Hostinger
KVM 2 · 2 vCPU · 8 GB
Regions in the Americas, Europe and Asia
How much RAM does a Minecraft server need? (calculator)
For 5–10 friends on Vanilla or Paper, a VPS with 6 GB of memory: 4 GB for the world and 2 GB for the system. A big modpack needs 12 to 24 GB.
Turn on JavaScript to answer the two questions, or find your size in the table below.
These are starting points.
A VPS with 6 GB of memory6 GB of memory
For 5–10 friends on Vanilla or Paper, with room for backups.
- Memory
- 6 GB 4 GB for the world, 2 GB for the system, Docker and Playkeeper.
- CPU
- 2 fast cores Minecraft runs the world on one core, so fast beats many.
- Disk
- 40 GB SSD Worlds, a week of backups and room to explore.
- Network
- Any VPS will do Each player uses well under 1 Mbit/s.
Already running? Settings suggests memory from real use.
VPS that fit
Picked for Minecraft: fast cores, NVMe disks and regions near your friends. The size follows your answer.
Fits your answer, 5–10 friends on Vanilla or Paper: 6 GB of memory, 2 fast cores
The Vultr link below is a referral link: Playkeeper earns a commission when you buy through it, at no extra cost to you. It never changes which providers we list or how we order them.
DigitalOcean
Premium AMD · 2 vCPU · 8 GB
Regions on four continents
Vultr
High Performance · 4 vCPU · 8 GB
Regions on six continents
Plans checked 28 Sep 2026.
Every size at a glance
Memory for the whole VPS. Your answer is marked.
| Friends at once | Vanilla or Paper | Lots of plugins or a few mods | A big modpack |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1–4 | 4 GB, 2 cores,40 GB disk | 6 GB, 2 cores,40 GB disk | 12 GB, 4 cores,40 GB disk |
| 5–10 | 6 GB, 2 cores,40 GB disk | 8 GB, 4 cores,80 GB disk | 24 GB, 4 cores,80 GB disk |
| 11–20 | 8 GB, 4 cores,80 GB disk | 12 GB, 4 cores,160 GB disk | 24 GB, 6 cores,160 GB disk |
| 21–40 | 12 GB, 4 cores,160 GB disk | 16 GB, 6 cores,240 GB disk | 24 GB, 8 cores,320 GB disk |
Playkeeper itself needs at least 2 CPU cores, 3 GB of memory and 5 GB of free disk. Sizes are memory for the whole VPS. More than 40 friends at once? Start with the biggest size and watch the Overview.
More than one server on the VPS?
They add up, stopped servers too.
- Memory
- Add up what each server gets for the world, then 2 GB for the system, Docker and Playkeeper once, and pick the next size up.
- CPU
- The busiest server's cores, plus one for each other server.
- Disk
- Add up each server's.
For example, Paper for 5–10 friends (4 GB for the world) and a big modpack for 1–4 friends (8 GB for the world): 4 + 8 + 2 = 14 GB, so a VPS with 16 GB of memory, 6 fast cores and 80 GB SSD.
Questions
What are the minimum requirements?
Ubuntu 20.04 or later, Debian 12 or later, the RHEL family 9 or later (AlmaLinux, Rocky Linux, Oracle Linux, RHEL and CentOS Stream), or Amazon Linux 2023 or later, on x86_64 or 64-bit ARM, with 2 CPU cores, 3 GB of memory and 5 GB of free disk for Playkeeper. Each server needs more on top, as the calculator shows.
Which Java version does a server need?
The one its Minecraft version was made for: Java 25 from 26.1, 21 for 1.20.5 to 1.21.11, 17 for 1.18 to 1.20.4, 16 for 1.17 and 8 for 1.16.5 and older. Playkeeper runs each server on the right one, so you don't install Java.
What matters more, CPU or RAM?
Memory first: a server that runs out of it crashes. Then the speed of each core: Minecraft runs the world on one core, so a fast core beats many slow ones.
Why isn't more memory always better?
Memory the world doesn't use sits idle, and Java takes longer to clear out a very large heap, which players feel as short pauses. Start with the calculator's size; once a server runs, its Settings suggests memory from real use.