Hosting a Minecraft server: what are your options?

Three ways to host your Minecraft server, with their real benefits and costs. The goal: help you choose without regrets.

1. At home (your own machine)

• ✅ No hosting cost.
• ❌ Your PC has to stay on while you play; it heats up and draws power.
• ❌ Network setup (port forwarding, dynamic IP) is often a pain.
• ❌ Exposes your personal connection.

Good for testing on LAN, less so for playing together remotely on a regular basis.

2. A VPS (virtual private server)

• ✅ Always online, dedicated resources.
• ❌ You pay for the whole month, even with the server off.
• ❌ Everything is yours to install and maintain (Java, the server image, backups, updates).

Good if you're comfortable with system administration and want a 24/7 server.

3. A pay-by-the-hour game host (like TickServ)

• ✅ Ready in ~2 minutes, nothing to configure (vanilla, Paper, Fabric, Forge or a modpack).
• ✅ Billed by the hour: €0 when it's off, you only pay for the sessions you play.
• ✅ World saved automatically, stable address, auto-stop.
• ✅ First game free to try it out without paying anything.

The best trade-off for playing with friends in sessions, with no commitment and no administration.

How to choose?

• You play in sessions, with friends → the by-the-hour host (the cheapest and simplest).
• Your server needs to run 24/7 for a community → a VPS or a monthly plan.
• You just want to tinker on LAN → at home.

To crunch the numbers, check the by-the-hour vs subscription comparison.

Create your Minecraft server in 2 minutes.