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Is Aternos Really Free? What It Costs and the Catch

Last checked: 6 October 2026

Yes. Aternos is free, and its homepage says there is no way to pay it for anything. Its help center says the service is financed through advertisements on its website. The catch is the set of limits a free, shared service uses to stay fair: you may wait in a queue to start your server, an empty server stops after a countdown, idle players are disconnected and getting around that breaks its terms, and Aternos decides how much RAM your server gets. If you outgrow those limits, the same team runs exaroton, a paid host billed by the hour.

The short answer

Aternos costs nothing and has no paid tier, as of 6 October 2026. Here is what you get and what you trade for it, from Aternos's own pages:

  • Price. Free, with no upgrades to buy. Its homepage says it will always be free for everyone.
  • Who pays. Advertisers. Its help center says Aternos is completely financed through ads and asks users not to block them.
  • The queue. When its system is full, you wait in a queue before your server starts, and you confirm you are still there when you reach the front.
  • Stops when empty. A server with no players stops after a countdown. To play again, someone presses start, which can mean another wait in the queue.
  • Idle timeout. Inactive players are disconnected. Its terms forbid getting around this with bots, fake players or automatic reconnects.
  • RAM. Aternos sets it by server software and version; its example is 2,400 MB for a vanilla 1.20.1 server.
  • Slots. Its homepage advertises unlimited player slots.
  • Mods and plugins. Supported: Paper, Spigot, Purpur, Forge, NeoForge, Fabric, Quilt and preconfigured modpacks, plus Bedrock servers.
  • Upgrade. exaroton, run by the Aternos team, charges 1 credit per GB of RAM per hour.

For a small group that plays in sessions and does not mind a short wait, that is a good deal. The limits bite if you want a world that stays online when nobody is on, farms that run while nobody is active, or a set amount of memory.

What is free

Everything Aternos offers is free, because it sells nothing. Its homepage lists a personal server you can play on with friends, mods and plugins, DDoS protection, automatic backups to your own Google Drive, custom world uploads, custom domains, shared access for friends and a live console. It supports Minecraft: Java Edition (Vanilla, Snapshots, Paper, Spigot, Purpur, Glowstone, Forge, NeoForge, Fabric, Quilt, modpacks and Arclight) and Minecraft: Bedrock Edition, and it also hosts Hytale servers.

No credit card or payment step exists, so there is no trial that runs out and no plan that lapses. The one thing that ends a server is inactivity: Aternos's terms say servers are deleted after a long period without activity, usually 3 months, and only actions such as starting the server count.

How Aternos pays for it

Aternos's help center says it is completely financed through advertisements, which is why it detects ad blockers and asks users to turn them off on its website. Its article on the “You are using an adblocker” message also notes that tracking-blocker add-ons, strict browser tracking protection, antivirus software or a network-level blocker can trigger the same message.

The Aternos team also runs exaroton, a separate paid host, and Aternos's help pages point users there when they want to skip the queue or keep a server online longer. Its Server RAM article describes a partnership with the clip-recording app Medal that gives free RAM boosts. Aternos's own pages say nothing else about how it is funded, so this guide does not guess.

The start queue

Aternos's help center explains the queue plainly: it has limited server resources, and when more players want to start servers than it has capacity for, they join a queue and wait for resources to become available. The queue screen shows your position and estimated wait. Near the front you must click a confirmation button, or you are removed from the queue and start again. After you confirm, the server starts “within a few minutes”.

You cannot pay Aternos to skip it, because it has no paid tier. Its help center points people who do not want to wait to exaroton, its paid platform, which starts servers without a queue. How long the wait is depends on demand at the time; Aternos does not publish a typical figure.

The server stops when empty

Aternos stops empty servers so the resources can go to someone else. A small timer on the server page shows when that will happen. When less than a minute is left, a button appears that adds another minute, which gives a friend time to join. Once at least one player is online, the timer disappears and the server stays up; when the last player leaves, the countdown starts again from the beginning.

In practice this means someone with access to the server presses start before the group plays, and a friend who arrives after everyone left may find it stopped. Its terms also forbid prolonging the stop routine with fake players, bots or automatic restarts.

The idle timeout (anti-AFK)

Separate from the stop countdown, Aternos disconnects players who are inactive for too long. Its terms of service list getting around this “idle timeout” as prohibited, including changing the inactivity setting, reconnecting automatically after being disconnected, and faking player activity. Breaking those rules can lead to a suspended account and deleted servers.

