How to Make a Free Minecraft Server (Java & Bedrock)

This is how to make a free Minecraft server your friends can join tonight: choose Java or Bedrock, create the server on our free Minecraft server hosting with no card, and share one address. We cover both editions, joining from every device and what the Free plan includes.

• Java or Bedrock: Java for PC players who want plugins and mods, Bedrock for phones, Windows and consoles. See our Minecraft Java server and Minecraft Bedrock server pages.
• Fastest way: create a free 1up account, pick the edition, accept the Minecraft EULA and copy the address. It usually takes under a minute and you never open a port on your router.
• Free plan: 1 server, 4 player slots, 2 GB of RAM, 5 GB of disk, no backups.
• Versions on 1up today: Java from 1.16.5 to 26.3, the latest release. Bedrock Dedicated Server 1.26.51.1, which can trail the newest Bedrock app update.
• Self-hosting: Java listens on TCP 25565. Bedrock uses 19132, but its default network transport changed in September 2026 (details below).

1. Java or Bedrock?

Minecraft comes in two editions, and a server runs one or the other. A Java player cannot join a plain Bedrock server and a Bedrock player cannot join a plain Java server. So the first question is not about hosting at all: it is which devices your friends play on.

Mojang's own comparison on the PC store page sums it up:

• Java Edition runs on Windows, macOS and Linux. It is the edition for mods, and Java players can only play with other Java players.
• Bedrock Edition runs on consoles, phones, tablets, Chromebook and Windows, and Bedrock players cross-play with each other on any of those devices.

The same page notes that buying Minecraft for PC now gives you both editions, so a PC player can usually pick either. Phone and console players only have Bedrock.

A simple rule: if anyone in the group plays on a phone or a console, start with Bedrock. If everyone is on a computer and someone already talks about mods, start with Java.

Mixed group? Java with Bedrock players

There is a middle road. On 1up, a Java server on the Paper or Fabric template can let Bedrock players in: open the Network tab and turn on Allow Bedrock players. We install Geyser and Floodgate, and the change applies on the next start. Vanilla and Forge cannot load Geyser, so the toggle stays locked on those templates and tells you why.

One caution before you rely on it: pick 26.2 as the server version, not the default 26.3. Geyser's supported versions page says it currently supports Java 26.2 and Bedrock 26.30 to 26.52, and that a Java server on any other version needs the ViaVersion plugin, which our toggle does not install. In our test on 5 October 2026, Geyser loaded on a Paper 26.2 server and failed to load on Paper 26.3. Our upcoming crossplay guide will cover the setup and the version rules in more detail.

2. Create it in 60 s

This is the route we built for groups who just want to play. The wizard has five steps (game, region, server, settings, done) and the server is usually online in under a minute.

1. Create your account with an email, Google or Discord. The Free plan asks for no card.
2. Pick the game: Minecraft: Java Edition or Minecraft: Bedrock Edition.
3. Pick the region. The wizard measures the real latency from your connection to each region (London and Paris today) and marks the nearest. Choose the one closest to most of your players; you can migrate later from Settings.
4. Name the server. The name becomes its address, yourname.play.1up-servers.com, and the wizard tells you right away if it is taken.
5. Choose the settings (table below) and tick the box that accepts the Minecraft End User License Agreement. Mojang requires it before any server starts.
6. Create. A live console shows each phase: reserving the node, downloading the template, generating the world, applying your settings and opening the port. The last screen shows the address, plus the port for Bedrock, and an Invite friends link.

The settings step writes the usual server.properties values for you:

Which Java template on the Free plan? Vanilla for a plain survival world. Paper if you want plugins later or plan to let Bedrock players in. Fabric for lightweight mods. Forge and modpacks are recommended at 4 GB and 6 GB of RAM in our catalogue, more than the Free plan's 2 GB, and the wizard says so next to each template.

Rather host it on your own PC?

That is free too, with the usual trade-offs: your computer stays on while people play, and you open ports on your router.

• Java: download server.jar from the official Java server page. Release 26.3 needs Java 25, according to Mojang's version metadata. Run java -jar server.jar --nogui once, change eula=false to eula=true in eula.txt, and run it again, as the Minecraft Wiki tutorial describes. Then forward port 25565, which Mojang's page names and the wiki lists as TCP.
• Bedrock: download Bedrock Dedicated Server for Windows or Ubuntu from the official Bedrock server page, unzip it into an empty folder and start bedrock_server, following Microsoft's getting started guide. Since Bedrock 26.50, whose first server build is 1.26.51, NetherNet is the default transport for dedicated servers. The bedrock_server_how_to.html file inside the download explains what that means for your router: a TCP handshake on port 19132, then UDP for gameplay on ports negotiated with each player. So on your own machine, either set transport=raknet in server.properties and forward the classic UDP port 19132, or keep NetherNet and forward TCP 19132 plus the UDP range you set in server-udp-ports. Our Bedrock dedicated server guide goes through both options.

