When it comes to hosting modded Minecraft servers, I’ve had my fair share of experiences with various providers. Over the years, I’ve worked with multiple hosting services, each offering its own unique set of features, strengths, and shortcomings. From control panel quirks to performance under the weight of heavy modpacks, I’ve seen it all. And one thing I’ve learned is that there’s no perfect host for everyone—your best choice depends entirely on your own priorities and how you plan to use your server.
In this review, I’ll be diving into CloudNord, a relatively new player in the Minecraft hosting world. I’ll compare it to other well-known services in terms of price, features, ease of use, and the all-important customer support—especially on their Discord server. Plus, I’ll walk you through setting up a popular modpack on CloudNord from start to finish, sharing my personal experience every step of the way.
If you’re in the market for a new Minecraft host, or simply curious about how CloudNord stacks up against the competition, stick around—this review is for you.
Disclosure: Links in this post may be affiliate links, which means I earn a commission on any purchases at no cost to you. This helps to support the channel (Thank you!) CloudNord has provided me with a server for testing, which I’ve been using for the past few months to host my supporter’s SMP server. This has provided me with extensive experience so you know this review is 100% authentic and based on real life experience!
Table of contents
Best Value
CloudNord Minecraft Server Hosting
CloudNord offers powerful and customizable Minecraft server hosting at an affordable price. You have full control over your server’s RAM, CPU cores, and other features. CloudNord provides reliable performance, exceptional support through their Discord, and flexibility for everything from small vanilla servers to large modded communities—all without breaking the bank.
Get Your Server
We earn a commission if you make a purchase, at no additional cost to you.
About CloudNord – TL;DR
CloudNord isn’t just a Minecraft hosting provider—they offer a wide range of hosting services, including general-purpose web hosting, virtual private servers, and more. However, their success with Minecraft hosting has led them to invest heavily in refining this service, making it a key focus of their business. One concern is that this could mean they don’t have solid Minecraft server experience. I assure you that’s not the case here. I’ve spoken to them on many occasions and they do know Minecraft hosting. I suspect they’re pretty dedicated players as well.
I consider CloudNord to be a Premium Minecraft Hosting provider. By Premium, I mean fully functional control panels with one-click modpack installations, backups, etc. as well as fully managed Minecraft server support. You can do everything yourself AND they’ll do everything for you. I expect Premium/Managed Minecraft hosts to handle mod pack updates, help with server issues, and even help troubleshoot mod and world errors. On the other hand, Budget providers don’t have (or withhold) features like one-click modpack installations, backups, and you are responsible for all upgrades.
I’ll say right up front that CloudNord is a great Minecraft hosting option. They’re not one of the well known Minecraft hosts, like Bisect and
. But to me that’s not a bad thing. That means that (1) you’re not paying for their marketing, (2) you’re not sharing servers with huge volumes of customers that must be balanced across server hardware, and (3) you’re not sharing support resources with those huge volumes of customers.
I always enjoy working with smaller hosting providers than large. I get way more attention, special treatment, and I even get to know the individuals on the support team, who help with upgrades and problems.
The setup process and management control panel is a bit more complex than the average host. But don’t worry, I’ll walk you through that. And they’re always there to help, via a help ticket or Discord.
Their pricing is very low compared to other Premium Minecraft Server providers. For a typical hosting configuration, you can expect to save 50% or more over other premium providers, without sacrificing performance or support. Read on for more details.
CloudNord Purchase and Set Up Walkthrough
Rather watch a video? I go through the entire purchase and setup process for both vanilla and modded Minecraft servers.
Pricing and Features
One thing that What makes CloudNord stand out is their entirely à la carte pricing model for Minecraft servers. Unlike many hosting services that bundle RAM, CPU, disk space, and other features into pre-set packages, CloudNord allows you to configure your server exactly how you want it. This gives you incredible control over your setup, but it can also feel overwhelming for those who aren’t sure what specifications they need. Don’t worry—I’ll provide some guidelines on how to configure your server based on what you’re planning to do with it.
Basic Server Cost
You start with a base server for $3.79 (before discounts, which are often available). From there, you customize everything, which makes it easy to scale your server up or down as your needs evolve. This flexibility is one of CloudNord’s strengths not only for the initial setup to optimize costs, but to tweak performance as you gain experience with your own server. You can tweak RAM by single GB and even CPU cores. That’s not something you can get just about anywhere else.
