free · switching from aternos
The Aternos alternative that was under your desk all along
Aternos does something admirable: free servers for millions of people, funded by adverts, running on their hardware. The cost is everything that comes with sharing free hardware. You wait in a queue at busy times, and the server goes to sleep the moment the last player leaves. Leave a world alone for long enough and it gets tidied away.
Self Hostd starts from a different observation: the computer you are reading this on is almost certainly a better Minecraft server than any free hosting slot. We give it a public address with no port forwarding, wrap it in the tools self-hosting normally lacks, and stay out of the way. Nobody queues for their own PC.
Where Aternos is strong
- No hardware needed at all. The server runs on Aternos machines, so it works even if your own computer could not carry it.
- Nothing to leave switched on at home. Your server exists (asleep) whether your PC is on or not.
- Years of tutorials, translations and community answers for nearly any question you could ask.
What changes when the server is yours
No queue, ever
Your server starts when you press Start. Peak evening or Christmas holidays, it makes no difference: there is no queue for your own hardware.
No adverts
Aternos is a business funded by adverts; ours is funded by paid cloud hosting. The free tier costs you a short Hostd credit line in the server list and nothing else.
Friends can hop on whenever it is running
No waking ritual and no waiting for a slot. While your PC is on, the address answers, whether that is two minutes or two months after you set it up.
Your PC probably outruns a free slot
A mid-range gaming PC brings more RAM and quicker cores than free shared hosting can offer. Modpacks that crawl on a free slot tend to run comfortably at home.
Nothing is deleted for inactivity
Your world is a normal folder on your own drive, and our twice-weekly off-site backups protect it from the drive itself failing. Take a break for as long as you like.
A panel, not just a server
Live console in the browser, control from Discord, restarts handled for you, and crashes explained in plain English rather than a stack trace.
Side by side
| Aternos (free) | Self Hostd (free) | |
|---|---|---|
| Where the server runs | Aternos hardware, shared | Your PC |
| Starting up | Queue at busy times | Starts when you press Start |
| When everyone logs off | Server sleeps and must be woken | Stays up while your PC is on |
| Adverts | Ad-funded | None; a credit line in the server list |
| Long breaks | Inactive servers are eventually removed | Your world stays in your folder indefinitely |
| Performance | Whatever the shared free slot allows | Whatever your PC can give it |
| Server software | From the Aternos catalogue | Any Java server you can run: vanilla, Paper, Fabric, Forge and more |
| Cost | Free | Free, plus your electricity |
Based on each product's published free tier as of July 2026. If something here has changed, tell us and we will correct it.
Moving your Aternos world over
- 1Download your worldIn the Aternos panel, download your world as a zip (from the Worlds page, or the world folder under Files). It is your world, and Aternos rightly makes it easy to take away.
- 2Build the folderMake a folder on your PC and add a server jar matching your Aternos setup: the same Minecraft version (or newer) and the same software, so Paper stays Paper and Forge stays Forge with the same mods.
- 3Drop the world inUnzip your world into the folder so it sits alongside the jar as a folder named world, or set level-name in server.properties to match its name.
- 4Create a server here and pairMake a free account, press Create your server, and copy the 6-digit pairing code. Put the Self Hostd launcher in your folder, open it, paste the code and press Start.
- 5Share the new addressGive friends your new hostdservers.com address; the world and player inventories come across exactly as they were.
Full step-by-step instructions, including the modpack path, live in the Self Hostd setup guide.
Questions you'd be right to ask
Is Self Hostd free in the same way Aternos is?
Yes, and the funding model is the difference. Aternos is paid for by adverts; Self Hostd is paid for by the cloud hosting we sell. The address, the tunnel, the panel with live console, Discord control and twice-weekly off-site backups are all free, and free servers show a short Hostd credit in the server list.
Doesn't my PC have to stay on?
Yes, and that is the trade. Aternos keeps a sleeping server without your PC; Self Hostd needs your machine on while people play. If you want the server up while your PC rests, burst it to our hardware by the hour (1.5p per GB of RAM per hour, billed by the minute) at the same address.
Will my Aternos world just work?
Yes. An Aternos world is a standard Minecraft world folder. Keep the Minecraft version the same or newer and keep the same server type and mods, and everything from builds to player inventories comes across.
What if my PC cannot run the modpack we want?
Then self-hosting is the wrong tool for that pack, and we would rather say so. Burst to cloud can carry an evening on our hardware for pennies, and if you want 24/7 uptime without your PC involved, a paid Hostd plan is the better fit.
Your PC is ready when you are
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