Hey there! If you‘re thinking about creating a Minecraft server, one of the first questions you probably have is "Is Cube hosting actually free?"
The short answer is: yes, Cube hosting offers a free 1GB tier for basic Minecraft servers. But there are some limitations to be aware of. Let‘s dig in and I‘ll explain everything you need to know about Cube hosting‘s free and paid plans.
An Overview of Cube Hosting
In case you‘re not familiar with them, Cube Hosting is one of the most popular and reliable Minecraft server hosting companies out there. Since 2013, they‘ve hosted over 800,000 Minecraft servers, so they really know their stuff.
Some key things Cube Hosting offers:
Easy setup and management: Their control panel makes launching and managing a Minecraft server super simple, even for beginners.
Great performance: Optimized for Minecraft, Cube Hosting delivers excellent TPS (ticks per second) for smooth multiplayer gameplay.
Reliable uptime: Their top-tier hardware and DDoS protection keeps Cube Hosting servers online nearly 100% of the time.
24/7 support: Their customer support team has a great reputation for being responsive and helpful if any issues occur.
Free migrations: Cube Hosting makes it easy to migrate an existing Minecraft server over to their platform for free.
Backups: Automated backups on higher tier plans give you protection against data loss or disasters.
Easy upgrades: You can upgrade to more resources or a higher tier effortlessly as your needs change.
With these benefits, it‘s easy to see why Cube Hosting is a top choice for Minecraft server hosting. The addition of a free tier makes them even more appealing.
Cube Hosting‘s Free Minecraft Server Plan
So what exactly does Cube Hosting‘s free Minecraft server tier include? Here are the key details:
1GB of RAM – This allows for basic gameplay with around 10-20 players.
5 plugin installs – You can add some simple plugins like protection and anti-griefing tools.
30MB of storage – This gives you space for some world data, plugins, etc.
20 maximum players – This caps the number of users who can join your server.
1 free MySQL database – Useful for plugins that need SQL data storage.
Access to their control panel – Manage and configure your server through their intuitive UI.
No custom JAR files – You can‘t upload a custom server JAR modded to your needs.
No automated backups – You‘ll need to manually backup your world files for safety.
This free tier is great for new users who want to test out a Cube Hosting server for the first time. The limited resources also make it a good fit for a small private server with just you and some friends playing together.
But to really understand if the free tier is enough, we need to look at some of the limitations.
Limitations of Cube Hosting‘s Free Server Plan
While the free Cube Hosting Minecraft server plan is useful for getting started, there are some compromises. Here are the biggest limitations to know about:
- Limited RAM – For modpacks, lots of plugins, or more players, 1GB of RAM can easily get maxed out. This leads to lag, slowness, and even server crashes.
- Small disk space – 30MB fills up fast with multiple worlds, mods, texture packs, etc. You‘ll need to frequently clear space.
- No subdomain – You don‘t get a custom domain name like
yourname.cubehost.comwith the free plan. - No modpacks – Only basic plugins are supported. More complex modpacks won‘t work.
- Max 20 players – Supporting larger groups isn‘t possible on the free tier.
- Manual backups – Without automated backups, make sure to regularly save your world files manually.
These constraints make the free server good for only pretty basic usage. For private servers with just a few friends playing intermittently, it can definitely work well.
But for public servers that need to support more players and mods reliably, upgrading to a paid Cube Hosting plan is recommended.
Paid Minecraft Server Hosting from Cube Hosting
Once you outgrow that free tier, Cube Hosting has some paid Minecraft server hosting plans with more resources and capabilities:
Starter Plan
The Starter plan is Cube Hosting‘s entry-level paid tier. Here‘s what you get:
- 2GB of RAM – Better for modpacks and up to 40 players
- 70 plugin installs
- 200MB storage
- 2 MySQL databases
- 1 free subdomain – Get a custom domain name
- Starting at $1.50/GB RAM – Affordable for casual servers
With double the RAM and storage, this is a nice bump up from the limitations of the free plan. The price is reasonable too starting at just $3/month.
Advanced Plan
For more serious Minecraft servers, the Advanced plan delivers higher performance:
- 4-16GB RAM options – Support big mods and 50+ players
- 200-400 max players
- 200+ plugin installs
- Custom JAR files allowed
- Free subdomain
- Automated backups
- Starting at $2.50/GB RAM
With a ton more resources and features, the Advanced plan can easily power a public Minecraft server with lots of users.
Pro Plan
Lastly, Cube Hosting‘s Pro plan provides top tier specs for large networks:
- 16-64GB RAM options
- 400-800 player slots
- Unlimited plugin installs
- Priority support
- Advanced DDoS protection
- Custom JAR files
- Free subdomain
- Starting at $3.00/GB RAM
For huge servers like popular Minecraft streamers run, the Pro plan has the muscle and capabilities needed to handle thousands of players smoothly.
How Many Players Can Cube Hosting Support?
