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Velocity server hosting for a Minecraft network

Velocity server hosting joins several Minecraft servers behind 1 address, so players move from a lobby to survival or minigames without disconnecting. Here is how a Velocity network works, how it compares with BungeeCord, how much RAM each server needs and which plans fit.

Prices checked on 7 October 2026 on the hosts' own order pages. All prices include VAT.

A Minecraft server with a RAM stick, a grass block and a map

The short answer

A Velocity network is a proxy plus two or more Minecraft servers: players connect to the proxy, which sends them to the lobby, survival or minigame server. The proxy needs little memory. Size each game server for its own players, such as 8 GB for ten players with plugins.

Compare plans for a Minecraft network

Velocity itself needs little memory, so the table sizes the whole network instead: for 76 to 100 players with a few plugins, each row is a single plan of 64 GB or more, a starting point before you move to one plan per server. The best Minecraft server plan at each host for 76 to 100 players with a few plugins on Java in Poland (Warsaw), starting with the finder's pick.

The best Minecraft server plan at each host for 76 to 100 players on Java in Poland (Warsaw)
ProviderMemoryCPU & storageMonthly priceOrder page
Astroworld Hosting Enterprise Performance64 GB Free websiteRyzen 9 7950X with DDR5, Poland (Warsaw) 8 reserved vCPU, 300 GB Enterprise NVMe€49.98 /mo First 3 months, then €124.95/mo, €111.95 on 24 months 60% off for new customersView plan Astroworld Enterprise Performance (opens Astroworld Hosting)
Lodehost Dedicated, performance line96 GB Free websiteRyzen 9 7950X with DDR5, Poland (Warsaw) 9 reserved vCPU, 350 GB Enterprise NVMe€75.18 first month Then €187.95/mo, €167.95 on 24 months 60% off for new customersView plan Lodehost Dedicated (opens Lodehost)
Cheapest Minecraft Hosting Empire, budget line64 GBRyzen 9 7950X with DDR5, Poland (Warsaw) 6 shared vCPU, 200 GB NVMe€51.20 /mo Same price on every termView plan CheapestMinecraftHosting Empire (opens Cheapest Minecraft Hosting)

On the Performance lines the large price is what a new customer pays a month at the start: for the first 3 months at Astroworld Hosting and the first payment at Lodehost. The regular monthly price comes after it, and the last price in each row is the monthly price on the host's longest term.

Compare the same billing term and location before you order.

Every price is taken from the host's own order page. How we compare

What does a Velocity network need?

A Velocity network needs 3 parts: the Velocity proxy, Paper game servers behind it and enough RAM on each server for its own players.

  • A proxy

    Velocity, made by the PaperMC team, connects the servers behind one address.

  • Paper game servers

    A lobby and one or more game servers, each on Paper with its own plugins.

  • RAM per server

    Each server is sized for its own players by the same rule as a single server.

In a network every server is its own plan with its own main thread, so restarting the survival world leaves the lobby and minigames running.

What is Velocity in Minecraft?

Velocity is a Minecraft proxy from the PaperMC team that connects several Java servers behind one address. Players join the proxy, and it passes them on to a lobby, a survival world or a minigame server, and lets them switch with a command or a sign without logging out. Each server behind it keeps its own world, plugins and main thread. Most large Java networks run Velocity or the older BungeeCord.

Velocity vs BungeeCord

Choose Velocity for a new network and BungeeCord only if a proxy plugin you depend on needs it. BungeeCord comes from SpigotMC and has been around the longest, so older proxy plugins are written for it; Waterfall, Paper's fork of BungeeCord, is no longer developed. Velocity is maintained by PaperMC, and its modern forwarding signs the player data it sends to your servers with a shared secret, so it is much harder to fake than BungeeCord's forwarding.

How to set up a Velocity network

To set up a Velocity network, connect the proxy and the game servers in five steps:

  1. Order the servers: one for the proxy, a small one for the lobby and one plan per game server. Astroworld Hosting supports Velocity, BungeeCord and Waterfall.
  2. List the servers in velocity.toml under [servers], and set player-info-forwarding-mode to modern.
  3. Copy the forwarding secret from the proxy's forwarding.secret file into each Paper server's config/paper-global.yml under proxies.velocity, and set enabled to true there.
  4. Set online-mode=false in server.properties on every game server, and make sure players cannot reach those servers directly.
  5. Give players the proxy's address and test that every server can be reached from the lobby.

If you would rather not run a proxy yourself, Astroworld Hosting can put two to six of your servers behind a single address, with one of them as the lobby.

How much RAM does each server in a Velocity network need?

Each server in a Velocity network needs RAM for its own players, sized like a single server: 2 GB plus 1 GB for every two players on Paper with plugins. A survival server with thirty players online needs about 17 GB, so a 24 GB plan, and a minigame server with ten players about 7 GB, so 8 GB. The lobby needs less than the rule says, because nobody builds or explores there, and the Velocity proxy itself needs very little memory.

Best plans for a Velocity network

The best plans for a Velocity network are one plan per game server plus a small one for the lobby. If you would rather start on one large plan for about a hundred players and split it later, this is the finder's pick:

For 76 to 100 players with a few plugins on Java in Poland (Warsaw), the finder recommends Astroworld Hosting Enterprise Performance: 64 GB, AMD Ryzen 9 7950X, DDR5, for €124.95 a month when you pay monthly. As a new customer you pay €49.98 a month for the first 3 months, 60% off. The best plans at the other two hosts are Lodehost Dedicated at €187.95 and CheapestMinecraftHosting Empire at €51.20.

Sizes for big single servers are on 64 GB Minecraft server hosting and 48 GB Minecraft server hosting.

Before you build a Velocity network

Before you build a Velocity network, settle 3 things: modern forwarding, game servers that only the proxy can reach and Geyser on the proxy if Bedrock players will join.

  1. Use modern forwarding

    Velocity's modern forwarding passes each player's real name and UUID to the Paper servers behind it.

  2. Close the back doors

    Game servers behind the proxy run in offline mode, so players must only reach them through Velocity.

  3. Add Geyser on the proxy

    With Geyser and Floodgate on Velocity, Bedrock players reach every server through one address.

Questions about Velocity server hosting

Do I need Velocity for a Minecraft network?

You need Velocity or another proxy such as BungeeCord. Without a proxy each server has its own address and players have to disconnect to switch. Astroworld Hosting can also join two to six servers behind one address for you.

How much RAM does a Velocity proxy need?

Very little compared with the game servers, because the proxy only passes connections on and runs no world. Size your plans for the game servers behind it.

Is Velocity better than BungeeCord?

For a new network, yes: Velocity is maintained by the PaperMC team and its modern forwarding is much harder to fake. BungeeCord still runs older proxy plugins that have no Velocity version.

How do Bedrock players join a Velocity network?

Through Geyser and Floodgate installed on the proxy. Bedrock players then reach the lobby and every server behind it with the same address as Java players.

How many servers can a Velocity network have?

As many as you list in velocity.toml. Small networks usually start with a lobby and one or two game servers, each a separate plan with its own RAM.

Where do I download Velocity?

From papermc.io, the site of the PaperMC team that makes it. In October 2026 the newest stable version is Velocity 4.2.0. At Astroworld Hosting you can pick Velocity as the server software in the panel instead of uploading the jar yourself.

How do I set a server icon on a Velocity network?

Put a PNG of 64 by 64 pixels named server-icon.png in the proxy's main folder and restart Velocity. Players see the proxy's icon and MOTD in their server list, not those of the servers behind it, unless you change ping-passthrough in velocity.toml. An image of any other size is skipped.

Still unsure? Use the Minecraft server finder