How we compare Minecraft hosts
Every host on Minecraft Hosting Services is described with the same facts and scored with the same formula. Nothing on this page changes for a host that pays us, and the formula is the same one the site runs on.
Where the facts come from
We take prices and features from each host’s own website: pricing pages, plan tables, knowledge-base articles and terms of service. When a host’s site is hard to read automatically, we start from recent published comparisons and then check the host’s site. Each host page lists its sources and says when it was last checked.
- Prices are regular monthly prices in US dollars, before tax, for the host’s main Minecraft plans. First-month discounts and coupon codes aren’t used; long prepaid deals are mentioned in the notes.
- Price per GB is the monthly price divided by the plan’s RAM. For hosts with fixed plan sizes we use their typical plans.
- Prices for a given RAM size (on the RAM, player and comparison pages) are estimated from the price per GB and the host’s smallest plan. Real plans come in fixed sizes, so the exact price can differ slightly.
- “–” or “Not stated” means the host doesn’t clearly say. We don’t guess.
We haven’t run every host for months, and we don’t publish uptime or speed numbers we can’t back up. Nor do we publish user reviews we can’t verify.
The score (out of 10)
Only hosts with a published paid price per GB are scored. Free-only hosts are listed but not scored, because their trade-offs (queues, ads, limits) aren’t comparable on price.
| Part | Weight | How it’s scored |
|---|---|---|
| Price | 35% | Price per GB: $1.00 or less scores 10, then 2 points less for every extra dollar, down to 2 at $5.00 or more. |
| Features | 40% | 2 points each for: Bedrock servers, a one-click modpack installer, free backups, DDoS protection, 24/7 support. |
| Locations | 15% | Half a point per server location, up to 10 at 20 or more locations. |
| Refund window | 10% | 7 days or more: 10. 3–6 days: 7. Less than 3 days: 4. No refunds or not stated: 0. |
Example: BisectHosting scores 6.0 for price, 10 for features, 10.0 for locations and 7 for refunds: 6.0 × 0.35 + 10 × 0.40 + 10.0 × 0.15 + 7 × 0.10 = 8.3.
The score is a quick way to compare value. It can’t measure everything: support quality, CPU speed under load and how a host handles problems matter too. That’s why every “best for” list explains its order and every host page shows the full facts.
The RAM rule of thumb
The RAM calculator and the RAM and player pages use one simple model, based on hosts’ published guidance (for example Shockbyte’s: about 3 GB for a modern vanilla or Paper server, 1 GB more per 5 extra players and per 10 plugins, and 4–6 GB for modpacks):
- Vanilla: starts at 2.5 GB. The official server software with no mods or plugins.
- Paper / Spigot with plugins: starts at 2.5 GB. Paper or Purpur with a typical set of plugins (about 1 GB per 10 plugins on top).
- Light modpack: starts at 4 GB. Up to about 100 mods, or older modpacks (1.12 and earlier).
- Large modpack: starts at 6 GB. Big 1.17+ modpacks such as kitchen-sink packs with 200+ mods.
- Bedrock Dedicated Server: starts at 1 GB. The official Bedrock server; lighter than Java.
- Add 1 GB for every 5 players above 5 (up to 20 players), then 1 GB for every 10 more.
- View distance above 10 adds 5% per chunk; 8 or less saves about 10%. Bedrock servers use about 25% less.
- The result is rounded up to the next common plan size (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 10, 12, 16, 24 or 32 GB).
It’s a starting point. Modpacks often publish their own recommended RAM, and that always wins.
Affiliate links and ads
Some “Visit” buttons are affiliate links: if you buy through one, the host may pay us a commission at no extra cost to you. That money never changes a score, a ranking or the facts shown, and hosts without an affiliate program are compared in exactly the same way. Hosts can’t pay for placement. The site also shows ads, which are kept separate from the comparisons.
Corrections
Hosts change prices and features often. If something is out of date, tell us and we’ll check it against the host’s site and update the page.