Sooner or later every world owner lands on the same three-way choice: keep it simple with Minecraft Realms, rent dedicated hosting, or run the server yourself. If you edit your world with MCA Selector, the deciding factor is one most comparisons never mention: file access. MCA Selector works on local world files, so each option means a different workflow — and with Realms, a workflow with an extra round trip.
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The MCA Selector workflow on each option
Realms: download, edit, re-upload
Realms is Mojang’s own subscription server service, and it does not give you access to the server’s files — there is no file manager, no FTP, and no way to point MCA Selector at the live world. The real workflow is a round trip: download the world from your Realms settings to your computer, close everything, edit the local copy in MCA Selector, then upload the edited world back into a Realms slot from the same settings. It works, and for an occasional prune before a big update it is perfectly serviceable — but every edit is a download-edit-upload cycle, expect upload size limits, and Java Realms does not run mods or server plugins: your world must stay within what vanilla Realms supports.
Dedicated hosting: your files, on their machine
A rented game server gives you the world folder through a panel file manager or FTP, so the workflow is exactly the one in our upload guide: stop the server, download the world, edit locally, upload it back. You also choose the server software — vanilla, Paper, Spigot, Forge or Fabric — and the exact version, which is what makes plugin and modpack servers possible at all. The provider runs the hardware, the network and the DDoS protection; you run the world.
Self-hosting: total control, total responsibility
Running the server on your own hardware or a VPS you administer is the maximum-control option: the world files are simply there, MCA Selector edits them in place, and there is no plan limit on world size or player count beyond your own machine. The costs are real but non-monetary at first — your hardware and electricity, port forwarding, your own backups and updates, and your home connection as the front door. Many long-term owners end up here, often via the VPS middle ground covered in the hosting comparison.
Side by side
| Realms | Dedicated hosting | Self-hosting | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Direct file access | No — download/upload round trip | Yes — panel / FTP | Yes — local files |
| Plugins & modpacks | No (vanilla Realms content only) | Yes | Yes |
| Version choice | Current Realms-supported versions | Yours | Yours |
| Effort to run | Lowest — Mojang runs it | Low — panel does the sysadmin | Highest — you are the sysadmin |
| Cost shape | Subscription | Monthly plan by RAM | Your hardware + electricity |
| Best for | A few friends, zero maintenance | Plugins, modpacks, growing groups | Full control, tinkerers, big worlds |
How to decide
- Choose Realms if the group is small, the world is vanilla, and nobody wants to think about servers at all. Accept the edit round trip as the price of that simplicity.
- Choose dedicated hosting if you want plugins or a modpack, expect the group to grow, or edit the world often enough that Realms’ round trip would drive you mad. Size the plan with the RAM guide, then compare Apex Hosting and BisectHosting for panel hosting.
- Choose self-hosting if you already have suitable hardware, enjoy running it, and want no limits but your own. Be honest about backups and uptime — they are now your job (backup workflow).
One thing every option shares: each player needs their own copy of the game. If someone in the group does not own it yet, the Java & Bedrock bundle from the official Minecraft store is the copy that works with everything on this page.
Download MCA Selector 2.9
Every server-side job in this guide starts with a local edit. Get the current release from the MCA Selector download page — the Windows installer, the cross-platform .jar, the macOS .dmg and the Linux .deb/.rpm, every button pointing at the official GitHub release files with the SHA-256 checksum listed, plus a clearly labelled site mirror as a fallback. It is free and open source under the MIT licence.