section.tools.minecraft
Minecraft server calculator
Tell us what your server's going to look like and we'll recommend a plan that fits, with headroom built in. All numbers are estimates — see the note at the bottom.
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Server type
Paper / Purpur run plugins (lightweight). Fabric / Forge / NeoForge run mods (heavier).
Estimated values — actual usage varies
These numbers are a starting point. The real RAM and CPU a Minecraft server burns depends on a handful of factors the calculator can't see:
- Mod / plugin efficiency — a single poorly-optimised mod can consume 2–4 GB on its own (Pixelmon, Create: Big Cannons, Better Combat are common offenders).
- World size and pre-generation — pre-generating chunks ahead of time vs generating them on demand changes the peak memory curve dramatically.
- Player behaviour — large redstone contraptions, autocrafters, chunk loaders, and PvP fights push a server far beyond idle players.
- View distance — Minecraft 1.18+ uses ~50% more RAM at the same view distance vs 1.12, because the world is now 384 blocks tall.
- JVM tuning — Aikar's flags + a tuned G1GC heap can swing real RAM use by 30% in either direction.
- Network conditions — high-ping or unstable connections cause server-side packet queues to build, costing both CPU and RAM.
- Background tasks — world saves, off-host backups, and chunk regeneration all spike resource use during runtime, not at boot.
If your numbers feel off, start one tier up and downgrade later — we prorate refunds.