RAM Pricing
RAM is probably the most important consideration for a Minecraft server, and with CloudNord, you can add as much as you need for $1 to $1.60 per GB. The more RAM you add, the more expensive it becomes per gigabyte. This likely reflects the increasing hardware costs to support higher amounts of memory.
For example: 8 GB of RAM will cost you $11.24.
It’s worth mentioning that choosing the right amount of RAM for your server can be a bit more art than science. Too little RAM can lead to lag, especially with modpacks or lots of players, while too much RAM can be overkill and cost you more money than necessary. Generally, with vanilla servers, you can get away with 1 to 2 GB of RAM, while with larger modpacks, you might need 6 to 8 or more GB. The more players you have on at one time will also increase your RAM requirements. Generally, with mod pack servers and my typical 8 players, I start with 8GB and adjust from there. 6GB is a reasonable place to start out as well to get a feel for how RAM affects things.
CPU Core Pricing
CPU Cores is one configuration area that I don’t think I’ve seen other hosts allow as a configuration. You just get what you get as part of the package.
By default, you get one CPU core with your server. Minecraft is primarily a single-threaded application, so for vanilla servers, one core is usually sufficient. However, mods and plugins can be programmed to take advantage of multiple threads, meaning more cores will improve performance in those cases.
If you’re running a Vanilla server, I’d just start with the default one core to see what happens. For modded, I’d go with at least 2, probably 4 for larger packs that are likely to have mods that can use multiple cores.
The control panel will show you how much of your CPU is getting used, so you can always watch that and tweak.
CloudNord offers full cores, not threads, which is a significant distinction. You can add additional cores for about $1 to $2 per core. Similar to the RAM pricing, this cost increases as you add more cores, which is likely due to the additional hardware overhead for servers with multiple cores.
Intel Core i9 11900K vs AMD Ryzen 7 7700
Depending on where your server is hosted, you will get one of these two CPU options, though you cannot choose during the signup process. What’s better? If you’re running a vanilla or lightly modded Minecraft server, the Intel Core i9-11900K may edge out with its slightly better single-core performance and higher clock speed. However, if you plan to run heavily modded servers or host a large number of players, the AMD Ryzen 7 7700 could be a better choice due to its balance of single-core and multi-threaded performance, power efficiency, and better thermal management. Both are strong options, but the Ryzen 7 7700 offers more versatility for a wider variety of Minecraft setups.
I spoke to CloudNord about how you can choose which server you get. While you cannot choose during setup, and therefore you’ll just get one or the other (luck of the draw), you can request to change at any time. They’ll take care of transferring your server for you, to a different CPU or even a different region.
Server Location
CloudNord provides server locations around the world (Europe, United States, Canada, India, and Asia), which is a great advantage for ensuring low latency for your player base. However, there’s a $0.39 surcharge for servers located in North America., likely because of higher costs associated with those data centers.
Disk Space
While CloudNord provides uncapped disk space! My experience indicates that there is a soft cap in place. For example, my server initially had 80 GB of disk space, though CloudNord increased this limit upon request. They do need to put an initial limit on it to prevent abuse, so if your disk requirements are to supporting the game, they’ll increase it. So it’s worth asking support if you need more space which they’ll take care of very quickly.
Backups
CloudNord includes two full server backups by default, with the option to purchase additional backup slots for less than $1 per slot. This is a useful feature, especially if you’re managing a large server or experimenting with mods where things can go wrong. I find that 2 is plenty for my purposes. We do a daily backup, and having another one to make ad hoc backups is useful.
Dedicated IP and Personalized Domain
Most people don’t need a dedicated IP address, but there are certain times you can benefit from that as it gives you more control and flexibility over DNS and port configuration. For example, you can run Minecraft on its default port, 25565, only with a dedicated IP address. You can gain similar simplicity of not having to change the port by choosing a custom subdomain in the control panel. If you don’t know whether you need this, you probably don’t! You also have the option of setting up your own personal domain. Like I can have smp.jangro.com as my server address. Again, great for a professional Minecraft server. Probably not something you need.
