Gaming4Free — Free Game Server Hosting v3.0 // FREE FOREVER
← FREE MINECRAFT HOSTING
MINEHUT ALTERNATIVE · NO SLEEP MODE

THE FREE MINEHUT
ALTERNATIVE WITH
ROOM TO GROW.

Minehut's free Starter plan is 10 slots and 1 GB RAM, and the server sleeps the moment the last player leaves. Gaming4Free gives you 100 slots, 2.5 GB RAM, Forge and Fabric as well as plugins, a choice of US East, US West, EU or Asia, and a server that stays up while your lease is active. Free, no credit card.

CREATE FREE SERVER HOW IT WORKS
No sleep mode 100 player slots Forge & Fabric mods US East & West
our-smp · panel
⛏
our-smp.g4f.gg
Online · 23 / 100 players
REGION US East · 24 ms
LOADER Fabric 1.21
TIME REMAINING 19h 12m
RAM 2.5 GB free tier
↻ RENEW 24H
// HEAD TO HEAD

GAMING4FREE VS MINEHUT:
WHAT ACTUALLY DIFFERS.

Both are free, both run Minecraft, both show ads to keep the free tier free. Here is where they part ways.

Feature Gaming4Free Minehut (free Starter)
Free Minecraft server ✓Yes ✓Yes
No credit card ✓Yes ✓Yes
Player slots (free) ✓100 slotsConfigurable ~10 slotsStarter plan
RAM (free) ✓2.5 GBBoosts from $1 ~1 GBMore on paid plans
Sleep mode ✓NoneRuns until the 24h lease ends ✗YesSleeps when empty, restarts on join
Server region ✓Your choiceUS East · US West · EU · Asia ~Not selectableSingle hosting region
Mod loaders (free) ✓Forge, Fabric, Paper, Spigot, PurpurOne-click, SFTP access ~Plugin-firstPlugin count scales with plan
File access ✓FullFile manager + SFTP ~Panel file manager
Java + Bedrock crossplay ~Via Geyser pluginOr a separate free Bedrock server ✓Built inEvery server, no setup
Public server directory ✓YesVoting adds uptime ✓YesLarge lobby and listing
Other games ✓11 gamesTerraria, Palworld, FiveM, Valheim and more ✗Minecraft only
Upgrade path ✓Premium from $2.50/moEvery price listed ✓Paid plansCredits and plan tiers

Minehut figures are from Minehut's own site as of November 2026 (free Starter plan: 10 player slots, 1 GB RAM, servers sleep when nobody is online). Plans change; check their site before deciding.

// THE HONEST TAKE

Minehut does two things better: crossplay is built into every server, and its public lobby and server list are a genuine way to get strangers onto your server. If you want a public minigame server that Bedrock kids on Switch can find and join in one tap, Minehut is a fine choice. If you want a survival or modded world for a group of friends that stays online, has room for more than 10 of them, and runs near where they live, Gaming4Free is the stronger option.

// WHY PLAYERS SWITCH

FOUR REASONS TO CHOOSE
GAMING4FREE OVER
MINEHUT

1

TEN SLOTS RUNS OUT FAST

Minehut's free plan caps you at 10 players. That is one Discord call. The eleventh friend gets "server full" and you are shopping for a paid plan the same week. Gaming4Free's free Java server is configurable up to 100 slots; CPU and bandwidth are the real limits, not an arbitrary number.

2

NO COLD START WHEN SOMEONE JOINS

Minehut puts a free server to sleep when the last player leaves and restarts it when the next one connects, so every first join of the evening is a loading screen. Gaming4Free uses a 24-hour lease instead: renew it with one click, let players extend it by voting, or go Premium and drop the timer. While the lease runs, the server runs.

3

MODS, NOT JUST PLUGINS, AND 2.5× THE RAM

Minehut is built around plugins. If your group wants Create, Cobblemon or any Forge or Fabric pack, you need a host that treats mod loaders as first class. Gaming4Free has Forge, Fabric, Paper, Spigot and Purpur as one-click loaders, SFTP into the mods folder, and 2.5 GB RAM on the free tier instead of 1 GB, which is the difference between a modpack running and a modpack crashing.

4

PICK THE REGION YOUR FRIENDS ARE IN

Minehut does not let you choose where the server lives. Gaming4Free has US East, US West, EU Central and Singapore. A group split between Los Angeles and Seattle picks US West; a group in Texas and Florida picks US East. The panel shows live ping from your IP to each region before you deploy, and you can run 11 games from the same account when the group moves on from Minecraft:

Minecraft Java Minecraft Bedrock Terraria Palworld Valheim FiveM Project Zomboid Factorio
// PICK WHAT FITS YOU

WHICH ONE IS THE
RIGHT FIT?

