Want to play with your friends in your own world without leaving your computer on day and night? A free, online-hosted Minecraft server is the easiest way to do it. This guide takes you from creating the server to your first connection, then walks you through the essential settings to get off to a good start.

Why use a host instead of your own PC

Running a server on your own computer is possible, but it comes with several drawbacks:

Availability: the server stops as soon as you turn off your PC.
Networking: you have to open and forward a port on your router, and expose your home IP address.
Performance: the game and the server share your machine's resources.

A free host solves all of this: the server runs on a dedicated machine, it is reachable through a public address, and you manage it from an online control panel.

Step 1: choose your Minecraft edition

Before creating anything, check which edition your friends play. The two editions are not compatible with each other by default.

Edition	Platforms	Default port
Java Edition	PC (Windows, macOS, Linux)	25565 (TCP)
Bedrock Edition	Windows, consoles, mobile	19132 (UDP)

If your group mixes PC players with mobile or console players, go with Java Edition: you can add Bedrock access later with GeyserMC, which we cover in a dedicated guide.

Step 2: choose the server software

Java Edition offers several server programs. Here are the most common ones:

Software	Plugins	Best for
Vanilla	No	The official, unmodified game, perfect for friends
Paper	Yes (Bukkit/Spigot)	The best default choice: fast and compatible with most plugins
Spigot	Yes	The long-standing alternative to Paper
Purpur	Yes	Based on Paper, with extra configuration options

Our advice: pick Paper. You keep a near-vanilla experience while being able to add plugins such as EssentialsX later on.

Which Minecraft version?

Go for the latest stable version, the one the launcher installs by default for your players. An older version only makes sense if you plan to use a plugin or a map that requires it.

Step 3: create the server with your host

The process is very similar from one host to another:

Create your account and confirm your email address.
Create a new server, choosing the edition, the software (Paper, for example) and the version.
Wait a few moments while it installs automatically.
Open the server's control panel: this is where you'll find the console, the file manager and the start button.

Step 4: first start and the EULA

On first launch, the server stops almost immediately. That's expected: you first need to accept Mojang's license agreement (EULA). The console then shows a message like this:

[Server thread/INFO]: You need to agree to the EULA in order to run the server. Go to eula.txt for more info.

Open the eula.txt file at the root of the server and change false to true:

eula=true

Many hosts also offer a button to accept the EULA straight from the panel. Then restart the server and world generation begins. The server is ready when the console shows:

[Server thread/INFO]: Done (12.345s)! For help, type "help"

Step 5: find the address and connect

Your panel shows the server address, either as IP:port or as a domain name. For example:

123.45.67.89:25565

In Minecraft Java Edition:

Click Multiplayer, then Add Server.
Give it a name and paste the address into the Server Address field.
Click Done, then join the server.

💡 Tip: if the port is 25565, you can leave it out and just enter the IP or domain name.

Step 6: essential server.properties settings

The server.properties file holds the server's main configuration. Stop the server before editing it, otherwise your changes may be overwritten. These are the properties to set first:

Property	What it does	Example
`motd`	Message shown in the server list	`The crew's server`
`max-players`	Maximum number of connected players	`10`
`difficulty`	Difficulty: peaceful, easy, normal, hard	`normal`
`gamemode`	Default game mode: survival, creative, adventure, spectator	`survival`
`pvp`	Allows players to fight each other	`true`
`white-list`	Restricts access to approved players	`true`
`level-seed`	World seed (before the world is generated)	`123456789`

Sample configuration for a server among friends:

motd=§aThe crew's server §7- Survival
max-players=10
difficulty=normal
gamemode=survival
pvp=false
white-list=true
enforce-whitelist=true

With enforce-whitelist=true, players removed from the whitelist are kicked immediately. Also note that level-seed only applies to a newly generated world: to change the seed, delete or rename the world folder.

Step 7: lock down access and become an admin

Add your friends to the whitelist

Once white-list=true is enabled, add each player from the panel console (without the /) or in game (with the /):

whitelist add PlayerName
whitelist list
whitelist remove PlayerName

Give yourself operator rights

To use admin commands in game, make yourself an operator from the console:

op YourName

You can then use commands such as /gamemode creative, /time set day or /kick. Only give this status to people you trust: an operator can change anything on the server. To remove these rights, use deop PlayerName.

Common startup issues

Symptom	Likely cause	Fix
The server stops right away	EULA not accepted	Set `eula=true` and restart
"Outdated server" or "Outdated client"	Version mismatch	Match the game version with the server version
"You are not white-listed on this server!"	Player missing from the whitelist	`whitelist add PlayerName`
Connection fails or times out	Server offline or wrong address	Check that the server is running and copy the full address

If the server lags once your friends join, a few simple server.properties tweaks make a big difference: see our dedicated guide to reducing lag.

Conclusion

In just a few minutes, you have a free Minecraft server that is always online and ready for your friends. You now know how to choose the edition and software, accept the EULA, connect and configure the essential settings.

Recommended next steps:

Install EssentialsX to add homes, warps and teleports.
Open your server to Bedrock players with GeyserMC.
Tune server.properties to reduce lag.
Back up your world regularly.