Looking for cheap Minecraft server hosting in Europe that doesn't suck? There are good budget options, but "cheap" covers everything from a well run small plan to an oversold box that lags as soon as three people log on. This guide explains what you can expect at each price, what to check before you pay, and which of our plans fits which kind of server. All prices are in euros.
What "cheap" means for Minecraft hosting in Europe
Most budget hosts sell plans by the amount of RAM. Roughly, this is what each price band buys you:
| Monthly price | What you usually get | Good for |
|---|---|---|
| Under €2 | Very little RAM, often on crowded nodes | Trying things out on your own |
| €2 to €5 | 3 to 5GB RAM | Vanilla or Paper with friends, a few plugins |
| €5 to €10 | 6 to 10GB RAM | Plugin heavy SMPs, light and medium modpacks |
| Above €10 | 12GB and more | Heavy modpacks like ATM10, bigger communities |
RAM is only part of the story. Two plans with the same RAM can feel completely different depending on the CPU, the storage and how many servers share the machine.
Space-Node plans under €10
These are our Standard tier prices in the Netherlands, Germany and Poland:
| Plan | RAM | Price per month | Typical use |
|---|---|---|---|
| MC Coal | 3GB | €2.70 | Small vanilla or Paper server |
| MC Iron | 4GB | €3.60 | Starter SMP with plugins |
| MC Gold | 5GB | €4.50 | Friends plus plugins |
| MC Lapis | 6GB | €5.40 | Bigger plugin SMP, light modpacks |
| MC Diamond | 8GB | €7.20 | Where modpacks start |
That is €0.90 per GB of RAM. Every plan includes NVMe storage, DDoS protection, a Pterodactyl panel with SFTP access, and free setup. The Standard tier runs on Ryzen 9 3900X-class CPUs with DDR4. If you want more CPU speed, the Premium tier in the same locations runs a Ryzen 9 9950X with DDR5 and costs more. CPU cores are shared on both tiers; Premium gets 600 to 800% CPU (6 to 8 vCores) under fair use.
Player counts on our plan pages are a recommendation based on RAM, not a hard limit. What your server can handle depends more on plugins, farms and mods than on the number of people online.
How to compare price per GB
The fairest quick comparison between hosts is the monthly price divided by the GB of RAM. Take the regular monthly price, not a first month discount, and check what that price includes:
- Which CPU the plan runs on. A host that names the model is easier to judge.
- Whether storage is NVMe, SATA SSD or a hard disk.
- Whether the RAM is a fixed amount or an "up to" figure.
- Whether DDoS protection, backups and a database are included or sold as extras.
- Where the server is located, and whether you can choose.
Then check the host's current plan page. Prices change often, and a comparison table from last year is usually wrong.
Hidden costs to check
A plan that looks cheap can get more expensive once you add the things you actually need. Before you pay, check:
- Setup fees. Some hosts charge a one time fee on monthly plans. We don't.
- DDoS protection. Sometimes it is an add-on. Ours is included on every plan.
- Backups. Our panel has backup slots you can run by hand or on a schedule. Automatic off-site backups are an optional add-on at €5 a month.
- Databases. Plugins like LuckPerms or CoreProtect often want MySQL. Check that a database is included.
- Extra storage and RAM. Look at what upgrades cost before you need them.
Always compare the total monthly cost, not the headline price.
Budget hosting by use case
Just testing or learning (under €3)
MC Coal (3GB, €2.70) is our smallest plan. It is enough to learn how server.properties, Paper and plugins work, and for a small vanilla group.
Small friend server (€3 to €5)
MC Iron (4GB, €3.60) or MC Gold (5GB, €4.50) give room for a friends SMP with a normal plugin list like EssentialsX, LuckPerms and a claims plugin.
Community plugin server (€5 to €7)
MC Lapis (6GB, €5.40) is the step up for a public or Discord community server with more plugins and more people online at once.
