Simple, fair pricing
Pay only for the RAM you pick. A 1 GB vanilla server is free forever (it just sleeps when idle). Bigger sizes are $1/GB per month - always on, with the full modpack catalogue and daily backups.
Free
A 1 GB vanilla server for you and a few friends.
- ✓1 GB RAM
- ✗Deprioritized CPU
- ✓Vanilla & plugins (Paper)
- ✗Limited console - no file system access
- ✗No modpacks (paid only)
- ✗No daily backups
- ☾Sleeps after 6h idle, wakes when a player joins
Add RAM
Most modpacks run great on 4 GB, $4/mo.
Pick 2 GB or more when you build. Each server has its own size and its own bill, so add or remove servers anytime.
- ✓2 GB or more RAM
- ✓Up to 4 vCPU cores · AMD Ryzen 7 5800X
- ✓Vanilla & plugins (Paper)
- ✓Full panel, console & file system access
- ✓Full modpacks + one-click installs
- ✓Daily backups kept a week
- ✓Always on - never sleeps
Compare premium server pricing.
4 GB Minecraft servers. Regular monthly prices.
| Provider & plan | CPU hardware | Monthly price |
|---|---|---|
| Crafty ServersPaid server · 4 GB RAM | AMD Ryzen 7 5800X CPU or similar | $4.00/mo |
| PebbleHostPremium · 4 GB RAM | AMD Ryzen 9 9900X | $9.00/mo |
| Sparked HostEnterprise · Mercury · 4 GB RAM | AMD Ryzen 9 7900 or equivalent | $10.36/mo |
| BisectHostingBisectOne · 4 GB RAM | High-clock-speed CPUs | $11.99/mo |
| Apex HostingStandard plan · 4 GB RAM | AMD Ryzen 7 5800X | $14.99/mo |
USD, before tax and optional add-ons. Introductory discounts excluded. CPU models, allocations, and included features differ; this is a price comparison, not a performance benchmark.
Prices checked
Not ready to commit? Try a modpack free
Pick any modpack and play free for 1440 minutes - no signup, no card. Your world is saved for 30 days, so you can subscribe any time and pick up right where you left off.
How Crafty Servers compares
| Crafty Servers | Free hosts (Aternos, Minehut) | Typical paid hosts | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free tier | Yes - no card | Yes | Rarely |
| Start queues | Never | Common on free | None |
| Ads | None | Common on free | None |
| Paid price | $1/GB per month | Credits / upgrades | approximately $3–10+ per month |
| CPU performance | High-clock-speed AMD Ryzen CPUs CPU model varies by location. |
Varies by provider and plan | Varies by provider and plan |
| Always-on | Paid servers | Free servers sleep | Yes |
| Full Pterodactyl panel + SFTP | Paid servers | Limited | Varies |
| One-click modpacks | Paid servers | Limited | Usually |
Competitor details reflect their widely-known models as of writing - check their sites for current specifics. We don't win every row, but we're up-front about it.
Frequently asked questions
Is the free Minecraft server really free?
Yes - the free size needs no card and runs a real server with a limited console and no file system access. It pauses after 6 idle hours with nobody online; one click starts it right back up, with no queue. Paid sizes unlock the full Pterodactyl panel.
What's the catch?
One free 1 GB server per account, no card and no ads anywhere - it pauses when nobody's online. Anything more (more RAM, extra servers, one-click modpacks, always-on uptime, the full Pterodactyl panel) is billed by the gigabyte. That's the whole model.
How does billing work?
Each server is billed on its own, every month, by the RAM you give it: $1.00 per GB per month, so a 2 GB server is $2.00/month. There's no account-wide plan, so a small survival world and a big modpack on the same account are sized and priced separately. Change a server's RAM any time. The prorated difference for an upgrade is charged immediately; for a lower paid size or immediate move to Free, choose the displayed refund to your original payment method or the full unused-time proration as account credit.
Can I upgrade/downgrade my server?
Yes. Change a server's RAM from its dashboard whenever you need to. The prorated upgrade difference is charged immediately, and a lower paid size takes effect immediately with your chosen refund. For a move to Free, either keep the paid size through the billing period or move immediately with a refund.
Can I cancel a server subscription?
Yes. Cancel paid billing for an individual server from the Billing page at any time. Schedule the move to Free for the end of the billing period, or move immediately and choose the displayed payment-method refund or full proration as account credit. An immediate move turns the server off while its preserved files move to free-tier CPU hardware. Your server and files stay in place in your account.
Can I have more than one server?
Yes. Keep as many as you like on one account, each its own size and price, and they can all be online at the same time, no switching. You get one free 1 GB server; any extra server, or anything bigger than 1 GB, is billed per GB. Your worlds stay put whether a server is online or not.
Is my payment information safe?
Yes. Stripe processes payments and handles your billing information. Your full card details are submitted directly to Stripe and are not stored by Crafty Servers. You can update your payment method and view invoices through Stripe's billing portal.
Can I run mods and plugins?
Paid sizes include full panel and file access for Bukkit/Spigot plugins, your own Forge mods, and one-click modpacks. The free tier is for Vanilla or Paper with its limited console.
Why doesn't the free size include full panel access?
To safeguard free servers against abuse, the free tier has a limited console and no file system access. If you need full panel access for your free server, contact support and we can enable it for you.
How do my friends join?
Send them the address from your dashboard - they connect with the normal Minecraft: Java Edition client, nothing to install. We don't cap player slots; plans are sized by RAM and disk.
How many players are these server sizes recommended for?
We recommend Crafty Servers for small communities with fewer than 25 players. We keep prices low by using otherwise-unleased capacity from large cloud providers, so single-threaded CPU performance varies and is not the market's best at every size. If you expect 25 or more players online at once, especially on a busy or heavily modded world, a premium host with dedicated high-performance hardware may be a better fit.
Can I try it before signing up?
Yes - launch a live demo server straight from this page, no account or card. If you like it, claim it onto a free account and the world comes with it.
Can I bring an existing world?
Yes. Connect to your server over SFTP (included on every plan) and upload your world folder - big worlds are no problem over SFTP.
Paid sizes are billed monthly, in USD, at $1 per GB. Cancel anytime before your renewal date.