How To Create A Server For Minecraft Multiplayer 9 Best Minecraft Servers
What’s the best way to set up a reliable Minecraft Multiplayer server? In this article we’ll be sharing with you 9 of the very best servers for your Minecraft Multiplayer experience. You’ll learn about how to set up and host your Minecraft Multiplayer server, together with price comparisons, the pros and cons of each service, and lots of other great advice to help you get started.
Minecraft has been around since 2021 and remains hugely popular due to its extremely entertaining and diverse gameplay. But the real fun starts when you create your own server to play with friends .
If you’re thinking of creating your own Minecraft world, keep reading to find out everything you need to know to do it the right way.
Hard Disk Space And Broadband Requirements
Of course, you also need to store the Minecraft server installation as well as user and game world data on your server. The following approximate values can be used here:
- 1 to 2 players: at least 2 gigabytes of free disk space
- 3 to 5 players: at least 18 gigabytes of free disk space
- 6 players or more: at least 35 gigabytes of free space
However, size is not the only factor you should pay attention to when it comes to storage units. Relying on SSD storage for your server can speed up the startup process. However, for a smooth gaming experience on a Minecraft server, classic HDD storage is perfectly suitable, too.
For more on the differences between the two major types of memory, see our article SSD vs. HDD: What are the differences?.
The required broadband capacities also result from the number of active players on the Minecraft server. In terms of memory, Minecraft isnt too demanding: Majongs recommendations from 5 Mbps for 1 to 2 players to 45 Mbps for 6 or more players – are not a problem if you rent the hardware and hosting for your Minecraft server. In case you have your own server at home, you will of course have to keep an eye on the key figures and order a larger broadband package if necessary.
How To Make A Minecraft Server For Free In 2022
Minecraft is an excellent way of improving social skills, problem-solving abilities, and creativity when you interact with other gamers.
However, when you play on a public server, you cant control who connects with you. Thats why many people create their own Minecraft servers. You can pay to host your own server, but theres also a way to bend the rules a bit and do it for free.
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Checking The Compatibility Of Your Computer
How To Make A Minecraft Server For Free Without Hamachi

Follow these steps to make a Minecraft server without Hamachi.
- Make sure your device has a stable internet connection and at least 2GB of RAM
- Create a folder labeled Minecraft, and in it, create another folder named Servers
- Create a third folder for your server in the Servers folder and name it appropriately
- In the last folder, create a text file called server.properties
- Open the text file, and copy and paste this text:
#Minecraft server properties
java -Xmx1024M -Xms512M -jar minecraft_server.jar nogui
- Open your Minecraft game, go to multiplayer, and click direct connect
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Setting Up Server Properties
Now lets look at some server properties we can change to customize what kind of Minecraft game you want to play in your server. Open the server properties file.
Once here, you will see a lot of text sections. Lets cover the most important ones and look at the properties you will most likely want to change.
The properties highlighted in the above image are some of the most important ones you should be familiar with. The first gamemode=survival property determines the gamemode you and your players will play in the server by default. This is set to survival meaning you will have hunger and health you will have to manage in game. Setting this to gamemode=creative lets the players build, break, and fly as they are untouchable and unkillable in this gamemode.
The next spawn-monsters=true is a property that tells the server monsters and dangerous enemies will appear. Changing this to spawn-monsters=false will stop monsters from spawning even in survival mode.
One of the more important properties in our experience with minecraft servers is the next highlighted pvp=true line. PvP stands for player vs play so this controls whether or not players can damage each other. By default this is set to true meaning players can hurt and damage one another in game. Setting this to pvp=false will disable and ability for players to damage each other.
Make A Minecraft Server On A Linux Host
If youre not inclined to host a Minecraft server at home, you can spin up a Linux hosting plan to do it instead. This way youre not responsible for managing any of the hardware, plus youre not exposing your private home network to the public.
As mentioned before, a Linux VPS hosting plan from GoDaddy is a lightweight option if youre experimenting or not expecting a lot of players to join your server. If, however, youre expecting a lot of players, you should look at using a dedicated Linux server instead.
To follow these steps, youll need to connect to your hosting with SSH.
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Install The Minecraft Server
Once youve downloaded the server .jar file, you need to run it once and it will generate some files, including an eula.txt license file. The first time you run it, it will return an error and exit. Thats supposed to happen. Run in with the following command:
java -Xms2048M -Xmx3472M -jar server.jar nogui
-Xms2048M is the minimum RAM that your Minecraft server can use and -Xmx3472M is the maximum. Adjust this based on your servers resources. If you got the 4GB RAM server from Linode you can leave them as-is, if you dont use the server for anything else other than Minecraft.
