As one of the most popular and commonly played video games of all time, Minecraft has a special place in the hearts of gamers all around the world. Since its original release in 2011, the game’s pixel-based aesthetics, intriguing and creative gameplay, and dedicated development in added updates have made it an ever more popular multiplayer gaming option well into 2023. Minecraft’s popularity and endless stream of multiplayer sessions do not seem to want to slow down anytime soon, with more updates and content headed toward the game by Mojang. The massive popularity of Minecraft has also directly led to its monetization by players who now make money with Minecraft servers. There are many different ways to make money from Minecraft. Chief among these money-making methods is hosting a successful Minecraft server of your own. But many users often take this task for granted and botch the creative process. So in this article, I will cover the requirements and the average Minecraft server cost before jumping on how to make money from Minecraft to make up for the initial investment and turnover profit.
Minecraft Server Requirements
If you have thought about it and want to establish your own Minecraft server, the first step is to learn about the basic and critical requirements of a Minecraft server. The most important of these hardware options is the hardware that you are going to use. Every server is made up of pieces of hardware that act as the primary components of processing the game’s assets in an online capacity.
Generally, there are two main ways to host Minecraft; first to host using a computer of your own which will have more hardware requirements. This method is not really efficient as the resources will be used for other operations that will take up much needed resources from the process of hosting the game, also, there are a lot of physical limitations on how much hardware you can onboard on a PC.
The second method is using a dedicated remote server. This dedicated server is solely used for hosting your Minecraft server, therefore it will reduce your Minecraft servers cost and massively increase your Minecraft hosting efficiency. Calculating these requirements will give you a good indication of how much does a Minecraft server cost.
Minecraft Server RAM
As far as hardware is concerned, RAM is one of the two most essential components that will dictate the quality of the gameplay on your Minecraft server. Having enough RAM to cover the calculations of your online Minecraft world is absolutely crucial in ensuring that the game does not lag or stutter for players. In some cases, the exhaustion of RAM may directly lead to the collapse of the server, which is definitely not something you want. As far as RAM needs to go, you can start a Minecraft server with a single GB of RAM, provided that your server is only used to host Minecraft and nothing else. However, if you want frequent backups and also to perform other basic tasks with the server, then a minimum of 6GB RAM is recommended. This number will grow as more players join in, so if you need help calculating the RAM amount to set your Minecraft server price, you can use our guide to calculate the required amount with ease.
Minecraft Server CPU
CPU, or your server processor for Minecraft hosting, is the other all-important hardware piece that you need to pay special attention to, and it has even more complicated effects on the quality of your Minecraft server. Similar to RAM, the number of players and events in your Minecraft server directly relates to the amount of processing power you need. A good CPU unit is a must if you want to make money on Minecraft. If your server is only made for hosting the game with friends (1-5 players), then a good old Pentium 2.0 GHz processor will do the trick, however, a server with 20 players and above would necessitate a powerful Intel Core I7 or AMD Ryzen 7 CPU. Calculating the exact amount of CPU that you need can be difficult and tiresome, so check out our detailed article on choosing the best server CPU.
Minecraft Server OS
You will need an OS on your server to configure and manage the server through it. All three major desktop OS options (macOS, Linux, and Windows) are supported. Although Windows arguably requires the least amount of third-party programs and add-ons to host a Minecraft server, I would advise using Linux OS instead. Although UNIX is needed to host through Linux, the overall compatibility of Linux distros like Ubuntu makes it much easier to manage the server. As a final bonus point, Linux distros also take up much fewer resources from the server, causing a little more efficiency.
Minecraft Server Domain (Optional)
Even if you do not have a domain name for your access address, your user base will still be able to join your Minecraft server. However, in order to effectively advertise and market your server, it is essential to have its name as many places displayed as possible, including your server address. Having a domain allows you to use your server name as part of the server address and replaces the generic IP address of Minecraft server with that name, which will go a long way in helping you advertise and get new members for your server.
Minecraft Server Costs
A common question here is how much a Minecraft server is worth. The key to understanding how your Minecraft server price will be calculated is the number of active players on the server. The more players on your server, the more hardware you will need to invest to guarantee that the server runs as efficiently as possible. As a result, there is no conclusive response to the question of how much a Minecraft server costs. If you have a tiny Minecraft server for you and a few friends, you may well be able to host it for free.
But as the players grow, it is well known that once you are past 700 players, the price of the Minecraft server will also reach beyond $100 per month. Do you want to cut your Minecraft servers cost? Or maybe you feel there’s much more to know about Minecraft hosting before actually opting for it. Check out our fully detailed guide on hosting a Minecraft server, where we have gone into detail on what exactly makes a well-optimized Minecraft server and also provided a list of the 10 best Minecraft server providers.
How to Make Money on Minecraft
Now that we have settled the requirements of starting a Minecraft server, let’s move straight to what we’re all here for to make money on Minecraft. Some of these Minecraft money-making methods will directly involve your newly-established Minecraft server. In contrast, others will have complementary roles with your server and not involve in it directly, although you can always use them to advertise your server and garner a larger audience. Here’s 10 assured steps to balance your Minecraft server cost and make money with Minecraft server!
1. Tebex
Let’s get Tebex covered first because it’s the only one of these solutions that is not a direct way to make money on Minecraft. Tebex is an online tool that can be linked to your online gaming servers to manage your server’s accounting aspect. It gives you a payment gateway to charge for the server, keeps accounts, provides analytics to calculate things like the Minecraft server price, and helps you advertise and market your Minecraft server. While it does not directly help make money, the insight and efficiency flow saves time and effort and leads you to better manage, run and monetize your server. Tebex will charge you around 2% per transaction for its useful services.
