Checked 26 Oct 2026 — verify current pricing
The Aternos alternative when your server outgrows "free".
Aternos is genuinely free and honestly great for trying Minecraft multiplayer. It stops being enough the day your server needs to exist while you’re offline.
4 reasons people switch.
Spec by spec.
| HostCraft | Aternos | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | ₹187/mo (2GB) | Free |
| Always online | ✓ 24/7 | ✗ Sleeps when idle |
| Startup queue | ✓ None | ✗ Peak-hour queue |
| Modded support | ✓ Forge/Fabric any size | Limited by free-tier RAM |
| Location | Mumbai/Delhi/Singapore | Central pool — no choice |
| Price of your time | ~$2 | The queue, every session |
Yes — genuinely, funded by ads. The trade-offs are the startup queue, idle sleep, and capped resources, which is by design.
When the queue annoys your players, your world needs to be online 24/7, or your modpack outgrows free RAM — usually within weeks of a server getting regulars.
Yes — download the world folder from the Aternos panel and upload it to our file manager. Takes minutes; the post explains the steps.
Vanilla 5-10 players → 4GB (₹287); Paper + plugins → 6-8GB; modpacks → 8GB+. The RAM calculator gives an exact answer.
No free tier — that’s the Aternos model, not ours. There is a 7-day refund, which is the honest version of a trial.