Bedrock only, or a Minecraft crossplay server?
If everyone in your group plays Bedrock, a Bedrock server is the simplest choice. It runs the official Bedrock Dedicated Server from Mojang, so the game works exactly like it does on your players' devices, and add-ons work too. If even one friend plays Java on a PC, choose crossplay hosting instead.
Which hosts offer Minecraft Bedrock servers?
Astroworld Hosting has a full range of Bedrock plans, from Astroworld Camp with 2 GB at €5.95 up to 48 GB, on both the standard line and the Performance line. Cheapest Minecraft Hosting offers Bedrock on every plan, at the same price as Java. Lodehost offers Java and crossplay plans, but no Bedrock-only servers.
| Host | Plan | Per month | Memory | vCPU | Processor | Storage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Astroworld | Pocket Performance Performance line | €7.95 (€6.95 on 24 mo) New customers: €3.18 a month for the first 3 months, 60% off | 4 GB | 2 reserved | Ryzen 9 5900X (Germany) or 7950X (Poland) | 50 GB Enterprise NVMe |
| CheapestMinecraftHosting | Starter Budget line | €3.20 | 4 GB | 1 shared | AMD Ryzen 9 7950X, DDR5 | 20 GB NVMe |
| Astroworld | Pocket Standard line | €7.95 (€6.95 on 24 mo) | 4 GB | 2 shared | AMD EPYC | 60 GB SSD |
How much RAM does a Minecraft Bedrock server need?
A Minecraft Bedrock server needs about as much RAM as a vanilla Java server: 2 GB plus 1 GB for every three players. That is on the safe side, because the Bedrock server uses less memory than the Java server. Ten players fit on 6 GB, which is exactly what the Village plan at Astroworld Hosting offers.
Best Minecraft Bedrock server plans
The best Minecraft Bedrock server plan for ten players has about 6 GB of RAM, and only Astroworld Hosting and Cheapest Minecraft Hosting sell Bedrock-only plans.
For 6 to 10 players on a Minecraft Bedrock server in Poland (Warsaw), the finder recommends Astroworld Hosting Village Performance: 6 GB, AMD Ryzen 9 7950X, DDR5, for €11.95 a month when you pay monthly. As a new customer you pay €4.78 a month for the first 3 months, 60% off. The best plan at Cheapest Minecraft Hosting is CheapestMinecraftHosting Plus at €6.40.
| If you want | Host and plan | Memory | Processor | Location | Per month |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lowest price | CheapestMinecraftHosting Plus | 8 GB | AMD Ryzen 9 7950X, DDR5 | Poland (Warsaw) | €6.40 |
| Balanced | Astroworld Village Performance | 6 GB | AMD Ryzen 9 7950X, DDR5 | Poland (Warsaw) | €11.95 (€9.95 on 24 mo) New customers: €4.78 a month for the first 3 months, 60% off |
| More performance | Astroworld Village Performance | 6 GB | AMD Ryzen 9 7950X, DDR5 | Poland (Warsaw) | €11.95 (€9.95 on 24 mo) New customers: €4.78 a month for the first 3 months, 60% off |
How to join a Minecraft server on Xbox, PlayStation or Switch
Xbox, PlayStation and Switch only show the featured servers, so console players need a workaround to join your own Minecraft server. The hosts' own guides explain it step by step. On phones, tablets and Windows it is easier: there is an Add Server button, where you enter the server address and the port, which is 19132 by default.
Bedrock Dedicated Server, PocketMine or Nukkit?
For a survival server with friends, choose Bedrock Dedicated Server, the official server software from Mojang. It plays exactly like the game on your players' devices, it supports add-ons and it is updated together with Bedrock Edition. PocketMine-MP and Nukkit are community-made servers with their own plugin systems. They are popular for minigame servers, but they do not include every vanilla feature, so a survival world plays differently on them. Choose one of those only if you want to build minigames with their own plugins.
How to add add-ons to a Minecraft Bedrock server
To add add-ons to a Minecraft Bedrock server, upload the behavior pack and the resource pack into the world folder of your Bedrock Dedicated Server and switch them on for the world. Bedrock add-ons come in these two parts: behavior packs, which change how the game works, and resource packs, which change how it looks. Players get the resource packs from the server when they join, so nobody has to install anything by hand. Keep in mind that every add-on needs to support the current Bedrock version, because Bedrock updates often and the server updates with it.