How to make a free Minecraft server

The quickest way to make a free Minecraft server is to sign up with a free host, choose Java or Bedrock, pick the server software and game version, press start, and send the address to your friends. That route needs no networking setup. Two other routes cost nothing either: your own PC, or a free cloud machine. The numbered steps below show how to make a free Minecraft server on a host, with the exact commands for the first day.

Three ways to make a free Minecraft server

• A free host. The host runs the server on its machines and gives you a control panel and an address. Every free plan has a condition, such as a renewal timer, a sleep rule or a start queue, so read it before you build.
• Your own PC. The server software is a free download and runs on the computer you already have. The server is online only while that PC is on, and friends outside your home need a port forwarded on your router: see how to host a Minecraft server on your PC.
• A free cloud machine. Some cloud providers have a free tier with a small Linux virtual machine. Oracle Cloud’s Always Free resources are one example, and that page lists the limits and the rule for reclaiming idle machines. You install Java and the server yourself from a command line, so this route suits people who already know Linux.

The rest of this guide follows the first route. The steps are the same on any host, whatever the buttons are called.

What you need

• An email address for the host account.
• A copy of Minecraft for each player. Mojang’s usage guidelines say server access must only go to players with a genuine paid-for copy of the game.
• The exact usernames of the friends you want to let in.

We run Severoo, a free host. A free server there gets up to 6 GB of RAM and up to 20 GB of NVMe SSD storage, with no credit card and no queue to start. The limits and the renewal rule are on the plans page.

Make the server on a free host, step by step

1. Create an account. Sign up on the host’s website and confirm your email address. If a free plan asks for a card, find out why before you type it in.

2. Choose the edition. Pick by what your friends play on.

   • Java Edition: for friends who play the Java game on a computer.
   • Bedrock Edition: for friends on phones, consoles and the Bedrock game on Windows. Console players need a workaround to join: see the Bedrock section below.
   • Java with crossplay: a Java server with Geyser added, so both groups can join. See the Java and Bedrock crossplay guide.

3. Choose the server software. On a Java server, this decides whether you can add plugins or mods.

   • Vanilla: Mojang’s own server. No plugins and no mods, only data packs.
   • Paper: runs Bukkit, Spigot and Paper plugins and is built for performance. It is a sensible default for a survival server with friends. Purpur is a Paper fork with extra options: compare them in Paper vs Spigot vs Purpur.
   • Fabric, Forge or NeoForge: mod loaders. Pick the one your mods or modpack were built for, with help from Forge vs Fabric vs NeoForge.

   Plugins do not run on the mod loaders, and mods do not run on Paper.

4. Choose the game version. As of October 2026 the current Java release is 26.3, released on 15 September 2026. Minecraft moved to year-based version numbers in 2026, so 26.3 is newer than 1.21.11 and there is no 1.22. Choose the current release unless something needs an older one. A mod is built for one loader and one game version, so match the version your mods or modpack name. For crossplay, check Geyser’s supported versions first: as of October 2026 that page lists Java 26.2, not 26.3.

5. Start the server. Press start in your host’s control panel and watch the console. The first start takes the longest, because the server has to create the world.

6. Accept the EULA where asked. A Java server exits at start until the file eula.txt contains the line below. Some hosts show an accept button. On others, and on a home PC, you edit the file yourself through the file manager or SFTP, whichever your host offers, and start again. Setting it means you accept the Minecraft EULA.

   eula=true

7. Find the address. The control panel shows it: a hostname or an IP address, often followed by a colon and a port number, like the example below. On Java, type the port whenever the panel shows one: you can leave it off only when it is 25565, the default. On Bedrock the default port is 19132, and the port goes in its own field.

   play.example.net:25570

8. Join. A new Java 26.3 server has its whitelist on by default (step 10), so add yourself first, or the server turns you away. Type this in the server console with your own username:

   whitelist add YourName

   Then, in Java Edition, click Multiplayer, then Add Server. Paste the address into Server Address, click Done, select the server and click Join Server. Bedrock and console steps are in how to join a Minecraft server. To test the address without opening the game, use the server status checker.

