The Minecraft Realms price is $3.99 or $7.99 a month, depending on which Realm you pick. That's per Realm, not per player, and the friends you invite pay nothing. The figures below are minecraft.net's US prices as of October 11, 2026. Prices move, so take a quick look at the Realms page before you subscribe.
If someone told you to "just get a Realm," they weren't wrong for a lot of groups. It's the easiest way to keep a world running for friends or family. But it comes with hard limits: no mods, a small cap on how many people can be on at once, and Java and Bedrock players can't share one. Sometimes a server is cheaper, or just better.
How much is Minecraft Realms? Every plan side by side
| Plan | Edition | Per month | Players at once | Free trial | Extras |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Realms (often called Realms Core) | Bedrock | $3.99 | You + 2 | — | 5GB manual save storage |
| Realms Plus | Bedrock | $7.99 | You + 10 | 30 days | Marketplace Pass catalog, 10GB manual save storage |
| Realms for Java Edition | Java | $7.99 | You + 10 | 30 days | No Marketplace Pass |
US dollar prices from minecraft.net, read October 11, 2026. Console players also need their platform's online subscription (Xbox Game Pass Essential, Premium or Ultimate, PlayStation Plus, or Nintendo Switch Online) to play any multiplayer, Realms included. That's a separate bill on top of the Realm.
Two things trip people up. First, $7.99 isn't per person. It's one flat subscription for the Realm, however many friends join. Second, the player cap counts people online at the same time, not people invited. You can invite up to 10,000 friends to a Realm. Only 2 or 10 of them can be in the world with you at once.
Over a year, that's about $48 for the Bedrock Realm and about $96 for Realms Plus or Java Realms, if you never cancel.
Is Minecraft Realms free?
No. Every plan has a monthly price, and that includes the small two-friend Bedrock Realm. It's $3.99, not free.
The free bits are narrower than people hope:
- The trial. Realms Plus and Java Realms come with a 30-day free trial. It's one per account, for new subscribers only, and it renews automatically at the monthly price unless you cancel.
- Playing on someone else's Realm. Invited players never need their own subscription. If a friend already pays, you're in for nothing.
And if you stop paying, your world doesn't vanish. Mojang keeps it, downloadable, for 18 months after the subscription runs out. Resubscribe inside that window and the Realm comes back exactly as you left it.
What is Minecraft Realms, and what isn't it?
A Realm is a personal server that Mojang hosts for you. It's always on, so your friends can hop in when you're offline, and you manage it from inside the game. No port forwarding, no server files, no command line. Each Realm has up to three world slots, with one active at a time. A Mojang developer put it this way back in 2013: it's for "a group of invited friends or a family server," not a big public server.
What it isn't:
- Moddable. On Java Realms, the Minecraft Wiki is blunt: "Mods and plugins cannot be installed." You get official curated maps through the Java Realms Content Creator Program. Realms Plus on Bedrock takes Marketplace add-ons, but not third-party mods or plugins. My guide to what you can actually add to a Realm covers data packs and add-ons in detail.
- Unlimited on render distance. Java Realms are locked at 12 chunks of render distance. Bedrock Realms go up to 25 chunks, and an admin can turn that down to as low as 4.
- Mixed-edition. More on that next.
Are Minecraft Realms cross-platform?
Yes, but only inside one edition. Here's how minecraft.net puts it: "Realms is cross-platform, but it's only available within the same game edition. If you have Java Edition, you can only join a Realm with other Java players. If you have Bedrock Edition, you can only play in a Realm with other Bedrock players."
- Bedrock Realms work across Android, iOS, Windows, Amazon Fire, Xbox, PlayStation, Nintendo Switch and Chromebook. A Switch, a phone and an Xbox can all share one.
- Java Realms work across Windows, Mac and Linux. Java players only.
So if one kid plays Java on a PC and the other plays on a Switch, no Realm will put them in the same world. That's where a server comes in.
Minecraft Realms vs a server: your other options
Free hosting: Aternos and Minehut
Aternos sells itself as "Minecraft servers. Free. Forever." There's no way to pay it for anything. It runs Forge, NeoForge, Fabric, Quilt, Paper, Spigot, Purpur and modpacks, handles Bedrock server software too, and backs your world up automatically to Google Drive.