Additional Support Options
CloudNord has prompt service through their internal ticketing system. In my experience, responses are always quite fast — within a few hours. An additional option is to get dedicated Discord support from the CloudNord team where you can submit tickets via Discord and get chat support there. This may seem like overkill, and it probably is for most. However having experienced Discord support first-hand with CloudNord, I can say that it’s great to have that extra level of service. If you know you’ll need a lot of support, this may be a great option. At least know that it’s there!
Proxy Server
You can get a proxy server on top of your game server for just a few dollars more. This allows you to have multiple servers with tools like Bungeecord. This option is required only for large professional Minecraft servers, and again, if you don’t know about this, you probably don’t need it!
Pricing Summary
Here’s a quick summary of what you can expect when configuring a Minecraft server with CloudNord:
- Base Server: $3.79 (before discounts)
- RAM: $1 to $1.60 per GB (e.g., 8 GB = $11.24)
- CPU Cores: $1 to $2 per core
- Server Location: +$1 surcharge for U.S. servers
- Disk Space: Uncapped
- Backups: 2 included, additional slots < $1 each
This à la carte model gives you ultimate flexibility, but it can also be a bit overwhelming if you’re new to hosting or unsure about what you need. The good news is that upgrading or downgrading your server is easy, so you’re not locked into your choices.
As you go through these sample configurations, you may be a bit shocked at how much cheaper CloudNord is compared to some other premium Minecraft hosts such as Bisect,
Note that you can get discounts from most hosting providers. The discounts generally come off the first month only for the entire package. The first month does look less expensive, but keep in mind that the recurring monthly fees will be higher. You can lock in those discounts by paying for a quarter or year in advance.
Sample Hosting Configurations
Since CloudNord is a la carte, it’s not easy to just compare plans with other hosts. Here are some sample configurations for easy comparisons.
Basic Vanilla Minecraft Server
Basic 2GB Server, one CPU Core – low end, vanilla only recommended. This is just a baseline, the lowest you can get, for comparison purposes. This server will run vanilla Minecraft (like a Paper server) for you and maybe one or two friends.
CloudNord Price: 2GB Server, one core: $3.78/mo
Compare to some of my other recommended premium hosts. Note that you can get discounts for these that will bring the price down at least for the first month. But even with the discounts, they don’t reach CloudNord’s pricing. See for yourself!
- Apex Hosting: 2GB Server, $7.99/mo ($5.99 first month)
- Bisect Hosting: 2GB Server, $9.98/mo (premium hosting, which includes one-click modpack installs and support)
- StickyPiston: 2GB Server, $9.99/mo (with my discount, JANGRO, you get 25% off forever, $7.99/mo)
Medium sized Modded Minecraft Server
6GB RAM and 2 CPU Cores – this is the basic, and smallest I’d recommend for a modded Minecraft server for you and one or two friends.
CloudNord Price: $13.82/mo
Compare with:
- Apex Hosting: 6GB Server, $22.49/mo ($16.87 first month, premium hosting)
- Bisect Hosting: 6GB Server, $29.94/mo (premium hosting, which includes one-click modpack installs and support)
- StickyPiston: 6GB Server, $29.99/mo (with my discount, JANGRO, you get 25% off forever, $23.99/mo, premium hosting)
High End Modded Minecraft Server
16GB of RAM, 5 CPU Cores. This is plenty of server for a large mod pack and 10+ players on at the same time.
CloudNord Price: $39.00/mo
Compare with: (note the number of CPU cores is not disclosed, it is likely less than 5 for these)
- Apex Hosting: 16GB Server, $51.99/mo ($38.99 first month, premium hosting)
- Bisect Hosting: 16GB Server, $79.84/mo (premium hosting, which includes one-click modpack installs and support)
- StickyPiston: 16GB Server, $69.99/mo (with my discount, JANGRO, you get 25% off forever, $55.99/mo, premium hosting)
In all cases, for very comparable services in all aspects, you can save 50% or more vs other hosting providers.
Control Panel Interface and Usability
If you’re used to the typical Multicraft control panel, which most hosting providers use, CloudNord’s panel will come across as different. They use a heavily modified Pterodactyl Minecraft Control panel. One benefit of this is that Multicraft recently increased prices by like 500% to hosting providers, which contributes to the cost to you. That’s another reason why CloudNord can keep prices lower.
