Minecraft Server 24 Hours a Day: How to Keep It Always On

Why free servers shut down

Aternos and similar services give the server away because they only use resources while someone is playing: when it's been empty for a few minutes, they shut it down and that slot goes to someone else. That's why someone has to start it every time, and at peak hours you have to wait in a queue.

The NapNodes free server works the same way, and we say so plainly: it shuts down after 20 minutes with nobody on and you start it from the panel, with a queue if there's no free room. It's fine for trying things out or playing now and then. If you want anyone to be able to join whenever they feel like it, without telling anyone, you need one of the options below.

Option 1: your PC on all day

It looks free. A desktop PC running the server draws, depending on the machine, between 60 and 100 W continuously: 43 to 72 kWh a month. With electricity at €0.15 to €0.20 per kWh, that's €6 to €14 a month on your bill, not counting wear and tear. The electricity cost calculator works it out with your hardware and your rate.

On top of that you have to open port 25565 on your router (with CG-NAT, which some ISPs use, you can't), your friends connect to your home IP, and if you play on the same PC, the server and your game share the processor. How to set it up step by step is in the guide to making a Minecraft server, and how to avoid the router part, in the one on playing with friends without port forwarding.

Option 2: an old computer or a Raspberry Pi

A laptop you no longer use draws far less than a desktop (15 to 30 W, about €2 to €4 of electricity a month), and an 8 GB Raspberry Pi 5 about 10 W (around €1). For three or four friends on Paper without mods, they're enough. With a modpack or more people they fall short, especially on CPU.

The router and your home IP are still a problem, just like in option 1, and your connection's upload speed is shared among all the players. If the power goes out or the router restarts, the server stays down until you get there.

Option 3: a cloud provider's free tier

Some cloud providers have machines that are free forever; the one most used for Minecraft is Oracle Cloud's, with an ARM processor and plenty of memory for a small server. It works, but it's worth knowing where the small print is: they ask for a card to sign up, there are often no free machines in the region you pick, and ones that sit idle for days can be reclaimed.

And you set everything up yourself: Linux from the command line, Java, opening ports in their firewall, backups and updates. If you like tinkering, it's the best free option. Check their current terms before relying on it, because they change.

Option 4: a paid host

It's the only one of the four where you don't have to do anything to keep it on: the server is in a data centre, with no queue and no shutting down for being empty. On NapNodes, on top of that, your plan's RAM is reserved for you (it isn't sold twice), and if the server crashes, the panel restarts it automatically; if it crashes twice in one hour, you get an email with the most likely cause and what to do.

You pay for RAM, per GB per month, with no commitment: the price of each plan is on the pricing page, so compare it with the electricity in option 1. Split between friends, it works out cheap per head. It includes an automatic daily backup plus two you make yourself, and the machines' status is public at napnodes.com/estado.

Which one to choose

To play now and then with the same group, a free server you start yourself. To have it always on without spending money, a Raspberry Pi or a free cloud tier, if you can handle the router or Linux. To have it always on without looking after it, a host: what you're paying for is not having to keep an eye on it.

Make it run on its own: one restart a day

A server that's been on for days builds up memory taken by plugins and loaded chunks, and you notice it as lag. Restarting it once a day, at a time when nobody plays, leaves it like new. In the NapNodes panel you schedule it in “Advanced settings” → “Schedules”, without having to be there (everything you can schedule is in the scheduled tasks guide).

1. Choose what to do

   In “New schedule”, “What to do” → “Restart the server”. Leave “Warn players one minute before” ticked: they'll see it in chat.

2. Choose when

   “Every day” and the time, for example 05:00 (Spain time). Leave “Only if the server is online” ticked, so it doesn't start a server you'd left off.

3. Press “Create the schedule”

   It appears below, in “Your schedules”. From there you can turn it on, turn it off or delete it.

4. Test it

   With the server online, press “Run it now” and check that the warning appears and that it starts back up.

More ways to stop worrying about it

Generate the world in advance (with Chunky, see its guide) to remove the CPU spike when someone explores far away. If it's for friends, turn on the whitelist: a server that's always on is also always visible to anyone scanning addresses. And take a backup before any big change, even though there's a daily one.

Frequently asked questions