Minecraft RAM Calculator

Configuration

Server type

High-performance Paper fork — typical plugin network backend.

Estimates only. Real usage depends on plugins, world size, entities, and player activity. Cap recommendations at 32 GB — beyond that, scale with more instances or better CPU rather than more heap.

Maximum recommendation capped at 32 GB (industry practice).
Past ~32 GB, extra heap rarely helps TPS — prefer more CPU or split instances.
For 100+ concurrent players, plan multiple backend servers behind a proxy.
RAM is a ceiling; CPU and disk still decide tick performance.

Full Minecraft server RAM guide →

RAM recommendations

Minimum3 GBBasic functionality

Recommended3 GBOptimal balance

Optimal4 GBHeadroom for spikes

Breakdown

Base server1.5 GB

Players (10)1 GB

Plugins / mods0.5 GB

View distance0 GB

Aikar’s flags (recommended heap)

java -Xms3G -Xmx3G \
  -XX:+UseG1GC \
  -XX:+ParallelRefProcEnabled \
  -XX:MaxGCPauseMillis=200 \
  -XX:+UnlockExperimentalVMOptions \
  -XX:+DisableExplicitGC \
  -XX:+AlwaysPreTouch \
  -XX:G1NewSizePercent=30 \
  -XX:G1MaxNewSizePercent=40 \
  -XX:G1HeapRegionSize=8M \
  -XX:G1ReservePercent=20 \
  -XX:G1HeapWastePercent=5 \
  -XX:G1MixedGCCountTarget=4 \
  -XX:InitiatingHeapOccupancyPercent=15 \
  -XX:G1MixedGCLiveThresholdPercent=90 \
  -XX:G1RSetUpdatingPauseTimePercent=5 \
  -XX:SurvivorRatio=32 \
  -XX:+PerfDisableSharedMem \
  -XX:MaxTenuringThreshold=1 \
  -Dusing.aikars.flags=https://mcflags.emc.gs \
  -Daikars.new.flags=true \
  -jar server.jar nogui

Sets -Xms and -Xmx to the recommended heap. Tune after monitoring with Spark.

Mine Studios partners with Four Seasons Hosting for Minecraft plans with honest per-GB pricing.

Build with 3 GB on Four Seasons Hosting Partner overview