Today we will be taking a look at the expenses you have as a Minecraft server owner. There isn't only the upkeep (hosting) of it - there are many other ones depending on how new you are in the industry. If you have more experience in the field and know more about owning a Minecraft server then obviously you have fewer expenses. If you're new, you most likely need to hire a manager for your server but hopefully, you do not need to after reading this quick couple-minute blog post, haha!
So, there can be many expenses and obviously, you'd like it to keep as cheap as possible. Here's a little summary of things that, as new a Minecraft server owner, you would need to have funding for:
* = a must
^ = most likely
Server Hosting*
Setup Specialist / Configurator*
Managers (Community, Staff, Ad, etc.)^
Advertisements*
Server Art / GFX
These are just a few things, yet very important ones. You, as an owner, should also have the potential in wanting to make your server grow. If you let others do all the work then you really just shouldn't start a server honestly. It's always great to have the owner being passionate about the project as well.
Typical Cost Breakdown
server hosting - ($5 - $50+ / month)
There are a bunch of server hosts out there that you can host your server with. If you're new to these, I highly recommend checking out our other blog post about Top Server Hosting Sites!
Shortly though, you would need a good host, with good specs and with a good amount of RAM and Disk Space to it. If it doesn't have enough of these, the server can become really laggy and uncomfortable for the players. The RAM depends on the number of players you're going to have to play on the server.
setup specialist - ($50 - $1,000+)
Nobody wants to play on a server that has not been taken care of nicely and doesn't have anything interesting in it, right? We all love to play on a server with at least some neat, custom, interesting features. This is where the server setup specialist comes into place - they would be making the server for you, creating it with the features you desire, and setting it all up to your liking.
There are many setup specialists out there and make sure to check their previous reviews and portfolio to assure that you're dealing with a professional and that you like their style. Everyone got their own style!
managers - ($0 - $200+ / month)
If the community doesn't have any staff members in it then it can get pretty ugly. You need to hire staff members to make sure that all players are enforcing the rules and keeping it peaceful. There are many different managers out there, such as advertisement, staff, community, event, and so on...
advertisements - ($-)
How are you going to run a server with no players? To get players, you would need to get advertisements for the server to attract players. This is the key, so make sure your ads are catchy and bring in players! Better hire a professional to do this.
There are many types to advertise your server. Ways like discord advertising, hiring YouTubers / Twitch streamers, purchasing slots in Minecraft Server Listing sites, etc.
server art / gfx - ($1 - $100+)
Each server needs art, right? Art such as logos, banners, animated banners, icons, and so on. Make sure your art is unique, nice, and eye-catchy as well. This is what brings in players as well sometimes - not always though, but sometimes.
I hope that you found this blog post helpful. Thank you for reading this and I hope you have a great rest of your day!
- Zach M.