Crossplay Minecraft server hosting, one world for Java and Bedrock.
Your friends join on the edition they already own, all on the same address: PC and Mac on Java, phones, tablets, Windows and consoles on Bedrock. Nobody buys Minecraft a second time, and nobody but you pays for the server — from $0.08/hr awake, and only for the hours it’s online.
~9 hours to try · no card · instant setup
Java and Bedrock players cannot join the same server as it ships: the two editions speak different protocols, and no setting inside Minecraft bridges them. What does is an ordinary Java Edition server with two open-source pieces in front of it — and on Pixly both arrive from one switch in Settings, with no builds to match, no config file to edit, and nothing to redo after an update.
Geyser and Floodgate are what make crossplay work
Both are built by the GeyserMC project, which states plainly that it is not associated with Mojang or Microsoft. They do two different jobs, and a crossplay server needs both. For the manual route on a server that is not ours, the Geyser and Floodgate setup guide walks through both installs.
Geyser
Translates Bedrock's protocol at the door. Your server sees a Bedrock player as an ordinary Java player, and the world stays a plain Java world. It only works in that direction — Geyser cannot put Java players onto a Bedrock server.
Floodgate
Handles the login. With Geyser alone, every Bedrock friend would still need a paid Java Edition account. Floodgate removes that requirement, so they sign in with the Microsoft account already on their console or phone.
GeyserMC is blunt that the shortcut — running Geyser in offline mode instead of installing Floodgate — is dangerous and against Mojang's EULA. That is why Pixly installs the pair together rather than offering them as two choices.
Crossplay is a server-side bridge: Java, phone and PC friends add an address and join.
Turn it on, restart, share one address
Doing this by hand means matching Geyser and Floodgate builds to your server software, opening a port, editing Geyser's config, and repeating it after Minecraft updates. On Pixly it is three moves.
Getting both editions into one world
- Turn on Bedrock crossplay in Settings. It adds Geyser and Floodgate to the server's install list and sets both up for you.
- Restart the server. Both projects arrive on the way back up. Your address stays the same, and the Connection card now labels it Java & Bedrock Edition.
- Share the one address with everyone. Your own domain works too, if you set one up.
Java Edition friends on PC and Mac add something like cozyglade-7x.pixly.gg once under Multiplayer → Add Server, and it is good for every restart after. Bedrock friends on phone, tablet and Windows open their Servers screen and add the very same name, no port needed — from then on your world sits in their list like any other, and joining is one tap.
The two lines players read under your name in that list are yours to style, and the Minecraft MOTD generator writes them visually.
Consoles join through a server-list app
Xbox, PlayStation and Switch players join through a server-list app or a DNS option, because the console editions show a curated Featured Servers list rather than an address field. It works the same way on every host, and nothing changes on your server.
Nobody buys Minecraft twice, and one person pays
A Bedrock friend joins with the copy they already have, because Floodgate authenticates them against their Microsoft account rather than a Java one. A Java friend uses their usual Java account. There is no second purchase anywhere in this — the whole bridge lives on the server.
Pixly bills the account that created the world, by the hour, for the hours the server is online. There is no per-player charge, so two friends and twenty cost the same per hour, and the maximum player count is a field you set rather than a number attached to a plan. Crossplay is included on every size, alongside daily backups, DDoS protection and dedicated CPU and RAM.
Servers run in United States — Portland, Oregon and Ashburn, Virginia; Asia Pacific — Singapore; Europe — Frankfurt, Germany.
The one thing hourly billing changes for a mixed group is when the meter runs: the server sleeps five minutes after the last player leaves, whichever edition they were on, and the hourly charge stops there until the next friend joins and wakes it. The pay-per-hour Minecraft server hosting page explains the billing model in full, and what a Minecraft server costs works it out at real play patterns.
A Realm
Mojang's own wording is that Realms is cross-platform, but only within the same game edition. A Java Realm admits Java players and a Bedrock Realm admits Bedrock players. There is no plugin or mod to install, so there is nowhere for the bridge to live.
A crossplay server
One world, one address, and every edition in it. Mixing the editions is the specific thing Geyser exists for, and it needs a server you can install a plugin or a mod on.
The Minecraft Realms alternative page compares the two side by side.
Which server types can run the Geyser bridge
Geyser lives inside the server as a plugin or a mod, so it needs server software with somewhere to attach. Settings tells you before you commit: when a type-and-version combination cannot work, the toggle is disabled with the reason spelled out rather than failing after a restart.
- Plugin worlds — Paper, Purpur, Pufferfish, Leaf, and Folia — Geyser and Floodgate install as two ordinary plugins. This is the most common crossplay setup: survival that plays like vanilla for your group, plugins for everything else.
