URL: https://vanillarealms.com/vs-minecraft-realms Title: Vanilla Realms vs Minecraft Realms: What's the Difference? Description: Vanilla Realms is a free public semi-vanilla SMP run by Thunder Studios, not Mojang's paid Minecraft Realms. Compare cost, who can join, crossplay and world resets. Updated: 6 November 2026 # Vanilla Realms vs Minecraft Realms: what's the difference? Updated 6 November 2026 Vanilla Realms is a free public semi-vanilla SMP server run by Thunder Studios, not Mojang's Minecraft Realms subscription. Anyone can join it at join.vanillarealms.com on Java, or join.vanillarealms.com port 19132 on Bedrock, with no invite and no subscription. Minecraft Realms is Mojang's paid private-world hosting: one player subscribes to a Realm and invites friends. Vanilla Realms is an independent community server, not affiliated with Mojang's Minecraft Realms, Mojang or Microsoft. ## Server address - Java Edition address: join.vanillarealms.com - Bedrock Edition address: join.vanillarealms.com - Bedrock port: 19132 ## Vanilla Realms and Minecraft Realms side by side Minecraft Realms facts from minecraft.net, checked 6 November 2026 (sources below). Vanilla Realms player numbers are live. | Compared | Vanilla Realms | Minecraft Realms | | --- | --- | --- | | Who runs it | Thunder Studios, which also runs Vanilla+ and Cherry Survival. An independent server, not affiliated with Mojang or Microsoft. | Mojang, as part of Minecraft. Each Realm is a private server that one player subscribes to and invites friends into. | | Cost | Free to play. The optional store sells four paid ranks, crate keys and claim blocks; no gear and no currency. | A monthly subscription paid by the Realm's owner. On 6 November 2026 minecraft.net listed Realms for Bedrock at $3.99 USD a month, Realms Plus for Bedrock at $7.99 USD a month and Realms for Java at $7.99 USD a month. Invited friends play free, and new subscribers get a 30-day free trial. | | Who can join | Anyone. It is a public server with no whitelist and no application. | Only players the owner invites, by gamertag or with a share link. A Realm can have up to 10,000 invited members. | | Players online | Live count of real players at vanillarealms.com/stats. Real players only, counted every 30 seconds by our server monitor; simulated and placeholder players are excluded. | Up to 11 at once (the owner plus 10) on Realms for Java and Realms Plus; up to 3 at once (the owner plus 2) on Realms for Bedrock. | | Java and Bedrock | Both, in one shared world: Bedrock joins through Geyser. Java 1.17 or newer. | One edition per Realm. Java Realms are for Java players and Bedrock Realms for Bedrock players; Bedrock Realms work across Bedrock devices and consoles. | | Mods and plugins | Plugins run on the server: GriefPrevention land claims, ranks, crates and player shops. You join with the normal game, with nothing to install. Vivecraft is supported. | Mojang's plan table lists "Supports user-created content" (add-ons, worlds) and Marketplace content for Bedrock Realms. For Java Realms it lists "Includes free community content" and no Marketplace. | | World resets | The survival world has never been reset; the server has been online since 2020. The resource worlds reset every 7 and 30 days, and a new crate season every two months resets gear and currencies, not builds. | Up to the owner. A Realm holds three world slots with one playable at a time, and the owner can replace a world whenever they want. Mojang warns that replacing a world can lose progress and that backups are not kept forever. | | How to join | Java: Multiplayer, Add Server, join.vanillarealms.com. Bedrock: Servers, Add Server, join.vanillarealms.com, port 19132. Xbox, PlayStation and Switch: the BedrockConnect DNS method. | Accept an invite from the Realm's owner, sent to your gamertag or as a share link, then join from inside Minecraft. On consoles, Mojang notes that multiplayer needs the platform's own online subscription. | Sources for Minecraft Realms, all on minecraft.net and checked 6 November 2026: [Minecraft Realms & Realms Plus](https://www.minecraft.net/en-us/realms) (plans, prices, players at once, invited members, editions, free trial, world slots, user-created content), [Change Your Realm Worlds](https://www.minecraft.net/en-us/realms/change-realm-world) (replacing worlds, backups) and [Invite a Friend Using Share Links](https://www.minecraft.net/en-us/realms/invite-using-share-links). Prices can change; minecraft.net has the current ones. Vanilla Realms facts come from the server's