfectly suit different Minecraft server needs.

These modpacks allow users to customize and control how their game launches. They also allow server owners the ability to monitor players via a website or forum. With just one click, users can install thousands of modpacks.

(Want to learn how to create your modpacks? Our Ultimate Guide to Minecraft Modding With Java!

ScalaCube pricing is comparable to Shockbyte. It might not have as many tiers to offer, but what it does have is a full 50% discount on any succeeding server that you purchase after your first.

Pretty neat, huh?

Package prices start at 2.00 per month and do not exceed $13. The $13-amonth package offers a remarkable 4.5GB RAM, 70 player slots, and many other features!

Pricing: Minecraft VPS 768 MB ($2.50/month) | Minecraft VPS 1.5G ($5.00/month) | Minecraft VPS 3G ($10.00/month) | Minecraft VPS 4.5G ($13.00/month)

MelonCube Hosting

MelonCube Hosting's goal has always been to "provide the best possible service and product" at a price that they deem is "good value for money."

MelonCube is a restructured and redesigned Minecraft hosting company in 2013. It has many unique features that make it stand out. Comprehensive SSD storage, for instance. Custom JAR functions and full FTP access, too. It also provides modpack support on top of providing some truly excellent Bukkit plugins.

Plans start at $3.00 per monthly (1GB of RAM, unlimited players slots), and can go up all the way to $144.00 per month (48GB DDR4RAM, unlimited players slots).

If you're playing offline on a personal computer, you can easily allocate more RAM for Minecraft. Our complete guide on How To Allocate More RAM to Minecraft!

MelonCube Hosting is the winner of this list with 22 plans at varying prices.

Pricing: Zombie ($3.00/month)

Marketed specifically as a "budget hosting option" for Minecraft servers, PebbleHost's standard plan is pretty inclusive compared to most. For $3.00 a quarter (not a month! You get 1GB of RAM, 250 Mbit uplink, unmetered enterprise SSDs, unlimited player slots, and unmetered enterprise SSDs.

PebbleHost's Budget Minecraft Hosting 1GB package gives you access to its unique Control Panel. This is an intuitive control center that allows server hosts to run commands from console and auto-reboot after a crash. It also allows them to manage plugins and run usage statistics. Its 2-factor authentication coupled with its 160Gbps DDoS protection and 24/7 Discord Support makes PebbleHost one of the most secure hosting platforms on the market.

They currently offer three tiers of pricing plans: Budget, Premium, and Extreme. There are 12 budget plans starting at $3.00/quarter, ending at $25.00/month, and 12 Premium Plans starting at $2.25/month, and ending at $56.25/month. One Extreme Plan is available starting at $56.25/month and starting at $2.25/month.

Pricing: Budget 1GB ($3.00/quarter) | Budget 2GB ($6.00/quarter) | Budget 3GB ($9.00/quarter) | Budget 4GB ($4.00/month) | Budget 5GB ($5.00/month) | Budget 6GB ($6.00/month) | Budget 7GB ($7.00/month) | Budget 8GB ($8.00/month) | Budget 10GB ($10.00/month) | Budget 12GB ($12.00/month) | Budget 16GB ($16.00/month) | Budget 25GB ($25.

00/month)

Premium Hosting 1GB ($2.25/month)| Premium Hosting 2GB ($4.50/month) | Premium Hosting 3GB ($6.75/month) | Premium Hosting 4GB ($9/month) | Premium Hosting 5GB ($11.25/month) | Premium Hosting 6GB ($13.50/month) | Premium Hosting 7GB ($15.75/month) | Premium Hosting 8GB ($18/month) | Premium Hosting 10GB ($22.50/month) | Premium Hosting 12GB ($27/month) | Premium Hosting 16GB ($36/month) | Premium Hosting 25GB ($56.25/month)

So there you have the answer. Our top picks for Free and Budget-Friendly Minecraft Server Hosting Platforms.

Let's recap the list of the best Minecraft server hosting platforms:

- What is a Minecraft Server? - The Best Minecraft Servers? - Server.pro - Aternos - Minehunt Shockbyte ScalaCube MelonCube Hosting PebbleHost

Creating and hosting a Minecraft server may be a little intimidating at first. There's a lot to manage and a lot more to take into account. That's why having top-tier resources - such as a great server hosting platform - is crucial for smooth gameplay and a good time.

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