Minehut's free Starter plan needs no credit card and gives you 10 player slots and 1GB of RAM. Java and Bedrock players can join the same server, which a Realm can't do, and you upload plugins from a web dashboard. The catch: free servers sleep when they're empty and wake the moment a player joins. Its paid Ultimate plan drops the sleep, runs 24/7, lifts the slot cap and goes up to 14GB of RAM.
My free Minecraft server hosting comparison goes through the free options in more depth.
Paid hosting: Apex Hosting
Apex Hosting's entry Java plan is 4GB of RAM at $14.99 a month on recurring billing (6GB is $22.49, 8GB is $27.99, read October 11, 2026). Ignore the cheaper first-month promo price, because that's not what you'll pay from month two. You get unlimited player slots, full mod and plugin support, 24/7 uptime, and FTP and MySQL access. That's nearly double Realms Plus or a Java Realm, but it runs the mods, plugins and big player counts a Realm won't.
Self-hosting
Or you run the server yourself, on a machine you own. There's no host to pay, and you control everything. The trade is that the setup, keeping it switched on and letting your friends connect are all on you. My guide on how to make a Minecraft server walks through it.
Minecraft Realms vs server at a glance
| Axis | Realms | Minehut Starter | Apex Hosting (4GB) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monthly cost | $3.99 (Bedrock) or $7.99 (Realms Plus, Java) | Free | $14.99 recurring |
| Players at once | You + 2, or you + 10 | 10 slots | Unlimited slots |
| Mods and plugins | No (Marketplace add-ons on Realms Plus) | Plugins via web dashboard | Full mod and plugin support |
| Always on | Yes | Sleeps when empty, wakes when someone joins | 24/7 |
| Setup | Inside the game, no port forwarding | Web dashboard | FTP and MySQL access |
| Best for | Small vanilla groups and families on one edition | Free plugin servers, mixed Java/Bedrock groups | Modded or bigger servers that never sleep |
Prices and plan details read October 11, 2026.
Is Minecraft Realms worth it? Depends who you are
A family with two kids on consoles
A parent plus two kids is three players, which is exactly what the $3.99 Bedrock Realm holds. It's always on, so the kids can play when you're not around, and there's nothing to set up. That's the cheapest sensible answer for this family, as long as everyone's on Bedrock. Just remember the consoles need their online subscription on top. If a cousin wants to join at the same time, you're on Realms Plus at $7.99.
A Java friend group that wants mods
Skip the Realm. It can't run mods or plugins, and no setting changes that. Try a free host first: Aternos runs Forge, Fabric and modpacks for nothing. If the free route gets on your nerves, a paid host like Apex at $14.99 a month or your own server is the grown-up option.
Someone who wants 20+ players
No Realm does this. The ceiling is you plus 10. Minehut's free plan stops at 10 slots too. You want a paid host with unlimited slots (Apex, or Minehut's Ultimate plan) or a server you run yourself.
Minecraft Realms FAQ
How much does Minecraft Realms cost?
$3.99 a month for the Bedrock Realm (you + 2), $7.99 for Realms Plus on Bedrock (you + 10), and $7.99 for Java Realms (you + 10), as of October 11, 2026.
Is it $7.99 per person?
No. It's per Realm. One person pays, and everyone they invite plays free.
Is a two-player Realm free?
No, it's $3.99 a month. The only free time is the 30-day trial on Realms Plus and Java Realms, for new subscribers.
What do you get with Minecraft Realms Plus?
Room for you plus 10 friends, 10GB of manual save storage, and the Marketplace Pass catalog of worlds, skins, character-creator items and add-ons.
Can Java and Bedrock players share a Realm?
No. Bedrock Realms cross-play across every Bedrock device, and Java Realms across Windows, Mac and Linux, but the two never mix.
What happens to my world if I cancel?
It's kept and downloadable for 18 months. Resubscribe inside that window and it's back as you left it.
Honestly?
Get a Realm if… get a server if…
Get a Realm if you're a small group or a family on one edition, you want vanilla Minecraft, and you never want to think about hosting. For a parent and two kids on Bedrock, $3.99 a month is hard to beat.
Get a server if anyone wants mods or plugins, if your group mixes Java and Bedrock, or if you need more than 11 people on at once. Start free, and pay a host only once the free tier starts annoying you.
And if what you really want is a world that's always hosted with no monthly fee at all, keep an eye on Folly. It's an upcoming free voxel game, entering early access on October 16, 2026, where every player gets a permanent universe of their own.