configuration and documentation, and the player numbers from our server monitor. ## Why the two get mixed up Both names contain "Realms". Minecraft Realms is Mojang's own service for renting a private world, built into the game's menus. Vanilla Realms is the name of one public community server, online since 2020. The server has no connection to the Realms service: it is not in the Realms menu, it needs no subscription, and it is not run or endorsed by Mojang or Microsoft. ## Which one is right for you? - **Vanilla Realms** if you want a public survival world with other players, land claims, an emerald economy and Java and Bedrock friends together, for free. The downside: emerald income is capped at 50 per four hours, so getting rich is slow by design, and the paid ranks include keep inventory. - **Minecraft Realms** if you want a private world that only the friends you invite can enter, that you control and can replace whenever you like, and you are happy to pay a monthly subscription. ## How to join Vanilla Realms 1. **Java:** Multiplayer, Add Server, address `join.vanillarealms.com`. 2. **Bedrock on phone or Windows:** Servers, Add Server, address `join.vanillarealms.com`, port `19132`. 3. **Xbox, PlayStation and Switch** cannot add a server address directly; they need the BedrockConnect DNS method. [Console steps](https://vanillarealms.com/join#consoles). 4. No whitelist and no application. Join and play. ## What Vanilla Realms looks like ![Vanilla Realms spawn: a giant tree over a stone plaza, with signs for the crates, the portal and the traders](https://vanillarealms.com/img/spawn-1600.jpg) **Spawn** A giant tree over a stone plaza, with signs for the crates, the portal and the traders. ![Armoured players fighting on the sand floor of a colosseum-style arena, one of them on fire](https://vanillarealms.com/img/arena-1600.jpg) **PvP arena** Armoured players fighting on the sand floor of a colosseum-style arena, the opt-in PvP world reached with `/arena`. ## Vanilla Realms and Minecraft Realms questions ### Is Vanilla Realms the same as Minecraft Realms? No. Vanilla Realms is a free public semi-vanilla SMP server run by Thunder Studios. Minecraft Realms is Mojang's paid private-world hosting, where one player subscribes to a Realm and invites friends. Vanilla Realms is not affiliated with Mojang or Microsoft. ### Do I need a Realms subscription to play on Vanilla Realms? No. Vanilla Realms is free to play, with no subscription and no invite. Java players add join.vanillarealms.com as a server; Bedrock players add join.vanillarealms.com with port 19132. ### How much does Minecraft Realms cost? On 6 November 2026, [minecraft.net listed](https://www.minecraft.net/en-us/realms) Realms for Bedrock at $3.99 USD a month, Realms Plus for Bedrock at $7.99 USD a month and Realms for Java at $7.99 USD a month, with a 30-day free trial for new subscribers. Invited friends play free. Vanilla Realms is free to play. ### Can Java and Bedrock players play together? On Vanilla Realms, yes: Java and Bedrock share one world, with Bedrock joining through Geyser. A Minecraft Realm takes one edition only: Java Realms are for Java players and Bedrock Realms for Bedrock players. ### Does the Vanilla Realms world reset? No. The Vanilla Realms survival world has never been reset since the server went online in 2020. The resource worlds reset every 7 and 30 days, and a new crate season every two months resets gear and currencies, not builds. On Minecraft Realms, the owner can replace the Realm's world whenever they want. ### Can I find Vanilla Realms in the Realms menu? No. Vanilla Realms is a server, not a Realm, so it is not in the Realms menu. On Java, use Multiplayer, Add Server; on Bedrock, the Servers tab, Add Server. Xbox, PlayStation and Switch cannot add a server address directly and need the [BedrockConnect DNS method](https://vanillarealms.com/join#consoles). ## More about Vanilla Realms - [Vanilla Realms home](https://vanillarealms.com/): the server at a glance. - [How to join](https://vanillarealms.com/join) on Java, Bedrock and console. - [Land claims and PvP](https://vanillarealms.com/claims): claim blocks, trust and opting in to PvP. - [Emerald economy](https://vanillarealms.com/economy): emeralds, the trade cap, player shops and NPC traders. - [Player stats](https://vanillarealms.com/stats): live real-player count, 30-day average, peak and uptime. - [About](https://vanillarealms.com/about) Vanilla Realms and Thunder Studios. Spotted a mistake? Email corrections to ops@thunderstudios.dev.