Minecraft is an incredibly versatile video game that can allow for endless hours of entertainment either alone or with friends. You can play Minecraft to survive, explore, craft, and build to your heart’s content. It’s the ideal game for those who want a creative outlet to create a house, city, or even an entire world exactly the way they want. With Minecraft, your only limit is your imagination. Even better, users can share their creations with others from all around the globe. Minecraft is built on the sense of community as strangers can join together to build and share an entirely unique world. Since its official release in 2011, Minecraft has accumulated over 140 million players and it’s estimated that as of 2016, the total Minecraft playtime has surpassed 68 million years or 597,607,200,000 hours!
If you want a truly limitless Minecraft experience, then you should consider running your own server. By running a Minecraft server, you can have complete control over every aspect of your world. You can also begin sharing it with others and growing your own special community. If you’ve decided that you want to run a Minecraft server, then the next step is to find a suitable hosting provider. We’ve narrowed down hundreds of choices to give you the best web hosts that are affordable, secure, and reliable. So, here is our top recommended cheapest Minecraft server hosting providers in 2022.
Why you should run your own Minecraft server
If you like to be in control and create your own rules for others to follow, then you’ll love running your own Minecraft server. Not only this, you can customize almost every aspect of your world, including physics, difficulty settings, mob spawn rates, plugins, and mods. You’re able to let your imagination run completely wild and immerse yourself in a unique gaming experience that is perfectly suited to you.
Even better, you can share this creation with absolutely everyone. Close friends, family members, or even complete strangers can connect to your world and play together. You can set up rules too to make sure that everyone acts appropriately. Some server hosts try to create a world that’s based around role-playing, so they set up rules where no one can break characters. Alternatively, if you want a sandbox experience with little to no rules then you can make that happen too. The choices are endless when it comes to running your own Minecraft server.
Our top recommended cheapest Minecraft server hosting providers
Running a Minecraft server doesn’t need to be super expensive. Generally, you can get by with the bare minimum of resources and don’t have to splash out on a costly web hosting plan. Depending on how many players you want in your world, certain plans will suit you better.
For example, if you want to host a small (up to 5GB) Minecraft world with less than 5 players, then you’ll only need a plan that provides 1GB RAM. Alternatively, if you want a much bigger world (up to 20GB) with up to 30 players, then you’ll require a plan that provides 5GB RAM. We’ve selected Minecraft server hosting providers that are both highly affordable and offer a range of different plans so you can choose one that suits your specific requirements the best.
Shockbyte
Shockbyte is a highly popular hosting provider that has built an incredibly strong reputation among the Minecraft server community since 2013. This hosting provider has hosted over 300k servers and offers a great selection of high-quality server plans at low prices. This web host’s servers are located in North America (Quebec, Virginia, Oregon) and Europe (UK, France, Germany, Poland) so you’re likely to get exceptional performance for your Minecraft server.
Shockbyte has 12 different hosting plans available, ranging from 1 GB RAM, all the way up to 16 GB RAM. The mid-tier Iron plan gives you 4GB RAM which is enough to accommodate up to 25 players. Alternatively, you can opt for the cheaper Sand plan which gives you 2GB RAM for a smaller community of 10 players. All available plans come with unlimited SSD storage, unlimited bandwidth, automatic backups, DDoS protection, and a 100% uptime guarantee.
If you don’t think that any of these plans are suited to you then Shockbyte gives you the option to create your own custom plan. You can select how much RAM you require, the server location, and whether or not you want dedicated IP. Additionally, you can choose to pay an extra fee for server management where the Shockbyte team will install and configure plugins and mod packs for you.
Shockbyte makes it easy to upgrade or downgrade your plan at any time and if you need any extra assistance then you can contact their support team who are available 24/7. If you have any common queues or issues then you can also check out ShockByte’s in-depth knowledge base or even head to their YouTube channel that’s packed with helpful tutorials and guides.
Hostsinger
Hostinger is a reliable and affordable hosting provider with a shining reputation. If you want a cheap hosting plan for your Minecraft server alongside plenty of additional security and QOL features, then Hostinger will be perfect for you.
With Minecraft hosting servers located across the US, UK, Netherlands, Singapore, and Lithuania, you’re guaranteed low latency and minimal disruptions. Hostinger also makes it easy to set up your server so you can have it up and running in minutes.
Hostinger offers various VPS hosting plans that have all been pre-configured for Minecraft. Their recommended Villager plan gets you 3 GB RAM and 3 vCPU cores, which is plenty enough to support an average-sized community of around 15 players. Of course, if you have a much larger server in mind, then you can opt for a more expensive plan. All available VPS plans come with mod support, full root access, DDoS protection, and automatic off-site backups. Hostinger also promises a 99.99% uptime SLA which is equivalent to under one hour of downtime each year.
All of Hostinger’s Minecraft server plans come with various pre-installed mods and with full root access, you can add or remove any at a moment’s notice. You’re also able to install additional applications such as LiveChat, Teamspeak, and any other VOIP systems.
If you’re still not certain whether Hostinger’s VPS Minecraft hosting plans are suited to your needs then you can try one out for free with this web host’s 30-day money-back guarantee. Additionally, you can contact their helpful customer support team 24/7 to ask any questions or head to their online knowledge base to discover various guides, tutorials, and other useful resources.
Apex Hosting
Apex Hosting is a well-rounded Minecraft server hosting provider that provides users with an array of great features alongside terrific customer support. This web host has over 200 one-click modpack installers so you can easily switch between different mods to create a truly unique Minecraft gaming experience.
With Apex Hosting, you can choose between 18 different server locations including California (US), Texas (US), London (UK), Frankfurt (Germany), Sydney (Australia), and Gravelines (France). This web host is well-known for providing great server performance with no lag for users all around the globe. Apex Hosting also has a 99.9% uptime guarantee so you’ll experience minimal downtime when running your Minecraft server.
Apex Hosting has 8 Minecraft plans available but recommends the 4GB package for most users. All plans include unlimited storage, automated backups, DDoS protection, free server transfers, and a 7-day money-back guarantee. You can choose between several add-ons too, including premium support, where the Apex Hosting team will help fix technical issues with your server and even upload maps or install mods on your behalf. There’s also a modpack creator starter add-on that can be purchased as a one-time fee and allows the Apex Hosting team to build you a custom modpack with up to 50 mods of your choice.
Apex Hosting has a knowledgeable and experienced support team at hand 24/7 who can help you with any problems you may run into. Alternatively, you can check out the website’s knowledge base for hundreds of comprehensive guides and video tutorials. Overall, Apex Hosting has a range of sophisticated tools that can make setting up and managing your Minecraft server efficient and hassle-free.
A final note
If you’re still unsure about committing to any of these Minecraft server hosting providers, then read our list of questions to ask a web hosting provider before choosing a hosting plan!