Light modpack server (€7 to €10)
MC Diamond (8GB, €7.20) is where modpacks start to make sense: lighter kitchen sink packs and most packs in the 50 to 150 mod range. Heavy packs like ATM10 or Better MC need more, and we would point you to MC Special 1 (12GB, €10.80) for those.
Why a higher price is not always better performance
Price and performance don't move in a straight line. A pricier plan on an older CPU or a crowded node can run worse than a cheaper plan on fast hardware. What decides TPS is mostly single-thread CPU speed, enough RAM for your plugins or mods, and fast storage for chunk loading.
The only way to know is to check it on your own server. Watch /tps while your normal group plays and run a Spark profile during a busy moment. If TPS stays at 20, the plan fits. If it drops and Spark shows no single plugin or farm as the cause, you need more CPU or a bigger plan.
European or US hosting?
Ping depends mostly on distance. If your players are in Europe, pick a European location. If most of them are in North America, a server in Canada or the US will feel better.
We have Minecraft plans in the Netherlands, Germany and Poland at the same price, plus Canada, USA (California and Virginia), Singapore, India and Australia. USA plans cost €0.10 per GB more than the Standard European price. Checkout is always billed in EUR, and other currencies on the site are approximate conversions.
Money-saving tips
Choose the right-sized plan
Don't pay for RAM you don't use:
- A vanilla or Paper server with a handful of friends rarely needs 8GB. A 4GB plan (€3.60) instead of 8GB (€7.20) saves €3.60 a month, or €43.20 a year.
- A medium modpack for a small group usually fits on 8GB. Starting on 8GB (€7.20) instead of 16GB (€14.40) saves €7.20 a month, or €86.40 a year.
Start small and upgrade when you actually need more. The upgrade keeps your world and files.
A VPS is for control, not for saving money
A VPS lets you run several servers on one machine with full root access, but it is not cheaper per GB than our Minecraft plans, and you do all the setup, backups and updates yourself. Our VPS-S (4GB) is €5.50 a month and VPS-L (12GB) is €17.50. Three MC Iron plans with 12GB between them cost €10.80. A VPS makes sense when you want the control, not to save money. Our VPS plans are out of stock until about the end of October.
Pick the location for your players, not for the price
Our Netherlands, Germany and Poland plans cost the same, so choose the one closest to most of your players.
What to avoid in cheap hosting
Red flags
- "Unlimited" RAM, players or plugins
- No CPU model named anywhere
- Hard disk storage
- "Up to" RAM instead of a fixed amount
- No European location for a European group
- No refund policy
- Setup fees on cheap monthly plans
- Prices only in a foreign currency
Good signs
- A named CPU and NVMe storage
- A fixed RAM amount per plan
- A European datacenter if your players are in Europe
- Clear pricing with no surprise fees
- EUR pricing for EU customers
- A good support reputation, so read reviews
- Automated setup
Example budgets
These are example setups, not measured results. Your plugin list and players decide what fits.
A student or friends server for €2.70 a month: MC Coal in the Netherlands, vanilla or Paper with a few basic plugins, a small group of friends.
A small community for €5.40 a month: MC Lapis, Paper with economy and claims plugins for a Discord community.
A modpack server for €7.20 a month: MC Diamond with a medium pack of 50 to 150 mods for a small modded group.
Conclusion: best cheap Minecraft hosting in Europe
- Cheapest start: MC Coal (3GB, €2.70) for a small vanilla or Paper group.
- Best all-round value: MC Lapis (6GB, €5.40) for a plugin SMP that has some room to grow.
- For modpacks under €10: MC Diamond (8GB, €7.20) for light and medium packs.
A few final tips:
- Start small and upgrade as needed.
- Avoid hosts with setup fees or hidden costs.
- Check the CPU model and storage type before buying.
- Pick the location closest to your players.
- Don't pay for more RAM than you need.
Ready to start your budget Minecraft server? Space-Node's Minecraft hosting plans start at €2.70 a month for MC Coal, with free setup and DDoS protection included.
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