There are various ways to troubleshoot and reduce lag on a Minecraft server. Several potential lag causes exist, such as excessive entities, redstone circuits, and plugins. Solutions include adjusting server settings, optimizing plugins, and upgrading hardware. It is vital to regularly monitor server performance and take action to reduce lag as soon as possible to ensure an enjoyable gameplay experience. The guide below provides practical steps for Minecraft server owners to improve server performance and reduce lag.

Lag Types	Description	Learn More
Server-side	Server-side lag refers to a drop in ticks per second (TPS). The entire world is slowing down Mined blocks randomly reappear Mobs and animals freezing All players are experiencing the same delay	Server Lag
Connection	Connection lag is when a player has a high ping. Actions like opening chests take an extra second Players teleport backward while running (Rubberbanding)	Connection Lag
Client-side	Client-side lag is a performance issue on the player's computer. Only the individual player's screen is stuttering The client's FPS is dropping or spiking Gameplay looks like a choppy video	Client FPS Lag

Server Lag

Server RAM

RAM is used to store the player, entity, plugins/mods, and chunk data. A server’s JVM will have to do much more work, such as garbage collection, to keep up if it does not have enough RAM, which causes lag on the Minecraft server.

Install the Server Stats addon to get a better insight into the server's resource utilization. Learn how install to here.

Note: Excessive RAM can negatively impact the server.

BisectHosting also offers a temporary increase in server RAM with BisectBoost. Applying a temporary RAM boost to the server will help troubleshoot it and handle heavier loads. Learn how to purchase BisectBoost here.

Related Article: How to Upgrade or Downgrade a Server

Server TPS

TPS, or ticks per second, measures the performance and stability of Minecraft servers and is capped at 20.00 TPS. A few examples of a Minecraft server load include mob and player movement, growing crops, and sending redstone signals. If the server is running at 20 TPS, it means the server will update 20 times per second.

Running a performance profiler on a Minecraft server generates a report to help diagnose performance issues.

Server Lag Fixes

Server Properties

Property	Description
View Distance	It is recommended to change the view distance to `6`. This will not make any noticeable difference to players, but it can significantly improve the server's performance. Related Article: How to Change the View Distance on a Minecraft Server
Simulation Distance	Every chunk within a server's simulation distance is actively ticking. Lowering the simulation distance by `1` with the view distance, or simply matching the values, improves server performance without sacrificing the gameplay experience. Related Article: How to Change the Simulation Distance on a Minecraft Server
Entity Broadcast Range Percentage	The Entity Broadcast Range Percentage determines how close a player must be before the server actually sends entity data to their computer. Lowering the broadcast range to `70%` or `60%` reduces lag for players within range of distant massive entities, such as mob farms or dropped items. Related Article: How to Change the Entity Broadcast Range on a Minecraft Server
Mob Despawn Range	Managing the mob despawn range ensures that the mob cap is filled only with monsters actively interacting with players. Match the mob despawn range with settings like simulation distance to optimize server performance. Related Article: How to Change the Mob Spawn Range on a Minecraft Server
Max Tick Time	The Max Tick Time setting defines how many milliseconds a single tick is allowed to take before the server decides it is completely frozen and forces a shutdown. Setting the max tick time from the default `60000` (60 seconds) to `240000` milliseconds gives the server the breathing room it needs to finish processing heavy loads and recover naturally without crashing. Related Article: How to Change the Max Tick Time on a Minecraft Server

General Optimization

Set up Automated Restarts

Setting up automatic restarts can help the server run more smoothly by freeing up RAM. It can also reclaim RAM used by plugins and mods with small memory leaks.

Aikar's Flags

When Minecraft's Java engine pauses to clean up memory, players experience "tick spikes" or sudden rubber-banding. Aikar's Flags are optimized startup arguments to eliminate these performance dips.

Pregenerate Worlds

When a player steps into a brand-new area, the server has to generate everything from scratch. Pregenerating a world means running a tool that forces the server to generate and save all these chunks before players log in to eliminate chunk generation lag.

