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What are Minecraft Server Donations? Beginners Guide

June 10, 2024 | Minecraft Donations | 4 minutes read

So you have started out in Minecraft, and wonder how to monetize your Minecraft server?

To help out, we have created a detailed article on what are Minecraft player donations, and how you can get money by selling donor perks.

What are Minecraft donations?

Minecraft donations are monetary contributions made by players to help support the costs of running a Minecraft server. To encourage donations, servers offer in-game rewards to donors, such as exclusive items, ranks, or case keys. 

Receiving donations from players is an often-used way to help the further development of the server, and release new content.

Nonetheless, it helps handle the costs of powering the server and funding future server upgrades.

For example, popular servers like Hypixel have introduced donation packages, to increase server profits and raise money for new game modes. 

Hypixel Store for Minecraft server donations

Does Mojang allow Minecraft donations?

Mojang allows donations, but with specific guidelines to ensure fairness with their End User License Agreement (EULA). The Mojang EULA rules have been designed and released to prevent pay-to-win on servers and ensure fair play between donators, and non-donors.

The most important points of their EULA are as follows:

  • Server owners can accept donations, but cannot provide items or abilities that give players a competitive advantage over non-donators.
  • Any perks offered must not create a pay-to-win environment, where only paying players can excel in the game.
  • In-game content, which gives access to players who make a shop purchase, or charitable donation.
  • Commands, which could seriously disrupt the normal gameplay between paying, and non-paying players.

Servers that violate the EULA can be blacklisted, preventing players from connecting to them. To find out if a server has been blacklisted you can use a service like Is My Server Blocked.

While Mojang’s EULA can be limiting to some server owners, there are hundreds of EULA-friendly donator perks that can be offered, and many profitable donation items to sell.

How do you receive donations on a Minecraft server?

Receiving donations on a Minecraft server requires setting up a donation system that allows players to make purchases. The easiest way to do this is by purchasing a subscription to use a donations store.

For example, MineLabz offers donation stores, and comes with a premade website, to get you started.

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Alternatively, you can get donations without paying for donation stores. Ko-Fi and Patreon are perfect examples of websites, which allow monetary contributions for servers.

However, the most secure and automated way is through a donations plugins.

What are the benefits of donations on Minecraft servers?

Donating on Minecraft servers offers multiple benefits to both players and server owners. 

From the perspective of a donating player, the benefits are:

  • You receive ranks, which distinguish you from others
  • Special chat colors
  • Skipping queue waiting time
  • Special in-game add-ons such as cosmetics
  • Creates loyalty between the player and the server

For server owners, a donation gives them the following:

  • Helps pay for server costs
  • Allows future server upgrades 
  • Pushes developers to add extra content
  • Long-term growth and sustainability for the server

Frequently Asked Questions about Minecraft Server Donations

How much do server donations cost?

The cost of server donations varies depending on the server and what perks or tiers are offered. On popular servers like Hypixel, the cost of donations is between $7 one-time, to $70 (monthly) for their highest rank.

Additionally, you can purchase many cosmetics without having a rank, and their average cost is $5.

What is the best donation plugin for Minecraft? 

MineLabz is the best donation plugin for Minecraft servers, since it’s hosted on WordPress, and offers a variety of upgrades, and freedom to scale your server & website.

How much can I earn from a Minecraft server?

Depending on the Minecraft server you are hosting, you can expect to earn between $50 to $1000 on a monthly basis. Most new servers make money, because of their unique content and donation perks.

You can also estimate the potential earnings of your server, by using a server profit calculator and choosing between subscription or one-time donation products.

What is the purpose of donating to Minecraft servers?

The purpose of donating to a Minecraft server is to help server owners to continue managing their creations, without going bankrupt. It also helps establish a deep loyalty connection between server owners and donors.

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