Minecraft Server Lagging with Friends? Fixes That Actually Work

Last checked: 7 October 2026

When a Minecraft server lags for everyone at once, the server is falling behind: it should run 20 ticks per second (TPS), and each tick has to finish in 50 milliseconds. When only one friend lags, it is usually their ping (their connection to the server) or their FPS (their own computer). Measure first: /tick query on a vanilla server, or /tps and /mspt on Paper. If the server is behind, the fixes that work are, in order: lower simulation-distance and view-distance in server.properties (both are 10 by default), cut what the server has to update (big mob farms, piles of dropped items, hoppers, redstone clocks), stop five friends generating new terrain in five directions at once, run Paper, and give the server enough memory. More RAM fixes a server that runs out of memory; it does not make a busy tick faster.

1. Is it server lag, ping or FPS?

Three different problems all get called lag. Find out which one you have before you change anything.

What you see	Who sees it	What it is	How to check
Mobs freeze and jump, broken blocks come back, everyone rubber-bands at the same moment	Everyone on the server	Server lag: TPS under 20	`/tick query`; on Paper `/tps` and `/mspt`
You snap back a few blocks and hits land late, but the others are fine	One player	Ping: the connection between that player and the server	`F3`+`3` for the ping graph; the bars beside names in the player list
The picture stutters even when standing still, and also in single-player	One player	FPS: that player’s own computer	The fps number on the `F3` screen

Ping from a far-away server cannot be fixed with a setting: if most of your group lives in one region, host the server there. A friend with low FPS fixes it on their side, by lowering their own Render Distance and graphics settings.

2. How to measure server lag

Vanilla: /tick query (operator, permission level 3) shows the target tick rate and the average time per tick, with percentiles. When the server is behind it says it can’t keep up with the target tick rate.
Paper: /tps gives TPS over the last 1, 5 and 15 minutes. /mspt gives the average, lowest and highest milliseconds per tick over the last 5, 10 and 60 seconds. Under 50 ms keeps 20 TPS.
Finding the cause: since 1.21, Paper bundles the spark profiler. /spark profiler start --timeout 600 records ten minutes and returns a link to a report that shows what used the tick: which entities, which chunks, which blocks.
The F3+2 graph shows tick times only in single-player or to an operator on a server.

Measure while the lag is happening, with your friends online. A number from an empty server tells you nothing.

3. View distance and simulation distance

Two lines in server.properties decide how much of the world the server handles for each player. Both take 3 to 32 chunks, and both are 10 by default.

view-distance: how far, in chunks in each direction, the server sends the world to each player. A player’s own Render Distance can be lower, but not higher.
simulation-distance: how far from each player the server updates mobs, crops and redstone. Outside it, entities stand still.

The area grows with the square of the distance. At 10 the server simulates a square 21 chunks wide around every player, 441 chunks; at 6 it is 13 chunks wide, 169 chunks. Friends who build far apart each bring their own square.

A starting point for a small server that lags: simulation-distance=6 and view-distance=8, then restart. Go lower if it still falls behind; raise them again if /mspt stays well under 50. One side effect: farms only run inside the simulation distance, so a farm far from where you stand may stop while you are away from it.

On Realms for Java, version 26.3 added render distance and simulation distance sliders to the Realm’s settings.

4. Entities and chunks: the usual causes

Too many mobs. Big animal pens, villager trading halls and mob farms that never kill. Breed less, cull the pens, and light up caves near bases. The game rule max_entity_cramming (default 24) hurts mobs packed tighter than that; do not raise it to save a farm.
Dropped items. Farm output left on the ground is thousands of entities. Collect it into chests. /kill @e[type=item] clears every dropped item in loaded chunks, including anything a friend dropped by accident, so warn people first.
Hoppers and redstone. A hopper keeps checking for items above it; covering it with a solid block or a composter stops that. Turn off redstone clocks that run when nobody needs them.
New terrain. Generating chunks is some of the heaviest work a server does. Five friends flying with elytras in five directions make it generate five fronts at once. Explore together, or take turns.
Game rules. A raised random_tick_speed (default 3) makes every loaded chunk do more work each tick.

The spark report from section 2 names the entity types and chunks that cost the most, so you fix the one farm that matters instead of guessing.

