# How Much Does Minecraft Server Hosting Cost?

> Most small Minecraft servers cost $5–15 a month to host. Shared hosting is priced by RAM, at roughly $1.50–$4 per GB per month.

Source: https://www.beaconhosting.org/knowledgebase/minecraft-server-hosting-cost
Category: Hosting Guides
Last updated: 2026-10-08

# How Much Does Minecraft Server Hosting Cost?

**Short answer:** most small Minecraft servers cost **$5–15 a month** to host. Shared Minecraft hosting is usually priced by RAM, at roughly **$1.50–$4 per GB per month**, so a 4 GB server for a group of friends typically costs **$6–16 a month**. Free hosts exist but come with queues, shutdowns when idle and limited resources. A VPS or dedicated server costs more and needs you to run everything yourself.

## The options, from cheapest to most expensive

| Option | Typical monthly cost | Best for |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Hosting at home | Free (plus electricity) | Testing, a few friends, technical owners |
| Free Minecraft hosts | $0 | Trying Minecraft multiplayer, very small groups |
| Minecraft Realms | One subscription from Microsoft | Up to 10 friends, no mods or plugins |
| Budget shared hosting | $1–2 per GB | Small vanilla servers on a tight budget |
| Premium shared hosting | $2–4 per GB | Most servers: plugins, modpacks, communities |
| VPS | $5–40 | Owners who want full control and can manage Linux |
| Dedicated server | $50–200+ | Large networks running many servers |

Prices vary by provider and change over time. Check what's included before comparing headline numbers.

## What drives the price?

### RAM

Most Minecraft hosts price plans by RAM, since it's the easiest resource to compare. Work out how much memory your server actually needs before you buy — see [How Much RAM Does a Minecraft Server Need?](/knowledgebase/minecraft-server-ram-requirements). Paying for RAM the server won't use is the most common way to overspend.

### CPU

Two plans with the same RAM can perform very differently. Minecraft depends heavily on single-thread CPU speed, so a plan on a modern high-clock processor is worth more than one on an older server CPU. Cheap hosts often save money here. See [Ryzen vs Xeon for Minecraft Server Hosting](/knowledgebase/ryzen-vs-xeon-minecraft-server-hosting).

### Storage

NVMe storage loads chunks and saves worlds much faster than SATA SSDs or hard drives. Check the disk size too: large or modded worlds grow quickly.

### What's included

Backups, DDoS protection, a control panel, modpack installs, extra databases and support are included by some hosts and sold as add-ons by others.

### Introductory pricing

Some hosts advertise a low first-month price and renew at a much higher rate. Always check the **renewal** price, not just the first payment.

### Billing period

Paying quarterly or yearly is usually cheaper per month than paying monthly.

## Hidden costs to look out for

- Renewal prices higher than the first payment
- Backups or DDoS protection sold separately
- Setup fees
- Player slot limits that force an upgrade
- Paid support tiers

## What does Beacon cost?

At the time of writing (October 2026), every Beacon Minecraft plan costs **$2.25 per GB of RAM per month**, from **$2.25/month for 1 GB** to **$72/month for 32 GB**. Paying quarterly costs 6% less and yearly 11% less than monthly. Weekly billing is available too.

- **The listed price is the renewal price.** There's no introductory rate that goes up later.
- **Included on every plan:** NVMe storage, backups, DDoS protection and the RAM and CPU you choose. Player slots are unmetered.
- **Hardware:** AMD Ryzen 9 7950X3D processors with DDR5 memory.
- **Free trial:** 2 days on selected plans.

Current prices for every plan are on the [facts page](/facts).

## How to get the most for your money

1. Size RAM to your actual server, not the largest plan you can afford.
2. Compare CPUs, not just RAM — it decides how smoothly the server runs.
3. Compare renewal prices, not first-month deals.
4. Check which extras are included.
5. Pay quarterly or yearly once you know the plan suits you.