Related Article: How to Pregenerate a World on a Minecraft Server

Performance Mods

Using performance mods is a great way to reduce server lag. Whether running a traditional plugin-based server or a massive modded server network, performance utilities like ClearLagg and DarkTimer act as automated janitors. These utilities run entirely server-side, allowing players to join seamlessly with a standard game client. They provide a vital layer of insurance, ensuring that a single broken automated farm or an accidental item explosion won't crash the server for everyone else online.

PaperMC or Spigot

Unlike the default vanilla software, Spigot and PaperMC run much more smoothly by letting the server handle heavy tasks like map loading and monster movement in the background. They give server administrators total control to optimize game settings, while still allowing players to join easily using the standard, unmodified game.

Connection Lag

Latency, or ping, is the time it takes for packets to reach the server from the computer. Users too far from the server will experience high latency, and packets from the computer will take longer to reach the server. For example, if players place a block on the server, it may take a second actually to put it there, or if players hit another player, it may take a second for the damage to register.

Fast latency: 0-100ms
Medium latency: 100-200ms
Slow latency: 200-300ms
Laggy latency: 300+ms

Related Article: How to Ping a Minecraft Server

Connection Lag Fixes

If the latency to the server exceeds 200ms, it means the client is too far away from the server. There is no way to fix high latency, as it is determined by physical location. However, BisectHosting offers servers in multiple places so players can achieve the best possible latency.

1. Open the Command Prompt app.

2. Input the following with a Test Address from the table below: ping -n 5 <Test Server>

Note: Use ping -c 5 <Test Server> for Mac/Linux.

3. Press Enter on the keyboard to run the command.

Location	Test Server
Amsterdam	`ams.bisecthosting.com`
Atlanta, GA	`atlanta.bisecthosting.com`
Buffalo, NY	`buffalo.bisecthosting.com`
Chicago, IL	`chicago.bisecthosting.com`
Dallas, TX	`dallas.bisecthosting.com`
France	`france.bisecthosting.com`
Germany	`germany.bisecthosting.com`
Hillsboro, OR	`hillsboro.bisecthosting.com`
Hong Kong	`hongkong.bisecthosting.com`
Jersey City, NJ	`jersey.bisecthosting.com`
London, United Kingdom	`uk.bisecthosting.com`
Los Angeles, CA	`la.bisecthosting.com`
Miami, FL	`miami.bisecthosting.com`
Montreal, Canada	`montreal.bisecthosting.com`
Mumbai	`mumbai.bisecthosting.com`
Poland	`poland.bisecthosting.com`
São Paulo, Brazil	`brazil.bisecthosting.com`
Seattle, WA	`seattle.bisecthosting.com`
Singapore	`singapore.bisecthosting.com`
Sydney, AU	`sydney.bisecthosting.com`
Vint Hill, VA	`vinthill.bisecthosting.com`

4. If users experience lower latency at another location, transfer the server to that location at no cost. Learn how to here.

Client FPS Lag

Although the client causes FPS lag, distinguishing between client- and server-caused lag can be challenging. And for most cases, it is both. For example, if users have a world with 1000 entities, the server's TPS will drop because it has to iterate over those entities once per second. And the client’s FPS will drop because it has to render and keep up with all the entities.

Press the F3 key while playing on the server to display the FPS in the top-left corner. Players should maintain 30-60 FPS while walking around the server for smooth gameplay.

Client FPS Lag Fixes

Use Shaders

The modern shader ecosystem, built on Iris and Sodium for Fabric or Oculus, and on Rubidium or Embeddium for Forge, completely changes the equation. These mod combinations allow players to experience breathtaking visuals like realistic lighting, water reflections, and waving foliage without tanking their frames per second (FPS).

Related Article: How to Install Shaders on Minecraft

Install Farsight

When playing on a modded multiplayer server, administrators must optimize the server by lowering the world's view distance to reduce server lag. This leaves players staring at a restrictive, claustrophobic wall of fog. The Farsight mod solves this problem entirely by letting players see all the way to the horizon without putting a single ounce of extra strain on the server. Learn how to install Farsight on a Fabric Server here.

Video Settings Preset

Try using the fast preset in the video settings of the Minecraft client. Adjust the video settings by going to “Options” -> “Video settings” on the client.