5. RAM on free hosts

Memory holds the loaded chunks and the players. The tick itself runs mostly on one CPU core, which is why the Minecraft Wiki asks for a CPU with good single-core speed. More RAM helps a server that runs short of memory, which shows as crashes with OutOfMemoryError in the log; it does not help a server whose tick is slow with memory to spare.

Host or guide	Memory	What else it says
Minehut Starter (free)	1 GB	10 players, “Basic” CPU, sleeps when empty
Aternos (free)	Set by Aternos per software and version; 2,400 MB for a vanilla 1.20.1 server	Recommends Paper or Purpur for the best performance, even with less memory than modded servers
Play Hosting (free)	3 GB	No slot limit
FalixNodes (free)	No figure on its free plan page	Premium plans give more RAM and a stronger CPU slice
Minecraft Wiki, server requirements	1 GB for 1 to 4 players, 2 GB for 5 to 10	For a new world at view distance 10 or less; a big world with farms and redstone can need more than double

For five friends on vanilla or Paper, 1 GB is tight once the world grows; 2 GB or more leaves room. A modpack needs much more, and Aternos notes that newer versions and modded servers need more memory.

6. What the host can fix, and what it cannot

The host can fix:

How fast the CPU is per core, and how many servers share it.
How much memory the server gets.
Which server software runs (Paper over vanilla).
Where the server is, which sets everyone’s ping.

The host cannot fix:

A farm with two thousand chickens, or items piling up on the ground.
Redstone clocks and hopper chains that never stop.
Five friends generating new terrain in five directions.
A friend’s Wi-Fi, or a friend on the other side of the world.
A friend whose own computer gets low FPS.

Before you move host or pay for a bigger plan, run the profiler once. If one farm uses half of every tick, a bigger plan only delays the same lag.

7. Lag on Shulkerboxes

Software. Servers run Paper.
Memory. A friends server gets up to 5 GB of memory.
Waking up. A sleeping server wakes when a friend joins and is ready in about a minute. That first wait is the server starting, not lag.
No plugins. Modpacks and custom plugins are not supported, so a fix that needs a plugin is not an option there. The fixes in sections 3 to 5 that change how you play still apply.

Where Shulkerboxes fits (and doesn't)

Shulkerboxes suits a friend group that plays Java Edition on Paper and wants a free server with room to grow; it does not suit a group that needs a modpack or performance plugins.

Shulkerboxes is free Minecraft: Java Edition hosting for a friend group, with no ads, no credit card and no port forwarding. A server sleeps when empty, wakes up when a friend joins and is ready in about a minute, and a friends server gets up to 5 GB of memory. It is invite-only with a waitlist and open in the US, Spain, Germany, Mexico and Brazil. It is free because gameplay is recorded and de-identified into AI training datasets, and chat is recorded only if you opt in (full explanation). Servers run Paper with built-in homes and /tpa, and your saved world is yours to download. Modpacks and custom plugins are not supported, and Bedrock players cannot join, so if your group needs those, pick a host that supports them.

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

Free Minecraft server for 5 friends: what 1 GB of RAM means for five players.
Fixing “Connection timed out”, when friends cannot join at all.
How to install datapacks, and why a broken one can slow a server.
Is Aternos free?: its RAM, queue and stop countdown.

FAQ

Why does my Minecraft server lag when my friends join?

Each player loads their own area of chunks and the mobs in it, so the work grows with every player, most when they play far apart. If TPS drops below 20 only when several friends are on, lower simulation-distance and view-distance, and check the farms near each base.

How do I check my server's TPS?

On a vanilla server, type /tick query as an operator: it shows the average time per tick. On Paper, /tps shows TPS for the last 1, 5 and 15 minutes and /mspt shows milliseconds per tick. 20 TPS, and under 50 ms per tick, means the server is keeping up.

Will more RAM fix server lag?

Only if the server is running out of memory, which shows as OutOfMemoryError crashes. The tick runs mostly on one CPU core, so a server that is behind with memory to spare needs less work (fewer entities, lower distances) or a faster CPU, not more RAM.

What view distance should a friends server use?

Both view-distance and simulation-distance default to 10. On a small host that lags, start with simulation-distance 6 and view-distance 8, then go lower if it still falls behind or higher if /mspt stays well under 50.

Why do only I lag on my friend's server?

