How much RAM does my server really need?
Minecraft vs Valheim, vanilla vs modded, and why RAM is what decides lag.
RAM is where the server keeps the world it's currently running: loaded chunks, entities, mobs, items on the ground, and every mod's data. When it runs out, you get lag spikes, rubber-banding, and eventually crashes. That's why we lead with it.
Minecraft
The numbers below are rough starting points for a group of 2–15 friends. Your world, your mods, and how spread out your players are all move them.
- Vanilla or Paper, small group: a few GB runs fine at first. Worlds grow, though, and players exploring in different directions each load their own chunks.
- Paper with a stack of plugins: more. Every plugin adds a little.
- Fabric with a handful of mods: similar to Paper with plugins.
- Big modpacks (100+ mods): this is where small plans fall over. Heavy packs commonly want 8 GB or more just to start comfortably, and more as the world grows.
Our smallest plan is 8 GB. That's more than most vanilla and lightly-modded friend servers will ever touch, and it's the size most big hosts charge around four times as much for.
Valheim
The Valheim dedicated server needs less RAM than a modded Minecraft server, but large builds and long-lived worlds add up. More explored map and bigger bases mean more to keep in memory and save. 8 GB is plenty for a normal Valheim world. Pick bigger if you're running mods or plan to keep one world for a long time.
Signs you're out of RAM
- Lag that gets worse the longer the server has been up
- Crashes with "out of memory" in the console
- Long pauses when someone explores new terrain
Picking a plan
- 8 GB: vanilla, Paper, light Fabric mods, Valheim
- 16 GB: bigger plugin setups, mid-size modpacks, lots of exploring
- 32 GB: heavy modpacks, big long-running worlds
Not sure? Tell us the pack or plugin list on Discord. For heavy modpacks we check it before telling you a size, instead of guessing.