Minecraft server hosting: free vs paid for a friend group
Free Minecraft hosting is real, and for a few friends who play together at the same times it can be enough. Paying starts to matter when you want the world online while nobody is on, more RAM for mods, more players, or a server closer to New Zealand and Australia. For the paid overview see Minecraft Java; for the cheapest paid tiers see budget under ~$20.
The question: what does free cost you?
- Uptime: Minehut's free plan sleeps when empty and wakes when a player joins (its own wording). Farms and redstone don't run while it sleeps.
- RAM and players: Minehut Starter lists 1 GB RAM and 10 max players. That suits vanilla with a few friends, not a big modpack.
- Who pays for it: Minehut says ads keep free servers free. Aternos says it is free and there is no way to pay for anything.
- Paid: you get a fixed RAM amount, a location you choose, and a server that stays on. The cheapest printed paid prices today start around a dollar or two a month for 1 GB.
Comparison: free plans vs the cheapest paid plans
Each page was fetched live on 26 Oct 2026 (NZDT). Prices are in USD as the host prints them; promo prices are marked. TBD means the page had no clear figure, and we don't guess.
| Host | Free or paid | What the page lists | Stays online when empty? | Oceania | Approx. monthly (USD) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aternos | Free | Java (Vanilla, Paper, Spigot, Purpur, Forge, NeoForge, Fabric, Quilt, modpacks) and Bedrock; "no possibility to pay for anything" | TBD (not stated on the homepage) | Location not stated; TBD | Free |
| Minehut Starter | Free | 1 GB RAM, 10 max players, 10 GB storage, Java and Bedrock crossplay, plugins | No, sleeps when empty | Location not stated; TBD | Free |
| Minehut Ultimate | Paid | 14 GB RAM, unlimited players, Pro CPU | Yes, "Online 24/7" (Standard and Pro still sleep) | Location not stated; TBD | TBD Priced in credits (6,000/month); no USD on the page |
| GameTeam | Paid | Per-GB RAM, unlimited player slots | Yes (paid server) | Check location list; node TBD | Budget $0.49/GB, Premium $0.74/GB As printed today; a 10% limited-time offer is also shown |
| PebbleHost | Paid | Budget plans per GB; all major Java versions | Yes (paid server) | Page lists "NA, EU & AU Locations" | Budget from $1/GB Page headline "From $1" |
| Shockbyte | Paid | Fixed tiers: Dirt 1 GB, Sand 2 GB, Cobblestone 3 GB | Yes (paid server) | Check location list; node TBD | 1 GB $2.79, 2 GB $5.59 "30% off recurring"; list price $3.99 for 1 GB |
Which one fits your group
- Stay free if you're 2–5 friends playing vanilla or a light plugin set together, and you don't mind the world pausing when everyone logs off.
- Pay if someone wants to log in alone at odd hours, you run farms that should tick, you want a heavier modpack (see modpacks), or you want a server region near you.
- Cheapest step up: on today's printed prices, 2 GB works out to about $0.98 at GameTeam Budget, $2 at PebbleHost Budget and $5.59 at Shockbyte (promo). Check what CPU, backups and location each tier includes before you pick on price alone.
Oceania notes
Neither free host's homepage says where its servers are, so from NZ or Australia expect to test ping before you settle in. A US or EU node usually adds well over 150 ms. Of the paid hosts here, PebbleHost's Minecraft page names AU locations; check the others' location lists. See the Oceania ping guide.
Price honesty
We only list prices the host prints clearly, and we don't make any up. Minehut's paid plans are sold in credits with no dollar figure on the plans page, so we left them as TBD. Promo prices are labelled as promos.
Official links (affiliate placeholders)
Aternos and Minehut's free plan are linked without any affiliate tag.
Related
Affiliate disclosure
HostForTheSquad may earn a commission if you buy through links on this page. Commissions don't decide which hosts appear in the table, and free options are listed because they genuinely fit some groups. Prices and stock change, so check the host's site before you pay.