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How Much RAM Does a Minecraft Server Need?
A Minecraft server needs 2 GB for small vanilla worlds, 4 GB for plugins or light mods and 8–16 GB for modpacks. Full sizing table and what drives RAM use.
Most Minecraft servers need 4 GB of RAM. That covers Paper with around 30 plugins, or a light modpack, for 20–40 players. A small Vanilla or Paper server for a few friends runs on 2 GB, and modpacks need 8 GB or more.
| RAM | Players | Typical setup |
|---|---|---|
| 2 GB | 5–15 | Vanilla or Paper, no mods |
| 4 GB | 20–40 | Paper with ~30 plugins, light modpacks |
| 8 GB | 40–80 | Mid-size modpacks, Velocity proxy |
| 12 GB | 60–120 | Large modpacks, pre-generated world |
| 16 GB | 80–150 | Heavy modpacks, multi-shard networks |
| 24 GB | 150–250 | Network hub with several backends |
| 32 GB | 250+ | Big networks, heavy modpack communities |
The player ranges are wide because it depends on how people play. Players in one area share loaded chunks, while players spread across the map each load their own.
What uses memory on a Minecraft server
Mods
Mods usually use the most memory, because each one loads its blocks, items and logic at startup. A light pack of quality-of-life and content mods runs on 4 GB. Tech and magic packs with around a hundred mods need 8 GB, and large packs such as All the Mods need 12–16 GB. If the modpack author publishes a recommended amount, use at least that.
Plugins
Most plugins use very little memory. Dynamic map renderers, large economy plugins and minigame frameworks are exceptions and can use several hundred megabytes each.
View distance
Each player keeps a square of chunks loaded around them: 441 chunks at view-distance=10 and 289 at 8. Lowering view-distance and simulation-distance in server.properties reduces both memory and CPU use.
Generating new terrain
Generating chunks while players explore causes memory spikes, especially with modded world generation. To avoid this, pre-generate the world and set a world border.
Version and server software
Newer Minecraft versions use more memory than older ones. Vanilla uses the most for the same world. Paper, and Fabric with performance mods, use less. See the server software guide.
RAM and lag
Minecraft runs most of its game logic on one thread, 20 ticks per second, with 50 ms available per tick. If a tick takes longer, TPS drops below 20 and players see blocks reappear and mobs stutter. Extra RAM does not shorten ticks. A faster CPU core or less work per tick does.
Allocating more RAM than the server uses does not make it faster either.
To find out whether you need more RAM or have a CPU problem, install spark:
- An
OutOfMemoryError, or memory usage close to the limit right after garbage collection, means the server needs more RAM. - MSPT consistently above 50 with free memory means the problem is CPU time. The spark profiler shows which plugin, mod or farm is using it.
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