# How Much RAM Does Your Minecraft Server Need? (/docs/minecraft/how-much-ram)



import { Step, Steps } from 'fumadocs-ui/components/steps';

The amount of RAM your server needs depends on **player count**, **server type** (vanilla, Paper, modded), **plugins or mods installed**, and **world complexity**. There's no universal answer, but here are battle-tested recommendations.

RAM Recommendations [#ram-recommendations]

| Setup                                       | Players | Recommended RAM |
| ------------------------------------------- | ------- | --------------- |
| **Vanilla / Paper (small)**                 | 1–5     | 2 GB            |
| **Vanilla / Paper (medium)**                | 5–15    | 3–4 GB          |
| **Paper + plugins**                         | 10–30   | 4–6 GB          |
| **Paper + many plugins**                    | 30–50   | 6–8 GB          |
| **Light modpack** (Create, JEI)             | 5–15    | 4–6 GB          |
| **Medium modpack** (ATM, RLCraft)           | 5–15    | 6–8 GB          |
| **Heavy modpack** (kitchen sink, 200+ mods) | 5–20    | 8–12 GB         |
| **Massive modpack** (300+ mods)             | 5–10    | 12–16 GB        |
| **Proxy server** (BungeeCord/Velocity)      | N/A     | 512 MB – 1 GB   |

What Uses RAM [#what-uses-ram]

| Factor                 | Impact   | Notes                                                                  |
| ---------------------- | -------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Loaded chunks**      | High     | Each chunk uses 2–5 MB. View distance directly affects this            |
| **Players**            | Medium   | Each player uses 50–100 MB depending on their loaded chunks            |
| **Plugins**            | Variable | Dynmap, WorldEdit, and large permission plugins use significant memory |
| **Mods**               | High     | Content mods (new blocks, items, dimensions) use the most memory       |
| **World size**         | Medium   | Larger explored areas keep more data loaded                            |
| **Entities**           | Medium   | Mob farms and dropped item piles consume memory                        |
| **Garbage collection** | Variable | Java's GC overhead. Aikar's Flags help here                            |

Signs You Need More RAM [#signs-you-need-more-ram]

| Symptom                                              | Meaning                                     |
| ---------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------- |
| **"Out of Memory" crashes** (exit code 137)          | Hard limit hit — increase RAM               |
| **Frequent GC pauses** (TPS drops every few minutes) | GC overhead too high                        |
| **"Can't keep up!"** in console                      | Server falling behind — could be RAM or CPU |
| **Slow chunk loading**                               | Players see chunks load slowly when moving  |
| **Memory > 80% during normal play**                  | Approaching the limit                       |

Signs You Have Enough (or Too Much) [#signs-you-have-enough-or-too-much]

| Symptom                                   | Meaning                               |
| ----------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------- |
| **Stable 20 TPS** with all players online | Healthy                               |
| **No OOM crashes** over weeks of uptime   | Stable allocation                     |
| **Memory stays below 80%**                | Comfortable headroom                  |
| **Memory usage \< 50% always**            | You may be over-allocated — see below |

More RAM Isn't Always Better [#more-ram-isnt-always-better]

> **Don't over-allocate.** Java's garbage collector can perform **worse** with too much RAM allocated. Common mistakes:
>
> * Allocating 16 GB to a 5-player vanilla server → unnecessary GC overhead
> * Allocating 32 GB to a modpack that only needs 10 GB → longer GC pauses
>
> **Allocate what you need, not what you have.** Start at the recommended value, monitor with [Spark](/docs/minecraft/setup-spark), and increase only if you see memory pressure.

How to Monitor RAM Usage [#how-to-monitor-ram-usage]

<Steps>
  <Step>
    Install Spark [#install-spark]

    See [Spark Setup](/docs/minecraft/setup-spark). Spark is a profiling plugin that works on Paper, Spigot, Forge, and Fabric.
  </Step>

  <Step>
    Run /spark health [#run-spark-health]

    In-game or via console:

    ```
    /spark health
    ```

    This shows current memory usage, GC stats, and TPS in one view.
  </Step>

  <Step>
    Watch over time [#watch-over-time]

    If memory hovers above 80% during normal play, increase RAM. If it stays under 50%, you can probably reduce it.
  </Step>
</Steps>

Use Aikar's Flags [#use-aikars-flags]

After setting your RAM allocation, use **Aikar's optimized JVM flags** to get the best garbage collection performance. These flags are tuned specifically for Minecraft's memory access patterns and dramatically reduce GC pause times.

See [JVM Flags (Aikar's)](/docs/minecraft/jvm-flags) for the full flag set.

RAM by Plan Tier [#ram-by-plan-tier]

XGamingServer plans typically include:

| Plan    | RAM     | Best For                          |
| ------- | ------- | --------------------------------- |
| Small   | 2 GB    | Vanilla/Paper, 5–10 players       |
| Medium  | 4 GB    | Paper with plugins, 15–25 players |
| Large   | 6 GB    | Light modpacks, 25–40 players     |
| Premium | 8–16 GB | Modpacks, large communities       |

Related Guides [#related-guides]

* [JVM Flags (Aikar's)](/docs/minecraft/jvm-flags)
* [Performance Optimization](/docs/minecraft/optimize-server)
* [Player Limit](/docs/minecraft/player-limit)
* [Render Distance](/docs/minecraft/render-distance)
* [Spark Profiler](/docs/minecraft/setup-spark)
* [Types of Server Lag](/docs/minecraft/types-of-server-lag)