3. Invite your friends

Copy the address from the panel, or send the Invite friends link. That link opens your server's page on 1up, which shows the address and the steps for Java, Bedrock and consoles, so your friends do not need this guide.

Java players

1. Open the launcher and start the same version as the server. The launcher's default Latest release installation is 26.3, the version our wizard picks by default. If you chose an older version, each player creates an installation for it in the launcher's Installations tab.
2. In the game, go to Multiplayer → Add Server.
3. Paste yourname.play.1up-servers.com into Server Address. No port needed: we publish an SRV record, which tells the game which port to use.
4. Join. If the versions differ, the game says «Incompatible client! Please use…» followed by the server's version.

Bedrock players (Windows, phones, tablets)

1. Select Play, open the Servers tab and choose Add Server, the path Microsoft's guide uses.
2. Fill in Server Name (anything), Server Address and Port with the address and the port the panel shows. Every 1up Bedrock server gets its own public UDP port, so copy it from the panel instead of typing 19132.
3. Sign in with a Microsoft account. The how-to file that ships with Bedrock Dedicated Server says players connecting over the internet always need Xbox Live authentication.

Bedrock updates itself on most devices, and Microsoft warns that even patch versions can change the network protocol. «Could not connect: Outdated client!» means the player must update the game; «The host is using an older version of Minecraft» means the server is the one behind. Our Bedrock servers run 1.26.51.1 today, while Mojang's download page already offers 1.26.52.3, so we cannot promise the newest version on the day it ships. To check, look at the first lines of the server console after a start, which print Version: 1.26.51.1, and compare it with the game version on the player's device.

Console players

Mojang's Bedrock server page lists Xbox, PlayStation and Switch among the platforms that can join a dedicated server with the same address and port. Try it with one console friend before you invite the rest. If they cannot get in, they can play from a phone, tablet or Windows PC, or your group can use Realms, which Mojang sells with cross-play on Xbox, PlayStation and Nintendo consoles. Our upcoming console guide will cover Switch, PlayStation and Xbox one by one.

Keep strangers out

Turn on Invite only and add each friend by exact name in the Players tab: Java names for Java, Xbox gamertags for Bedrock. The tab also lists operators and lets you import a whole list at once. The same thing from the console:

The syntax comes from the wiki's whitelist command page and Microsoft's Bedrock server guide; a Bedrock gamertag with a space goes in double quotes. One difference trips people up: on Java, operators can join even when they are not on the whitelist, while on Bedrock everyone, operators included, must be on the allowlist, according to the wiki.

If you set Protect with a password, you do not add anyone by hand. Each friend opens your server's page on 1up, types their Java name or Bedrock gamertag plus the password, and we add them to the list. Only give operator rights to people you trust, because operators can run commands that change the world.

Someone still cannot get in? Our troubleshooting guide goes through timeouts, version errors, whitelist refusals and Bedrock ports, fix by fix.

4. Free plan limits

The Free plan is a real server, not a trial world, with five limits you should know before your group grows:

Two habits make these limits easy to live with. Stick to Vanilla, Paper or light Fabric mods, because our catalogue recommends 4 GB for Forge and 6 GB for modpacks. Our upcoming RAM guide will explain what eats memory and how to measure it. And download a copy of your world before any big change, such as a version upgrade, since the Free plan keeps no backups for you.

5. When to go 24/7

The Free plan is enough to find out whether your group sticks with a world. These are the signs you have outgrown it, and the plan that fixes each one, with prices from our pricing page:

• More than 4 friends: Casual (€2.99/month) has 6 slots, Starter (€7/month) has 10 and Pro (€12/month) has 20.
• Mods, modpacks or a big world: Starter has 3 GB of RAM and Pro has 6 GB, which covers the 6 GB our catalogue recommends for modpacks.
• Plugins in one click: installing plugins and mods from the panel's catalogue is not available on Free.
• Backups you do not have to remember: Casual includes 1, Starter 3 and Pro 5.
• A second world: Pro runs 2 servers, for example one Java and one Bedrock.
• Friends in different time zones: when people log in at any time and expect the world to be there, any paid plan keeps it running 24/7.

Tested on Minecraft: Java Edition 26.3 Vanilla and 26.2 Paper with Geyser (1up image itzg/minecraft-server java25, sha256:afce674a) and Bedrock Dedicated Server 1.26.51.1 (1up image sha256:ba5bc55d), run locally with the production settings, 2026-10-05.

NOT AN OFFICIAL MINECRAFT SERVICE. NOT APPROVED BY OR ASSOCIATED WITH MOJANG OR MICROSOFT.

Change log

• 2026-10-04: first version.
• 2026-10-05: Bedrock servers on 1up now use one UDP port; self-hosting steps for NetherNet and RakNet; crossplay needs Java 26.2; Casual plan at €2.99 with 6 slots; console advice rewritten.