Best Minecraft Hosting

Minecraft is one of the best-loved games and given its popularity eventually every player will want to take their game playing experience to the next level by setting up their own Minecraft server. If you are wanting to know what the best Minecraft hosting is then read on to find out what are recommendations are and what you need to look out for when searching for a Minecraft host.

What Is Minecraft?

Minecraft is a game that, when you first see it, immediately makes you think of lego. The idea is that you move around the virtual world, digging and building. What makes Minecraft so much fun is the simplicity of the game and with over 50 Million copies sold word wide it’s one of the most popular games ever created.

You won’t be playing the game for too long before you’ll want to play with friends and customise it with your own mods.

Playing Minecraft In Multiplayer Mode

If you are playing in multiplayer mode, there are different ways you can do this. The four most basic options are:

  1. Playing on a local Network
  2. Playing in split-screen mode
  3. Minecraft Realms
  4. Online Server

The fact that you are reading this probably means you are interested in option 4 which means you are going to need to access a game server, the choice is that you can access one of the many publically available servers or that you want to use your own.

Recommended Hosting Providers

Based on our research, below here is our list of recommended hosting providers for Minecraft

  1. Apex Hosting
  2. Shockbyte
  3. BisectHosting
  4. ServerMiner
  5. MelonCube
  6. ScalaCube

Minecraft Server Hosting Requirements

When you compare gaming hosting to regular hosting then gaming tends to be very resource-intensive, however, one of the great things about Minecraft is that it doesn’t require much in the way of server resources in order to get it up and running.

A basic Minecraft server for ten players or so with a vanilla install could be run on a basic VPS server for not a lot of money each month. The minimum spec would need to be:

Minimum Req.

  • 1GB RAM
  • 1 CPU Core

Recommended Req.

  • 2GB RAM
  • 2 CPU Core

There doesn’t need to be that much storage for the installation, our only recommendation would be to make sure it’s SSD.

Benefits Of Having Your Own Minecraft Game Server

There are many benefits, but the main one is having more control of the gaming environment. A game like Minecraft comes with mods, and if there is a particular mod or plugin that would like to install then the only way to guarantee this is by having your own Minecraft Server.

The next big benefit is that one of the biggest things about modern gaming is the community in and around a particular game. Having your own Minecraft server means that you can build a community and invite who you want.

You can make your own rules, if you are joining an existing community then you have to abide by someone else’s rules or you’ll quickly find yourself removed. If you own the Minecraft Server or have an account with a web hosting company, then you are free to set your own community rules.

Monetisation is another big consideration as you may want to turn your hobby into an income stream and having your own Minecraft server or hosting enables you to do this.

Things To Consider

Before picking your Minecraft host then you are going to want to consider the following before signing up for a hosting service.

Server Location

Depending on where most of the players who are playing are located then you are going to want to consider the location of the server. Most experienced Minecraft players will tell you that latency is important and hosting with a provider who provides low latency is one of the biggest factors. The main reason for this is that it reduces lag and make the overall gameplay enjoyable.

Common options for data center hosting among providers are:

  • Europe
  • North America
  • Australia
  • Asia

Connectivity

After you have picked the server location then the speed of the connectivity is the next most important thing. Faster connections release game latency because there is enough bandwidth available for you. At a minimum, we recommend you opt for a Minecraft host that provides a 1Gb connection.

Processor

You will want to use a server host that uses the best processors. Just like a gaming PC to better the processor being used the smoother the gameplay. All of the Minecraft server hosting providers on our recommended list use the latest Intel or AMD Processors.

Memory

If you are on a shared hosting plan then the amount of memory available is decided by the hosting package you are on. In most cases, the hosting service provider will allocate the right amount of memory for the number of slots you have purchased.

It’s very rare that you should have to worry about memory unless you decide to purchase a dedicated server then it’s up to you to work out how much memory you need to support the number of players you would like playing.

Storage

When you are researching a Minecraft hosting plan make sure you opt with a provider that uses SSD storage. SSD storage is the fastest type of storage and used to be considered a premium option but it’s a standard feature these days.

Disk space is an important factor as you don’t want to run out but many providers will give you unlimited storage.

DDoS Protection

DDoS Protection again is another one of those things that is a major consideration. The reason being is that if your server or the shared hosting provider should suffer a Ddos attack then you won’t be able to play your game and in some instances access your server.

DDoS attacks happen a lot so DDoS Protection is a must and to be honest, it’s a basic feature that most hosting service providers offer their customers.

Backups

You are going to want your web hosting provider to provide backups. Hopefully, this is something that you never need but if you do then you’ll be glad that you have it. Automated backups is a must from your Minecraft server hosting company.

Control Panel

The control panel that comes with your hosting plan also features highly on our list of considerations. You are highly likely going to want to install your own modpack or plugins. The control panel that is installed on the server should offer great plugin support and do everything you need it to.

Number of Player Slots

You will need a slot for each player that is playing the game. If you are operating on a budget then you will want to go with a per slot hosting option. However, if you have a higher budget then a dedicated server may be a better option.

If you are looking for a simple option and don’t want to build a server then shared hosting is the way to go. This provides you with a 1 click install and you should be up and running in no time. A dedicated server should be seen as a premium option and you’ll need some experience in setting up and configuring a server if you want this option.

A dedicated server may be cheaper if you need hundreds of player slots as regardless of how many players are playing it’s a fixed cost per month. In theory though with a dedicated server there are unlimited slots available to use.

Technical Support

Hopefully, you don’t need to get in touch with customer support but if you do then it can be frustrating if you find the experience poor. Most servers on our list have excellent uptime and you shouldn’t have any issues but if you do then every hosting provider on our list has a proven track record in providing excellent customer support.

Each provider also has a number of support channels where you can reach our for help, some of the common options are live chat, email and a support forum community. We would consider email support with a response time of 24 hours from the customer service team as a minimum requirement.

Conclusion

All in all, there is no shortage of options when it comes to Minecraft Hosting, in some instances, there are too many options but hopefully by highlighting the main things to consider we’ve given you all the information to help simplify the decision.

All of the providers on our list meet the requirements that we’ve laid out so if you don’t want to chance it then pick from our list and you can be confident of having a hassle-free Minecraft multiplayer experience.

Frequently Asked Questions

We’ve listed some of the common questions that get asked about Minecraft Hosting.