Minecraft Server Hosting

On GameTeam you pay per GB of RAM: $0.49/GB a week on Budget, or $1.99/GB billed monthly. A 2 GB vanilla server is $0.98 a week, 4 GB is $1.96 a week ($7.96 a month), and an 8 GB modpack server is $3.92 a week. Premium is $0.74/GB a week and adds unlimited NVMe storage, dedicated threads, automatic backups and priority support. Slots are unlimited on both, and the AI copilot is included on every plan.

Pay for the RAM your world needs and nothing else. Cheap Minecraft server hosting here means 2 GB for $0.98 a week with every player included, because we never charge per slot. Weekly billing means you never pay for a month the group doesn't play, and you can add RAM in one click later. Hosting on your own PC is free, but the PC has to stay on whenever anyone plays.

Look for four things: enough RAM at a fair price per GB, a location close to your players, fast hardware (Minecraft leans on single-core CPU speed), and help when something breaks. GameTeam runs Ryzen 9 7950X CPUs and NVMe storage in 25+ locations with sub-15ms latency and DDoS protection. The AI copilot reads the crash log for you, and the support team answers tickets 24/7.

You can host one for free on your own PC: install Java, download the server software, accept the EULA and forward port 25565 on your router. The server is only online while your PC is on, and it shares your RAM with your own game. Free hosting sites usually limit RAM or shut idle servers down. A paid, hosted Minecraft server stays online 24/7 for everyone.

Most gaming PCs can host a small vanilla server for a few friends. It needs 2–4 GB of RAM to spare, a stable upload connection, port forwarding and the PC switched on whenever anyone plays. The Windows 11 setup guide and the port forwarding guide cover that route. A hosted server avoids all of it.

On your own PC, yes: Java plus the server software, either Mojang's server jar or Paper, Purpur, Forge, NeoForge or Fabric. On GameTeam there's nothing to install. The panel runs in your browser, the Smart Version Installer sets up the server software and Java, and the copilot handles the rest when you ask.

A VPS is a bare Linux machine: you install Java and the server, then set up the firewall, backups and restarts yourself. That gives you full control, and every fix is yours to make. Minecraft game server hosting gives you the server ready to play, with a control panel, backups, one-click versions and modpacks. Here an AI copilot does the admin work too. Unless you want to run Linux, game server hosting is less work for the same game.

A dedicated Minecraft server is one that runs on its own, separate from any player's PC, so the world is always online. Every GameTeam server is a dedicated server in that sense. Premium also gives your server dedicated CPU threads, so a busy neighbour never slows your tick rate.

For almost everyone, renting is cheaper. Buying hardware means paying for a machine, electricity and an internet connection that can host players, then running it yourself. Renting a Minecraft server costs a few dollars a week, scales up with one click and can be cancelled anytime. You can also switch the same server to another of our 70+ games when the group moves on.

Minecraft hosting providers and services differ on price per GB, locations near your players, modpack support and how much help you get, so the best one is the one that fits your server. A comparison website can list prices, but only a trial shows you the panel. GameTeam's pitch is the AI copilot. It installs mods, changes settings and explains crashes in plain English, so you don't need to read a wiki to run a server. Try it: the first 72 hours are money-back.

Yes. Pick one of the 59 packs in the modpack grid, or ask the copilot for any CurseForge or Modrinth pack by name. It installs the pack's Minecraft version, loader, mods and configs, and sets the matching Java image. Your players install the same pack version in the CurseForge app and join. Modded Minecraft hosting has the details.

Yes. Hosting a server for your friends or a community is normal and allowed. Every server accepts Mojang's EULA through eula.txt before it starts. Mojang's Minecraft Usage Guidelines set what a server may sell, such as ranks or cosmetics.

Most Minecraft servers are run for a group of friends, not profit. Some large community servers do earn from ranks and cosmetics, within what Mojang's usage guidelines allow. That takes a big player base. Start small, keep costs low by paying only for the RAM you use, and scale up if the community grows.

Order a plan, choose your server software or a modpack, and send your friends the address from the panel. They add it under Multiplayer → Add Server in Minecraft Java Edition. Turn on the whitelist (or ask the copilot to) and add each friend, so only your group can join.

Yes. A hosted Minecraft server runs 24/7 on 99.9% uptime, whether your PC is on or not, so friends in other time zones can play whenever they like. Schedule nightly restarts and backups from the panel, or ask the copilot to set them up.

Yes. Upload your world folder (and your mods, plugins and configs) with the file manager, or open a ticket for the migration service and support will move it for you. Keep the same Minecraft version and server software as before so nothing in the world goes missing.

Hit Backup Now in the panel, or ask the copilot to back up before you change anything. It can lock a backup so it can't be deleted. To update, stop the server and start it again, and it updates to the latest version of its software. To pick an exact version, use the version changer or tell the copilot "update to 1.21.1".

Yes to all three. Change the server location with no data loss, switch the same server to any of 70+ games, and upgrade, downgrade or cancel anytime from the billing panel.

Minecraft 1.17 runs on Java 16, 1.18 to 1.20.4 on Java 17, and 1.20.5 to 1.21.x on Java 21; the 26.x releases need Java 25. Older packs from 1.12 to 1.16 need Java 8. Forge and NeoForge builds follow the Minecraft version they are made for. If the console shows UnsupportedClassVersionError or "has been compiled by a more recent version of the Java Runtime", the image is wrong for the pack and the fix is switching the Docker image, not reinstalling.

Installing a modpack is two steps. The install itself runs on a temporary installer image that has no Java, so starting on it fails with java: No such file or directory or exit code 127. The server has to be finalized onto the runtime image first, keeping the downloaded files. GameTeam does this automatically once the install finishes, and the AI copilot will also do it on request.

Yes. The version changer swaps server software and Minecraft version in place, so a server that started as Vanilla can become Paper, Fabric or a Forge modpack without losing its files or changing address.