How much RAM does a Minecraft server need?
It depends on how many people play at once, how far they can see, and whether the server runs mods. For a group of friends on Minecraft: Java Edition, it shouldn’t be something you have to work out at all.
What uses memory
- Players. Each player keeps the part of the world around them loaded, so more players spread out means more of the world held at once.
- View distance. How much of the world the server sends each player, counted in chunks in every direction. The game’s default is 10.
- Simulation distance. How far from each player animals, machines and crops keep moving. Its default is 10 too.
- Mods and modpacks. Every mod adds its own blocks, creatures and work for the server, and a big pack adds hundreds.
The Minecraft Wiki’s server.properties page (opens in a new tab) explains both distances, and its server tutorial suggests at least 2 GB of memory to start, and possibly 4 GB for larger servers.
Why Cubepals doesn’t ask
When you make a server, Cubepals asks Who’s playing: how many friends play at once. Bigger groups get a bigger server. That answer, and what you chose to play, decide its size. You never pick RAM.
If your group grows, change it later under the server’s Settings, in Size.
Big modpacks
Big modpacks and groups of 20 or more run on a large server, which counts two hours for each hour it runs, and groups of more than 50 on the largest, which counts four. What a server costs explains how hours work, and playing a modpack with friends covers the rest.
What Cubepals actually runs
For anyone curious, these are the sizes behind each answer to Who’s playing:
| Who’s playing | Players at once | Memory |
|---|---|---|
| Up to 5 | Up to 5 | 3 GB |
| Up to 10 | Up to 10 | 4 GB |
| Up to 20 | Up to 20 | 8 GB |
| Up to 50 | Up to 50 | 8 GB |
| Up to 100 | Up to 100 | 16 GB |
Questions
How much RAM for 2, 5 or 10 players?
On Cubepals, up to 5 players get 3 GB and up to 10 get 4 GB, picked for you from Who’s playing.
Can I give it more memory?
Pick a bigger answer to Who’s playing, in the server’s Settings under Size. Bigger sizes need a bigger plan.
Does the server need more for mods?
Usually, yes, and Cubepals sizes a modded server for what you chose to play, so a big pack gets a large server.
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