What is a 24/7 Minecraft server?
A 24/7 Minecraft server keeps running around the clock – even when nobody is playing. No one has to start it before each session, and every player can hop on whenever it suits them: before school, after a night shift, or at 6 a.m. on a Sunday.
The alternative is an on-demand server: someone has to start it, and it shuts down once the last player leaves. That's how most free hosts work, and it's what you get with a server on a PC you switch off at night.
At a glance:
| Option | Online 24/7? | Cost | Catch |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free host (e.g. Aternos) | No – stops when nobody is online | Free, ad-supported | Start queue, mods only from their library |
| Your own PC | Only while the PC is on | Electricity and hardware | Port forwarding, public IP, security |
| Free trial of a paid host (24 h with us) | Yes, for the whole trial | Free, no card | The trial ends |
| Paid hosting | Yes | from $3.90 / month | Pick the right amount of RAM |
Why do free Minecraft hosts turn your server off?
Because a running server ties up RAM and CPU the entire time, and a free host has to share its hardware across a huge number of players. Keeping every free server online all day would cost far more than ads bring in.
So free hosts typically:
- stop the server after the last player leaves, sometimes after just a few minutes with nobody online,
- put you in a queue at startup when there isn't enough free capacity at that moment,
- ban keep-alive tricks such as bots or AFK accounts – Aternos spells this out in its rules,
- delete abandoned servers after a long period without logins.
That isn't a scam – it's a fair trade. You pay with ads and with a server that only runs while you're on it. For a group that always plays together at a set time, it's perfectly fine.
Is there free 24/7 Minecraft server hosting?
Not permanently – unless you supply hardware that runs all day yourself. Free hosts stop idle servers, and a "free" server at home still costs you electricity and needs a machine that never sleeps.
Your honest options:
- A free host – you play for free, just not 24/7.
- A free trial of a paid host – the server stays online non-stop, but only for the trial. On Spot.gg that's 24 hours, no card required.
- An old PC or laptop left on all day – no hosting bill, but you pay for power and handle all the setup.
Be wary of "free 24/7 hosting forever" from companies you've never heard of. Someone has to pay for a machine running all day – if it isn't you, it's usually ads, your data, or hardware so limited the server barely runs.
Should you host a 24/7 Minecraft server at home?
It works for learning and for a few friends, but a 24/7 server at home means a PC that's always on, a forwarded port on your router and a public IP address. The Minecraft server software itself is free, so your main cost is electricity.
What to consider:
- Power. A PC drawing 100 W on average uses 2.4 kWh a day – about 72 kWh a month. Multiply that by the price per kWh on your bill; a gaming PC with a dedicated GPU will use more.
- Port forwarding. Minecraft Java uses port 25565 by default. You have to forward it on your router to the server PC, or friends outside your home network can't connect.
- Public IP and CGNAT. Many ISPs – especially mobile broadband and some fibre providers – don't give you a public IP. Port forwarding then won't work without changing your plan or using a tunnel.
- Changing IP address. Home IPs often change, so friends lose the connection until you send them the new address (or set up dynamic DNS).
- Performance and noise. The server takes RAM and CPU away from the PC you're gaming on, and a machine running all day can be loud.
- Security. You're opening home hardware to connections from the internet – keep the server updated and don't post the address publicly.
| Your own PC | Paid hosting | |
|---|---|---|
| Cost | Electricity, hardware wear | from $3.90 / month |
| Online 24/7 | Only while the PC is on | Yes |
| Server address | Home IP, often changes | Fixed address from the panel |
| Network setup | Port forwarding, CGNAT issues | Nothing to configure |
| Backups | Up to you | Automatic |
| Impact on your own gaming | Shares RAM and CPU | None |
What do you actually get from a server that stays online?
Mainly, everyone plays whenever they like – nobody has to ask someone else to turn the server on. For a friend group with different schedules or time zones, that's the biggest difference.
Other benefits:
- Players in different time zones. One friend plays in the morning, another late at night, and everyone shares the same world and progress.
- Public servers. If you want new players from Discord or server lists, the server has to be up all the time – nobody comes back after finding it offline.
- Plugins and mods running in the background, like live web maps, Discord bots or leaderboards that keep updating.
- Farms and force-loaded chunks. One caveat: a 24/7 server doesn't make farms work on their own. The world only ticks in chunks near players and in chunks force-loaded with
/forceload(and, in some versions, around spawn). Build a farm that should run with nobody online in a force-loaded chunk – that's where a 24/7 server pays off.
How does 24/7 hosting work on Spot.gg?
A paid Spot.gg server runs non-stop – we don't stop it when the last player leaves, and starting or restarting it never waits in a queue. You get dedicated resources (you choose the RAM and disk), a fixed server address and a control panel.
