If you’re looking to invest in a private space with your friends in Minecraft, try checking out the subscription-based service from Mojang, Minecraft Realms! Minecraft Realms are servers you play on privately without worrying about other unruly strangers. If you’re excited about owning your private server, we’ll explain how much it costs and what features you can expect from this service.
Minecraft Realms Costs and Features
Minecraft Realms are a cheap way of getting and customizing a private server without the hassle. There are a few different choices when creating a Minecraft Realm, depending on what edition of Minecraft you’re playing. When creating your first Minecraft Realm, you should ensure that you have the best seed for your Minecraft world.
Realms – Bedrock Edition
This package is the basic one in Bedrock Edition, and it only costs $3.99 per month. Here are some of the features in the basic Realms version:
| Features | Inclusion |
|---|---|
| Number of Players | Three Players (You + two Players) |
| 24/7 Server Availability | Yes |
| Friends Play For Free | Yes |
| Minecraft Marketplace Support | Yes |
| Includes Three World Slots | Yes |
| Free Monthly Marketplace Content | No |
| User-Created Content Support | Yes |
| Cross-platform between different consoles and devices | Yes |
| Crossplay with Java Edition | No |
Realms Plus – Bedrock Edition
The Realms Plus edition includes more features than the basic one, mainly free monthly content and more player capacity per server. Here’s the complete list of features:
| Features | Inclusion |
|---|---|
| Number of Players | 11 Players (You + 10 Players) |
| 24/7 Server Availability | Yes |
| Friends Play For Free | Yes |
| Minecraft Marketplace Support | Yes |
| Includes Three World Slots | Yes |
| Free Monthly Marketplace Content | 150+ Marketplace packs |
| User-Created Content Support | Yes |
| Cross-platform between different consoles and devices | Yes |
| Crossplay with Java Edition | No |
Realms – Java Edition
Realms are also available in the Java edition of Minecraft, which also features more pricing options. The pricing options depend if you want a recurring subscription or a one-time payment for 30 or 90 days. Here are the following features of Realms in Java Edition:
| Features | Inclusion |
|---|---|
| Pricing | $7.99 (Monthly Subscription) $9.99 (30 Days) $26.99 (90 Days) |
| Number of Players | 11 Players (You + 10 Players) |
| 24/7 Server Availability | Yes |
| Friends Play For Free | Yes |
| Minecraft Marketplace Support | No |
| Includes Three World Slots | Yes |
| Free Monthly Marketplace Content | No |
| User-Created Content Support | Includes free community content |
| Cross-platform between different consoles and devices | No |
| Crossplay with Java Edition | Yes |
Why Use Realms Over Servers in Minecraft?
The most significant difference between the two is that Realms are private and are only accessible to people with invites from the owner. On the other hand, servers are harder to manage and go offline if the server creator shuts down their PC.
Servers are free, but Realms keeps the hassle out of managing a server, which is worth the money. Realms also have marketplace support, even free ones (depending on the tier), which means more content for you and your friends to mess around with. If you’re curious about which version of Minecraft is better, check out Which Version of Minecraft is the Best? Java vs Bedrock Differences Explained.
