FadeHost Bridge vs e4mc
e4mc is a neat piece of work: a free, open source client mod that shares a world you opened to LAN, with nothing for your friends to install and no account anywhere.
Both answer the same question: how do friends reach a game server running on your own machine? Here is how the two compare, with e4mc's own pages as the source for everything said about it.
How each one works
e4mc is a mod for the Minecraft client. Its Modrinth page describes it as a way to temporarily expose a local Minecraft server to the internet: you open your world to LAN as normal and the mod hands you a domain to share. It is MIT licensed and free, and is published for Fabric, Forge, NeoForge and Quilt across Java Edition 1.17.x to 1.21.x and the 26.1 to 26.3 snapshots.
Bridge has a client mod that does the same thing for a world opened to LAN, and two other ways in: a program that works for any server and any game, and a Paper plugin that sets itself up. The address behind all three is yours and stays the same, and it has a page, an offline screen and a door.
Side by side
| FadeHost Bridge | e4mc | |
|---|---|---|
| Share a world opened to LAN in one click | Yes, with the Fabric or NeoForge mod | Yes, that is what it does |
| The address | name.play.fadehost.net, the same one every session, a name you choose on Pro | A domain handed out for a world exposed temporarily |
| A real server, not only a LAN world | The program and the Paper plugin carry any server, any software | Built for a world opened to LAN from the client |
| Bedrock players and other games | Bedrock on the same name, plus Valheim, Terraria, Palworld, Factorio, Mumble and anything else on a port | A Java client mod for Minecraft worlds |
| A page your friends can open | A join page per address | No |
| When your machine is off | A screen naming the server and who to ask | A connection error |
| A Minecraft login check in front of the server | Login protection on Pro | No |
| Hosting when the PC is not enough | A hosted server on the same account, from free | Not a host |
| Price | One address free, Pro $3 a month or included with any paid subscription | Free and open source |
e4mc as its own pages described it on 6 October 2026: e4mc home page, e4mc on Modrinth. Check its site for current pricing.
e4mc's own pages say nothing about Bedrock clients, traffic limits or how long an address is kept, so this page describes only what they do state: a Java client mod that exposes a LAN world temporarily.
Where the difference shows
e4mc solves one evening: your world, your friends, right now. Bridge solves the server that outlives the evening, with a name people can save, a page they can check and somewhere to move the world when your PC is not the right home for it.
- The one-click LAN trick is not the part we charge for. Our client mod does it too, and the free tier covers it.
- A name worth saving matters once a world has a second weekend. Friends keep typing the same address, and on Pro you pick what it says.
- Bedrock players, console players and voice chat all need a UDP port. Bridge carries UDP on the same name as Java.
- Nobody has to trust your launcher's online mode. On Pro the door checks Microsoft logins and gives everyone else a password of their own.
What Bridge costs
One address is free: two ports, 300 GB of traffic a month, and an address nobody connects to for 30 days is released. Bridge Pro is $3 a month or $30 a year and gives four addresses, eight ports each, a name you choose, your own domain, login protection and no traffic cap. Every paid FadeHost subscription includes Pro, down to a $2.50 server slot. The numbers are on the limits page.
Frequently asked questions
- Does Bridge work on an Open to LAN world like e4mc?
- Yes. Put our Fabric or NeoForge mod in the mods folder, open the world to LAN, and the address appears in chat. The first time it prints a claim link that ties the address to your account so the name stays yours.
- Is Bridge open source?
- The program is not published as source today. The downloads are checked against the sha256 the release feed publishes, and the installer script is readable at fadehost.com/bridge/install.sh before you run it.
- Which Minecraft versions does the Bridge mod cover?
- The current mod builds target the 26 era for Fabric and NeoForge. For anything older, or for a server you start yourself, use the program or the Paper plugin, which do not care what version the server is.
- Can I use both?
- Nothing stops you, but they do the same job on the same port. Pick one per world.
Give your server a name
One address is free and the program takes a minute. When the PC stops being the right place for the world, the same account hosts it.
Get an addressAlso compared: playit.gg, Hamachi, ngrok. Or read the Bridge docs and the host comparisons.