Picking a modpack to run with friends is harder than it sounds. The Modrinth and CurseForge launchers list thousands of options, and half of them are either dead projects or memory hogs that need 16 GB of RAM allocated before you even log in. This guide cuts through the noise and covers the packs most worth running on a server in 2025, organized by playstyle and group size.
Lightweight Packs for Small Groups: FTB Skies and All the Mods Lite
If you are playing with two to four people, you do not need a 300-mod behemoth. FTB Skies is a skyblock-style pack built around FTB's own mods alongside Create and Refined Storage. It is tightly curated, stable on 1.20.1, and runs well under 6 GB of server RAM. Progression is driven by resource generation rather than exploration, which keeps chunk loading predictable and TPS steady.
All the Mods Lite strips the All the Mods formula down to roughly 150 mods. It keeps the best tech, magic, and quality-of-life mods while removing the bloat that makes the full ATM releases so demanding. For a small friend group who wants variety without committing to a 10-hour grind just to unlock basic machines, this is the most approachable starting point in 2025.
Tech and Automation: Create: Above and Beyond and All the Mods 9
Create: Above and Beyond is arguably the best-designed modpack of the last few years. It is built entirely around the Create mod and reworks ore generation so that automation is not optional -- it is required to progress. Every machine, fluid, and item has a mechanical solution, and the pack's quest book guides players without hand-holding. It is a 1.16.5 pack, which means it is mature and stable. Server RAM usage sits around 6 to 8 GB depending on player count and contraption complexity.
All the Mods 9 is the current mainline ATM release on 1.20.1. It includes Create, Applied Energistics 2, Mekanism, Botania, and a full magic suite. The pack is updated regularly and has strong community support. Expect to allocate 10 GB of RAM on the server side for a group of four or more. The depth of automation options makes this ideal for players who want a long-term project that does not run out of things to build.
Adventure and Exploration: RLCraft and The Pixelmon Modpack
RLCraft remains one of the most popular adventure packs available. Shivaxi's creation overhauls almost every survival mechanic: temperature, thirst, backpacks, leveling, and a hostile mob overhaul that makes the overworld genuinely dangerous from day one. It runs on 1.12.2, which gives it excellent mod compatibility and a large selection of third-party addons. For a small server, it works best with four to eight players who are prepared to actually die a lot and help each other out.
The Pixelmon Modpack is the officially maintained pack for the Pixelmon Reforged mod on 1.16.5. It bundles everything needed to run a Pixelmon server including the resource pack, biome mods that add Pixelmon-themed spawning regions, and quality-of-life additions. It is a great choice for groups who want a Pokemon-style experience inside Minecraft without the complexity of a tech progression system. Server RAM requirement is modest at around 4 to 6 GB.
Kitchen Sink Packs: All the Mods 10
All the Mods 10 is the bleeding edge of the ATM series and targets Minecraft 1.21. It pulls in every major mod that has been ported to the newer version set: Create, AE2, Mekanism, Thermal Series, Tinkers Construct alternatives, and a substantial magic selection. Because 1.21 mod availability is still growing, the pack updates frequently and the modlist shifts between releases. That makes it a good choice if you want to stay current with the Minecraft ecosystem, but you should expect occasional breaking changes between versions.
Kitchen sink packs are designed for players who want to explore many different mod systems rather than focus on one. The downside is the resource cost. ATM 10 needs at minimum 12 GB of server RAM for a group, and the client-side requirements are significant too. Running it on weaker hardware produces noticeable lag during peak play sessions.
RAM Requirements: What Your Server Actually Needs
Modpack developers tend to underestimate the server RAM requirements listed on their CurseForge pages. These figures assume a single player on a freshly generated world. Real multiplayer usage with active players, chunk loading, and machines running is significantly higher. The table below gives realistic baseline allocations for a group of four to six players.
| Modpack | MC Version | Recommended Server RAM | Difficulty |
|---|---|---|---|
| FTB Skies | 1.20.1 | 6 GB | Beginner |
| All the Mods Lite | 1.20.1 | 6 GB | Beginner |
| Create: Above and Beyond | 1.16.5 | 8 GB | Intermediate |
| RLCraft | 1.12.2 | 6 GB | Hard |
| The Pixelmon Modpack | 1.16.5 | 5 GB | Beginner |
| All the Mods 9 | 1.20.1 | 10 GB | Intermediate |
| All the Mods 10 | 1.21 | 12 GB | Intermediate |
Beyond raw RAM, single-core CPU speed matters more than core count for Minecraft servers. The game's main tick loop is single-threaded, so a fast modern CPU clock is worth more than a server with many slower cores. NVMe storage also makes a real difference for modpacks that load large numbers of chunks or have heavy world generation.
Where to Run Modpacks for Free
Most paid hosting plans charge a premium for modded servers because they require more RAM than a vanilla server. NetSkyway provides free modded Minecraft servers on dedicated hardware -- Intel i9-13900K and AMD Ryzen 9 9950X nodes with DDR5 RAM and NVMe SSDs. There is no throttling or shared core contention on the underlying hardware. Full plugin and mod access is included, so you can install any modpack from CurseForge or Modrinth and manage your files directly through the panel.
Request a server on Discord at discord.gg/QXKNwaWVJ2 and the team will set one up for you.