Minecraft Realms vs. your own serverWhich is worth it for you?

Published on October 20, 2026

What is Minecraft Realms?

Realms is Mojang's official server service. It is easy to set up and maintenance-free - but with clear limits: no plugins, no large modpacks (curated content only), a fixed, small number of players, no server console of your own and no direct file access. For a small family or friends group that just wants to build together, that can be enough.

Your own rented server

A rented server - at MainHoster.de, for example - gives you full control: unlimited slots, free choice of server software (Paper, Forge, Fabric), plugins and mods as you like, a fixed server address (IP:port), console, config editor and full file access via SFTP. You decide on version, world, rules and extensions.

Direct comparison

Conclusion

If you only want to build vanilla with a few friends and not worry about anything, Realms is fine. As soon as you want plugins, modpacks, more players, a fixed server address (IP:port) or real control, your own server is the better and often not more expensive choice - with prepaid billing and no contract. Take a look at the Minecraft plans.

The limits of Realms in detail

Realms is deliberately kept simple, and that is exactly where the points come from that groups run into sooner or later:

• No plugins, no mods. Realms runs vanilla. Anything beyond datapacks - claim protection, economy, permissions, minigames - is not possible.
• Fixed number of players. Realms tightly limits simultaneous players. For a growing community, that quickly stops being enough.
• Invited players only. There is no open address - everyone has to be invited individually. No basis for a public server.
• No file access. You cannot get at the server files. Uploading a world is possible to a limited extent, free access via SFTP is not.

What Realms does well in return: it runs without any setup, and nobody has to deal with versions, ports or configuration files. For a family or a small fixed group that just wants to build together, that is a fair offer.

Switching is easier than you think

Many people stay with Realms because they fear a complicated move. In practice, it is manageable: you download the world from Realms and upload it to the new server - progress is fully kept, including builds, inventories and experience. The way to do it is described in Upload a world.

What is different afterwards: your fellow players connect via a fixed address made of IP and port instead of an invitation. That is a change of a few minutes - and at the same time the point that opens up new possibilities, because anyone you give the address to can join.

To be honest, this is also part of it: on your own server, you are responsible for backups yourself. Backups are self-service with us throughout, via WebFTP or SFTP, see Create backups. That is a matter of a minute per week - but it needs to be planned in.

How you notice it is time to switch

There are a few typical triggers that make groups switch to their own server: someone wants to try a modpack. The group grows beyond the Realms limit. You want to protect plots because not everyone knows each other any more. Or it is supposed to become a crossplay server so that console players can join in.

As soon as one of these points comes up, the question is answered - Realms cannot cover any of them. Until then, there is little against sticking with the simple solution. How much performance you need for the switch is covered in Plan your server size.

Frequently asked questions