2. Become a Minecraft Partner
If you are also a designer and online content creator on top of being an avid Minecraft gamer, you can enroll yourself as part of the Minecraft Partner Program. Of course, Mojang studios will not accept everyone. You will need to answer their questions correctly and have a rather impressive previous work portfolio and resume. But once you are enrolled, you can then use their platform to sell all sorts of Minecraft themed products. Servers, Worlds, items, Cosmetics, texture packs, add-ons and much more!
3. Membership Fee
Charging a membership fee is the most straightforward method of making money on Minecraft to set off your initial Minecraft cost and make a profit. There are all sorts of membership charging schemes out there that you can use to monetize your Minecraft server. You can make the server exclusively for paying members or make certain features paid-only. Beware however that you will need to make this process a gradual one. An unknown off-the-ground server with no reputation and a small player number will not be successful if it decides to charge a membership fee from the get-go. It’s best to wait until you have a sizable player base and slowly add a membership fee.
4. Streaming Minecraft (Twitch)
Streaming is the bread and butter of making money via video games these days. Are you comfortable in front of the camera? Can you produce entertaining gameplay content? Then hop on Twitch and start your streaming career. Twitch offers several different ways to make money. After a certain point, you may have the chance to become a Twitch Partner with its own perks and benefits. If you get a large enough audience on YouTube, pretty soon, you can rack up a lot of money from donations as well. Popularity on Twitch is also an excellent opportunity to advertise your server on the platform and get more players.
5. Creating a Minecraft YouTube Channel
YouTube is the king of online video content and a large portion of the most popular content on this website is dedicated to gameplay videos of popular games including Minecraft. The good thing about having a YouTube channel dedicated to Minecraft is that a large portion of your content is produced during playing and streaming on Twitch. You can edit the videos to better suit the YouTube style and post them. Views on YouTube from ads can make a lot of money and it’s another popular platform where you can advertise your Minecraft server.
6. Getting Sponsored
It is possible to use your Minecraft server’s publicity as a marketing tool for other brands who are willing to sponsor you in exchange for featuring their brand as part of your server if you have a large player base or if you are featured prominently on streaming platforms such as YouTube or Twitch. With this method, a server is not required to make money on Minecraft. However, if you are popular on streaming and video platforms, you can think about starting your server as an additional source of income in conjunction with potential sponsorship deals.
7. Selling Minecraft Accounts
Minecraft accounts can be quite valuable as assets bought and sold in the Minecraft world. Each account has many accolades and metrics that determine its value on the market. But the primary defining elements of a Minecraft account’s value are its cosmetic items, rare achievements, records, and maybe even its username if it is rare enough. If you are a dedicated player, you can keep making new accounts to max them out and then sell them for a reasonable price. If you are already enrolled as part of the aforementioned Minecraft Parent Program, you will have an easier job getting your accounts sold!
8. Minecraft Donations
I already mentioned donations on Twitch as a primary way of making money from Minecraft. In the early stages of your Minecraft server, you can cite the Minecraft server cost as one of the reasons that you need donation support, and since the server is probably free at this point for users, a small number will likely support you with donations. As the server gets larger and you introduce additional membership fees, donations will cease to be effective as a monetization strategy since you will be charging for the server anyway.
9. Minecraft Cosmetics
As already mentioned, Minecraft cosmetics can have a lot of monetary value. If you have any Minecraft cosmetics valued at a high amount, you can easily sell them for money on different marketplaces. This is only part of it, however, as you can create your own cosmetics and sell them. You can also make exclusive cosmetics for your server and have players charged for them as part of a tier system. Cosmetics are not all about the players. You can create texture packs and other appearance modding packages and either sell them or use them to enhance your server’s looks to attract more players. Cosmetics sold on your server are a great way to cut the Minecraft server cost!
10. Minecraft Merchandise
This option is for when you have a massive Minecraft server or presence. Minecraft is the most popular game of all time, so you can easily make merchandise related to this lovely pixelated game and sell them. T-shirts, props, toys, cushions, and all sorts of creative items can be adorned with the unique Minecraft aesthetic and sold. You can use all the platforms mentioned above for advertising the sale of these items and use new methods like drop-shipping to minimize the cost of shipping and production. By this point, you should be well beyond the end of worrying about your Minecraft server cost.
Conclusion
Minecraft’s massive popularity makes for an excellent money-making opportunity for all gamers and tech people. However, like every other financial endeavor, there are traps along the way to avoid and optimizations to make to ensure you have an optimal experience from hosting your Minecraft server. If cutting your Minecraft server’s cost while maintaining the quality is what you’re looking for, then consider using Cloudzy’s Game hosting VPS as your server.
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FAQ
How Can I Become a Minecraft Partner?
You need to apply as part of the official program, and the terms for getting accepted are usually about your previous resume and portfolio as a content creator and designer. Once you are accepted, you can begin selling your Minecraft content and make money.
Can I Start a Minecraft Server for Free?
Technically yes. You can do so if you have some hardware or an additional computer that can act as a server. However, this is only useful for small servers where only you and your friends play. The price of Minecraft servers will also go up as the number of players does.
Should I have Mods for My Minecraft Server?
Once the population of your server goes to an unmanageable level for one person, you can consider reinvesting some of your profit to hire mods to make sure no one is cheating and that the server runs on order.
What is The Average Price of a Minecraft Server for 100 Players?
A server with 100 active players would require close to 10 GB of RAM and a decent CPU which would total around $25 per month.
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