What should I look for when choosing a Minecraft host?

You’re going to want to check for latency where most of your users will be coming from. For example, Australia has notoriously shitty speed to North America; if most of your users are in Australia, then you’ll want a server in Australia, and vice versa. Not every host is going to have equal levels of access to every continent depending on which backbones they use. Figure out where most of your users will be coming from and choose on that basis.

You’ll also want to make sure the server you’re being hosted on can handle the kind of cycles you’ll be loading on it. Gaming-based hosts are obviously more likely to have the oomph to power a Minecraft server, while a generic webhost may not. While you’re at it, verify that the host doesn’t mind you running a Minecraft game.

It will also make things a lot easier if you get a static IP, but that often costs more.

The last thing you’ll want to check is how the site handles monthly data caps. When your server reaches its cap does it just start rejecting all traffic? Do you get a warning when you’re approaching your cap with an option to buy a higher data cap? Or do they simply start quietly charging you money for going over your cap and sticking you with a gigantic and unexpected bill at the end of the month?