--- title: "What is TPS in Minecraft and how to improve it (complete guide) | StreetHosting" description: "Understand TPS and MSPT on a Minecraft server: how they differ from ping, measuring with spark, common bottlenecks and Paper tuning that keeps gameplay intact." url: "https://streethosting.com.br/en/guides/minecraft/what-is-tps-minecraft" type: "page" language: "en-US" --- Minecraft · 6 min · Intermediate Published on Jun 11, 2026 · Updated on Aug 26, 2026 # What is TPS in Minecraft and how to improve it TPS is the server's clock: 20 means a smooth world, anything below that and everything lags behind. MSPT shows how many milliseconds each tick costs. Measuring before tuning tells a plugin problem apart from the wrong host. By [Equipe StreetHosting](https://streethosting.com.br/en/autores#equipe-streethosting) · StreetHosting infrastructure and support team [Performance and optimization](https://streethosting.com.br/en/guides/topics/performance) [Minecraft plugins](https://streethosting.com.br/en/guides/topics/plugins) [Paper, Spigot and proxies](https://streethosting.com.br/en/guides/topics/server-software) Summarize with: [](https://chat.openai.com/?q=Summarize%20the%20key%20points%20of%20this%20StreetHosting%20guide%3A%20https%3A%2F%2Fstreethosting.com.br%2Fen%2Fguides%2Fminecraft%2Fwhat-is-tps-minecraft.%20Highlight%20the%20step-by-step%20instructions%2C%20the%20prerequisites%20and%20the%20most%20common%20mistakes. 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Below that, combat, redstone and mobs fall behind. To improve TPS, measure MSPT with **spark**, cut heavy entities and plugins, adjust Paper with care and only then evaluate the host's CPU in Brazil. ## What TPS and MSPT are[](https://streethosting.com.br/en/guides/minecraft/what-is-tps-minecraft#o-que-e-tps-e-mspt) Think of the server as a metronome: on every tick, the game simulates gravity, pathfinding, crop growth, pistons and plugin listeners. Twenty ticks per second means fifty milliseconds available per cycle. If processing takes sixty ms, the next tick starts late and the queue grows: TPS drops to nineteen or less. **MSPT** exposes the numeric truth that the TPS average in the panel hides. An empty server can show a steady 20 TPS while MSPT climbs to eighty ms during an event with thirty players. Monitor MSPT at peak, not just the green graph from the middle of the night. | Metric | What it measures | Practical target | | ------ | --------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------- | | TPS | Ticks completed per second | 19.8 to 20 at peak | | MSPT | Milliseconds spent per tick | Below 50 ms | | Ping | Network latency between client and host | Depends on the Brazilian audience | | RAM | Heap memory and loaded world | Headroom, not a cure for a bad plugin | Record a baseline trio: a dead hour, an average hour and an event hour. Without a comparison over time, tuning becomes an expensive guess. ## TPS versus ping and network lag[](https://streethosting.com.br/en/guides/minecraft/what-is-tps-minecraft#tps-vs-ping) A player with a hundred and twenty ms ping and 20 TPS still feels network delay, but the world is consistent. A player with thirty ms ping and sixteen TPS sees broken blocks come back: the problem is the server, not the route. A correct diagnosis keeps you from migrating hosts when a plugin is to blame, or from buying a plugin when the data center is in the wrong hemisphere. * **Network lag:** unstable traceroute, packet loss, a host far from Brazil. It improves with a [data center in São Paulo](https://streethosting.com.br/en/guides/minecraft/minecraft-server-sao-paulo-brazil). * **Tick lag:** high MSPT, TPS melting down with low ping. It improves with profiling, world cleanup and Paper config. * **Client lag:** low FPS, extreme shaders. Do not confuse it with host performance. Criteria for choosing a host in Brazil are in [the best Minecraft host in Brazil](https://streethosting.com.br/en/guides/minecraft/best-minecraft-host-brazil). Capacity per plan is covered in [how many players fit on a server](https://streethosting.com.br/en/guides/minecraft/how-many-players-can-a-minecraft-server-hold). ## How to measure with spark[](https://streethosting.com.br/en/guides/minecraft/what-is-tps-minecraft#como-medir-com-spark) Install the spark plugin on Paper, restart and generate a profile during a noticeable drop: `/spark profiler start`, reproduce the lag for thirty to sixty seconds, then `/spark profiler stop`. Analyze the CPU consumers on the tick thread, not just generic heap. 1. Profile with players online doing real actions, not AFK. 2. Save the exported link before restarting the server. 