- Modded worlds — Fabric, NeoForge, and Quilt — the same two pieces install as mods, so a modded world and crossplay are not either-or. Modded Minecraft server hosting digs into loaders and packs.
- Where it does not run — Vanilla and Forge — the stock Mojang jar has no loader for the bridge to live in, and Geyser publishes no build for Forge. Both are a Settings change away, and switching server type keeps your world in place.
The server is Java underneath, which is what lets every edition in. Java friends on day-one launchers still connect: on every crossplay type except NeoForge, Pixly adds ViaVersion while Geyser catches up with a new Minecraft release, and drops it again once your pinned version is the latest. The few details that look different on Bedrock are in the questions below.
Crossplay hosting questions
The ones a mixed Java-and-Bedrock group asks before it commits to one world.
Can Java and Bedrock players play together?
Not on a plain server: Mojang's own answer is that the two editions use different servers, so Java and Bedrock players cannot play together. They can on a Java Edition server running Geyser, which translates Bedrock's protocol, with Floodgate beside it to handle Bedrock logins. That combination is what crossplay Minecraft server hosting means, and on Pixly it is one switch in Settings rather than a build you assemble.
How do I let Bedrock players join my Java server?
By hand it means installing Geyser on server software that accepts plugins or mods, installing Floodgate as a second piece, opening the port Bedrock connects on, editing Geyser's config, and redoing the matching after Minecraft updates. On Pixly you turn on Bedrock crossplay in Settings and restart: the server installs and sets up both projects itself, and Bedrock players add the same address as Java players.
Do Bedrock players need a Java account?
No. With Geyser alone they would — GeyserMC says Floodgate is what removes that requirement — and Pixly installs Floodgate with Geyser every time, so Bedrock friends authenticate with the Microsoft account already signed in on their device. Java friends connect with their usual account, and nobody buys Minecraft a second time.
How do console and phone players actually join?
Phone, tablet and Windows players open Bedrock's Servers tab, add the address from the Connection card — the same server name Java players use, no port needed — and join from their list. Xbox, PlayStation and Switch show a curated Featured Servers list rather than an address field, so console players join through one of the routes GeyserMC documents, such as the BedrockConnect DNS service or a companion phone app, and then play in the same world as everyone else.
Can Java and Bedrock play together on Minecraft Realms?
No. Mojang's Realms page states that Realms is cross-platform, but only within the same game edition — a Java Realm is for Java players and a Bedrock Realm is for Bedrock players. Bridging the two editions is exactly what Geyser exists for, and it needs a server you can install a plugin or mod on, which a Realm is not.
Can any server type turn on crossplay?
Geyser has to attach to something, so crossplay runs on Paper, Purpur, Pufferfish, Leaf, and Folia, where it installs as a plugin, and on Fabric, NeoForge, and Quilt, where it installs as a mod. Vanilla and Forge are out — the stock Mojang jar has no loader for it, and Geyser publishes no build for Forge — and moving either to a supported type is a Settings change that keeps your world in place.
Does crossplay work on a modded server?
Yes. Everything that runs on the server applies to everyone: on a mod loader the bridge installs beside your mods, and worldgen, mechanics, plugins and datapacks work for every player. Mods that add blocks, items or mobs are drawn by each player's own game, and Mojang lists mods as Java-only, so Bedrock players see stand-ins for that content. The whole group still shares one world, whichever edition each friend plays on.
What doesn't work the same for Bedrock players?
A short list of details, published by GeyserMC itself: clickable links in chat, the glowing effect, custom enchantments, banner layers past the sixth, invisible item frames, custom anvil and smithing recipes, and anything relying on tab-completion. Floodgate prefixes Bedrock names with a dot and turns spaces into underscores, so copy a name from the player list rather than typing it from memory. A Java resource pack does not convert to Bedrock by itself — GeyserMC's Thunder converter, still in early beta, handles simple packs — so a shared look means shipping a Bedrock pack alongside it. Building, exploring, redstone, commands and farms all behave exactly as they do on Java.
Does crossplay cost extra to host?
No. The toggle is included on every plan, and a crossplay world is billed like the rest: a per-hour rate while it is running, no hourly charge while it sleeps, and only a small storage fee continuing. There is no per-player charge either, so adding Bedrock friends changes nothing on the bill. About 9 hours of play come with a new account, so a mixed group can test it without a card.
Why is my crossplay server a version behind Minecraft?
Geyser can only translate a release it has been taught, and that teaching can land after Minecraft updates. Pinning the server one release back keeps Bedrock friends connecting. ViaVersion publishes no build for NeoForge, so there newest-release Java clients wait for the server to catch up; on every other crossplay type Pixly adds ViaVersion automatically, so freshly updated Java launchers get straight in.
Get every device into one world
Create a server, turn the crossplay switch on, and share one address. Start with about 9 hours of play to try it, then pay for the time you play.
No card to start