We run Severoo, a free Minecraft server host, so this page about Aternos alternatives is not neutral: we are one of the options in the table above. Every fact about another host comes from that host’s own website on the date shown under the table. The sources are linked there so you can check each one yourself. We are not affiliated with Aternos or with any other host named here.
Aternos is a good free host for a group that plays together and has someone around to start the server. People look elsewhere for three reasons: the server stops when the last player leaves, starting it can mean waiting in a queue, and you cannot upload your own plugin or mod files. No free host removes all three for nothing. Each one fixes something and asks for something back.
Why people look for Aternos alternatives
This is the short version, as of 12 October 2026. Each row is explained in its own section below.
| What you want | Who addresses it | What they ask in return |
|---|---|---|
| A server that keeps running when it is empty | Severoo | You renew it on a schedule that depends on your plan (every few hours on some plans). Renewing is one click, paid for with account credits that are free to collect |
| A server friends can wake or start without you | Minehut, Falix | Minehut: 1 GB of RAM and 10 player slots. Falix: activity checks in chat, and a free plan open in 40 countries only |
| No queue to start | Severoo | The same renewal |
| Uploading your own plugins or mods | Play Hosting (mods), Minehut (plugins) | Play Hosting: a queue before the server is available. Minehut: 1 GB of RAM |
If none of the three reasons bothers you, skip to what Aternos does well. You may not need to move.
A server that does not stop when it is empty
Look at the row “When nobody is playing” in the table.
Aternos stops the server when the last player leaves. Its help center says plainly that 24/7 hosting is not offered. While at least one player is online, there is no playtime limit.
Minehut puts an empty server to sleep and wakes it when a player joins. For most groups that solves the real problem. A friend can join at 3 a.m. without anyone opening a website first. In return, the free plan has 1 GB of RAM and 10 player slots.
Falix stops a free server 10 minutes after the last player leaves. Anyone can start it again from its Start Server page, so your friends do not need your account. It also runs activity checks in chat, at most once every three hours: someone has to click a link within 30 minutes to keep the server running. The free plan is open to players in 40 countries only, and free servers run in Europe.
Play Hosting does not state what happens to an empty server. It calls free hosting “best-effort” and says servers are moved to storage when not in use, so do not pick it for this reason.
Severoo works differently. A free server stays online 24/7 as long as you renew it. It does not sleep or stop when the last player leaves. What we ask in return is the renewal. Renewing is one click, paid for with account credits that are free to collect. You renew on a schedule that depends on your plan (every few hours on some plans). You collect credits by claiming them daily, using the site and running your server, and completing small tasks. Credits cannot be bought, and collecting them this way is enough to keep one server online all the time.
A server that is not renewed is suspended first. You have 7 days to re-enable it. After that it is removed permanently, and you can always create a new server. Because removal is permanent, keep your own copy of the world.
Be honest with yourself about that trade. If your group plays one evening a week, starting an Aternos server when you sit down may be less work than keeping a timer alive all week. If people join at random hours, or you want the server up overnight, renewing is the better deal. Check the interval on your plan before you count on it. Our guide to free 24/7 Minecraft hosting compares the models, and plans and limits lists what a free server includes.
A server with no queue to start
The row “Queue to start” shows that three of the four other hosts mention a queue of some kind.
- Aternos puts you in a queue to start when its capacity is full. If you play at quiet hours, you may never see it.
- Falix says starts may queue briefly when a free machine is busy.
- Play Hosting has a queue before a server becomes available, which it puts at a few seconds to a few minutes.
- Minehut does not state it either way, so we cannot tell you.
- Severoo has no queue to start a free server.
The queue and the uptime question are connected. A queue only matters when a server has to be started, and a server that is already running does not need starting. On Severoo the condition is the same as before: the renewal.
A server that takes your own plugins and mods
The row “Mods and plugins” needs a careful read, because every host on this page supports plugins and mods in some form. The difference is where the files come from.
Aternos offers plugins, mods and preconfigured modpacks to install. It states that custom plugin and mod uploads and FTP access are not available. If everything you want is on offer there, you have no problem to solve. If you wrote your own plugin, or need a mod that is not offered, you are stuck.
Play Hosting is the clearest fix in the table: plugins and mods, a modpack installer for CurseForge, Modrinth, FTB and Technic, plus uploads of your own mods, with 3 GB of RAM. The price is the queue. Also note that its Bedrock crossplay works only on non-modded servers such as Paper.
Minehut lets you upload plugins from its dashboard and has a Fabric server type for mods. The Minehut pages we read do not say whether modpacks are supported, and 1 GB of RAM limits how much you can add.
Falix installs plugins, mods and modpacks through built-in installers. Custom JAR files are paid only, so on this point its free plan does not change much.
Severoo allows plugins, mods and modpacks on the free plan. You choose the server software: Vanilla, Paper, Purpur, Fabric, Forge or NeoForge. A free server has up to 6 GB of RAM and up to 20 GB of NVMe SSD storage.
Storage matters too. Aternos limits a server to 4 GB, and a world grows as players explore, more so with a modpack. Minehut, Falix and Play Hosting each list 10 GB. To get started, see how to install plugins and how to install mods.
What Aternos does well and who should stay
Aternos earns its place, and for many groups it is still the right choice.
- It is free and only free. There is no paid plan. The site says there is “no possibility to pay for anything”, so nobody will push you to upgrade. Ads pay for it.
- Unlimited player slots, and no playtime limit while someone is playing.
- Java, Bedrock and Hytale. Of the hosts on this page, only Aternos and Falix list Hytale on a free plan.
- Start on demand. You start the server when you want to play. If you only play now and then, that is simpler than keeping a renewal timer going.
Stay with Aternos if your group plays at planned times, someone is always there to start the server, your world fits in 4 GB, and the plugins or mods you want are offered there. Moving would cost you an evening and gain you little.
How to move a world from Aternos to another host
Your world is a folder of files, so it can move with you. The steps are the same whichever host you pick.
- Ask everyone to log off, so nothing changes after you take the copy.
- Download the world. Aternos’s help center says you download a world from the Worlds page and get a zip archive. If more than one world is listed, download each one: on Spigot, and on Paper versions before 26.1, the Nether and the End are saved in their own folders,
world_netherandworld_the_end. Since 26.1, vanilla and Paper keep every dimension inside the one world folder. - Unzip the archive on your computer. The world folder is the one that contains a file named
level.dat. - Create a server on the new host with the same edition (Java or Bedrock), the same kind of server software (Paper to Paper, Forge to Forge) and the same Minecraft version or a newer one. Never use an older version: Minecraft does not support downgrading a world. A modded world needs the same mods installed first.
- Stop the new server, upload the world folder (with
world_netherandworld_the_endnext to it if you have them), and setlevel-nameinserver.propertiesto the main folder’s name. - Start the server, join, and walk around your base before you delete anything on Aternos. Keep the zip as a backup.
The full walkthrough, including what to do when the server generates a new world instead of loading yours, is in how to upload a world to a Minecraft server. If level-name is new to you, read server.properties explained.