After that command ends and returns an error, a new eula.txt file will be generated. You need to accept the license in that file. You can do that by adding eula=true to the file with the following command:
sed -i.orig 's/eula=false/eula=true/g' eula.txt
You can now start the server again and access the Minecraft server console with that same java command from before:
java -Xms2048M -Xmx3472M -jar server.jar nogui
Make sure youre in the /opt/minecraft directory, or the directory where you installed your MC server.
Youre free to stop here if youre just testing this and need it for the short-term. If youre having trouble loggin into the server, youll need to configure your firewall.
The first time you successfully start the server it will take a bit longer to generate
Well show you how to create a script so you can start the server with it.
How To Make A Minecraft Server For Free With Mods
Adding modifications allows gamers to alter aspects of Minecraft, such as including new items, blocks, and creatures. This ability to customize the game increases replay value. Gamers are inclined to create modded Minecraft servers to control and modify the game.
You can easily find a tutorial on how to make a Minecraft server for free with mods, but heres a gist of the steps:
- Launch the .jar file and install the Forge server
- Open the EULA text file
- Change the line eula=false to eula=true, and save it
- Check out the CurseForge website that indexes all Minecraft mods
- Port forward and open Minecraft port 25565 to grant access to players outside of the internal server network
The details of this process depend on your IP and router, so youll need to research port forwarding guides.
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How To Host A Minecraft Server
On setup, youll want to create a dedicated folder for your server, as whenever you run your server from a desktop or download folder, it will create configuration files in that location. By creating a folder for your server, it will be easier to organise all the files.
Once you click the file and start the server, youll need to complete some configuration. Here are the steps below.
Once youve set up Minecraft hosting, you can share your server by sending your internal IP address to those on the same network, and your external IP address for everyone else though youll need to set up port forwarding on your router. Its not recommended that you host a server on the same PC you plan to run it on. For a breakdown of frequently asked questions and instructions on how to set up Minecraft hosting, Minecraft recommends this guide, which should answer any additional questions or issues that arise from the sometimes fiddly and frustrating task of setting up a server.
How To Make A Minecraft Server On Ubuntu
These instructions are written for and tested on an Ubuntu 22.04 server from Linode. Though theyll also work on Ubuntu 20.04, Ubuntu 18.04, and any other Ubuntu-based distro, and any other server provider.
Were using the default Vanilla server from Minecraft. You can use alternatives like CraftBukkit or Spigot that allow more customizations and plugins. Though if you use too many plugins youll essentially ruin the server. There are pros and cons to each one. Nevertheless, the instructions below are for the default Vanilla server to keep things simple and beginner-friendly. We may publish a tutorial for CraftBukkit soon if theres an interest.
Here are the step-by-step instructions on how to make a Minecraft server:
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How To Create Your Own Minecraft Server
The first thing you have to do is download the Minecraft server that suits your needs. There are two server types:
-
Vanilla. That is the classic implementation of the Minecraft server as offered by the developers of the game. Just like Realms, it has restrictions on modes and plugins, but it still allows you to create a more personal and unique experience, and save all the data on your PC or dedicated server.
-
Bukkit. This is a project created by enthusiasts who wanted to break free of Microsoftâs restrictions, and explore Minecraftâs unlimited possibilities with modifications created by third-party developers and fans of the game.
Both of these servers are available online and can be downloaded for free.
Vanilla is available on the official Minecraft website. To work with it, you must and launch it via the Java command-line interface.
Open the command prompt of your operating system
For Windows: select the Start button and type cmd, youâll see Command Prompt in the list
For MacOS: press Command – spacebar to launch Spotlight and type Terminal, then double-click the search result
Linux: press Ctrl+Alt+t keys at the same time
java -Xmx1024M -Xms1024M -jar minecraftserver.1.17.1.jar nogui
Your server is now up.
Next, youâll need to configure your server and find a way to connect to it. The method for doing this depends on what kind of hosting youâve chosen.
Prerequisite: A Linux Server

You will need a server. These instructions assume a Linux server or VM runningwithin the home, behind a firewall. Tailscale lets clients connect to computerswherever they are, so you do not need to worry about the accessibility of themachine. It just needs to be on the internet. If you sign up for a VM hosted bya cloud provider, please make sure toblock almost all access in the firewall.
