2026 comparison
Every option for sharing a Minecraft Java world with friends has a catch — a monthly bill, a player cap, no plugins, queues, or one person stuck keeping their PC on. Here's an honest look at Realms, Aternos, Hypixel SMP, paid hosting, and Relay, side by side.
Last updated: June 2026
Scroll the table sideways on mobile. Prices and limits are what each provider advertises as of 2026.
| Relay | Minecraft Realms | Hypixel SMP | Aternos (free) | Paid hosting | One friend's PC | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Price | Free (Plus $3/mo) |
$7.99/mo | $15 one-time | Free | ~$15/mo | Free |
| Plugins & mods | Yes Paper plugins |
No | No vanilla only |
Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Player limit | No hard cap | 10 | 20 | Varies | By RAM | By PC |
| Servers per plan | 1 free / 5 on Plus | 1 active | 1 | 1 | 1 per bill | 1 |
| Online when | A member is hosting | 24/7 | 24/7 | Only while active | 24/7 | That friend is on |
| Port forwarding | None | None | None | None | Usually none | Usually required |
| Ads | None | None | None | Yes | None | None |
| Who hosts it | Whoever's online | Mojang | Hypixel | Aternos | The host company | One friend |
No single option wins every row — it depends what your group needs. Here's the short version.
Honestly:
The simplest, most official "it just works" option for a small vanilla group.
$8 every month, hard 10-player cap, and no plugins or mods at all.
The cheapest way to get a 24/7 vanilla survival world for a bigger friend group.
Vanilla only — no plugins or mods — and it lives on Hypixel's network, not really yours.
Trying something out for $0, with plugin/mod support.
Queues to start, shutdowns after a few idle minutes, ads, and shared-box performance.
A powerful, always-on, fully-controllable dedicated server.
You pay every month even when it's empty, and a second world means a second bill.
Relay runs the server on whichever member is online and syncs the world to the cloud, so hosting passes between friends. It's built for the gap the others leave:
The honest trade-off: Relay isn't a 24/7 box — your server is online when a group member is hosting. For a friend group that plays together, that's usually exactly when you'd want it on, and nobody pays for idle uptime. If you need a public server running around the clock, a paid host or Realms is the better fit.
Free hosts like Aternos cost nothing but add queues, idle shutdowns, and ads. Hypixel SMP is a one-time $15 for a 24/7 vanilla server. Relay is free and runs on a member's own PC — no monthly bill, no ads — with plugin support on top.
Realms is $7.99/month, capped at 10 players, with no plugins. If you want plugins, more players, multiple servers, or a lower price, look at Relay (free, plugins, runs on your PC), Aternos (free but queues/ads), or paid hosts like Shockbyte/Apex (~$15/month).
Yes. Realms, Hypixel SMP, Aternos, and Relay all skip port forwarding — friends just paste an address. Only old-school self-hosting on a home PC usually needs it.
It's a solid, cheap pick for vanilla survival: a one-time $15 VIP+ rank lets you make a private server for up to 20 friends, always online, no port forwarding. The catch is it's vanilla-only and lives on Hypixel's network.
Relay is a desktop app that runs a shared Minecraft Java server on whichever group member is online. The world syncs to the cloud so hosting passes between members — no monthly hosting bill, no port forwarding, and full Paper plugin support.
Free to start, plugins included, and no one stuck hosting. Join the waitlist to get one ping the day it's out.
Join the waitlist →★ First 50 sign-ups get 7 days of Pro — free