How much RAM does a Minecraft server need?

Too little RAM is a common cause of lag and crashes, and too much means overpaying. Here is how much RAM to choose for a Minecraft server, depending on players, plugins and mods.

Quick cheat sheet

• Vanilla, 1–5 players: 2 GB.
• Vanilla or Paper, 5–15 players: 3–4 GB.
• Paper with plugins, 15–40 players: 4–8 GB.
• Light mods on Fabric: 4–6 GB.
• Large modpacks (hundreds of mods): 8–12 GB and more. Modpack authors usually state the recommended memory.

These are rough values. It is best to check how much the server really uses (below).

What uses memory

• The loaded world: every player keeps the chunks around them in memory. Players spread across the map use more than players in one place.
• View and simulation distance: view-distance and simulation-distance in Server settings → Server.
• Mods: every mod adds blocks, items and code. Modpacks need a lot of memory right at the start.
• Web maps (BlueMap, Dynmap) while they render the map.

How to check the usage

The Statistics tab has RAM and CPU charts. If memory keeps reaching the limit and the Event log shows crashes caused by missing memory, the server needs a bigger plan.

More RAM does not fix every lag. When there is memory to spare and the server still stutters, the cause is usually heavy plugins, mob farms or new terrain being generated. See Lag on a Minecraft server.

How to add RAM

1. Go to Panel → Servers → server → Extend.
2. Choose a bigger plan. For the rest of the paid period you only pay the difference.
3. The world, plugins and settings stay as they are.

When the current node has no room for the bigger plan, the panel offers an upgrade with a move to another node: the server moves together with its files.

The server needs less than it has? You can downgrade the plan in the same tab.