On its forum, an Aternos engineer said in August 2020 that a longer AFK timer is not possible, and a developer added in September 2020 that running a server 24/7 is not possible and that trying to get around it gets the server deleted. If your group relies on AFK farms or leaving a player parked overnight, Aternos is the wrong fit.

RAM and player slots

You do not choose your RAM on Aternos. Its help center says the amount depends on the server software and version, gives a vanilla 1.20.1 server 2,400 MB as an example, and shows the current amount on the server page while it is online. It also advises that Paper or Purpur usually perform better than modded software, even with less memory.

On players, the Aternos homepage advertises unlimited slots. Its terms forbid modifying or overwriting the number of active players on a server. More players and more mods both use more memory, so a large modpack with many friends is where the fixed RAM shows first.

The upgrade path: exaroton

Aternos itself has nothing to buy, so its upgrade path is a different service. exaroton is run by Aternos GmbH. Its homepage says a server costs 1 credit per GB of RAM per hour, with no fixed monthly price: 2 GB for 4 hours costs 8 credits. Stored servers cost up to 10 credits per 30 days, with up to 10 GB per server. It offers a free trial with no payment method, optional start-by-joining, an automatic stop a set time after the last player leaves, Paper, Fabric, Forge, NeoForge, Bedrock and 500+ modpacks, and an Aternos import that keeps your data (as of 6 October 2026).

Is Aternos any good? Who it suits

  • Good fit: a group that plays together in sessions, wants mods, plugins or Bedrock for free, and is happy for one person to press start.
  • Good fit: trying out a modpack or a minigame map before paying for anything.
  • Poor fit: a world that should be online whenever anyone drops in, including AFK farms.
  • Poor fit: a heavy modpack that needs more memory than Aternos assigns.
  • Poor fit: anyone who cannot accept ads on the Aternos website or a wait at busy times.

If Aternos does not fit, our Aternos alternatives guide compares the other options, and playing without port forwarding covers hosting it yourself.

Where Shulkerboxes fits (and doesn't)

Shulkerboxes is also free, but it pays for hosting in a different way, so it is worth knowing the difference before you compare.

Shulkerboxes is free Minecraft: Java Edition hosting for a friend group, with no ads, no credit card and no port forwarding. The server sleeps when empty and wakes when a friend joins, ready in about a minute, and friends can join while the owner is offline. It is invite-only with a waitlist and open in the US only, and your saved world is yours to download. It is free because gameplay on every server is recorded and used to build de-identified AI training datasets that are licensed to other companies (full explanation). Servers run Paper with built-in homes and /tpa; modpacks and custom plugins are not supported, and Bedrock players cannot join, so if your group needs those, pick a host that supports them, such as Aternos.

Have an invite code? Enter it on the home page. No invite yet? Join the waitlist and we will save you a spot.

FAQ

Is Aternos really free?

Yes. Aternos's homepage says it is free for everyone and that there is no way to pay for anything. Its help center says the service is financed through advertisements on its website.

Can I pay Aternos for more RAM or to skip the queue?

No. Aternos has no paid tier. To skip the queue, or for more resources or longer uptime, its help center points to exaroton, the paid host run by the Aternos team.

Why does my Aternos server keep stopping?

Aternos stops servers with no players to free resources for other users. A countdown on the server page shows when it will stop; it disappears while at least one player is online and restarts when the last player leaves. When under a minute is left, a button adds another minute.

Can I keep an Aternos server online all the time?

No. Aternos's terms prohibit getting around the idle timeout or the stop routine, including fake players, bots, automatic reconnects and automatic restarts. For a server that stays online, use a paid host, Realms or a PC you run yourself.

How much RAM does an Aternos server get?

Aternos assigns RAM by server software and version, and you cannot pick it. Its help center gives a vanilla 1.20.1 server 2,400 MB as an example, and shows the current amount on the server page while it is online.

Does Aternos delete inactive servers?

Yes. Its terms say servers are deleted after a long period of inactivity, usually 3 months, and that only actions such as starting the server count as activity.

Is Aternos good for modpacks?

It supports Forge, NeoForge, Fabric, Quilt and preconfigured modpacks. Large modpacks need memory, and Aternos decides the RAM, so a heavy pack may run better on a host where you choose the RAM.

Sources

All pages were fetched on 6 October 2026.

Written by the Shulkerboxes team.