How much RAM does a Minecraft server need
Recommended RAM by server type and player count, what actually uses memory, and how to tell your server has too little.
For most servers the line is where mods begin. Plain Paper for a group of friends is happy with 3 GB, a medium modpack needs 6 to 8 GB, and big tech packs will not run well below 10 GB.
| Server type | Players | Recommended RAM |
|---|---|---|
| Vanilla or Paper, no add-ons | 2 to 5 | 2 to 3 GB |
| Paper with a dozen plugins | 5 to 15 | 4 GB |
| Paper, big server with economy and regions | 20 to 40 | 6 to 8 GB |
| Modpack up to 150 mods (Fabric, Forge) | 3 to 8 | 6 to 8 GB |
| Big tech modpack | 3 to 10 | 10 to 16 GB |
Do not want to guess? Use the RAM calculator: it asks about the engine, add-ons and players and gives you a concrete number with matching plans.
What really uses the memory
Memory on a Minecraft server goes to three things, in this order: mods and plugins, the size of the loaded world, and only then the number of players. That is why a server for three people with a heavy modpack needs more than a server for thirty on plain Paper.
Every player loads a piece of the world around them, and those chunks stay in memory for a while after they leave. The higher the view distance and the more spread out the players, the more sits in RAM at once.
The engine matters
- Paper and Purpur have optimisations that Vanilla lacks, so with the same players they usually need 20 to 30 percent less memory.
- Fabric is light on its own; the mods are what cost memory.
- Forge and NeoForge start with a much bigger overhead, because they load many more classes.
- Vanilla is the simplest and the hungriest with more players.
Mods and modpacks
A rule of thumb: 100 mods take roughly 4 GB at start, before anyone joins. On top of that comes the world, the players and whatever mods do in the background, such as machines and automation in tech packs.
Modpack pages often list recommended memory, but that number is for the game client, not the server. The server does not render graphics, but it holds the whole loaded world and every player's surroundings.
Signs your server needs more RAM
The server stutters or freezes for a moment every few seconds, crashes with OutOfMemoryError, or the panel shows memory constantly near the limit. The Log analysis tab recognises an out-of-memory crash and tells you so. You can upgrade the plan in the panel at any time without moving files.