9. Make yourself operator. Type this in the server console with your own username. Console commands have no slash.

   op YourName

   The console answers Made YourName a server operator. In the game, the same commands start with a slash. Give operator only to people you trust completely. The other commands are in Minecraft server commands.

10. Let friends in safely. Since 26.3, a new Java server has white-list=true in server.properties by default (26.3 changelog), so only listed players can join. Add each friend by exact username, the same way you added yourself in step 8:

    whitelist add FriendName

    Run whitelist list to see who is on the list. A host can ship its own default, so if the list is off, turn it on with whitelist on. Send the address privately, not in a public post. More in how to whitelist a Minecraft server.

11. Keep it online. Find out what your host does when nobody is playing. On Severoo, a free server is online 24/7 as long as you renew it and does not sleep when it is empty. Renewing is one click, paid for with account credits that are free to collect. It is due 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, as long as you renew it on schedule. A server that is not renewed is suspended first. You have 7 days to re-enable it, and after that it is removed permanently. You can always create a new server afterwards, but keep your own copy of the world. On other free hosts, expect a sleep timer, a start queue or a renewal rule of their own. Free Minecraft server hosting 24/7 explains each model.

12. Change the first settings. Three are worth a minute.

    • Difficulty. The default is easy. Run difficulty normal or difficulty hard in the console.
    • View distance. view-distance in server.properties defaults to 10 chunks and accepts 3 to 32. Lower it if the server lags: see how to reduce lag on a Minecraft server.
    • MOTD. This is the line of text under your server’s name in the server list. The default is A Minecraft Server. Write your own with the MOTD generator.

    Stop the server before you edit server.properties. The server.properties generator builds the file for you, and server.properties explained goes through the settings one by one.

Check that it worked

• Your server shows a player count in the Multiplayer list, and you can join it.
• Typing list in the console returns a line such as There are 1 of a max of 20 players online: YourName.
• A friend on the whitelist joins from their own home. Someone who is not on it sees You are not white-listed on this server!.

Making a free Bedrock server

There are two ways to let Bedrock players in.

• Bedrock server software. This is Mojang’s Bedrock Dedicated Server. It runs add-ons, but no plugins and no Java mods.
• A Java server with crossplay. Geyser translates Bedrock players into a Java server, and Floodgate lets them join with their Bedrock account alone. Your plugins keep working. Bedrock players lose a few things, such as clickable chat links and tab-complete.

Either way, Bedrock players connect over UDP, on port 19132 by default, and type the port in a separate field. Console players need a workaround to reach any third-party server: the join guide says what is known. Severoo hosts Java and Bedrock, with crossplay: see free Minecraft Bedrock server hosting.

Making a free Minecraft server with mods

Choose Fabric, Forge or NeoForge in step 3, then put the mod .jar files in the server’s mods folder. Mods come from Modrinth and CurseForge. Three rules to follow:

• Every mod must match your loader and your game version.
• Mods that add blocks, items or mobs must also be installed in each player’s game. Modrinth marks each mod as required, optional or unsupported on the server and on the client, so check the mod’s page.
• Modpacks need more memory than a plain server. Compare the figure the pack’s author publishes with your plan, or use the RAM calculator.

The full steps are in how to install mods on a Minecraft server and how to install a modpack. Severoo allows mods and modpacks on the free plan: see free modded Minecraft server hosting.

First-day problems

• The server stops right after it starts. Check eula.txt first. Then check the Java version: Minecraft 26.1 to 26.3 need Java 25. The reason is in logs/latest.log. Next stop: Minecraft server won’t start.
• A friend cannot connect. Compare the address and port character by character, then check the whitelist, then the game version. Next stop: can’t connect to a Minecraft server.
• A friend sees Incompatible client! Please use 26.3. Their game is on a different version from the server. The number at the end is the version they need.
• The game stutters for everyone. Lower view-distance first, then read how much RAM a Minecraft server needs.
• The server was offline when you came back. Most often that is the free plan’s condition at work: a renewal timer or a sleep timer. Read your host’s rule and set a reminder that fits it. On Severoo, a server that is not renewed is suspended first, and you have 7 days to re-enable it before it is removed permanently.