How to find a good Minecraft server
Five things to check in about two minutes, before you sink hours into a server.
1. Are the players real?
The number you see in your server list is whatever the server chooses to report, and some servers use plugins to inflate it. Watch for:
- more players online than the server's own maximum (like "22,000 / 10,000"),
- a maximum of 1 with thousands supposedly online,
- a count that never changes hour after hour, or that's always exactly full.
We check every server ourselves every 5 minutes and flag counts like these with Player count looks unusual. On each server's page you can see its last 24 hours and 30 days: real servers are busier in the evening and on weekends.
2. Is it actually up?
A server that's down half the time will lose your progress and your friends. Look for 95% or better on the Uptime figure on its page.
3. What does the store sell?
Most servers sell ranks to pay for hosting, and that's fine. Be careful with stores that sell power: better weapons, keys to loot, or ranks that skip the game. Mojang's rules for servers limit what can be sold, and servers that break them can be blocked.
4. Is there a community?
Join the server's Discord before you commit. Are people talking? Do staff answer questions? Are the rules written down and enforced?
5. Is it safe?
- No legitimate server needs your Microsoft account password or your real address.
- Be careful with links posted in chat, and with "free rank" offers that send you to other sites.
- For younger players, look for chat filters and active moderators.
If something looks wrong on a listing here, use Report a problem on its page. We read every report.