Aternos alternative: when is a paid server worth it?

For a lot of players, Aternos is their first Minecraft server, and it’s easy to see why: it’s free and you can have a server running in a few minutes. Sooner or later, though, most groups hit the same walls. The server shuts down as soon as nobody is playing, you sometimes wait in a queue, and you can’t upload your own plugins. This article explains when a paid server is worth the money, and when you’re perfectly fine staying on Aternos.

What Aternos does well

Credit where it’s due: Aternos is a great place to start. You create an account, pick Java or Bedrock and press Start. It costs nothing, because according to its own help centre Aternos pays for its servers with advertising. There’s a library of plugins, mods and modpacks you can install in a few clicks, and you can download your world whenever you like.

If you play now and then with a few friends who are all online at the same time anyway, that may be all you need.

The walls you run into

Aternos’s limits aren’t bugs. They’re what makes the free model work, and Aternos explains them openly:

• Your server stops when it’s empty. As soon as the last player leaves, a stop countdown starts. If nobody comes back in time, the server shuts down to make room for others. Aternos deliberately doesn’t offer servers that stay online around the clock, and using bots to keep one online is against the rules.
• Sometimes there’s a queue. When Aternos is at capacity, you join a queue before your server starts. Just before your turn you have to click a button to confirm you’re still there.
• The memory is fixed. How much RAM your server gets depends on the software and version. Aternos gives 2400 MB for a vanilla 1.20.1 server as an example. You can get a temporary boost through a partnership with the clip app Medal.
• No uploads of your own plugins or mods. You can only install what’s in the Aternos library. A plugin you downloaded or wrote yourself can’t be uploaded, and there’s no FTP access.
• World uploads are capped at 1 GB. A bigger world only fits after you trim unused areas.

For people who want more, Aternos itself points to a paid sister service. So you’re not the first to hit these limits.

Five signs you’re ready for your own server

1. Your friends want to play when you’re not around. One likes to build late at night, another before school. A server that’s always on solves that.
2. You spend more time waiting than playing. Sitting through the queue and the start-up every time takes the fun out of it.
3. You want something that isn’t in the library. A brand-new plugin, your own mix of plugins, or a modpack that hasn’t been added yet.
4. Things start lagging when everyone is online. Big farms, lots of animals and ten players at once need more memory and processing power.
5. You want the keys. Editing files over SFTP, making and downloading your own backups, and choosing which version runs.

Don’t recognise any of these? Then by all means stay on Aternos for now. Recognise two or more, and you’ll notice the difference.

What you get with a paid server (and what you don’t)

With a paid server you rent a fixed share of a machine that runs only your server. At CakeHosting that means:

• your server is online 24 hours a day, even when nobody is playing, and there’s no queue;
• you choose how much memory you need, and you can move up to a bigger plan later;
• your server runs Paper by default, so you can add any Bukkit or Spigot plugin that fits your version;
• in the game panel you install modpacks from CurseForge, Modrinth and others, switch Minecraft versions and manage your whitelist;
• you get a file manager and SFTP access, and you make your own backups, which you can also download.

There’s another side to it, of course. You pay every month, and you’re the admin: you pick the plugins, keep them up to date and set the rules. If you get stuck, we help through a support ticket, in English or Dutch. And there’s no such thing as unlimited players: how many people can play smoothly depends on the memory and processor of your plan.

How to switch without losing your world

1. Download your world from Aternos. On the Worlds page, pick your world and click Download. You’ll get a zip file. If your server ran Paper or Spigot, download the Nether and the End as well: Aternos lists them as separate worlds.
2. Pick a plan. Not sure how much memory you need? The server size calculator works it out for you.
3. Put your world on your new server. Upload the zip in the file manager, extract it and set it as the default world. The steps are in Upload your Minecraft world to your server.
4. Use the same Minecraft version or a newer one. A world moves up to a newer version just fine, but not back down to an older one.
5. Share your new address. Your friends add the server address from the game panel to their server list.

Folders, versions and moving from Realms are covered in How to move your Minecraft world to your own server.

What does your own server cost?

A Minecraft Java server at CakeHosting starts at €4.95 a month on the Standard line and €8.95 a month on the Premium line, VAT included. If your group plays Bedrock on tablets or phones (or on consoles, with a workaround), a Bedrock server starts at €2.95 a month. You pay monthly and can cancel monthly.

Standard is plenty for most groups of friends. Premium runs on our fastest processors and helps with lots of players or a heavy modpack. The difference is explained in Standard or Premium: which game server is right for you?