Upgrading or downgrading

Outgrown your plan? Or paying for resources you never touch? Plan changes take about two minutes from billing panel to server back online — and your world, configs, players and IPs all come along.

Billing Last updated May 19, 2026 ~5 min read

When to upgrade

Solid signals it's time:

Console fills with java.lang.OutOfMemoryError or GC overhead limit exceeded.
RAM bar on the dashboard stays glued at 95%+ even when idle.
/tps reports under 18 with only a handful of players online.
Server takes 5+ minutes to boot a vanilla world (modpacks take longer, but vanilla shouldn't).
You're adding a heavy plugin set, an anti-cheat, or switching to a kitchen-sink modpack.

When to downgrade

Equally valid — you're paying for headroom you'll never need:

Peak RAM usage never crosses 50% of your plan.
Your friend group shrank, the modpack got simplified, or you switched from modded to vanilla.
Server's been idle for weeks but you want to keep the world warm rather than cancel.

How to change your plan

Open billing.pulsarservers.com.
Go to My Services → click the server you want to change.
Click Upgrade/Downgrade in the sidebar.
Pick the new plan. Pricing for the rest of your current cycle is shown, prorated.
Pick a payment method and confirm.
Within 1–2 minutes the new RAM / vCore / disk limits apply automatically. Your server restarts once during the swap.

Your world is safe

Upgrades and downgrades are configuration-only changes. The underlying instance, its files, world, plugins, configs, IP address and SFTP credentials all stay the same. You get a short restart and then everything is exactly as you left it — just with new limits.

How prorating works

If you're 10 days into a 30-day monthly cycle and upgrade from Iron (€6.99) to Diamond (€13.99):

Unused Iron credit: €6.99 × 20/30 = €4.66
Diamond cost for the remaining 20 days: €13.99 × 20/30 = €9.33
You pay the difference: €4.67

Downgrades work the same way but credit your account balance for the difference. Credit is automatically applied to your next invoice.

Downtime

Plan changes require a single restart so the limits can be re-applied:

RAM/CPU change only — under 30 seconds.
Plan change that also adds disk — typically under a minute.
Tier switch (Comfort to Premium / vice versa) — up to 2 minutes if the new server has to provision on a different node. Files are migrated automatically; you get an email with the new IP if the address changes.

Switching between Comfort and Premium

Comfort runs on shared Ryzen 9 7950X / 7950X3D nodes — excellent value. Premium runs on dedicated Ryzen 9 9950X cores with guaranteed CPU time and higher single-thread frequency — best for kitchen-sink modpacks, heavy redstone, or large public communities.

To switch, follow the standard upgrade flow above and pick a Premium plan. The migration is handled in the background and your world is preserved.

Try the configurator

Unsure whether you need Iron or Diamond, or whether Premium is worth it? The Minecraft Configurator asks five quick questions and points you at the right tier.

Changing your billing cycle

Want to lock in the yearly −20% discount? Open My Services, click your server, then click Change Billing Cycle. We credit any unused time on the old cycle and immediately renew on the new one.

Failed upgrades / downgrades

Payment failure. The change won't go through until the invoice is paid. Server continues on the current plan until you settle it.
Disk too small for the downgrade. You can't downgrade to a tier with less disk than you're currently using. Free up space first (delete old worlds, archived backups, unused modpacks) or pick a plan with at least as much disk.
Restart hangs. Almost never happens, but if your server is stuck after a plan change, open a ticket — we'll force a restart manually.