Exaroton is Aternos' paid sibling. Instead of a monthly subscription, Exaroton charges by the hour. You buy credits and pay only for the time your server is running. Here is how the pricing actually works and when it makes sense.
How Exaroton pricing works
You buy credits upfront. Each credit equals one hour of server time at a specific RAM tier. The more RAM you choose, the more credits each hour costs.
Approximate pricing (subject to change):
- 2 GB RAM: ~0.04 credits/hour
- 4 GB RAM: ~0.08 credits/hour
- 8 GB RAM: ~0.16 credits/hour
- 16 GB RAM: ~0.32 credits/hour
Credits cost approximately EUR 1 each. So 8 GB for one hour costs about EUR 0.16.
The 24/7 cost trap
Here is where pay-per-hour gets expensive. If you run an 8 GB server 24/7 for a month:
0.16 credits/hour x 24 hours x 30 days = 115.2 credits = approximately EUR 115/month
For comparison, a monthly 8 GB Minecraft server at Space-Node costs EUR 7.20-13.99/month depending on tier. That is 8-16x cheaper for always-on hosting.
When Exaroton makes sense
- You play Minecraft for a few hours per week with friends.
- You do not need 24/7 uptime.
- You want a server that pauses when nobody is playing and you only pay for active time.
- Typical use: 20 hours/month on 4 GB = approximately EUR 1.60/month.
When monthly hosting is better
- You want 24/7 uptime.
- You have more than 3 regular players.
- You run a modpack that takes time to start.
- You want DDoS protection, NVMe storage, and a control panel.
Exaroton vs Aternos
Exaroton is Aternos without the queue, without ads, with faster performance, and with configurable RAM. The tradeoff is you pay by the hour instead of getting free (with limitations).
The short answer
Exaroton is cheap if you play a few hours per week. It becomes very expensive if you leave the server running 24/7. Monthly hosting is almost always cheaper for always-on servers.
Space-Node Minecraft plans start at EUR 2.70/month for 3 GB, always on, with NVMe and DDoS protection. See our Minecraft hosting plans.