Apex Hosting Discount Codes
Apex Hosting currently has the discount code “CAVES”. Applying that discount code in checkout gives you a -25% discount for the first month.
User Experience & Ease of Setup (4/5)
Overall, setting up a Minecraft Server with Apex Hosting can be really straight-forward. Your main steps are choosing gigabytes of Ram and a Minecraft Version and you are good to go. And things don't get any more complicated if you use Apex Hosting for any other game, including 7 Days To Die, Factorio, Starbound, and ARMA.
In my case, after choosing the 2GB Ram option on the pricing page, I got redirected to a form where I had to choose different characteristics of the server. As I am simply testing the server provider I did not go crazy with the Ram. In your case, you may need more.
I chose the monthly payment option because I do not plan on using the server long-term. However, in most cases, the quarterly subscription (3 months paid at once) would save you money in the long term!
Later, after getting overwhelmed with Minecraft server versions and options, I chose Minecraft 1.19 Paper. Here you may choose another Minecraft version. You may also use Spigot or Forge, depending on your server's needs.
Next to each Minecraft option, they have a "More Info" button which I found really useful. That button redirects you to an article explaining each version in depth.
Lastly, I had some extra paid features I could choose from before going on. I chose to ignore them but you may find them interesting.
In the end, I had to checkout. Apex auto-applied discount code "CAVES" which lowered my first month's cost from 9.99USD to 7.49USD which was great. They have only two payment options, Credit Card and PayPal. I used the second payment method and was ready to start my Minecraft server!
Apex hosting Control Panel
Apex has a very interesting, modern-looking Control Panel. The most important part of it is probably the square button that is basically your skin's face. It redirects you to an in-depth control panel with more options. That control panel should look like the screenshot below.
When I first saw that page, I got a little overwhelmed. The left sidebar has many options that users can choose to further optimize and enhance their server. After a few minutes of me playing with it, it got very easy to navigate the site.
Support (5/5)
What I liked about Apex hosting's site is the number of video tutorials they provide. You can literally search anything on the top search bar and have a plethora of blog posts and videos explaining everything.
That small detail makes their services very beginner friendly and helped me understand everything myself.
Moreover, they have a great customer support team. Unlike most competitors, they manage their support team differently. They have split their support team into four different parts in order to provide the best support possible.
All you have to do is choose between Pre sale, Billing, Login Assistance, or Technical support to open a support ticket. After the company receives your ticket, a support agent will answer it.
Features and Performance (4/5)
Does Apex Hosting provide Lag-Free servers?
This is a complex question to answer. A slow connection does not necessarily mean that the server provider is bad. Lag sometimes could be caused by the player's connection.
For instance, in my case, after getting my server connection timed on their site, it turned out only Turkey gave me a fast connection time. On the contrary, I did not have an issue with other locations as I tested out multiple ones!
So in conclusion, the fact that I got bad connections on their website test does not mean that their other hosting places in the world are slow. It only means that they are too far from me and therefore sometimes give me a high tps.
For example, I got 254ms from San Jose, California which is understandable since I am on a completely different continent. Someone else located in let's say South America will find California a better server hosting location.
Overall, I found that Apex Minecraft hosting has low latency servers all over the world. While playing Minecraft I felt like I was playing on the best Minecraft server. I did not experience any lag issues with their Minecraft Hosting.
Of course, the more players that log into your server, the harder it will get for it to keep up. Some may even experience their server connection timed out.
Apex Hosting Pricing (3.5/5)
Apex Hosting has a variety of different price points and server features. Minecraft servers start from 9.99 USD (9.82 EUR) per month for a 2GB Ram server and go all the way to 59.99 USD (58.95 EUR) per month for a 16GB Ram server. Apex hosting has a choice for all Minecraft players and while it's not the cheapest option, it can compete with the likes of Aternos.
Customers can choose one of the cheaper options to play with their friends. They may also decide to invest a bigger amount of money in order to get a better quality server version for a public server.
Moreover, they seem to be charging a little bit less for the first month of the server. Apex also provides a 10% discount for bills charged quarterly!
Negatives of Apex Hosting’s Pricing Model
While Apex Hosting's a nicely operating business, they do have a few negatives when it comes to their pricing. Those may affect their Minecraft hosting but for the most part, they are not major issues. Let's have a look at some of those negatives to help you better decide if their services are ideal for you.
No Free Plan
One of the major negatives Apex Hosting has with its pricing model. They do not give you a free plan option. This is something some hosting providers offer and can be really useful.
A free server option would be ideal for those customers who would like to test their connection before their purchase. They do provide a free subdomain, but that is not something unusual for a Minecraft hosting company to do.
Refund Issues
While I did not try to refund my subscription, it seems like others have had an issue with that before. Apex hosting has a "7-day refund" policy, however, it seems that many had issues with getting it.
After reading a couple of reviews online, it is clear that Apex hosting has multiple terms that apply to that 7-day refund policy. That is to make it harder for someone to get their money back after their purchase.
While overall Apex seems like one of the greatest Minecraft server hosting companies, this refund policy issue makes it look shady. It is probably the only major negative about the company as a whole.
Apex Hosting Minecraft Servers Features (5/5)
So what features do Apex Hosting Servers provide and are they ideal for Minecraft server hosting? Let's find out...
Apex Hosting Minigame Support!
Apex hosting has a feature not many hosting companies provide. They support numerous classic Minecraft minigames such as Fanctions, Bedwars, Hunger Games, Skywars, Skyblock and more!
The Minigames support is great for someone who would like to create a Minecraft server with minigames and release it to the public quickly. A list of all the supported Minecraft Server Minigames can be found on their website. Apex Hosting team has created a one-click install to all those minigames without the need for additional plugins or mods.
As a person with no knowledge of Minecraft plugins or how they are programmed, I decided to make a Bedwars server. The screenshot above is a lobby made entirely by Apex Hosting, something that would have taken me 100s of hours to make myself.
It was as simple as pressing a couple of buttons. Apex's team has done a fantastic job of building everything for its users. From plugins, to maps to even that amazing lobby!
How to create a minigames server with Apex Hosting
Firstly you need to pause your server from the control panel. Simply delete the current world your server is using. To delete the world files choose "Reset Server Files" from the left sidebar.
Important: This action is non-reversible so you may want to backup your current world.
Check the box that says "All Server Files" and click "Reset Server". Now you are ready to install Bedwars or another Minigame of your choice. Go to the main page of the Control Panel and choose Bedwars in "Game File" as shown in the screenshot below.
You are now ready to boot your server and play Bedwars! It is literally as simple and easy as that.
Apex Hosting Modpack Support
Another great feature Apex Hosting has is the modpack support. They support over 280 Modpacks for many Minecraft versions.
This means you can get your server running within minutes with your favorite modpacks installed in it and have a great time!
Modpacks in Minecraft are a combination of different mods. Those mods were specifically chosen because they work together and enhance Minecraft with new features.