What keeps a long-running server healthy:
- Auto Restart. Under "Configuration" you can turn on automatic restarts at random hours when no players are online, so a server that's been up for days doesn't slowly fill its memory.
- Task scheduler. Schedule a restart at a fixed time (say, every day at 5:00) or recurring commands for players: "Add task" → "Server restart" or "Send command", then "Once a day", "Every X minutes" or "Every X hours".
- Backups. A backup of the whole server is made automatically every night, and in the "Backup" tab you can make a manual one any time with "Create backup" and restore any backup from the list. Backups are free and don't count towards your disk space.
- Error detection and an AI assistant. If the server won't start or keeps shutting down, the panel shows the detected errors, and "Ask the assistant" opens an AI assistant that reads the logs and tells you what to fix.
- A location near your players. When you activate a server, you pick its location on a map – including Germany, plus Canada and India for players outside Europe.
One thing worth knowing: if nobody joins the server for 14 days and you don't start or restart it from the panel, it gets stopped so an abandoned world doesn't hold resources. Just press start again – your files and world stay put.
How does the free trial server on Spot.gg work?
Every new Spot.gg server starts with 24 hours free, no card needed – and for that whole time it stays online 24/7 just like a paid one. We don't stop it when players leave.
- Create an account and confirm your email.
- Click "Activate a free server" and choose the game, a server type (Paper, Fabric, Forge, NeoForge and more) or one of over 1 200 modpacks.
- Choose RAM, disk and location – the server installs itself and the address to join with is waiting in the panel.
Free server limits: one per account, no backups, no subaccounts and no task scheduler. After 24 hours the server is locked. Extend it and you keep playing on the same world; if you don't, it's deleted after 7 days. Nothing is charged automatically, since you never enter a card.
How do you move your world from Aternos to a 24/7 server?
Download your world from Aternos as an archive and upload it with "Import files" – the panel detects the server type and Minecraft version for you. On Aternos you'll find the "Download" button on the Worlds page.
On Spot.gg:
- Activate a server (the free 24-hour one works).
- A new server shows a banner: "Already have a world? Move it here." – click "Import files". The same option is under "Information" → "Modify".
- Upload the archive (.zip, .rar, .7z or .tar.gz). The panel reads the server type and version from the world; if it can't tell, it asks you to choose.
- Start the server once the import finishes and send your friends the new address.
Importing replaces the server's current files, so do it on a fresh server. On a paid server a backup is created automatically before the import. Playing a modpack? Start the same pack on Spot.gg – our modpack catalog has over 1 200 of them – or see how to make a modded Minecraft server.
How much RAM does a 24/7 Minecraft server need?
The same as any other server – uptime doesn't change memory needs; player count and mods do. A rough guide:
| Server | RAM (rough guide) |
|---|---|
| Vanilla or Paper, a few friends | 2–4 GB |
| Paper with plugins, 10–20 players | 4–6 GB |
| Modded (Forge, NeoForge, Fabric) | 6 GB and up |
| Large modpack (200+ mods) | 6 GB and up, more with many players |
Paid servers start at $3.90 per month, and modpack servers at $7.55 per month. You can change the RAM any time if you run short. Plans and the price calculator are on the Minecraft server hosting page, and if you're not sure which pack to run, check our list of the best Minecraft modpacks.
FAQ
Is there free 24/7 Minecraft server hosting?
Not permanently. Free hosts stop servers when nobody is playing, because keeping every server running all day can't be done for free. You can get a server that stays online non-stop for free only during a trial – on Spot.gg that's 24 hours, no card required.
Can I keep an Aternos server online with a bot?
No. Aternos forbids keeping servers alive artificially (bots, AFK accounts) and detects it, which can get you banned. If you need a server that stays online, move your world to a host that runs 24/7.
Does a paid Spot.gg server shut down when nobody is playing?
No – it keeps running without players. The only exception is an abandoned server: if nobody joins for 14 days and you don't start or restart it from the panel, it gets stopped. Your world and files stay; just start it again.
Does a 24/7 Minecraft server need restarts?
It's a good idea to restart it now and then, because a long-running Java server gradually uses more memory. On Spot.gg, Auto Restart can handle this (at random hours when nobody is online), or you can schedule a restart at a fixed time in the Task scheduler.
Do farms keep working when nobody is online?
Only in chunks that stay loaded without players, such as chunks force-loaded with /forceload. A server being online 24/7 doesn't on its own make farms run where nobody is around.
How much does a 24/7 Minecraft server cost?
On Spot.gg a paid server starts at $3.90 per month, and a modpack server at $7.55 per month. The first 24 hours are free, with no card required.
