The short answer
Most servers need less RAM than people expect, and giving a server far more than it needs does not make it faster. Use the table below as a starting point, then fine-tune with the plan finder.
| Your setup | Typical RAM | Plan to start with |
|---|---|---|
| Small server for friends (up to about 5 players), vanilla or a few plugins | 2 GB | Dirt |
| Survival server, around 10 players, a dozen plugins | 4 GB | Stone |
| Community server, 20 to 40 players, minigames and plugins | 8 GB | Iron |
| Light modpack (around 40 mods) | 8 GB | Iron |
| Heavy modpack (150 to 250 mods) | 16 GB | Redstone |
| Large network, 100+ players | 16 GB or more | Redstone, Gold and up |
These are starting points
Every server is different. A server with a few heavy plugins can need more than a bigger server with simple ones. The plan finder on our Minecraft page does the maths for your exact setup.
What actually uses RAM
RAM use comes from a handful of things. As rough averages:
- The server itself: about 1 GB for Vanilla, Paper, Purpur and Fabric, and about 1.5 GB for Forge and NeoForge. Bedrock is lighter, at around 0.75 GB.
- Players: roughly 100 MB per active player, because the server keeps the chunks and entities around each player loaded.
- Mods: about 40 MB per mod on average. Large content mods use much more than small utility mods.
- Plugins: light plugins (chat, homes, permissions) use around 30 MB each, medium plugins (economy, claims, anti-cheat) around 100 MB, and heavy plugins (map renderers, world generators) can use 250 MB or more.
- Your world: a higher view distance means more chunks in memory for every player.
Adding these up for a typical survival server (10 players, 8 light plugins, 2 medium plugins) comes to roughly 2.5 GB. With headroom, that lands on the 4 GB Stone plan.
Why you need headroom
Java manages memory automatically, and it needs spare room to do that without stalling the game. A server that sits at 95% memory use spends a lot of time cleaning up, and players feel it as short freezes.
As a rule, size your RAM so the server normally uses around 60 to 80% of it. Our plan finder adds a 25% buffer on top of the raw estimate for exactly this reason.
More is not always better
Buying a much bigger plan than you need will not fix lag that comes from the CPU or from a heavy plugin. See How to fix lag and low TPS to find the real cause.
RAM is only half the story
Minecraft does most of its work on one main thread, so a fast CPU matters as much as memory. Every plan includes a CPU allocation that grows with the plan, from 100% on Dirt to 700% on Netherite.
| Plan | RAM | CPU | Storage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dirt | 2 GB | 100% | 10 GB SSD |
| Stone | 4 GB | 200% | 20 GB SSD |
| Iron | 8 GB | 300% | 30 GB SSD |
| Redstone | 16 GB | 400% | 40 GB SSD |
| Gold | 32 GB | 450% | 40 GB SSD |
| Emerald | 48 GB | 500% | 50 GB SSD |
| Netherite | 64 GB | 700% | 60 GB SSD |
Busy servers with many players, big modpacks or lots of entities are CPU heavy. If you expect that, lean towards a larger plan even if the RAM estimate looks low.
Get an exact recommendation
- Open the plan finder on the Minecraft page.
- Choose your server software and version, or start from a preset such as Survival or Heavy modpack.
- Set your expected players, mods and plugins.
- Read the recommended plan and the RAM estimate, then pick the tier (Budget or Premium) that suits you.
Not sure about your numbers? Ask in our Discord and we will help you size it.