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Free Minecraft Server Hosting in Europe: No Port Forwarding, Low Ping

Host a Minecraft Java server from your own PC or Android phone for friends in Germany, the UK, France, the Netherlands, Poland, Spain or anywhere in Europe. Free, no port forwarding, with a relay in Europe.

If you live in Germany, the UK, France, the Netherlands, Poland, Spain, Italy or anywhere else in Europe, you can host a Minecraft Java server from your own PC for free, without opening a single port on your router. VoxelPort now runs a relay in Europe, so the traffic between you and your friends does not have to travel to another continent.

Why the relay location matters

A relay sits between you and your players: your PC connects out to it, and your friends connect to it. Every packet takes that detour, so ping depends on how far you and your friends are from the relay. A relay on the other side of the world adds a lot; one in Europe adds very little for players in Europe. The status page shows the live ping from your own browser to each relay.

How the app picks a region

In VoxelPort 1.11 and newer, the Region setting on the server screen has three options: Auto (fastest), India and Europe. Auto measures both relays when you click Make public and uses the faster one. You can also choose Europe by hand. Your public address then uses the Europe address, for example play-eu.voxelport.in:26000.

Set it up in five steps

Get VoxelPort from the Microsoft Store (Windows 10 and 11), download the Windows installer directly (if Windows warns, click More info → Run anyway), or get the Linux build from GitHub. It's free, open source, and needs no account.

Click + Add Server, pick Vanilla, Paper or Fabric and a version, and click Install & start. Java is installed for you.
When the server shows Online, check that Region is on Auto (or Europe) and click Make public.
Copy the address the app shows.
Friends open Minecraft, go to Multiplayer → Add Server, paste the address and join. They need nothing installed.
For Bedrock players on phones and consoles, switch on Let Bedrock players join in the server settings.

Good to know

Your PC must stay on while people play. VoxelPort is not 24/7 hosting; for that you need a paid host or an always-on machine.
The Europe relay is new and run by one student, so there is no uptime guarantee. If it is down, switch the Region to India and your server keeps working.
Custom addresses (a supporter perk) are only on the India relay for now. An address stays on the relay where it was claimed.
Behind a shared IP address? Many European providers use CGNAT or DS-Lite, which breaks port forwarding. Relays work anyway: see the DS-Lite and CGNAT guide.

Questions

Is there a VoxelPort relay in Europe?

Yes. Since version 1.11 the app has a relay in Europe next to the one in India, and the Region setting (Auto by default) picks the faster one for you.

Do my friends have to live in Europe too?

No, but ping is lowest when you and your friends are all reasonably close to the relay you use. You can change the region in the app, and the status page shows live ping from your browser.

Is it really free?

Yes. The app, the relay and the address are free, with no account and no queue. Custom names like yourname.voxelport.in are a supporter perk and are only available on the India relay for now.

What happens to player IP addresses?

The relay needs an IP address to pass a connection along, but it keeps it in memory only for as long as the connection lasts and does not write it to its logs. The privacy notice has the details.