Hosting your own Minecraft server means the world your friends play in runs on hardware you control: no slot caps, no plugin restrictions, no per-player pricing. This guide walks the path on a Linux VPS or dedicated server, from sizing the machine and choosing between vanilla, Paper, Fabric and NeoForge to installing Java 25 and writing a systemd unit that survives reboots. It also covers JVM sizing with Aikar's flags, the firewall rule and SRV record that let players in, whitelisting, backups, safe updating, and Bedrock crossplay through Geyser and Floodgate.

The three big media servers used to differ mainly in polish. After Plex's 2025–2026 pricing changes (remote streaming behind a paywall, the lifetime pass at $749.99) the differences are now philosophical: fully free and open, freemium-with-account, or quietly commercial. This comparison lays out what's actually paywalled where, the remote-access and privacy models, honest transcoding hardware guidance for server deployments, and a verdict by user type.