Minecraft Realms vs a Bedrock dedicated server
An honest comparison of a Minecraft Realm and a hosted Bedrock server, including the cases where the Realm is genuinely the better pick.
6 min read · Updated Oct 21, 2026 · By GuavaHost Team
Both give you a world that stays online when you log off. The difference is how much control comes with it. A Realm is Mojang's own subscription: it runs itself, it is joined from inside the game, and you cannot get at the files. A dedicated server is a Bedrock Dedicated Server on a machine you rent, with a control panel, a console and a file manager. Here is the comparison without the sales pitch.
Side by side
| Realm | Dedicated Bedrock server | |
|---|---|---|
| Who can join | Only people you invite, from inside the game | Anyone you give the address to, or an allowlist |
| Players online at once | A small fixed cap set by Mojang (ten at the time of writing) | Set by your plan and max-players |
| Console players | Join from the invites list in one click | Need the add server workaround |
| Addons | World packs and Marketplace content | Any behavior and resource packs you upload |
| Plugins | No | No, Bedrock has no plugin system at all |
| File access | None | Full file manager and SFTP |
| Console and commands | In game commands only | Server console plus in game |
| server.properties | Not available | Yours to edit |
| Backups | Automatic, restore from the Realm settings | Your own, on demand or scheduled |
| Worlds | A few slots, one live at a time | As many as you want, switch with level-name |
| Custom address | No | Your own IP and port |
| Who fixes it | Mojang | You, with us on hand |
Player limits
This is where most people's decision gets made. A Realm caps how many people can be in the world at the same time, and that cap is low: it is built for a group of friends, not a community. You can invite more people than can be online at once, which suits a rotating group of mates and not a server you want to grow.
A dedicated server's limit is yours to set with max-players in server.properties, and the real constraint is the hardware you rent rather than a rule. If you are planning a public server or a Discord community, the Realm cap decides this for you.
Who can join, and how
A Realm is invite only by design. People join from the invites tab in their own game: no address to share, no port to explain, no way for a stranger to find you. On consoles that is a genuine advantage, because Xbox, PlayStation and Switch cannot type in a server address at all. Joining a dedicated server from a console needs a workaround, documented in Play Bedrock on console, but it is still a workaround.
A dedicated server is joined by address and port, and you decide how open that is. Keep it to friends with the allowlist, or hand the address out and let anyone in. Bedrock allowlist and operators explained covers locking it down properly, including the trap of switching the allowlist on with an empty list.
Addons, plugins and content
Realms run addons, but through the game: you upload a world that already has its packs, or you use Marketplace content included with the subscription. There is no pack folder to manage.
A dedicated server lets you put any behavior pack or resource pack you can find into the server's folders and enable it on the world, which is both more powerful and more work. Installing Bedrock addons is the how, and it is worth knowing in advance that neither option runs plugins: that is a Java Edition thing, as Plugins vs addons on Bedrock explains. If economy plugins, land claims and minigames are what you are picturing, you want a Java server with Geyser so Bedrock players can still join, not a Bedrock server of either kind.
Files, console and the things that only matter when something breaks
On a Realm, if the world misbehaves, your options are the in game settings and Mojang's support. There is no log to read, no config file to fix, no console to run a command in while the world is unreachable.
On a dedicated server you get all three. A Files tab for every config, a Console tab that works even when nobody can connect, and logs you can read when something crashes. That matters little on a quiet survival world and a lot once you are running addons, several worlds, or anything you have customised.
Backups
Realms takes backups for you and lets you restore or download one from the Realm's settings, which is genuinely good and the reason a lot of casual groups stay. The trade off is that you get the backups Mojang decides to keep. A dedicated server puts that in your hands from the Backups page: take one before any risky change, lock the ones you cannot lose, download a copy, or set the whole thing on a schedule.
Cost
A Realm is a flat monthly subscription from Mojang, the same price regardless of how many of your allowed players actually show up. A dedicated server is priced by the resources you rent, so a small one can be cheaper than a Realm and a big one costs more, because it is a bigger machine. Our current sizes are on the pricing page, and you can change size later without losing your world.
When a Realm is genuinely the better choice
A Realm wins when:
- Your group is under the Realm's player cap and will stay there.
- Most of your players are on consoles and you do not want to explain a workaround to each of them.
- You want zero admin: no config files, no updates, no logs.
- Nobody outside the invite list ever needs to join.
A dedicated server wins when you want more players than a Realm allows, a public or semi public server, your own addons and settings, real file access, your own backup habits, several worlds, your own address, or a path to running Java and Bedrock players together later.
Moving from one to the other
The move is not a one way door. A Realm world downloads from the Realm's settings as a world file you can upload to a dedicated server, which Upload an existing world to a Bedrock server walks through. It works the other way too: export the world from the server and upload it to a Realm from your own game.
Common questions
Can console players join a dedicated Bedrock server?
Yes, but not by typing in an address, because Xbox, PlayStation and Switch have no field for one. They join through a workaround that points the console at your server instead, which works but is an extra step per device. If most of your players are on consoles, a Realm is the easier life.
Do I need a Realms subscription as well as a server?
No. They are two separate ways of hosting the same world, and nothing about a dedicated server requires a Realm. The only reason to keep both is while you are mid move and want the Realm alive until everyone has switched over.
Can I run plugins on a Realm?
No, and you cannot run them on a Bedrock dedicated server either. Plugins only exist on Java Edition servers. Bedrock content comes from addons instead, and if you specifically need plugins with Bedrock players in the world, the answer is a Java server running Geyser.
Does a Realm have a server address I can share?
No. A Realm is joined from the invites list inside Minecraft, so there is no IP or port to hand out and no way for an uninvited player to connect. That is either the feature you want or the limitation you are trying to escape, which is usually the whole decision.
Still stuck? Jump into our Discord at discord.gg/GuavaHost and the team will help you out.
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