12 Ways to Make Money from Minecraft Servers

January 21, 2025 | Minecraft Donations | 7 minutes read

Would you like to start getting profits from your Minecraft server, and afford to pay hosting fees? We have found 9 ways to make money from Minecraft servers.

The most profitable way to make money on Minecraft servers is by starting a donation store, setting up a Patreon, selling monthly ranks, and using affiliates to sell for you.

How to Make Money From Minecraft Servers

Are you wondering how Minecraft servers make money from running a single server or a wide network? We have listed 9 different ways you can use individually, or together to maximize the profit of your Minecraft server.

1. Start a donation store

The easiest way to earn money from your Minecraft server is by setting up a donations store. Web stores usually feature in-game content, such as ranks, special items, crate keys, etc. Server donations are an efficient way to earn since players can pay fixed amounts of money, and reward players with in-game rewards.

You can use our donations plugin to capture donations, which is cheaper than alternative server donation tools. 

2. Charge people to play on your Minecraft server

Charging people to play on your Minecraft server is the easiest way to gain income. This can happen by using a whitelist and giving access to players on private worlds. 

Basically, your server will be hidden behind a whitelist, and in order to gain access, players must pay a subscription fee. These types of servers don’t break the EULA, and help receive money from your private community.

You can also create a private membership server, which is something that server networks do to earn extra income.

3. Sell monthly ranks

Monthly ranks give players commands, cosmetics, and in-game rewards, which are acquired through paying a small subscription fee. 

Most servers sell a package for obtaining a monthly rank across their whole network for a small price.

Players often prefer to have premium ranks across server networks, and pay monthly, rather than pay a one-time 1 rank per server.

4. Start a Patreon

Patreon is the easiest way to earn money without plugins. For example, HermitCraft is on Patreon and accepts donations without using plugins. Players can choose their subscription periods, and receive any kind of reward, without breaking the Mojang EULA.

5. Add paid priority queue

A good way to prevent losses and monetize from Minecraft servers is by including paid membership. This is a popular technique used by 2b2t. Premium players can skip queue waiting times, and access the server faster. 

There is no problem with offering queue spots, as this does not interfere with the EULA. However, if you find a server that breaks the EULA, you can report the server to Mojang directly.

6. Setup affiliate system

Affiliates are the best way to engage both your in-game players and advertisers. Affiliates are based on small commissions, handed to a person after a product is sold successfully through his referral code. 

By setting up an affiliate system, you can pay with credit, which will be used to buy in-game perks. This tactic has managed to increase the sales of new servers by 147%, by keeping money inside the server and keeping inflation in servers low.

7. Hire server and business managers

Hiring a server manager means hiring people who take care of updates, moderation, etc. With a server manager, you leave the groundwork to an employed person and have more time to focus on important details.

A business manager on the other hand could audit, and pinpoint how your server can make more money. Business managers are working towards success and visibility. They are a crucial part of managing servers and help you scale your Minecraft server project.

8. Rent your Minecraft server

Many server owners get to a point where managing their server becomes very time-consuming, to a point where updates are being slowed down. That’s where renting a Minecraft server could be very helpful.

Renting a Minecraft server is when you let another person take over as an owner, and pay you a monthly sum. It could be a very profitable idea, and keep earning you money, but renting Minecraft servers is risky.

9. Sell ads on your Minecraft server

Selling ads is an old, but very effective way, that improves the earnings for both server owners, and the players who have to view ads, to generate income.

While this tactic may seem ineffective, it does wonders when advertising plugins, texture packs, or even helpful resources to other players.

You can sell ads on your Minecraft server through plugins, texture packs, or even set up large banners on item frames, and charge daily.

10. Create limited-time server events

Minecraft server events are a special type of marketing, which brings plenty of new players and manages to grab returning players’ attention to the server. It is one of the most used revenue-generating methods, since these events may occur once, and for a limited time.

If you have a large community, opting for third-party sponsorship with other streamers, can help increase your income by 31.6% on average.

11. Make money from your Minecraft server by streaming on Twitch

Twitch is the best streaming platform, which is actively watched by millions, especially, when it comes to Minecraft gameplay. Starting a stream, where you will promote the server and its gameplay can increase the revenue streams and sources.

A great way to make money from your Twitch stream is by:

1. Signing up as a Twitch affiliate – Twitch offers a program applicable to all streamers, which unlocks the use of subscriptions, donations, and even ad revenue. For each ad watched, your channel is bound to earn money.

2. Become a Twitch partner – Twitch partners are special in-game streamers, who are actively promoted, and enticed by Twitch themselves. Becoming one will increase your stream’s revenue, and enhance the trust in your server, due to your professional look.

3. In-game items on donations – For each donation on your stream, offer players special subscriber or donator-only perks, which engage the community more with your server. Players who earn special in-game rewards are twice as likely to continue playing on your server.

12. Start a YouTube channel for your Minecraft server

Creating and monetizing a YouTube channel has always been a great way to generate extra income, and showcase your server to new players.

The biggest Minecraft servers can be found sharing interesting gameplay videos, or even trailers. For example, Hypixel is on YouTube, actively sharing trailers for their newest updates and upcoming changes.

By doing the same, and actively adding highlights from your Twitch channel, you can easily showcase your server to potential players, who may be searching for a new server to join and actively engage with the community.

YouTube also allows video monetization, allowing creators to earn money from ads, or even donations while on live-streams.

Rad Ivanov

Rad is the lead writer for the MineLabz team, dedicated to writing content for Minecraft enthusiasts. Combining Minecraft and Marketing, Rad creates all kinds of articles for the server development community.