Cobbly vs Aternos
Cobbly and Aternos are both free Minecraft server hosting, and both use the same idea to stay free: your server sleeps when it is empty and joins a short queue when every shared machine is busy. Aternos has been doing this for years and has the bigger community. What Cobbly adds is a fixed, predictable amount of memory, the same control panel Spawnly ships to paying customers, and a real upgrade path when you outgrow the free tier.
Side by side
| Feature | Cobbly | Aternos |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free forever | Free forever |
| Memory | 3 GB, fixed | Shared, varies |
| Storage | 10 GB per server | Set by Aternos |
| Player slots | 10 | Up to ~20 |
| Sleeps when idle | Yes — after 5 idle minutes | Yes |
| Loaders & modpacks | All loaders, plugins, 1-click modpacks | All loaders, plugins, modpacks |
| Control panel | Full Spawnly panel | Aternos panel |
| Backups | 3 server-side slots | Manual download |
| Paid upgrade path | One-click clone to Spawnly, reversible | No paid tier |
Aternos figures are approximate and set by Aternos; check their site for current numbers.
What is the same
- Free forever — no card, no trial, no time limit.
- Servers sleep after a few idle minutes and wake automatically when someone connects. Your world is saved the whole time.
- When every shared slot is busy, your server waits in a queue and starts on its own.
- Every loader — Vanilla, Paper, Purpur, Fabric, Forge, NeoForge, Quilt, Folia — plus plugins and CurseForge modpacks.
- Neither puts ads inside Minecraft itself.
If a server that never sleeps is what you need, see the always-on page
Where Cobbly is different
- Fixed 3 GB of RAM. Every free server gets the same amount, so performance does not change with how busy the platform is.
- The full Spawnly panel — live console, file manager,
server.propertieseditor, automatic backups, outbound webhooks, and shared access for other accounts. It is the paid product's panel, not a cut-down one. - One-click CurseForge modpacks. Pick a pack and a version in the Software tab; the server downloads and installs it itself.
- A reversible upgrade. One button clones your world and settings into a paid Spawnly server with more memory and no sleeping. Your free server keeps running, so you can change your mind. Aternos has no paid tier to move up to.
- Backed by Spawnly, a paid game-hosting company — the free tier is an on-ramp to it, not a standalone project.
Is Aternos safe?
Yes — Aternos is a long-running, legitimate service used by millions of players. Cobbly is run by Spawnly, a paid host, on the same shared-and-sleep model. With either one, turn on the whitelist so only people you invite can join or wake your server.
What about Minehut?
Minehut's free plan gives each server 1 GB of memory and lets you run one free server at a time, on Paper, Fabric or the Velocity proxy. Cobbly gives every free server 3 GB and supports Forge, NeoForge and Quilt too. The full side-by-side is on the Cobbly vs Minehut page.
Questions
Is Cobbly better than Aternos?
For a small server you want to set up quickly and maybe grow later, Cobbly has the edge — fixed memory, a paid-grade panel, and a real upgrade path. Aternos has the larger community and a longer track record. Both are genuinely free.
Can I move my Aternos world to Cobbly?
Yes. Download your world from Aternos, then upload the ZIP in the World tab on your Cobbly server. Your builds, players and settings come across.
Does Cobbly sleep like Aternos?
Yes — that is what keeps both free. An empty server stops after a few minutes and the next person to connect wakes it, usually in under a minute. Paid Spawnly servers do not sleep.
Is Cobbly really free?
Yes — no card, no trial, no expiry. It stays free because servers share hardware and sleep when empty, the same reason Aternos is free.
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