OFF-TOPIC but any personal reviews of the sandbox video game, Minecraft??

[SamChurch]

I'm familiar with Realms. It has been a thing on the PC version for a while, somewhat shorter than consoles I believe. It is a paid service, so if that's what you choose, that's up to you.

I'm talking own-hosted servers, free of charge, but they do require some technical knowledge and prerequisites to work.

Yes, they are paid services, however Console Edition doesn't have any alternative that you can keep open without physically being in the world. If Console is your choice, you must either be in the world for it to be open or pay for Realms.