How much RAM does a Minecraft server need?

The short answer: for a group of friends on Paper with a handful of plugins, 4 GB is usually enough. With ten to twenty players and a fair number of plugins, count on 6 to 8 GB. A modpack quickly needs 8 GB or more, and large packs a good deal more. Below you’ll see where those numbers come from, and why extra memory isn’t always the fix when your server lags.

What does RAM do on a Minecraft server?

Memory holds everything your server is working on right now: the chunks around each player, all the animals and mobs in them, the players themselves and the data of your plugins or mods. How big that area is depends on view-distance and simulation-distance in server.properties. Both default to 10 chunks in every direction.

When your friends play close together, they share those loaded chunks. When everyone heads off in a different direction, the server has far more loaded at once. That’s why the number of players alone doesn’t tell the whole story.

Rules of thumb

Our Minecraft server RAM calculator starts from a base amount for the server software and adds a little per player and per plugin or mod. Without plugins that’s 2 GB plus 0.1 GB per player. For Paper with plugins it’s 2.5 GB, plus 0.12 GB per player and 0.05 GB per plugin. For mods it’s 4 GB, plus 0.2 GB per player and 0.04 GB per mod. The result is rounded up to the nearest half gigabyte. That gives you:

These are rules of thumb, not measurements of your server. A widely explored world, huge farms or heavy plugins can need more. Bedrock servers are lighter: they start at 2 GB.

Why more RAM isn’t always faster

If your server lags, more memory isn’t automatically the cure. Minecraft simulates the world largely on a single processor core, which is why the Minecraft Wiki calls good single-core performance essential. When that core is overloaded, you get lag even with plenty of free memory.

Too little memory shows different symptoms. The memory graph in the game panel sits at the limit all the time, the server gets slower and slower until it freezes, or the console shows an OutOfMemoryError before it stops.

A high memory graph while everything runs smoothly? Nothing to worry about. Java likes to hold on to memory as long as nothing else needs it, something Aternos also explains in its article on RAM.

Memory or processor: telling them apart

• The console says Can't keep up! The server is falling behind its own clock. That usually points to the processor, not the memory.
• The /tps command shows less than 20. Paper treats 20 ticks per second as normal. A lower number means the server can’t keep up with the work.
• The memory graph is always at the maximum and the server crashes. Then more memory really is the fix.

If the processor is the bottleneck, a faster processor helps more than extra memory. More on that in Standard or Premium: which game server is right for you?

Reading the graphs in the game panel

The Console page of the game panel shows how your server is doing. Memory Usage shows how much memory it’s using right now, next to your plan’s maximum. CPU Usage shows how busy the processor is. Look especially at moments when everyone is online, because that’s when the load is highest.

If memory keeps hitting the maximum while you notice lag, a bigger plan helps. If there’s plenty of memory left but the processor is maxed out, look for the fix in fewer loaded chunks, fewer entities or a faster processor.

How to save memory

• Lower view-distance and simulation-distance, for example to 8. You see slightly less far, but the server keeps far fewer chunks loaded.
• Remove plugins you don’t use. Every plugin costs a little memory and processing power.
• Keep farms with hundreds of animals in check. Lots of entities cost memory and processor time.
• Schedule a daily restart under Schedules in the game panel, for example at night.

Start small and grow

Torn between two plans? Start with the smallest one the calculator suggests. If your server starts hitting its limits, move up to a bigger plan within the same line in My CakeHosting. Your world stays exactly where it is.