How much RAM does a Minecraft server need for 5 players?
A vanilla Minecraft server for five players needs about 4 GB of RAM. The server itself uses around 2 GB before anyone joins, and every three players add roughly 1 GB more. That comes to about 3.7 GB, and because plans are sold in whole steps, a 4 GB plan is the right size.
Plugins tip the balance at this size. A Paper server with a land claim plugin, a homes plugin and a web map needs about 4.5 GB for five players, just more than 4 GB, so choose 8 GB for a plugin server. Mods need more again: a modded server with Fabric or Forge mods needs about 8 GB, and a large modpack needs around 16 GB.
| Players online | Vanilla | Plugins | Modded | Modpack |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 to 5 | 4 GB | 5 GB | 8 GB | 13 GB |
Best Minecraft server plans for 5 players
The best Minecraft server plan for 5 players on vanilla has 4 GB of RAM, and the finder picks it from all three hosts:
For 2 to 5 players with vanilla Minecraft on Java in Poland (Warsaw), the finder recommends Lodehost Mini: 4 GB, AMD Ryzen 9 7950X, DDR5, for €7.95 a month when you pay monthly. As a new customer you pay €3.18 for the first month, 60% off. The best plans at the other two hosts are Astroworld Mini Performance at €7.95 and CheapestMinecraftHosting Starter at €3.20.
| If you want | Host and plan | Memory | Processor | Location | Per month |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lowest price | CheapestMinecraftHosting Starter | 4 GB | AMD Ryzen 9 7950X, DDR5 | Poland (Warsaw) | €3.20 |
| Balanced | Lodehost Mini | 4 GB | AMD Ryzen 9 7950X, DDR5 | Poland (Warsaw) | €7.95 (€6.95 on 24 mo) New customers: €3.18 for the first month, 60% off |
| More performance | Astroworld Mini Performance | 4 GB | AMD Ryzen 9 7950X, DDR5 | Poland (Warsaw) | €7.95 (€6.95 on 24 mo) New customers: €3.18 a month for the first 3 months, 60% off |
If price is all that matters, CheapestMinecraftHosting Starter gives you 4 GB on a Ryzen 9 7950X for €3.20 a month, hosted in Poland. That is a very low price for this hardware. The balanced pick costs a little more because it includes daily backups and reserved threads on the same Ryzen 9 7950X in Poland. Those backups are worth having the first time someone blows up your spawn with TNT.
A common mistake: a 2 GB Minecraft server for 5 players
A 2 GB Minecraft server is too small for five players, even though on paper it looks like enough for three or four, and on a quiet evening it often is. Problems start when five players explore in five different directions at the same time. Every player keeps an area of chunks loaded around them, and generating new chunks is the heaviest work a server does. On 2 GB, that is when you get lag spikes and out of memory crashes.
We only recommend 2 GB for two or three players who mostly stay around one base. For five players, the few extra euros for 4 GB are worth it. And if 4 GB ever feels too small, all three hosts let you upgrade to a bigger plan and keep your world.
Where to host a Minecraft server for 5 friends
Choose a location close to where most of your group lives. For friends spread across Europe, Poland works well, with Germany as a close second. Friends in the US should pick US East, US Central or US West, whichever is closest to most of you; the finder above shows the price for each location. If one of your friends plays on a phone or a console, switch the edition to Crossplay so they can join the same world.
Minecraft Realms, free hosting or your own server?
For most groups of five, a rented Minecraft server is the better choice, because the three other ways to play with a few friends each have a catch. Minecraft Realms, the official option from Mojang, is the easiest to start: one person pays, and the owner plus up to ten friends can play at the same time. But you cannot install plugins or mods on a Realm, and Java and Bedrock players cannot share one. Free hosts such as Aternos cost nothing, but the server stops when nobody is online, and at busy times you wait in a queue before it starts again. Running the server on your own PC is free too, but that PC has to stay on whenever someone wants to play, and you have to forward port 25565 on your router.
A rented 4 GB server avoids all of that. It is online day and night, it runs the server software you choose, and at Astroworld Hosting and Lodehost it backs up your world every day. For five players it costs €3.20 a month at the cheapest host we compare, and our guide to cheap Minecraft server hosting lists the other low-cost plans.
How to set up a Minecraft server for 5 friends
You can set up a Minecraft server for 5 friends in five steps:
- Choose a 4 GB plan in a location close to your group. The finder at the top of this site does this for you.
- Pick the server software. The vanilla server is fine for five players. Paper runs the same game more efficiently and lets you add plugins later, although it changes a few redstone tricks that technical players rely on.
- Turn on the whitelist with
/whitelist on, then add each friend with/whitelist addand their player name. - Share the server address. All three hosts give you an easy address, so nobody has to type an IP address and a port.
- Check your backups before the first big build. Our page on vanilla Minecraft server hosting explains what else matters on a server without plugins.