Village vs Kingdom: Budget €0.85/GB or Premium €1.90/GB

Two rates, one formula

Both lines bill in EUR, monthly, with no annual contract. Price is RAM times the line rate. Village Budget is €0.85/GB. Kingdom Premium is €1.90/GB. Kingdom is a bit more than twice the €/GB. Pay that for a mod loader, or for a Paper world you want already running — not because the name says Premium.

Village SKUs: Village 2GB is €1.70/mo, Village 4GB is €3.40/mo, Village 6GB is €5.10/mo, Village 8GB is €6.80/mo, and Village 12GB is €10.20/mo. Kingdom SKUs: Kingdom 4GB is €7.60/mo, Kingdom 6GB is €11.40/mo, Kingdom 8GB is €15.20/mo, Kingdom 12GB is €22.80/mo, and Kingdom 16GB is €30.40/mo. Those figures are the rate times the GB, the same math as /plans.

Same RAM, different line: a friend SMP on Village 4GB is €3.40, and Kingdom 4GB is €7.60. Kingdom 8GB is €15.20, while Village 8GB is €6.80. Checkout is on /plans and /store/minecraft. A separate note on cheap EU €/GB shopping is /blog/cheap-minecraft-hosting-eu; this post does not re-argue that comparison.

Sleep is the real split

Village Paper and Vanilla sleep after about 12 minutes with nobody online. The world saves, and the next join wakes the server, often in 15–30 seconds. That is wake-on-join. It is not a promise that the Java process sits in memory all night. Do not call Village Paper or Vanilla always-on. If you tell friends the world is already running at 1am, you are describing Kingdom or a modpack, not Village.

Forge, Fabric, and NeoForge modpacks stay running by default, because those packs are slow to boot. Kingdom can disable sleep for 24/7, including a Paper or Vanilla world that should already be up: Settings → Idle Policy. Village has no such switch. Pressing Stop in the panel is different — a stopped world does not wake until you start it.

Friends join at name.play.chunkly.net. Java’s port is 25565, so they paste the hostname on its own under Multiplayer → Add Server. On a sleeping Village Paper world, a second click while it wakes is normal. The longer write-up is /blog/minecraft-server-sleep-wake, and the docs page is /docs/sleep-wake.

Paper plugins usually Village; modpacks usually Kingdom

Players on a Paper or Purpur server join with ordinary Minecraft Java. Claims, homes, and a simple economy live in server plugins. That is the Village job: Vanilla, Paper, and Purpur. Campfire cannot run Paper. Kingdom is not required for a normal plugin SMP. Forge, Fabric, and NeoForge need Kingdom. Village will not start those loaders. A Velocity proxy is Premium as well.

Everyone on a modpack installs the same pack version. A mismatch shows up as an incompatible mod list, which is a client problem, not a dead host. Read the pack page on CurseForge or Modrinth first, then /docs/ram-guide and /modpack-server-hosting. Paper notes are on /paper-server-hosting.

Catalog player numbers are a fit hint, not a benchmark. Village 4GB is comfortable for about 12 online; the other Village sizes run from about 6 (2GB) to about 24 (12GB). Kingdom runs from about 12 online at 4GB to about 32 at 16GB, with 12GB aimed at heavy packs in the ATM class. If the pack page asks for 8GB, Kingdom 8GB at €15.20 matches it — not Village 4GB at €3.40. A heavy Paper stack or a large crew can still land on Kingdom without mods. The picker on /plans asks software, how many people are online at once, and plugin or pack weight, then names a SKU.

Pick Village when the world can sleep

Choose Village for a friend or family world on Vanilla, Paper, or Purpur, when a wake of often 15–30 seconds after about 12 minutes idle is acceptable. Village 4GB at €3.40/mo is the usual start. Step to 6GB (€5.10), 8GB (€6.80), or 12GB (€10.20) when more people are online together — still €0.85/GB.

Village is the wrong buy if the group has already agreed on a Forge, Fabric, or NeoForge pack, or if someone in another timezone needs the world already running with no wake. Sleep on Village is how the Budget rate stays honest. It is not a penalty buried in the invoice.

Pick Kingdom when the pack or the clock needs it

Choose Kingdom when the loader is Forge, Fabric, or NeoForge, when you need Settings → Idle Policy so a Paper or Vanilla world stays up, or when the pack page asks for 6GB or more. Kingdom 6GB (€11.40) and Kingdom 8GB (€15.20) cover typical and medium packs. Kingdom 12GB (€22.80) and Kingdom 16GB (€30.40) are the headroom SKUs. Kingdom 4GB (€7.60) fits a light pack. Modpacks stay running by default, so the €1.90/GB is RAM that stays reserved. Both lines include NVMe, DDoS protection, and monthly cancel. This page does not quote uptime percentages, review scores, or customer counts.

Campfire is the free try, not a third paid plan

Campfire is one Vanilla server, 2GB of RAM, about five players online, and no credit card. It sleeps after about six minutes idle. Builds stay saved. Use it to learn the panel and to see whether the group actually plays. It will not run Paper, Purpur, or a modpack, and it cannot turn sleep off. When the crew needs plugins, move to Village. When the crew needs mods or a world that is already running, move to Kingdom. Limits are on /free-minecraft-server. Billing and join questions that are not this split are on /faq.

You can switch later

Paid plans change in the Stripe billing portal: Manage billing in the panel, or the link on the Stripe receipt. Worlds, player inventories, and config files stay. The new RAM applies on the next server restart. Moving from Village 4GB (€3.40) to Village 8GB (€6.80) is more RAM on the same €0.85/GB line. Moving from any Village SKU to a Kingdom SKU changes the rate to €1.90/GB and unlocks mod loaders plus Idle Policy.

Changing software is separate. Stop, take a backup, then switch the jar. A Paper world is not a Forge instance. Cancel stays monthly through the period you already paid.

FAQ

Can I switch plans? Yes. Move between Village and Kingdom SKUs in the Stripe billing portal without deleting the world. Inventories and configs stay. RAM takes effect after a restart. Campfire remains the free Vanilla server; it is not a paid SKU you downgrade into by editing a card.

Is Kingdom required for Paper? No. Paper and Purpur run on Village Budget. Kingdom is required for Forge, Fabric, NeoForge, and Velocity. Kingdom is also the line when you want Settings → Idle Policy, or when a heavy plugin stack and a large crew make the picker on /plans recommend Premium. Campfire is Vanilla only — Paper needs a paid plan.

Can Kingdom disable sleep? Yes. Settings → Idle Policy can keep a Kingdom world running 24/7. Modpacks already stay running by default because Forge, Fabric, and NeoForge boots are slow. Village Paper and Vanilla cannot disable the idle sleep of about 12 minutes. They wake on join, often in 15–30 seconds. They are not always-on. Details: /blog/minecraft-server-sleep-wake.

What if I only need the world tonight? Start Campfire from /free-minecraft-server — one Vanilla world, 2GB, about five players, no card — then upgrade if the group sticks. A private Paper SMP that can sleep is Village 4GB at €3.40/mo. A modpack whose page asks for 8GB, or a Paper world that must stay up, is Kingdom 8GB at €15.20/mo. Those figures are 4 × €0.85 and 8 × €1.90; confirm them on /plans before checkout.