Here’s the big picture view of the CloudNord Control panel.
There’s a lot here, but you can see the entire big picture from the live server console to the current CPU load and memory. You can see that I have 6 cores and 16GB on my server. Live graphs show the current CPU load and memory usage. There’s nobody on the server right now, so the load is low!
Starting and stopping the server is as simple as clicking the buttons in the upper left
And you can issue server commands right here on the console
You can manage the files via a web interface, and you can access the server through SFTP.
Major settings/features
Databases – you have access to a free MySQL database for plugins that require a database. Here I have BlueMap configured to use a database.
Schedules – you can set up cron-based scheduled commands. This includes standard commands like restarts and backups, and you can set up any server command on a schedule
Users – you can invite your team in to manage the server with various configurable levels of access
Backups – you have 2 backup slots by default, and can purchase more if needed. Backups will recycle, unless you lock them, like I did for this backup I took before we did a major update to the server
Subdomain – you can set up a subdomain for your server, which will be yourname.cloudnord.net. That allows your members to connect without worrying about the port number.
Startup Options – Fully configure your Java versions and options
Settings – in the settings menu is your SFTP login details and where you can change the name of the server
Minecraft Config – configure standard minecraft settings through a web interface. You can also edit the entire server properties.
Change Version – configure the plugin/mod loader type and version. Hmm. we need to update Forge!
Modpacks – one click modpack installation from all of the major mod pack providers.
Plugins – easy one-click installation of plugins for your paper/buckit server
Modpack Setup Walkthrough
Let’s go through the entire process from purchasing a server to setting up a modpack! Since I’m playing Craftoria right now on my YouTube channel, let’s use that as an example.
Go to CloudNord.net
Scroll down and select Minecraft server
Click Order Now
Go through the options to configure your server. For Craftoria, I want 8GB RAM and 4 Cores
I’m keeping everything else as the defaults. Confirm the price and click Continue
Fill in all the billing info, prove you’re a human, agree to the terms, and checkout!
After you click Checkout, give it some time to get to the next screen.
Click continue to Client Area to see your dashboard. Scroll down a bit if you don’t see your active products.
Click the Manage Button
Click the Go to Panel button. At this point, you’ll need your panel login, which will be different than your billing login. Check your email. You’ll have received a number of emails from CloudNord
The one with the subject “Account Created” will have a button to set up your panel account/
Set your password, and reset it. This is what you will use to get into the game panel. You’ll go straight to the game panel and you’ll see your server.
Click on your server. And now we can set it up! Your server will already be running, but that’s just a vanilla server. Let’s change it to Craftoria.
Scoll down and click on Modpacks in the menu
I changed the Provider to Curseforge and searched for Craftoria
Then Click the Install Button.
Select the Delete files option (if you’re sure of this, but with this new install, there’s nothing to worry about!) and install modpack.
Navigate back to the server, and you’ll continue to see this until the installation is complete.
Eventually, after a few minutes, the server control panel will come back, and the server will be off.
Before we start it, let’s just set the subdomain.
Go to the subdomain menu, and click Create Subdomain. Enter a unique name in the subdomain field. Case doesn’t matter.
Now your server has a friendly server address. Let’s start the server. In the upper left, click the “Play” button
You can navigate back to the console and watch it start up
It has started!
Now in Minecraft with Craftoria loaded, let’s add our server to the Multiplayer Settings.
It’s alive!
Click Play…
What? Right in the middle of an Archwood Forest? I’ve looked everywhere for this on my YouTube Craftoria Series. Nice seed.
And there you go. All up and running.
But what if we had problems? There are a lot of moving parts with installation scripts, and third party servers where files come from, etc. So things can and will go wrong. That’s ok. CloudNord has great support…
Customer Support and Documentation
Don’t worry. If you have problems, you can open a ticket or join the discord. CloudNord’s support is fast, friendly, and helpful.
CloudNord does have a small knowledgebase, but it’s not very populated yet. Your best bet is to open a support ticket!
Is CloudNord Right for You?
