Minecraft Server Hosting for You and Your Friends

With Alpenglow's credit-based model, 1 credit equals 1 hour of 1 GB of RAM. You buy a credit bundle once and spend those credits only when your server is running. A 2 GB server running for 3 hours uses 6 credits. When all players disconnect, the server hibernates automatically and stops consuming credits — so you never pay for idle time.

A typical small survival server (2 GB RAM, active 3 hours per day) uses 6 credits per day (€0.06) — roughly 180 credits per month (€1.80) — far less than most flat-rate hosts. The actual cost depends on how much RAM you allocate and how many hours per day the server is active. You start with 50 free credits to try it out, no credit card required at signup.

Auto-sleep (auto-hibernation) is a feature that automatically shuts your server down when the last player disconnects. When a new player tries to connect, the server takes around 30 seconds to 1 minute to fully start. The initial connection attempt will time out — players should wait and reconnect once the server is ready. Because a hibernated server uses zero credits, you pay only for the hours someone is actually playing. For a server used by a friend group a few evenings per week, this can reduce costs by 80–90% compared to a 24/7 plan.

For most players: Paper is the best all-around choice — it's fast, supports thousands of plugins, and updates quickly. For modded gameplay, choose Forge (widest mod selection) or Fabric (fastest updates, best performance mods). NeoForge is the recommended choice for Minecraft 1.20.2 and later modded servers. Purpur is a Paper variant with extra customization options. Vanilla is the purest experience with no plugins or mods.

Yes. Alpenglow supports Forge, Fabric, and NeoForge with one-click installation. You can upload a custom modpack as a zip file or import a Modrinth modpack directly. Modded servers typically require more RAM — budget 4–6 GB for light modpacks and 8–12 GB for large kitchen-sink packs. Because credits are charged by the hour, heavy RAM usage only costs you for the hours you actually play.

Alpenglow includes a Discord bot integration that lets you start, stop, restart, and check the status of your Minecraft server directly from a Discord channel — no need to open the web panel for basic control. At the moment, the bot does not provide console access, log streaming, real-time alerts, or other notification features.

Right now, all Alpenglow servers are hosted in Germany (EU). We are actively expanding our infrastructure and plan to offer additional regions in the future.

For vanilla or lightly-configured Paper/Spigot servers: 2 GB handles 5–15 players comfortably. For plugin-heavy Paper servers: 4 GB for 20–40 players. For Forge or Fabric modpacks: 4 GB for light packs, 6–8 GB for medium packs, 10–12 GB for large kitchen-sink packs. You can adjust RAM allocation at any time through the panel, and the credit cost scales accordingly.

Creating a new server takes under 60 seconds: choose your server type, set your RAM allocation, and click Create. The server is provisioned and ready to connect immediately. If your server is hibernated (auto-sleep), it takes around 30 seconds to 1 minute to fully restart. The initial connection attempt will time out — players should reconnect once the server is ready.

Yes. Every new account starts with 50 free credits — enough to run a 2 GB Paper server for 25 hours, or a 4 GB modded server for 12 hours. No credit card is required to create an account and claim your free credits. Free credits are a one-time bonus; after they are used, you top up your balance with a credit bundle starting at €2.50.

Your server simply stops and your world stays saved — we keep inactive server data for at least 90 days, so you can pick up exactly where you left off after topping up (bundles start at €2.50). Credits have no monthly expiry; only your server's runtime pauses while your balance is empty.

Free hosts are a great way to test Minecraft hosting, but they come with trade-offs: waiting queues at peak times, ads, limited RAM, and lag once mods or more players join. Alpenglow gives you full-speed hardware with no queues and no ads — and because billing is per hour of actual play, a casual friend group typically pays €1–2.50 per month. With 50 free credits and no card required, trying the difference costs nothing. See the full Aternos comparison.

Alpenglow servers run Minecraft: Java Edition (PC, Mac, Linux). We don't currently offer native Bedrock servers. Some groups set up the free GeyserMC plugin on a Paper server so Bedrock players can join a Java world — if your friend group is mixed, ask on our Discord and we'll point you in the right direction.

Monthly plans charge a flat fee whether you use the server or not. A €10/month host charges €120 per year even if your server is active only on weekends. Alpenglow's credits sit in your balance until you spend them — no monthly expiry, no automatic renewals — and if your server hibernates whenever no one is playing, €10 of credits can last months. You can also scale RAM up or down between sessions without changing plans. Curious how we compare to exaroton, the other credit-based host? See the side-by-side comparison.