Cubepals and Aternos compared
Checked on 15 October 2026 against Aternos’s own pages. Each thing said about Aternos links to the page it comes from.
The short version
| What | Cubepals | Aternos |
|---|---|---|
| How a server starts | A friend who joins wakes the server, from the game itself. Nothing is pressed on a website first. | You press Start on its website, and a friend who joins an offline server through Dawn (opens in a new tab) can start it too. When Aternos is full, starts wait in a queue (opens in a new tab). |
| What’s free | A free trial of 20 hours in all, any day you like, for up to 5 players. | Free, paid for by the ads it shows (opens in a new tab), and a server can’t start while an adblocker is on. |
| Java and Bedrock | Java and Bedrock friends join the same server, on one address. | Its servers run Java, Bedrock and Hytale (opens in a new tab). |
| Keeping the world | The world is saved every time the server stops. After two weeks with nobody on it, it rests in storage, and joining still wakes it. | Its backups are free, kept to your own Google Drive (opens in a new tab). A server not started for about three months is deleted. |
Where Aternos is the better choice
Aternos is free, paid for by the ads it shows (opens in a new tab), and while someone is online and active it puts no limit on their play (opens in a new tab). It runs Hytale (opens in a new tab) as well as Minecraft, and its backups go free to your own Google Drive (opens in a new tab). If your group wants free play with no hour limit, Aternos suits you better.
How a server starts
On Cubepals, there is nothing to press. The server keeps its place in your friends’ Multiplayer list from the start, and a friend who joins wakes it from the game itself.
On Aternos, you press Start on its website, and a friend who joins an offline server through Dawn (opens in a new tab) can start it too. When Aternos is at its full number of servers, starts wait in a queue (opens in a new tab).
What’s free on Cubepals
It starts with a free trial of 20 hours in all, any day you like, for up to 5 players, with no card, on plain Minecraft. Java and Bedrock friends join one server, on one address. Mods and modpacks come with Plus. Hours only count while the server is running, and it sleeps when nobody’s on, so the trial’s hours go on play rather than empty time. Pricing has the plans, making a server for friends goes step by step, and how the sleeping works explains the waking on a join.
Questions
Is Cubepals free?
To try, yes: the free trial is 20 hours in all, any day you like, for up to 5 players, on plain Minecraft. Pricing has the plans.
Do my friends press anything to start it?
No. A friend who joins wakes the server, from the game itself. Nothing is pressed on a website first.
Who is Aternos suited to?
A group that wants free play with no hour limit. Aternos is free, paid for by the ads it shows (opens in a new tab), and while someone is online and active it puts no limit on their play (opens in a new tab). If that is your group, Aternos suits you.
Start a world with your friends
Minecraft server hosting for friends. Send them the address and they’re in. Start with a free trial, no card needed.
Create a server