You want to charge players on your Minecraft server, or sell ranks and perks to cover the hosting bill, and you want to know what Mojang allows first. Two Mojang pages decide it: the Minecraft EULA and the Minecraft Usage Guidelines. Below are the lines that matter as they read on 3 November 2026, and how ranks, kits, crates, ads and donations fit. This is not legal advice: Mojang says that if you are unsure, "you should speak to an attorney for help."
Quick answer: Yes, it is allowed to charge players on a Minecraft server you host. The Usage Guidelines say "You may even charge for access to the server" if the cost is the same for everyone and every paying player gets all the mods you enabled. What Minecraft servers can sell under the EULA: access, cosmetics (no capes), gameplay perks that don't "ruin other players' experience or give a competitive advantage", in-game ads, and in-game coins with no real-world value. Donations are fine if the donor gets nothing only they can use. Everything must suit all ages, which rules out gambling. A Realm may not be charged for. None of this changed since our 5 September 2026 update.
Is It Allowed to Charge Players on a Minecraft Server?
Yes, on a server you run yourself. The EULA says you must not "make commercial use of anything we've made" or "try to make money from anything we've made", then points to the Usage Guidelines as "extra permissions that we give to the community". The permission for servers sits there under Commercial use, in the section Servers and hosting:
You may host a server for Minecraft. You may even charge for access to the server as long as you follow the guidelines in this section. By "server," we mean a single connecting address or IP number.
Charging for access has three conditions:
- "The cost to access the server is the same for everyone"
- "Everyone who pays to access the server has access to all the mods you chose to enable on your server (except in the case of mods and other admin tool reserved for server administrators)"
- "Own or control the server and continue to do so for the whole time that you charge for access to it"
Two access rules apply whether you charge or not. Access "must only be granted to users who have a genuine paid-for version of Minecraft" and "can't be limited to or controlled, directly or indirectly, by a player owning or having access to out-of-game content, products, or services". The first is why public Java servers keep online-mode=true in server.properties, which the Minecraft Wiki describes as "whether to only allow players verified with the Minecraft account database to join". Behind a Velocity proxy the backends set it to false because the proxy authenticates players instead (PaperMC docs). The second rules out NFT gates: the mods section gives a mod that checks whether a player owns an NFT as its example of what "is not ok with us."
Charging for a Realm Is Not Allowed
The EULA's Realms section says you cannot "sell, lease, rent, transfer, give away, or otherwise deal in access to your Realm or receive financial, commercial or other benefits for letting other people play on your Realm."
What Can Minecraft Servers Sell Under the EULA?
The guidelines list six ways to make money from a server. In Mojang's words:
| What you sell | Mojang's line in the Usage Guidelines |
|---|---|
| Access | "Charging for access to your server", with the three conditions above |
| Donations | "Asking for donations, so long as you don't offer the donor something that only they can use"; "you may offer all players server wide rewards if donation goals are met" |
| Gameplay perks | "Selling entitlements that affect gameplay provided they don't ruin other players' experience or give a competitive advantage in the game" |
| Cosmetics | "Selling cosmetics, except for capes or anything that attempts to visually act like the feature of a Minecraft player cape" |
| In-game ads | "In-game display and video advertising" that "doesn't hurt gameplay or give some players any competitive advantage" and follows the Constructed Promotions section |
| Coins | "In-game virtual currencies" that "have no real-world value and can't be cashed out, used, transferred across other servers, or converted into any other real-world currency", don't suggest they come from Mojang, and don't "look like or have a name like Minecoins" |
These conditions apply "regardless of how you choose to make money to support your server":
- "All servers, entitlements, and advertising are suitable for audiences of all ages (for example, gambling, pornography, violence, terrorism, explicit lyrics, or other unsafe/mature content) and they don't harm the Minecraft brand"
- "You make it clear that you are responsible for all end user data privacy and protection requirements"
- "You don't hide or alter any of the dialogs or prompts that are part of Minecraft", including the EULA
- "You provide any user who gives you real-world currency an online payment and purchase history for purchases made with that currency"
- "You provide information to users on all the content and pricing applicable to your server before a person joins, signs up, or signs in"
- "You don't host or distribute malware, spyware, or engage in illegal activity through your server"
- Influencers who promote your server must "disclose their relationship with you and follow the guidelines published by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission"
The section ends: "We reserve the right to decide if the way you are monetizing your server is consistent with our brand. In short, don't do evil things to players and you should be fine."
Two general rules apply to your store page too: Minecraft may only be a secondary part of your server name, and your site and listings should prominently carry a disclaimer similar to "NOT AN OFFICIAL MINECRAFT [PRODUCT/SERVICE/EVENT/etc.]. NOT APPROVED BY OR ASSOCIATED WITH MOJANG OR MICROSOFT".
What Changed Since 5 September 2026
Nothing for server owners. Neither page shows a revision date, so on 3 November 2026 we compared the live text with Internet Archive copies:
- Usage Guidelines: the full text matches the snapshot of 5 September 2026. The Servers and hosting section also matches the snapshots of 1 January 2026, 2025 and 2024.
- EULA: against the snapshot of 31 August 2026, two small wording edits in the Community Standards and Privacy parts, none in the commercial rules.
A correction to older versions of this guide: there is no separate Commercial Usage Guidelines page any more, and the old account.mojang.com link redirects to the minecraft.net home page. Guideline changes take effect "the next time you use our games, websites, or other services", so reread Servers and hosting before you launch.
How Common Store Items Fit Those Lines
Mojang does not name ranks, kits or crates. This is our plain reading of the lines above, not a ruling.
VIP Ranks
A rank is an entitlement, so it passes when it does not "give a competitive advantage". A colored name, prefix, particles, a pet and a Discord role are cosmetic and social. Trouble starts when higher tiers get kits, homes and commands to justify their price. Set each tier's cosmetics first, then price it.
