Orca vs Aternos

The short answer

Pick Aternos if you want a broad version and software menu in one free panel, including native Bedrock server support, and you do not mind ads and a peak-hours queue. Pick Orca if you want a real 8 GB of RAM that is yours, no ads, a fast start with no waiting line, and an AI that writes, builds, and installs mods and plugins onto your server for you.

Both are genuinely free with no card, and both pause the server when everyone leaves. The day-to-day difference is the quality of the time you actually spend in game.

• Orca: a real 8 GB of RAM, no ads, a fast start, AI that builds and runs your mods.
• Aternos: broad version and software support, native Bedrock servers, ads and a peak queue.
• Both: free with no credit card, and both pause when the server is empty.

RAM, players, and what free really means

This is the biggest gap. Aternos allocates RAM from a shared pool, so a free server has no dedicated, guaranteed memory of its own. That is fine for small vanilla worlds, but heavy modpacks and busy worlds can hit low TPS, lag, or crashes when the pool is busy. Orca gives every free account a real 8 GB of RAM that is yours, not shared and not borrowed back when other servers are active.

On player slots, Aternos lets you set a high number, but the shared RAM is the real ceiling, so comfortable capacity stays small. Orca's free plan supports up to 4 players, which is the honest sweet spot for a friends server, and you can scale up by the gigabyte later as your group grows.

• Orca free: a real 8 GB of RAM, up to 4 players, scale up by the gigabyte later.
• Aternos free: shared RAM from a pool, no dedicated or guaranteed allocation.
• A high slot number on shared RAM is a setting, not real headroom for that many players.

Starting up: queues, ads, and sleep

Both hosts pause the server when the last player leaves, and your world is saved. To be clear, Orca's free server is not always on either. It pauses when empty and wakes when you start it, with your world kept. Always-on uptime is a paid upgrade on Orca, and it is not free on Aternos either.

The difference is the wake-up. Aternos is ad-funded, so you see ads in the start flow, and at peak hours the first person to join waits in a queue for a free RAM slot. Orca shows no ads, ever, and your server starts on your own dedicated RAM, so there is no shared-pool waiting line. You are usually playing in about 30 seconds.

• Both pause when empty and wake on start, with the world kept. Neither free tier is always on.
• Aternos: ads in the wake-up flow, plus a peak-hours queue for a shared RAM slot.
• Orca: no ads ever, no queue, live in about 30 seconds on your own RAM.

Mods, plugins, and the AI that builds them

Aternos has strong, beginner-friendly mod support, with a broad catalog of mod loaders, plugin server software, and one-click modpacks. The main limit is that installs come from its supported catalog, so you generally cannot freely upload any arbitrary jar from the web. Orca also runs Vanilla, Paper, Fabric, Forge, NeoForge, and 6,000-plus installable modpacks.

The real difference is Orca's AI. You describe a mod or plugin in plain English and Orca writes it, builds it, and installs it straight onto your server. The same AI runs the server from chat: start and stop it, run commands, manage the whitelist, and read crash logs and fix them. Aternos does not have this. If you have ever wanted a custom feature that no existing mod covers, this is the line that matters. See the AI server manager and the AI mod maker.

• Aternos: broad catalog of mods, plugins, and modpacks, but installs are catalog-only, no free arbitrary jar uploads.
• Orca: Vanilla, Paper, Fabric, Forge, NeoForge, and 6,000-plus modpacks, plus AI that builds custom mods and plugins for you.
• Only Orca runs the server from chat and reads and fixes crash logs for you.

Bedrock and crossplay

If you need native Bedrock Edition support, Aternos has the wider menu here, with native Bedrock servers plus built-in Geyser and Floodgate so Bedrock clients can join a Java server. It is a genuine strength and worth choosing Aternos for if a native Bedrock server is your goal.

Orca runs Java on every plan, and Bedrock crossplay through Geyser and Floodgate with a dedicated IP is a paid add-on rather than part of the free tier. So if free crossplay is your single must-have, Aternos covers it. If a real 8 GB Java server with AI tooling is what you want, Orca is the stronger free base.

• Aternos: native Bedrock servers and built-in Geyser and Floodgate crossplay on the free tier.
• Orca: Java on every plan, with Geyser and Floodgate crossplay and a dedicated IP as a paid add-on.
• Pick Aternos for free crossplay out of the box, Orca for a bigger free Java server with AI.

Which should you pick

For a server for you and a few friends, Orca's free tier is the easier daily experience: a real 8 GB of RAM that is yours instead of shared RAM from a pool, no ads, no queue at peak, a start in about 30 seconds, and an AI that builds and runs your mods so you spend time playing instead of configuring. You can pick a region when you create it and scale up by the gigabyte as the group grows. Start on the hosting page.

Aternos is the right call if you specifically want native Bedrock servers with free crossplay, or the single broadest catalog of versions and software in one free panel, and the ads and peak queue do not bother you. Both are free with no card, and both pause when empty, so try Orca first if RAM, no ads, and the AI tooling are what you care about. Building servers for others? See for server owners.

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