If everyone else is fine, it is your ping or your FPS. Press F3+3 for the ping graph: high ping means your connection or the distance to the server, so try a wired connection. If your picture stutters, lower your own Render Distance and graphics settings.

Is Paper better for lag than vanilla?

For most friend groups, yes. Aternos's help center recommends Paper or Purpur for the best performance, and Paper adds /tps, /mspt and the bundled spark profiler for finding what causes the lag.

Does a Shulkerboxes server lag?

Lag depends on the world as much as the host. A Shulkerboxes friends server runs Paper with up to 5 GB of memory, and the fixes on this page for farms, dropped items and exploring still apply.

Sources

Minecraft Wiki, Tick (20 ticks per second, 50 ms per tick, MSPT; hoppers, redstone, mob AI and random tick speed as causes; covering a hopper stops its check; the F3 tick display only as a host or in single-player), checked 7 October 2026: https://minecraft.wiki/w/Tick
Minecraft Wiki, /tick (tick query shows average time per tick and percentiles; permission level 3; “can’t keep up with the target tick rate”), checked 7 October 2026: https://minecraft.wiki/w/Commands/tick
Minecraft Wiki, Debug screen (TPS graph with F3+2 in single-player or as an operator; ping graph with F3+3), checked 7 October 2026: https://minecraft.wiki/w/Debug_screen
Minecraft Wiki, server.properties (view-distance and simulation-distance 3 to 32, default 10; white-list, true by default since 26.3; enforce-whitelist; online-mode; enable-status; hide-online-players; operators are whitelisted automatically), checked 7 October 2026: https://minecraft.wiki/w/Server.properties
Minecraft Wiki, Chunk (simulation distance square of side 2s+1; entity ticking chunks), checked 7 October 2026: https://minecraft.wiki/w/Chunk
Minecraft Wiki, Game rule (max_entity_cramming default 24; random_tick_speed default 3), checked 7 October 2026: https://minecraft.wiki/w/Game_rule
Minecraft Wiki, Server requirements (at least 1 GB of RAM; 1 GB for 1 to 4 players and 2 GB for 5 to 10 on a new world at view distance 10 or less; good single-core CPU performance), checked 7 October 2026: https://minecraft.wiki/w/Server/Requirements
Paper commands (/tps over 1, 5 and 15 minutes; /mspt over 5, 10 and 60 seconds; rely on /spark), checked 7 October 2026: https://docs.papermc.io/paper/reference/commands/
Paper, Profiling (spark bundled since 1.21; /spark profiler start --timeout 600 returns a report URL), checked 7 October 2026: https://docs.papermc.io/paper/profiling/
Minehut server plans (Starter: free, 10 max players, 1 GB total RAM, Basic CPU, sleeps when empty; Standard 2 GB for 600 credits a month; "get discovered"), checked 7 October 2026: https://www.minehut.com/server-plans
Aternos help center, "Server RAM" (RAM set by software and version; 2,400 MB for a vanilla 1.20.1 server; RAM holds active players and loaded chunks; Paper or Purpur recommended for performance), read through the Internet Archive snapshot of 4 October 2025, fetched 7 October 2026: https://web.archive.org/web/20251004004916/https://support.aternos.org/hc/en-us/articles/12046003680157-Server-RAM
Play Hosting (3 GB RAM included with every free server, no slot limit), checked 7 October 2026: https://play.hosting/
FalixNodes free plan (no slot cap; free servers sleep after inactivity and anyone with the IP can wake one with the Start Server tool, no account needed; no RAM figure for the free plan; premium gives more RAM and a stronger CPU slice), read through the Internet Archive snapshot of 26 September 2026 (the live page refused our fetch), fetched 7 October 2026: https://web.archive.org/web/20260926173253/https://falixnodes.net/free-minecraft-server-hosting
Minecraft Wiki, Realms (Java owners invite players by name; invite codes added in 26.3; invite links expire after 7 days by default; owner can remove members; mods and plugins cannot be installed; no experimental settings; latest version only; kicked after 15 minutes of inactivity; render and simulation distance sliders added in 26.3; automatic backups every few hours while players are online; one-time 30, 90 and 180-day packages; region choice), checked 7 October 2026: https://minecraft.wiki/w/Realms

Written by the Shulkerboxes team.