Minehut is not bad. It is built for a different kind of server than most friend groups want.

// STAY WITH MINEHUT IF

WHEN MINEHUT MAY STILL WORK FOR YOU

Minehut's strengths are discovery and zero-setup crossplay.

  • →You are building a public minigame or lobby server and want foot traffic from Minehut's list
  • →Your players are mostly on Bedrock and you want crossplay with no plugins
  • →Ten players is genuinely enough and the server sleeping between sessions does not bother you
  • →You only play Minecraft

Built-in Geyser crossplay on every server is a real convenience.

// TRY GAMING4FREE IF

WHEN GAMING4FREE IS THE BETTER ALTERNATIVE

Gaming4Free is built for private and semi-public servers that need to be up when people show up.

  • ✓You have, or expect, more than 10 players
  • ✓You want a Forge or Fabric modpack, not just plugins
  • ✓You want to pick US East, US West, EU or Asia
  • ✓You do not want a restart screen every time the first player joins
  • ✓You want SFTP and full file access on the free plan
  • ✓Your group also plays Terraria, Palworld, Valheim or FiveM

READY FOR 100 SLOTS AND NO SLEEP MODE?

CREATE FREE SERVER
// MOVING YOUR WORLD

BRING YOUR MINEHUT
WORLD WITH YOU.

A Minecraft world is a folder. Moving it takes about ten minutes.

1

DOWNLOAD THE WORLD FROM MINEHUT

In the Minehut panel, open the file manager, select your world folder and download it as a zip. Grab your plugins folder too if you want to keep configs.

2

CREATE A FREE SERVER ON THE SAME LOADER

Deploy a free Minecraft Java server on Gaming4Free, pick Paper (what Minehut runs) and the same Minecraft version, and choose your region.

3

UPLOAD AND START

Upload the zip through the file manager or SFTP, extract it, set level-name in server.properties to the folder name, drop plugins into /plugins, start. Our migration guide covers the edge cases.

// NOT JUST MINECRAFT

ONE ACCOUNT,
ELEVEN GAMES.

Minehut is Minecraft-only. Gaming4Free covers the games your group plays next.

Minecraft Java Minecraft Bedrock Terraria FiveM Unturned Project Zomboid Palworld Don't Starve Together Valheim Hytale Factorio
// MINEHUT ALTERNATIVE FAQ

OBVIOUS QUESTIONS,
OBVIOUS ANSWERS.

IS GAMING4FREE A GOOD MINEHUT ALTERNATIVE? +
For a friend group or a modded world, yes. You get 100 slots instead of 10, 2.5 GB RAM instead of 1 GB, Forge and Fabric as well as plugins, a choice of region, and no sleep mode. For a public lobby server that relies on Minehut's directory traffic and built-in crossplay, Minehut may still be the better fit.
DOES GAMING4FREE PUT SERVERS TO SLEEP? +
No. Your server runs on a 24-hour lease. Renew it with one click, let players vote to extend it, or go Premium ($2.50/mo) to remove the timer. While the lease is active the server stays up whether or not anyone is online, so there is no restart when the first player of the day joins.
CAN I CHOOSE A US WEST OR EU SERVER? +
Yes. US East, US West, EU Central and Singapore. You pick at deploy time and the panel shows live ping from your IP to each region.
DOES GAMING4FREE SUPPORT FORGE AND FABRIC FOR FREE? +
Yes. Vanilla, Forge, Fabric, Paper, Spigot and Purpur are one-click loaders on the free plan. Import a CurseForge or Modrinth pack by URL or upload JARs over SFTP.
MINEHUT HAS BUILT-IN CROSSPLAY. DOES GAMING4FREE? +
Not built in. On a Gaming4Free Java server you add the Geyser and Floodgate plugins to let Bedrock players join, which takes a few minutes. Or host a separate free Bedrock server from the same account.
CAN I MOVE MY MINEHUT WORLD OVER? +
Yes. Download the world folder from Minehut's file manager, create a free Paper server on Gaming4Free on the same Minecraft version, upload the folder, point level-name at it and start. Plugins and their configs move the same way.
IS GAMING4FREE FREE FOREVER? +
Yes. No credit card, no trial period. The free tier is funded by optional upgrades and by ads shown to server owners in the control panel, never to players on your server.

FREE MINECRAFT SERVER.
100 SLOTS. NO SLEEP MODE.

2.5 GB RAM, Forge and Fabric, US East and US West nodes, daily renewals you control. No credit card required.

CREATE FREE SERVER SEE MINECRAFT SPECS