May I sell ranks on my Minecraft server?

Yes, as long as a rank only gives cosmetic or social perks: name colour, chat prefix, cosmetics, a thank-you. If a rank gives extra homes, claims, items or abilities, it is a gameplay advantage and that is forbidden.

May I charge money just to play on my server?

Yes. A fixed entry price that is the same for everyone, for example a paid whitelist for an SMP, is allowed. What is not allowed is paid access to parts of the game that other players cannot reach.

Are loot boxes or crate keys allowed?

Only if the contents are entirely cosmetic. As soon as a crate can contain items, money or advantages usable in gameplay, it counts as selling gameplay advantages and is not allowed.

No. Capes and anything that visually works like a Minecraft cape are explicitly excluded, even if they are otherwise purely cosmetic. Other cosmetics such as hats, trails and particle effects are fine.

// Minecraft

Making money with your Minecraft server: what the EULA allows

4 September 2026 · 4 min read

A server for twenty players with a few plugins quickly costs ten euros a month, a network with minigames many times that. It is only logical that server owners look to their players to cover those costs. Mojang, the maker of Minecraft, allows that, but the EULA and the Commercial Usage Guidelines draw a sharp line: you may charge money as long as paying players get no advantage in the game over players who do not pay. Cross that line and you risk your server being removed from server lists or receiving a request to close the store. This article explains the rules in the language of a server owner and shows what a store looks like that stays inside them.

The principle: the same gameplay for everyone

The core of the guidelines is easy to summarise: everyone who plays on your server must have access to the same gameplay. So you may not sell items, abilities or advantages that make a paying player stronger than a non-paying one. That applies to items (a diamond sword in the store), to abilities (flying in survival, walking faster, extra lives) and to access to game content others cannot reach (an exclusive world with better loot). The guideline calls this a "gameplay advantage" and it is forbidden, whether you call it a donation, a rank or a package.

What is allowed

Cosmetics. Anything purely visual or social: particle effects, chat colours, prefixes and suffixes, name colours, join and leave messages, pets that only follow you, trails, hats and cosmetic armour without stats. One exception: capes, or anything that looks like a Minecraft cape, may not be sold.
Ranks with social or cosmetic perks. A VIP rank may give a coloured name, its own chat prefix, access to a cosmetics menu and a thank-you in the MOTD. As soon as a rank also gives keep-inventory, extra homes or a larger claim area, it is a gameplay advantage.
Access to the server as a whole. You may charge a fixed amount to play at all, as long as it is the same for everyone. A paid whitelist for a small SMP falls under this.
Donations without an in-game reward. A thank-you in Discord or a cosmetic badge is fine.
Advertising on your website or in the lobby, and sponsorship, as long as you do not use Mojang or Minecraft branding as if they endorsed you.

What is not allowed

Selling items, blocks, tools, weapons or armour with better properties.
Selling abilities that give an advantage in survival: flying, extra health, faster mining, more homes or claims than free players, shorter cooldowns.
Selling access to worlds, dungeons or events with better rewards than free players can obtain.
Loot boxes or crates whose contents include gameplay advantages.
Selling in-game currency that can be spent on items in the server economy — that is selling items by another route.
Capes, and using the name Minecraft or Mojang in your server name or store in a way that suggests they are behind it.

The grey areas where most servers go wrong

Three situations keep coming back. First: "shorter waiting time". Putting a paying player earlier in the queue is allowed; a shorter cooldown on a teleport in survival is a gameplay advantage. Second: "more of the same". More homes, more claim blocks or more plots seem innocent, but they are concrete advantages in the game. Third: minigames. On a minigame server you may sell cosmetics and access to extra game modes, as long as the mode itself is the same for paying and non-paying players. A kit with better weapons in a PvP mode is forbidden.

If in doubt, use this test: would a player who never pays be at a disadvantage in a fight or a race for resources because of what you sell? If yes, it is not allowed.

Setting up a store that works

The practical setup is standard by now: a web store plugin (Tebex is the best known) that handles purchases through a website and runs a command on the server, linked to a permissions plugin such as LuckPerms that grants the cosmetic rank. Put the store on a subdomain of your own domain, state clearly that the items are cosmetic, and keep prices fair: a cosmetic rank of five euros sells more often than one of thirty. Also keep consumer rules in mind: a purchase by a minor can be reversed, and a clear description of what someone buys prevents chargebacks.

A worked example: a server with 40 active players of whom 10% buy a €5 cosmetic rank and 3 players donate €3 a month brings in €35. That comfortably covers an 8 to 12 GB server with plugins, without anyone having bought an advantage.

What to state in your store and on your website

A few sentences prevent most problems. State with every product that it is a cosmetic item or a rank without gameplay benefit, and that purchases apply on your server and not in the game itself. Mention that your server is not run or endorsed by Mojang or Microsoft; the guidelines explicitly ask for that. Give a contact address for refunds and follow consumer law for distance selling, including the right to withdraw from a purchase that has not yet been delivered. And keep the store separate from the donation button: a donation is a gift, a purchase is a sales contract, and mixing the two causes trouble with chargebacks.

What happens if you break the rules

Mojang does not enforce with an army of lawyers, but through the community: server lists exclude servers that are pay-to-win, players report them, and in serious cases the owner receives a request to stop. For a server that is growing it is therefore also commercially wiser to stay inside the lines from day one; rebuilding a store later almost always means angry paying players.

In short

Sell only what does not change the game: appearance, chat, social status.
Ranks are fine as long as they give no homes, claims, items or abilities.
No capes, no in-game currency that can buy items, no loot boxes with advantages.
A fixed entry price for everyone is allowed; donations without a reward too.
Use a web store with clear descriptions and refer to Mojang's guidelines.
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Anyone who offers players a good server usually earns enough to cover hosting — without anyone ever having to buy an advantage. More on building a community that stays is in our article on promoting your server.

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