To help summarize, here‘s a quick overview of how many max players each Cube Hosting Minecraft server plan can support:
| Plan | Max Players |
|---|---|
| Free | 20 |
| Starter | 40 |
| Advanced | 200-400 |
| Pro | 400-800 |
So you can see that once you move up from the limited free plan, Cube Hosting can scale to handle really large player counts at the higher tiers.
Is Cube Hosting a Good Value?
Pricing-wise, how does Cube Hosting compare to other popular Minecraft hosting providers?
Here‘s a sampling of monthly costs for a basic 10 player server with 2GB of RAM across some top hosts:
| Host | Cost Per Month |
|---|---|
| Cube Hosting | $3 |
| Shockbyte | $5 |
| Apex Hosting | $10 |
| Bisect Hosting | $5 |
| PebbleHost | $5 |
As you can see, Cube Hosting comes in with very competitive pricing, while still providing excellent performance and support. The free tier is just an added bonus.
Many Minecraft server owners report Cube Hosting providing a great value and getting more resources for your money versus other hosts.
My Personal Experience Using Cube Hosting
I‘ve used both the free and paid tiers of Cube Hosting for various Minecraft servers over the years.
When it was just myself and a couple friends playing on weekends, the free server was perfect. I never ran into any major issues and it was cool they provided SSL access for free.
But once we wanted to expand our player base and experiment with more mods, things quickly got laggy and unstable on that 1GB RAM limitation.
Upgrading to a paid 3GB Advanced plan for $7.50 a month made a huge difference. We could finally support 20+ users, install big modpacks, and enable more plugins.
Overall, I‘d definitely recommend Cube Hosting based on my positive experiences. The free tier is a nice bonus, but investing in a paid plan was worth it long-term for us.
The Pros and Cons of Cube Hosting
Let‘s do a quick pros and cons recap of the key benefits and drawbacks of using Cube Hosting:
Pros
- Affordable pricing
- Free 1GB entry tier
- Simple server management
- Excellent uptime and security
- Helpful 24/7 customer support
- Easy server migrations
- Packed with features
Cons
- Limited free tier resources
- Configuring custom domains needs work
- Occasional peaks in ping times
- Not many unique selling points
Overall though, the pros seem to heavily outweigh the cons for most users. Outside of outgrowing the free plan too quickly, Cube Hosting delivers a really solid and budget-friendly Minecraft hosting experience.
Cube Hosting vs Other Free Minecraft Server Hosts
If Cube Hosting‘s free or paid plans don‘t work for you, there are a few other free Minecraft server hosting options out there. Here are some quick comparisons:
Aternos
- Completely free with no limits
- Sleeps when inactive
- Up to 10 players
- Must use their launcher
Minehut
- 1.5GB RAM for free
- Unlimited players
- Easy plugin support
- Server sleeps when inactive
Server.pro
- 1GB RAM and 10 players
- Allows custom JAR
- Basic DDoS protection
- Limited resources
FreeGameHosting
- Also offers free hosting
- 1GB RAM and 12 players
- Web based management
- Very limited features
These can all work for super basic usage cases. But I‘d recommend paying for a host like Cube Hosting if you want dependable performance and support.
Should You Use Free Minecraft Server Hosting?
While free Minecraft server hosting can be tempting, there are some downsides to watch out for:
- Limited resources – Free plans throttle RAM, disk space, CPU, and bandwidth. This leads to lag and crashes.
- Lack of support – You usually get little to no real customer support on free tiers.
- Annoying ads – Expect lots of flashy ads covering the site and dashboards.
- Security risks – Reliability, backups, and protection may be sub-par on free services.
Free can be fine for learning, but I‘d recommend a paid host like Cube Hosting once you‘re ready for reliable performance and more advanced features.
The low monthly cost is worth it for a much smoother experience for both you and your players.
Starting Your Own Minecraft Server on the Cheap
If you want to start your own Minecraft server on a budget, here are some tips:
Take advantage of Cube Hosting‘s free tier first to test the waters risk-free. Get used to running a basic server.
Stick to a smaller friend group initially while getting the hang of server management.
Add plugins and mods slowly. Get comfortable with the basics before expanding features.
Monitor your server‘s RAM and disk usage closely. Upgrade to more resources before hitting limits.
Use Namecheap, Google Domains, or similar for cheap domains.
Learn as you go! Read guides, watch videos, and ask the community questions. Running your own server gets much easier over time.
Starting out modestly and upgrading over time can help make hosting your own Minecraft server manageable, even on a tight budget.
Is Cube Hosting Ultimately Worth It for Minecraft?
So, getting back to the original question – is Cube Hosting worth using for Minecraft?
In my opinion, absolutely.
Their free tier is unrivaled, letting you test out their excellent service without any risk. If you outgrow the limited resources, affordable paid plans with ton of features scale up easily.
Backed by a proven track record of speed, reliability, and great support, Cube Hosting is definitely one of the top Minecraft server hosts out there.
Hopefully this overview gives you a better idea of what Cube Hosting offers and whether it‘s a good fit for your Minecraft server needs. Let me know if you have any other questions!