3. Compare the profile before and after each plugin update. 4. Use the binary method: disable half the suspects, measure again. ### Legacy timings Older servers still use the timings report out of habit. It works, but spark gives non-technical staff a faster read. A deep tuning guide is in [how to reduce lag on a Paper server](https://streethosting.com.br/en/guides/minecraft/reduce-lag-paper-server). Never apply aggressive config tuning without a backup. Lowering spawn limits can break a legitimate community farm; announce it in the patch notes and test on a copy of the world when possible. The link exported by spark is a page full of stack traces. Paste it into [tickdoc](https://tickdoc.streethosting.com.br/?utm%5Fsource=streethosting&utm%5Fmedium=site&utm%5Fcampaign=tools&utm%5Fcontent=guia%3Ao-que-e-tps-minecraft-como-melhorar) to get, in Portuguese, what is eating tick time and what to do first. ## Common bottlenecks in the world[](https://streethosting.com.br/en/guides/minecraft/what-is-tps-minecraft#gargalos-comuns-no-mundo) A living world accumulates invisible technical debt: spawn decoration with hundreds of armor stands, item frames across an entire wall, villagers in a giant trading hall, spawners stacked by a mob stacking plugin. Every entity takes part in the tick; a local excess drags down global TPS because central chunks never unload. | Cause | Symptom | Action | | ------------------- | ------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------ | | Decorative entities | TPS drops near the spawn | Replace them with map art or static blocks | | Huge hopper lines | High MSPT in an industrial farm | Redesign with fewer ticking hoppers | | Economy plugin | Lag when opening the shop | Profile SQL and cache queries | | Legacy world | Lag in a specific chunk | Chunk analysis and entity cleanup | * Limit projectiles in badly sized arenas. * Educate builders: a pretty entity has a CPU cost. * Events with hundreds of players in one area need extra sizing: a short spike is normal, a long plateau is not. ## Paper optimization and config[](https://streethosting.com.br/en/guides/minecraft/what-is-tps-minecraft#otimizacao-paper-e-config) After measuring, adjust the high-impact, low-controversy levers. Badly sized view distance and simulation distance are silent villains; there is a dedicated guide on [optimizing view distance](https://streethosting.com.br/en/guides/minecraft/minecraft-server-view-distance). In `paper-global.yml`, review entity limits, smart despawn and collision before reaching for aggressive hacks that break gameplay. * Reduce view distance in steps of two, and tell your players. * Remove plugins abandoned for more than two years without an update. * Test paper-global.yml on staging or a restored backup. * Monitor MSPT after every change for at least one peak night. * Plan an upgrade to a bigger plan before an event if MSPT stays above 55 ms. ### When to switch hosts If MSPT is healthy with near-vanilla Paper, few plugins and a modest view distance, and TPS still melts down with 16 players on the SMP, move up to Pro from the Fácil line or review the host's CPU and disk. Large networks and heavy modpacks use [Minecraft Pro Ryzen](https://streethosting.com.br/en/minecraft-pro). If you are still sizing things up, you can compare the [Minecraft Fácil plans](https://streethosting.com.br/en/minecraft-facil#planos). Heavy modpacks use the [modpack line](https://streethosting.com.br/en/minecraft-modpack). Mixed networks should look at the [Ryzen VPS](https://streethosting.com.br/en/vps/ryzen) and a [dedicated server](https://streethosting.com.br/en/dedicated). Bedrock follows the [Minecraft Bedrock](https://streethosting.com.br/en/minecraft-bedrock) route. TPS drop alerts can go to a [Discord bot](https://streethosting.com.br/en/bots). For an overview of the products, see [StreetHosting Minecraft hosting](https://streethosting.com.br/en/minecraft). Good TPS is an operating habit: a monthly profile, a lean world and the right host in Brazil turn launch hype into a whole season without lag memes in the chat. In this guide * [What TPS and MSPT are](https://streethosting.com.br/en/guides/minecraft/what-is-tps-minecraft#o-que-e-tps-e-mspt) * [TPS versus ping and network lag](https://streethosting.com.br/en/guides/minecraft/what-is-tps-minecraft#tps-vs-ping) * [How to measure with spark](https://streethosting.com.br/en/guides/minecraft/what-is-tps-minecraft#como-medir-com-spark) * [Common bottlenecks in the world](https://streethosting.com.br/en/guides/minecraft/what-is-tps-minecraft#gargalos-comuns-no-mundo) * [Paper optimization and config](https://streethosting.com.br/en/guides/minecraft/what-is-tps-minecraft#otimizacao-paper-e-config) ## Frequently asked questions Is 18 TPS playable? For casual survival, many players tolerate it for a short while. For ranked PvP, competitive minigames or technical redstone, a persistent drop below 19 is frustrating and makes people distrust the host. Treat 18 as a yellow alert, not as normal. Why does TPS only drop when I enter the spawn? Central chunks concentrate entities, holograms, NPCs and decorative redstone. Use a profiler focused on that region, cut back on armor stands and item frames, limit plugin particles and consider entity merging in paper-global. spark or timings? spark is the modern standard: CPU, heap and tick consumers with a clearer interface. Legacy timings still works in older workflows. What matters is profiling during real lag, not on an idle server. Does a RAM upgrade improve TPS? Only if the bottleneck is memory or garbage collection from a tight heap. High MSPT with idle RAM points to the CPU or a plugin, not a lack of gigabytes. Measure before paying for a bigger plan. Next step Create a Minecraft server Simple plans for beginners, with activation within 60 seconds, Anti-DDoS and support in Portuguese. [Create a Minecraft server](https://streethosting.com.br/en/minecraft-facil) [See Minecraft Pro Managed hosting on Ryzen with modpacks, optimized Paper and technical support.](https://streethosting.com.br/en/minecraft-pro) [Modpack hosting Forge and Fabric with RAM sized for heavy packs and fast activation.](https://streethosting.com.br/en/minecraft-modpack) [Minecraft plans Compare Minecraft hosting options in Brazil.](https://streethosting.com.br/en/minecraft) [Minecraft Bedrock A stable Bedrock server in Brazil for friends, Realms alternatives and crossplay.](https://streethosting.com.br/en/minecraft-bedrock) ## Related guides [Minecraft Intermediate Spark profiler: how to analyze Minecraft server lag A TPS of 20 and a stuttering server are not contradictory. Spark measures how much each tick really costs and shows, line by line, where that time is going. 7 min Read guide](https://streethosting.com.br/en/guides/minecraft/spark-profiler-minecraft) [Minecraft Intermediate How to reduce lag on a Minecraft Paper server (TPS and mspt) Lag is not 'the host's fault' until you measure it: high mspt comes from the world, the configuration and the code running in the tick. This guide puts diagnosis ahead of aggressive tuning. 6 min Read guide](https://streethosting.com.br/en/guides/minecraft/reduce-lag-paper-server) [Minecraft Intermediate How to optimize view distance on a Minecraft server A high view distance is tempting, but every extra chunk costs RAM and CPU. The right setting balances the visual horizon with stable TPS for your community. 2 min Read guide](https://streethosting.com.br/en/guides/minecraft/minecraft-server-view-distance) [← Back to the Guide Center](https://streethosting.com.br/en/guides)