Minecraft Bedrock server: playing together on console, phone and PC
Minecraft Bedrock is a different game from the Java edition, despite the shared name. The difference that matters most to you: on Bedrock, console, phone, tablet and PC all play together on one server. Java cannot do that.
Who can join
Xbox, PlayStation, Switch, iOS, Android and Windows all run Bedrock and can share a server. That makes it the obvious choice as soon as not everyone in your group is on a PC.
One caveat: console players cannot simply type in an IP. They usually need a helper tool, or you connect through the friends list. On phone and PC you just enter the address.
Addons instead of mods
Bedrock has no Forge or Fabric. Instead you work with addons: behaviour packs and resource packs. They are lighter than Java mods but more limited — you change behaviour and appearance, not the engine itself. For server management there is software such as PocketMine and Nukkit.
How much RAM
Bedrock is considerably lighter than Java. A group of friends runs fine on 1 GB; with 10 to 20 players 2 GB is comfortable. Only large worlds with many addons need more.
Getting started
At MC-Node Bedrock hosting starts at €2.50 per month, with NVMe storage and DDoS protection.