Question 1

How much does a Minecraft server cost per month?

Accepted Answer

It depends on how many hours you actually play, not which tier you pick. Metered billing charges $0.012 per active GB-hour and a sleeping server costs nothing, while flat is a fixed $3 per GB of RAM per month whether anyone's online or not. Set your RAM and daily hours in the calculator above to see your own number.

Question 2

Is metered actually cheaper than a flat plan?

Accepted Answer

Only up to a point. Metered bills every active GB-hour, so it wins whenever your server sleeps for real stretches of the day — but past roughly 8.3 hours/day of active play (any RAM size — the crossover doesn't depend on GB), you've paid for the equivalent of a full month anyway, and flat becomes the cheaper, simpler choice. The 24/7 scenario above shows exactly that case.

Question 3

How much RAM do I need?

Accepted Answer

For vanilla or Paper with plugins, 2-4 GB comfortably runs a small survival world or SMP with friends; step up toward 8 GB for a busier plugin-heavy SMP. Modded servers (Forge/Fabric) start at 4 GB, and heavier kitchen-sink packs typically run best at 8-16 GB — there's no single number that fits every world, so start where your budget fits and watch the live TPS/MSPT dashboard; you can resize later from the panel (self-serve up to 16 GB; 24/32 GB on request).

Question 4

Is there a free option?

Accepted Answer

Yes — 20 active hours a month on a dedicated 2 GB server, no card required. It's bounded, not unlimited: free servers are limited per region (live availability shown on /free), and mods need at least 4 GB, which isn't available on the free tier.

How much does a Minecraft server cost?

A few real play patterns, priced

Two friends, evenings

Weekend crew

Active SMP

You need it up 24/7

Straight answers.