Aternos vs Minefort

Aternos9.0Visit Minefort7.1Visit

Higher score Aternos #1 in Free Minecraft Server Hosting 9.0/10 Free Free plan✓ 2 of 3 features Visit Aternos

vs

Minefort #5 in Free Minecraft Server Hosting 7.1/10 Free plan · paid from $5.99/mo Free plan✓ 3 of 3 features Visit Minefort

• Aternos fits best

  Friends who play together and never want to pay

• Minefort fits best

  Plugin servers with an owner who plays often

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Side by side

Feature	Aternos 9.0/10 Visit ↗	Minefort 7.1/10 Visit ↗
At a glance
Editor score	9.0	7.1
Ranking	#1 in Free Minecraft Server Hosting	#5 in Free Minecraft Server Hosting
Best for	Friends who play together and never want to pay	Plugin servers with an owner who plays often
Pricing model	Free	Free plan + paid
Starting price	Not published	$5.99/mo
Free plan	✓	✓
Free trial	—	—
Features Aternos 2/3 · Minefort 3/3
Mods on free	✓	✓
Bedrock players	✓	✓
FTP/SFTP on free	—	✓ (best)
Specs
Free RAM	Not published	1 GB
Keep-alive rule	Starts on demand; stops when empty	Woken by hand from the dashboard
Player limit	Unlimited	Not published
Deletion rule	About 3 months unstarted	Locked after 3 idle days
Our review
Pros	No renewal chores; start it when you play and it stops when everyone leaves Unlimited slots, and no playtime limit while someone is online Modpacks, mods and plugins from a reviewed library, plus one-click Geyser	A plugin manager plus FTP and file-manager access on free servers Toggles let Bedrock players and offline-mode clients join Up to three servers per account, reachable from play.minefort.com
Cons	No FTP, and no uploads of mods or plugins downloaded from the web Start queue at busy times, and the world can't keep running when empty Servers left unstarted for around three months are deleted	Free servers aren't online 24/7 and must be woken from the dashboard Servers unused for 3 days are locked, and unlocking goes through staff Mod support is limited, and one-click modpacks are still to come
Our verdict	Aternos is the reference point for free Minecraft hosting: an ad-funded service run by Aternos GmbH in Bonn that states paying for anything is not possible. Its free servers run Java or Bedrock, with software from Paper and Purpur to… Read the review →	Minefort, run by Minefort.com B.V. in Amsterdam, gives free servers 1 GB of RAM, a plugin manager, a web file manager and an FTP server, with no credit card required and up to three servers per account. Every server is part of the Minefort… Read the review →

Strengths and trade-offs

• Aternos — where it wins

  • No renewal chores; start it when you play and it stops when everyone leaves
  • Unlimited slots, and no playtime limit while someone is online
  • Modpacks, mods and plugins from a reviewed library, plus one-click Geyser

  Where it doesn't

  • No FTP, and no uploads of mods or plugins downloaded from the web
  • Start queue at busy times, and the world can't keep running when empty
  • Servers left unstarted for around three months are deleted

• Minefort — where it wins

  • A plugin manager plus FTP and file-manager access on free servers
  • Toggles let Bedrock players and offline-mode clients join
  • Up to three servers per account, reachable from play.minefort.com

  Where it doesn't

  • Free servers aren't online 24/7 and must be woken from the dashboard
  • Servers unused for 3 days are locked, and unlocking goes through staff
  • Mod support is limited, and one-click modpacks are still to come

• Aternos9.0/10 · Free

  The benchmark free host: unlimited slots, Java or Bedrock, modpacks and no renewal clicks, within firm limits.

  Visit AternosFull verdict →
• Minefort7.1/10 · Free plan · paid from $5.99/mo

  Free 1 GB servers with FTP, plugins and a Bedrock toggle, woken by hand and locked after 3 idle days.

  Visit MinefortFull verdict →