What to check before you pay for Minecraft server hosting

Play Your Way is a Minecraft host, and this guide is ours. It names no other host and ranks none. It lists what to check on any host's site before you pay for a Minecraft server, including ours, and the last section gives our own answers so you can check them the same way.

What to look for in a Minecraft host

The short version, in the order it matters:

• A server location near your group, named on the host's site, with a way to measure your ping before you buy.
• A fast single CPU core, because Minecraft runs each tick on one main thread.
• Enough RAM for your players and your mods, stated per plan, with no per-player pricing.
• The software you want: Paper or Purpur for plugins, Fabric, Forge or NeoForge for mods, and one-click modpacks.
• A refund window, backups you can restore yourself and stated support hours, each on its own page.
• A price in your own currency that is the amount you pay.

Ping and server location

Ping is the time a signal takes to travel between you and the server and back. It grows with distance, and where the server sits sets the lowest ping anyone can get. No host can change that. If most of your group lives far from every location a host offers, expect a higher ping whichever host you pick.

So pick the location nearest most of the group, not only the one nearest you. If a host doesn't name its location, ask before you pay. Better still is a host that lets you measure your own ping on its site.

Minecraft is forgiving of ping compared with a shooter, so a few milliseconds either way matters less than the CPU behind the server.

How fast is one CPU core?

A Minecraft server runs 20 ticks a second, and each tick happens on one main thread. When a tick takes too long the server falls behind, and players see blocks reappear, mobs freeze and the console prints a Can't keep up warning. Minecraft TPS and the types of server lag explains what that number means.

So what matters is how fast one core is, not how many cores a plan lists. Ask which CPU model runs the plan and look up its single-thread score. A vCPU count only says how much processor time you get, and a host that can't name the CPU is one to ask more questions of.

RAM for your players and your mods

Every plan should state its RAM, and the host should say roughly how many players it suits. On Vanilla or Paper, about five players per GB is a sound rule of thumb, and mods cost more, so a modpack server holds about one or two players per GB. How much RAM does my Minecraft server need? has the full numbers, and the Minecraft server RAM calculator sizes your own setup.

Two things to watch for: pricing per player slot, which charges you for a number the server doesn't need, and plans so small that a modpack fills them before anyone joins.

Plugins, mods and modpacks

Check that the host runs the server software you need, and that you can change it later without a support ticket:

• Paper or Purpur for plugins such as EssentialsX or LuckPerms.
• Fabric, Forge or NeoForge for mods.
• One-click modpacks from CurseForge or Modrinth, so a pack installs with its own server files rather than by hand.

Also check that you can switch Minecraft version from the panel, because players update their game and a server stuck on an old version can't take them.

Java and Bedrock players

A Java Edition server takes Java players directly. Bedrock players can join it only through Geyser, a plugin or mod that translates between the two. If your group mixes PC and phone players, check that the host installs Geyser for you, which server software it works with, and which devices the host says it supports.

Price in your own currency

Some hosts bill in a currency that isn't yours. The price then moves with the exchange rate, and your bank may add a foreign transaction fee. Look for a price in your own currency that is the amount you pay, and check whether it includes tax.

Compare price last, among the hosts that pass every other check: two plans at the same price can differ by a whole CPU generation. What a game server costs has our cheapest plan for every game.

Refunds, backups and support

• Refunds: a refund policy should be its own page with a stated window. Read what it covers before you pay.
• Backups: check that you can take a backup whenever you like and restore it yourself from the panel, without a ticket. A modpack update or a griefer can undo weeks of building.
• Support: look for stated support hours and more than one way to reach a person.

The checklist

The general version for any game is how to choose a game server host.

How we answer it

Our own answers, so you can check them the same way:

• Hardware and location: every server runs on dedicated AMD Ryzen 5000-series hardware. Our live locations are Dallas, Texas, and Sydney, Australia. Ping grows with distance, so pick the location nearest most of your group. The server locations page lets you test your own ping before you buy, and the table below is our measured ping between each location and nearby cities.
• RAM and players: each plan card states its RAM and the players it suits, on the five-per-GB rule above.
• Software and modpacks: Vanilla, Paper, Purpur, Fabric, Forge or NeoForge, switched along with the Minecraft version from the JAR Manager tab, and one-click modpacks from CurseForge and Modrinth on the modded Minecraft server hosting page.
• Bedrock players: phones join through the panel's Crossplay tab, which installs Geyser on Paper, Purpur, Fabric or NeoForge. Let Bedrock players join has the steps.
• Refunds, backups and support: a full refund within 72 hours of a purchase or renewal payment, set out on the refund policy page. Backups on demand from the Backups tab, restored by you. Support hours and every way to reach us are on the contact page. Support is on hand 7 days a week.
• Price: in your site's currency, the amount you pay, with no per-player pricing. Every Minecraft plan is on Minecraft server hosting.

Measured ping by location:

Measured data centre to data centre, from WonderNetwork's hourly samples. Your home connection adds to these. Test your own ping to each location.

Players per plan: