Render distance is the single most impactful server setting for performance. Set it too high and TPS drops. Set it too low and players complain about fog. Here is how to find the right balance.
What render distance does on a server
The view-distance setting in server.properties controls how many chunks around each player the server loads and sends to clients. The default is 10 (10 chunks in each direction from the player). Each chunk is 16x16 blocks.
Higher view distance means more chunks loaded, more entities processed, and more data sent to players. This costs CPU time and bandwidth.
What simulation distance does
simulation-distance (added in 1.18) controls how far from a player the server actually processes game logic like mob AI, redstone, crop growth, and block updates. Chunks beyond simulation distance are loaded visually but not simulated.
This separation means you can have a decent visual range without the full performance cost.
Recommended settings by server size
| Players | view-distance | simulation-distance | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1-5 | 10-12 | 6-8 | Small group, can afford higher |
| 5-15 | 8-10 | 5-6 | Good balance for most SMPs |
| 15-30 | 6-8 | 4-5 | Reduce to keep TPS at 20 |
| 30-50 | 5-7 | 4 | Performance-critical range |
| 50+ | 4-6 | 3-4 | Minimum viable for large servers |
How to change these settings
Edit server.properties:
view-distance=8
simulation-distance=5
Restart the server. On Paper, you can also set per-world distances in paper-world-defaults.yml.
Common mistakes
- Setting view-distance to 16+ on a public server. This kills TPS with more than a few players.
- Setting simulation-distance equal to view-distance. Use simulation-distance lower than view-distance to save CPU.
- Not pre-generating chunks. Even with low view distance, exploring new terrain causes generation lag.
The short answer
Set view-distance to 8 and simulation-distance to 5 for most servers. Reduce both if TPS drops below 20. Pre-generate your world with Chunky for the smoothest experience.
Space-Node runs every plan on Ryzen 9 CPUs so you can run higher distances without TPS drops. See our Minecraft hosting plans.