The instructions in this guide assume you are using Ubuntu or Debian, thoughthe changes for other Linux distributions are small.
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How Do I Upgrade My Minecraft Server
If theres a new release, you need to do this:
Navigate to the minecraft directory:
cd /opt/minecraft
wget https://launcher.mojang.com/v1/objects/125e5adf40c659fd3bce3e66e67a16bb49ecc1b9/server.jar
Next, run and build the new server:
java -Xms2048M -Xmx3472M -jar server.jar nogui
Finally, update your start script:
nano /opt/minecraft/startminecraft.sh
And update the version number accordingly:
#!/bin/bashcd /opt/minecraft/ & & java -Xms2048M -Xmx3472M -jar server.jar nogui
Now you can restart the server and everything should go well.
Download The Minecraft Server Software
Open TextEdit. Set the format to plain text. Enter the following:
#!/bin/bash
exec java -Xms1G -Xmx1G -jar nogui
Save the file as start.command in the same folder where the servers .jar file is located.
Open the Terminal and grant permissions for the new start.command file so it can be run. Type chmod a+x with a space after the command. Drag and drop the start.command file into the terminal window. Press Enter.
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How To Make A Public Minecraft Server For Free
You can create a public Minecraft server for free using this simple process.
- Open a new text file
- Copy the command java -Xmx1024M -Xms1024M -jar minecraft_server.1.16.4.jar nogui.
- Replace the line minecraft_server.1.16.4 with the server version you downloaded
- Save the text file as run.bat and run it
- Open the file eula.txt
- Open Minecraft, click multiplayer, and enter localhost in the server address field
- Find your internal and external IP addresses
- Port forward and open Minecraft port 25565
Enjoy Your Multiplayer Minecraft Server
And there you have it! You are now running your own Minecraft server and you can have all your friends join it as you wish.
There are many things you can do with your own server such as manage game settings, customizing your own white-list, adding your own mods, and allocating however much memory that you have to spare. We suggest starting small before you get too crazy.
Minecraft can quickly eat up resources that many people dont have at home and you may find your computer struggles to handle everything you want it to do. Please also remember to not share your IP address publicly or with anyone you dont know or trust.
If you found this article helpful, give us a shout on our Discord to let us know!
Wed also love for you to come and hang out with us on our Minecraft server! Our subdomain is mc.codewizardshq.com. First, you will have to verify your information using Discord by sending a DM to CWHQ Minecraft Server#9605 where your pin code will be provided.
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How Do I Configure My Minecraft Server
You can configure your server using the server.properties file. Check the Minecraft Wiki for more info, though you can leave everything as-is and it will work perfectly fine.
If you want to change the game mode, difficulty and stuff like that, you can use the server console. Access the server console by running:
screen -r minecraft
And execute commands there. Commands like:
difficulty hard
You may need to restart the server depending on what command you used. There are many more commands you can use, check the wiki for more.
Reasons Why You Would Not Use A Specialized Minecraft Server Hosting Provider
Since youre here, youre obviously interested in hosting your own Minecraft server. There are more reasons why you would not use a specialized Minecraft hosting provider, but here are a few:
- Theyre slow most of the time. This is because you actually share the resources with multiple users. It becomes overloaded at some point. Most of them oversell their servers too.
- You dont have full control over the Minecraft server or the actual server. You cannot customize anything you want to.
- Youre limited. Those kinds of hosting plans are always limited in one way or another.
Of course, there are positives to using a Minecraft hosting provider. The best upside is that you dont actually have to do all the stuff well write about below. But wheres the fun in that?
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A Brief Overview Of The Three Ionos Server Options
A Dedicated Server with specially allocated hardware in our data center is an excellent solution for hosting individual applications. As a basis for server applications like a Minecraft server, this server model is ideal. Billing takes place per-minute with this package.
We guarantee an external broadband connection of the server with up to 400 Mbit/s regardless of the chosen server model.
However, to make a Minecraft server, the virtualized resources you rent with a vServer or Cloud Server are also perfectly suitable. Even if you dont get dedicated hardware components here, the selected performance is guaranteed at all times. When deciding between vServer and Cloud Server, the payment model might make a difference:
If you are unsure when and how often you want to run your Minecraft server, a Cloud Server Package is the perfect choice, as here we only charge for the resources you actually need and use.
If you rent a vServer, you pay a fixed monthly amount, regardless of whether your Minecraft server is running or not. However, if youre planning on continuous operation, you will get significantly lower costs than with a cloud server.