Stop guessing. Tell us your server type, players, and mod load — we'll calculate the exact -Xmx heap size, generate Aikar's JVM flags ready to paste, and match you to a VPS plan. Built for Minecraft Java 1.17+.
All defaults match a typical 20-player Paper server. Adjust to your reality.
These flags are the community standard for Paper/Spigot servers. They tune G1GC for Minecraft's allocation pattern and prevent lag spikes from garbage collection.
Minecraft Java RAM usage is driven by four factors in roughly this order of impact: loaded chunks, mod/plugin count, view distance, and player count. We model each:
heap = base_heap
+ (view_distance_mult × 0.25 GB)
+ (plugin_mult × 0.5 GB)
+ (players × per_player_overhead)
total_vps_ram = heap + 1.5 GB (OS + Java overhead)Why we always add OS overhead: A common rookie mistake is to set -Xmx8G on an 8 GB VPS. The OS, systemd, and Java itself need about 1-2 GB outside the heap. Without that buffer, Java allocates up to 8 GB, hits the cgroup limit, and gets OOM-killed.
Why Aikar's flags? Aikar (lead dev of PaperMC) tuned G1GC specifically for Minecraft's allocation pattern. His flags reduce GC pause times from 500 ms spikes to consistent 20 ms. Source: official PaperMC documentation.
A note on -Xms: We set -Xms equal to -Xmx. For server workloads this prevents costly heap resizes and lets G1GC tune region sizes correctly from the first tick.
Technically yes, but it's counterproductive. A 16 GB heap has longer garbage collection pauses than an 8 GB heap because G1GC has more memory to scan. For vanilla or Paper, 6-10 GB is the sweet spot regardless of player count.
Because the Java heap is not the only thing using memory. You also need RAM for the JVM itself (metaspace, code cache), the OS, monitoring tools, and your panel if you run one. Budget 1.5 GB of non-heap memory on top of your -Xmx.
Yes. View distance of 10 loads a 21x21 chunk area per player (441 chunks). View distance of 16 loads 33x33 (1,089 chunks) — roughly 2.5x the RAM and CPU load. For servers above 10 players, stick to view-distance 8 or 10 and use Paper's simulation-distance setting to keep visuals long-range while reducing tick cost.
Paper, by a wide margin — roughly 2-3x more efficient than vanilla Forge. A 50-slot Paper server runs comfortably in 8 GB; the same slots on Forge with 40 mods realistically needs 12-16 GB. If your mods have a Fabric port, consider switching — Fabric's performance sits between Paper and Forge.
Java 21 for Minecraft 1.20.5 and newer (required). Java 17 for 1.17 through 1.20.4. Use a modern JVM like Eclipse Temurin, Amazon Corretto, or Zulu. On Ubuntu: sudo apt install temurin-21-jre after adding the Adoptium repository.
No. Bedrock is written in C++ and uses dramatically less RAM — roughly 1 GB for a 20-slot server. See our Bedrock dedicated server guide for Bedrock-specific sizing.
Same calculator, but for all 12 games we cover (Rust, ARK, CS2, FiveM, etc).
GuideDeep-dive into Paper config, spark profiling, entity clearing, and chunk pre-generation.
GuideForge, NeoForge, and Fabric modpack installation on a Linux VPS — no panel needed.
ReviewBudget Minecraft-specific managed host with Multicraft panel and one-click modpacks.