I found PurpleSMP and it feels simple but still polished. It is a PVE server on 1.21.11 and it has crossplay so you can join from different devices.
The main extra thing here is mcMMO so you can level up skills while you grind resources. The economy is player made with no server shops and no currency so trading is based on what people think stuff is worth.
You can claim land to protect builds and there are player vaults for extra storage. PvP is off by default but you can toggle it if you want to mess around with friends.
They also take safety seriously. Blocks get logged and staff can see backups of your inventory when you join leave or die so they can restore stuff if you lost it because of rule breaking. They say they run strong anti cheat and staff get alerted fast when it trips.
PurpleSMP Chill PVE Crossplay 1.21.11
GG.MINEWIND.NET New Server IPGoPlay 1.21 Fair Survival SMP
GoPlay is a Minecraft 1.21 server that is trying hard to keep survival fair clean and long term. The big thing is it is not pay to win and perks are earned instead of bought.
The main mode is SMP with a brand new spawn. It has random teleport in the Overworld Nether and End. You can claim land and set up player shops. You can also use flight time inside your own claims and you earn that by voting.
There are custom 1.21.4 packs for bases and cosmetics plus player vaults for extra storage. The End dragon can be respawned so people can keep going back to the End.
There is also a Vanilla mode that stays very close to pure Minecraft with no added mechanics and it still has random teleport. The server is paid for out of pocket so you can just play and not feel pushed to buy stuff.GG.MINEWIND.NET New Server IPAlkaline Prisons Long-Term Grind Server
Alkaline Prisons is a custom prison server that is built for people who like to play for a long time and not just one weekend.
It has a full prestige and rebirth system so ranks keep feeling important instead of useless. As you move through the server you unlock a lot of different kits in a natural way which feels really rewarding.
There are many custom enchantments that are made for both mining and pvp so it tries to stay balanced. You also get stuff like gangs classes vault storage crates and other quality of life features that make grinding feel smoother.
The server is in active development and the owner keeps doing balance changes and improvements. They listen to feedback and use it to update the server. If you like prison servers with real depth and structure and you want something you can grind for months this server is made for that.GG.MINEWIND.NET New Server IP