The Best Aternos Alternatives in 2026: Free Hosts, Cheap Hosts and Running It Yourself

Most people searching for Aternos alternatives aren't actually mad at Aternos. It's free, it runs almost any server software you can name, and it doesn't cost a cent. They're mad at one specific thing: the queue, the RAM, or a server that isn't running when a friend wants to hop on at midnight. Figure out which one is yours first, because every alternative fixes a different one.

The short answer, as of October 2026: if you want a fixed RAM number and a way to pay for more later, try FalixNodes (2.5GB free). If you want dead-simple free hosting that wakes up when a friend joins, there's Minehut. If you want a server that's genuinely on 24/7, that's a paid plan, and Minefort's $5.99 Cottage plan is the cheaper of the two paid plans I checked. Or skip hosts entirely and run it yourself.

Why people leave Aternos

Aternos's homepage puts it bluntly: "Minecraft servers. Free. Forever." There's no way to pay for anything. That's the whole appeal, and it's also the root of every complaint:

• The queue. Aternos's own help center explains that it has limited server resources, and when more people want to start servers than there's room for, you join a queue and wait. At the end you confirm, and the server starts within a few minutes. Your server isn't running until someone starts it, so a busy evening means waiting. It's why "how do I skip the Aternos queue" is practically its own genre of YouTube video.
• RAM you don't get to choose. Aternos assigns RAM by server software and version. A Vanilla 1.20.1 server gets 2400 MB, per its help center. You can't raise it yourself. The only options are a boost through its Medal partnership, or moving to exaroton, Aternos's paid sister service.
• No paid upgrade. Since there's nothing to buy, you can't throw money at Aternos to make the queue go away.

Be fair to it, though. Aternos runs Java and Bedrock, Paper, Purpur, Forge, NeoForge, Fabric, Quilt and full modpacks, with unlimited slots, DDoS protection, Google Drive backups and custom domains. Whatever you switch to should beat it at the thing you care about, because it probably won't beat it at everything.

Aternos alternatives at a glance

Free tiers as listed on each host's own site on October 9, 2026:

Free tiers change all the time, so check the plan page on the day you move a world you care about.

Free Aternos alternatives

FalixNodes

FalixNodes' free plan gets you 2.5GB of shared RAM, 1 CPU core, 10GB of NVMe storage and unlimited player slots. You can run Java or Bedrock, vanilla or modded, and there's a one-click installer that pulls from Modrinth, CurseForge, SpigotMC, Hangar, FTB and Technic. It's run by a Latvian company that's been at it since 2018, and it's pretty openly pitched at Aternos refugees. One review on its own site literally reads "better than aternos anyway."

Plugins, mods and modpacks all work on the free plan, though Falix says very large modpacks need more than 2.5GB, so a big pack effectively means paying. The RAM isn't wildly more than what Aternos gives a vanilla server, either. What you're really getting is a fixed number and an upgrade path.

It isn't 24/7. In Falix's own words, "It's free because it sleeps." A free server stops 10 minutes after the last player leaves, saving the world, and anyone who knows the server name can restart it from a public start page without logging in. Expect an in-chat activity check no more than once every three hours, and the odd brief queue when a free machine is busy. Only paid plans stay online until you stop them. The free plan's also limited to listed countries: most of Europe, the US and Canada, Australia and New Zealand, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and Singapore.

I'd pick Falix if you're done gambling on the queue and suspect you'll end up paying eventually anyway.

Minehut

Minehut's free Starter plan is 1GB of RAM and 10 player slots, with no credit card and no playtime limits. Free servers sleep when the last person leaves and wake the moment a player joins. Only the paid Ultimate plan stays online 24/7, and upgrading takes you up to 14GB and unlimited players. Java players join on mc.minehut.com and Bedrock players on bedrock.minehut.com, into the same server. Plugins install from the web dashboard on every plan (higher plans allow more), and every server gets DDoS protection.

It's the easiest move for a small vanilla or plugin server with mixed Java and Bedrock friends. A hard 1GB fills up fast, though, so don't bring a modpack.

Minefort

Minefort sells itself as free Minecraft hosting ("get started for free, no credit card required"), with a console, a plugin manager, file access over FTP and a server properties editor. Bedrock players can join too, via a Bedrock switch in the server dashboard. What it doesn't do is put its free plan's RAM or slot count on the pricing page, which only lists paid tiers. So look at the free plan details when you sign up. Minefort's real strength is the cheap end of paid hosting, below.

Aternos alternatives that stay on 24/7: cheap paid hosts

An always-on server costs somebody money every hour it runs, which is exactly why every free tier queues or sleeps. If 24/7 is the thing you want, you're paying, and you're basically renting RAM by the month. FalixNodes makes that literal: its build-your-own plan is €1.75 per GB of RAM plus €2.00 per CPU thread. Here are the two cheapest entry plans I checked on October 9, 2026:

My take: for vanilla or a plugin server with a few friends, Minefort's Cottage is the cheap, obvious answer. If you're running a big modpack, go Falix. Starter's 4GB already beats the free 2.5GB, and Friends (6GB) and Community (8GB) are there when your pack wants more. Prices bounce around, so check the pricing page before you put a card in.

Or run it yourself

The other way to kill the queue for good is to stop renting someone else's capacity. Mojang's server software is free, there's no queue or sleep timer, and you get whatever RAM your PC can spare. The trade-off is that the server's only up while your machine is.

• My Java server setup guide walks through the official jar, eula.txt, port forwarding, and playit.gg if you can't touch your router.
• How to make a Minecraft Bedrock server covers Bedrock Dedicated Server and the console catch.
• The modded server guide covers Forge, Fabric, CurseForge packs and how much RAM a modpack actually wants.

Quick answers

Aternos vs FalixNodes: which is better?

Both run plugins, mods and modpacks for free, so it comes down to the catches. Falix gives you a fixed 2.5GB and a public start page your friends can use, but its free plan's only open in certain countries. Aternos can make you wait out a queue at peak times. And if you already know you'll pay for 24/7, Falix has that and Aternos doesn't: its paid plans start at €11.00 a month and stay online until you stop them.

Aternos vs Minefort: what's better?

If you'll never pay, Aternos, since Minefort's free plan specs aren't on its pricing page. If you'll pay a little for a server that's always on, Minefort, because Aternos can't be paid at all and Minefort's Cottage plan is online 24/7 for $5.99 a month.

Is Aternos safe?

Yes. Aternos is a legitimate, long-running host. Its footer goes back to 2013, it runs a paid sister brand in exaroton, and every server gets DDoS protection. The danger is the other "free hosting" or "free account" sites that ask you to sign in with your Microsoft account. That's a classic phishing setup, and my explainer on free Minecraft account generators shows how those logins get stolen.

Which Aternos alternative has no queue?

None of the free tiers, honestly. Aternos queues, Minehut's free servers sleep and wake when someone joins, and FalixNodes' free starts can briefly queue when a machine is busy. For zero waiting, that's a paid plan that runs 24/7, like Minefort's tiers or FalixNodes' paid plans, or a server you run yourself.

Which Aternos alternative supports modpacks?

Aternos itself still supports modpacks on its free servers, which is awkward for the alternatives. FalixNodes runs them free too, with an installer that pulls from CurseForge, FTB, Technic and Modrinth, though very large packs need more than 2.5GB. For a modpack on your own hardware, the modded server guide above is the route.