How to make a Minecraft server for you and your friends

First, the only real decision

Everything else follows from one question: what are your friends playing on?

• All on PC with Minecraft Java Edition — pick a Java server. Simplest option, and it's the one that takes mods.
• Some on phones, tablets or Windows 10/11 — you want crossplay, so everyone plays together on one world.
• Nobody on PC — choose crossplay. Phones, tablets and Windows 10/11 join it directly. Xbox players can join too, with the free Bedrock Together app. PlayStation and Switch aren’t supported yet.

If you're not sure, choose crossplay. It costs the same and nobody gets left out.

How much RAM do you actually need?

RAM is the thing people most often overbuy. Honest numbers:

• 2 GB — a few friends, plain Minecraft or a handful of plugins. Genuinely fine.
• 4 GB — most people. A modpack, or a group that keeps growing.
• 8 GB — big modpacks, lots of plugins, a busy server.

More RAM does not make Minecraft faster. It lets you hold more world and more mods in memory at once. A 2 GB server with four friends on it is not improved by making it 8 GB.

What actually makes a server lag

Usually not what people think. The common causes, in order:

1. Someone exploring new land. Generating fresh world is the heaviest thing Minecraft does.
2. Too many mobs or machines. Big automatic farms cost more than players do.
3. The host overselling. If a host puts more servers on a machine than it can hold, everyone shares the shortfall. Worth asking any host whether they do this.

Plugins like Chunky, which generates your world in advance, fix the first one properly.

Java, Paper, Fabric, Forge — what are they?

These are just different versions of the server software. Pick by what you want to run:

• Java — plain Minecraft, exactly as Mojang ships it.
• Paper — runs faster, takes plugins, and is what makes crossplay possible.
• Fabric or Forge/NeoForge — take mods. Most modpacks tell you which one they need.

Mods and plugins are not interchangeable. A Fabric mod will not run on Forge, and a plugin is not a mod. If you install one meant for the wrong one, it simply won't load. Everyone gets this wrong once.

Getting friends in

You give them an address, like yourname.chunkhosting.com. In Minecraft they click Multiplayer, then Add Server, and paste it in.

Players on phones, tablets and Windows 10/11 also need a port number alongside the address. Xbox players can join too, with the free Bedrock Together app. PlayStation and Switch aren’t supported yet. That isn't a quirk of any particular host — Bedrock just works that way.

What it costs, and what to watch for

Budget Minecraft hosting runs about $3–5 a month for 2 GB. Three things worth checking before you pay anyone:

• Can you download your world? If a host only lets you restore backups and never take them away, your world is hostage.
• Do they oversell? Ask directly. The answer tells you whether your RAM is really yours.
• How do you install mods? If the answer involves FTP software, that's an evening you won't get back.

Common questions

Can't I just host it on my own PC? You can, and it's free. Your friends can only play while your PC is on, your home address is exposed to everyone who joins, and your frame rate suffers because the game and the server share a machine.

Do I need to know how to code? No. Nothing on this page needs a terminal or a config file.

What if I pick wrong? You can change version, software and size later without losing your world. Going to an older Minecraft version is the one thing that can break a world, so take a backup first — good hosts take one for you automatically.

More answers in our FAQ, or ask a real person.