After extensively testing CloudNord’s Minecraft hosting services, I can confidently say that they offer incredible value, flexibility, and support for Minecraft server owners, especially those running modded setups. Their à la carte pricing model allows you to fully customize your server, which can be overwhelming at first but ultimately gives you more control than most other hosts. With CloudNord, you only pay for what you need, and it’s easy to adjust your server specs as your requirements change.
Their pricing is significantly lower than many premium Minecraft hosts, and the performance remains on par with bigger names in the industry. The fact that they offer features like full core CPUs, scalable RAM, and customizable backup options at a fraction of the cost makes CloudNord stand out as a competitive choice.
In the end, after things are set up, you generally don’t do much with a Minecraft server other than routine maintenance like backups and restarts. Long term, what you really care about is performance, reliability, cost, and having help when you need it. This is where CloudNord truly shines. Their personal level of support, especially on their Discord server, ensures that any issues are handled quickly and professionally. Whether you’re new to hosting or an experienced admin, their support team is fast, knowledgeable, and willing to go the extra mile.
For those who value flexibility, performance, and cost-effectiveness—and don’t mind a bit of extra configuration—CloudNord is an excellent option. Whether you’re running a small vanilla server for friends or a large modded server for a community, CloudNord provides the tools, support, and performance to meet your needs without breaking the bank.
Best Value
CloudNord Minecraft Server Hosting
CloudNord offers powerful and customizable Minecraft server hosting at an affordable price. You have full control over your server’s RAM, CPU cores, and other features. CloudNord provides reliable performance, exceptional support through their Discord, and flexibility for everything from small vanilla servers to large modded communities—all without breaking the bank.
Get Your Server
We earn a commission if you make a purchase, at no additional cost to you.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. What is CloudNord, and why should I use it for Minecraft server hosting?
CloudNord is a premium Minecraft hosting provider offering customizable server options. You can configure RAM, CPU, backups, and more to fit your exact needs. They provide high-performance hosting with competitive pricing, making them a great choice for both small and large Minecraft servers.
2. How much RAM do I need for my Minecraft server on CloudNord?
The amount of RAM depends on the type of server you’re running. For vanilla Minecraft, you can start with as little as 2-4GB. For modded servers, it’s recommended to start with 6-8GB or more. CloudNord allows you to adjust RAM at any time, and their pricing ranges from $1 to $1.60 per GB.
3. Can I run modded Minecraft servers on CloudNord?
Yes, CloudNord fully supports modded Minecraft servers. They offer one-click modpack installations from popular modpack providers like CurseForge. You can customize your server’s specs to ensure smooth performance with any modpack you choose.
4. How easy is it to set up a Minecraft server with CloudNord?
CloudNord makes setup easy with a user-friendly control panel and one-click modpack installations. Their interface is designed for both beginners and advanced users, and they provide detailed support if you run into any issues during setup.
5. What control panel does CloudNord use for managing Minecraft servers?
CloudNord uses a customized version of the Pterodactyl control panel. This panel provides powerful features, including live server monitoring, console access, SFTP file management, and automatic backups, giving you full control over your server.
6. Can I upgrade or downgrade my server specifications with CloudNord?
Yes, CloudNord makes it easy to upgrade or downgrade your server’s specs. You can add more RAM, CPU cores, or even change the server location as your needs evolve. The flexibility of their à la carte pricing allows you to adjust your server at any time.
7. Does CloudNord provide support for Minecraft server issues?
Yes, CloudNord offers prompt support through their internal ticketing system and dedicated Discord server. Whether you need technical help or advice on setting up mods, their support team is responsive and knowledgeable.
8. Does CloudNord offer backups for Minecraft servers?
Yes, CloudNord includes two full server backups by default. You can purchase additional backup slots for less than $1 each if needed. This ensures that your world and server settings are always safe, even in case of issues or crashes.
9. What are the server location options with CloudNord?
CloudNord offers server locations in Europe, the United States, Canada, India, and Asia. There is a small surcharge of around $1 for North American servers, but this wide range of locations helps ensure low latency for your players, no matter where they are.
10. Can I get a dedicated IP address with CloudNord?
Yes, CloudNord offers the option to purchase a dedicated IP address. This is useful if you want to run Minecraft on the default port (25565) or need more control over DNS settings and custom domains for your server.
