Minecraft RAM Calculator

The right amount of RAM is crucial for the performance of your Minecraft server. Too little RAM leads to lag and crashes; too much is wasted money.

RAM Formula

Base (1-2 GB) + Players (100 MB/player) + Mods/Plugins (500 MB - 4 GB) = Total RAM

Recommendation Table

Setup Players RAM Monthly Price*
Vanilla 1-5 2 GB from 2.99 EUR
Vanilla 5-10 4 GB from 5.99 EUR
Paper + 10 Plugins 10-20 6 GB from 8.99 EUR
Paper + 30 Plugins 20-50 8 GB from 11.99 EUR
Forge + 50 Mods 5-10 6 GB from 8.99 EUR
Forge + 100 Mods 10-20 10 GB from 14.99 EUR
Modpack (ATM9) 5-10 8 GB from 11.99 EUR
Modpack (ATM9) 10-20 12 GB from 17.99 EUR

*Prices at game-serverhosting.de

What Uses RAM?

  1. Chunks: Every loaded chunk needs RAM. view-distance is the biggest factor
  2. Entities: Animals, monsters, items on the ground
  3. Plugins/Mods: Every plugin has a base usage
  4. Players: ~100 MB per connected player
  5. Worlds: Multiple worlds = more RAM

Optimisation Tips

Before you buy more RAM, optimise:

# paper-global.yml
chunk-loading:
  max-concurrent-sends: 2
  autoconfig-send-distance: true
# server.properties
view-distance=8          # Default: 10, reducing it saves RAM
simulation-distance=6    # How far entities are simulated

JVM Flags for Optimal RAM Usage

-Xms4G -Xmx4G
-XX:+UseG1GC
-XX:+ParallelRefProcEnabled
-XX:MaxGCPauseMillis=200
-XX:+UnlockExperimentalVMOptions
-XX:+DisableExplicitGC
-XX:G1NewSizePercent=30
-XX:G1MaxNewSizePercent=40
-XX:G1HeapRegionSize=8M

Important: At game-serverhosting.de, optimal JVM flags are already preset!

When to Upgrade?

  • TPS below 18 (check with /spark tps)
  • Frequent lag spikes
  • OutOfMemory errors in the console
  • Players complain about rubberbanding