Gear, Kits and Diamond Swords
A diamond sword, enchanted set or starter kit that puts a buyer ahead of free players is the plainest case of "a competitive advantage in the game". Test it: give the kit to a fresh account and time how long a free account needs to reach the same point. If that takes hours, the kit is power. Dyed leather armor with no stat edge or a lobby-only loadout is cosmetic.
Crate Keys and Loot Boxes
Crates touch two lines. Gameplay drops (mending books, gear, spawners, or currency that buys them) are a paid advantage. And paid random rewards sit close to the all-ages line, which names gambling, and Mojang's report article (below) lists gambling first among behaviors that go against the guidelines. So cosmetic-only crates are not a safe zone either. If you sell keys, publish the odds, keep every drop cosmetic, and recheck the table after plugin updates.
Ads and Sponsorships
In-game ads must follow the Constructed Promotions section, which says companies and brands "are not permitted to use Minecraft gameplay to promote or market products, services, events, campaigns, or brands unrelated to Minecraft without prior written approval from Mojang or Microsoft." An in-game billboard for an unrelated brand needs that approval. Never present a sponsor as official Minecraft.
Donations and Donor Goals
A public thank you or a supporters page changes nothing in the game, and server-wide rewards for a donation goal are spelled out as allowed. A perk that only the donor can use turns the donation into a sale, which then has to pass the cosmetics or gameplay line like any other store item.
Priority Queue and Convenience Perks
The guidelines don't mention queues, /fly, extra homes or teleports, so the entitlement test applies. A paid queue skip moves paying players ahead of free players waiting for the same slot. /fly in a survival world with raiding changes outcomes; /fly on a creative plot server does not.
In-Game Coins
What coins buy faces the same tests as a direct sale: coins for cosmetics are fine, coins for gear are a gear sale. The mods section adds that a mod must not create "a play-to-earn function where players earn real-world or out-of-game currency".
Does Mojang Enforce the Rules?
Mojang's pages say it can. Permissions "may be revoked at any time if we think that it is appropriate to do so", says the guidelines' All uses section. The EULA says Mojang "may takedown Mods or other software that violate our Minecraft Usage Guidelines" and reserves "the right to suspend or permanently ban anyone who violates these Community Standards or this EULA."
Players report servers through Mojang's How to Report a Minecraft Server article, last edited 11 March 2026, which asks reporters to "give as much information as possible so we can properly act upon their actions." It also sends players to the Official Minecraft Server List, "where the servers follow our community standards and guidelines".
Mojang does not publish how often it acts, so we won't guess. Plan as if your best-selling package might have to go next month.
Setting Up a Store With Tebex
Tebex changes none of the rules: compliance depends on what each package delivers. From Tebex's Minecraft: Java Edition and commands docs:
- Official plugins exist for Bukkit, Spigot, PaperSpigot, Sponge, BungeeCord, Velocity and Fabric. Plugins "previously branded as 'Buycraft' are deprecated and not supported."
- Take your secret key from Control Panel > Integrations > Game Servers > Edit, put the jar in
/plugins(/modsfor Fabric), restart, and link the server in the console:
/tebex secret YOUR_SECRET_KEY
- Packages run commands usually one to three minutes after payment is confirmed. Expiry, renewal, chargeback and refund commands can remove a rank when a subscription ends or a payment is reversed.
- Test with Tebex's manual payment feature: "do not make real purchases for testing."
Whatever store you use, make sure buyers can see their purchase history, because Mojang requires it. On a Space-Node Minecraft server every plan supports Paper, Spigot and Purpur, and you upload the plugin with the file manager or SFTP. For fees, see Tebex vs Stripe for game server monetization.
FAQ
Is it allowed to charge players on a Minecraft server?
Yes, on your own server, if the price is the same for everyone, every paying player gets all enabled mods except admin tools, and you own or control the server while you charge. Not on a Realm.
What can Minecraft servers sell under the EULA?
Access, cosmetics except capes, gameplay perks with no competitive advantage, in-game ads, coins with no real-world value, and donations where donors get nothing only they can use. All of it must suit all ages.
How do you monetize a Minecraft server without breaking the rules?
Sell cosmetic ranks and items, take donations with server-wide goals, or charge one access price for everyone. Show every price before players join and give buyers a purchase history.
Can I sell VIP ranks?
Yes, if the rank is cosmetic or social: chat color, prefix, particles, pets, a Discord role. Once it adds gear, kits or commands that beat free players, it hits the "competitive advantage" line.
Are crate keys allowed under the EULA?
Mojang doesn't name crates. Gameplay drops give a paid advantage, and paid random rewards sit close to gambling, which the guidelines name as unsuitable for all ages.
Did the Minecraft EULA or Usage Guidelines change in 2026?
Not for servers. On 3 November 2026 the Servers and hosting section matched archived copies from 5 September 2026 and 1 January 2026, 2025 and 2024. The EULA had two small wording edits outside the commercial rules.
Sources
All opened on 3 November 2026:
- Mojang: Minecraft Usage Guidelines (All uses, Essential guidelines, Naming guidelines, Constructed promotions, Servers and hosting, Extended functionality and modifications)
- Mojang: Minecraft EULA (what you can and can't do with Minecraft software and content, Using mods, Community Standards, Realms)
- Minecraft Help Center: How to Report a Minecraft Server
- Internet Archive: Usage Guidelines on 5 September 2026, 1 January 2026, 1 January 2025 and 1 January 2024; EULA on 31 August 2026
- Minecraft Wiki: server.properties
- PaperMC: Configuring player information forwarding
- Tebex: Minecraft: Java Edition, An Introduction To Commands
Related: Best free Minecraft plugins