What to check, for any game
Prices are easy to compare. These are the things that decide whether a server is still worth it a month later.
A region near your players
Ping is the time a message takes to reach the server and come back. The farther away the server, the higher everyone’s ping, and fast games feel it first. Pick a host with a location close to most of your group. Where our servers are
With a catchOn Wilderack: US East (New Jersey, near New York City) and Europe (Frankfurt, Germany) are open now. You pick the region when you create the server. The farther your players are from it, the higher their ping.
Memory for your game, not just your group
Games need very different amounts of memory (RAM). Minecraft, Terraria, GMod and Factorio start on 2 GB, while we recommend 12 GB for Rust, Satisfactory and Windrose. A plan sold by player slots hides this, so look for the RAM. Game server RAM calculator
YesOn Wilderack: Every plan is sold by RAM, and every plan card says how many players it suits for that game. Our free calculator works out the size for your group and mods.
Mods the way your game does them
Every game has its own mod system: plugins on some, the Steam Workshop or a mod site on others, and none at all on a few. What matters is that a host supports the one your game uses, and makes a backup before it changes anything. Mods for each game
YesOn Wilderack: On Minecraft, mods and plugins from Modrinth, CurseForge or Hangar install in one tap. On Rust, plugins from uMod (Oxide) or Carbon install in one tap. On Project Zomboid, mods from the Steam Workshop install in one tap. On Terraria, mods from the Steam Workshop install in one tap. On GMod, mods from the Steam Workshop install in one tap. On Satisfactory, mods from ficsit.app install in one tap. On Factorio, mods from the Factorio Mod Portal install in one tap. Modpacks from Modrinth install in one tap too. So do some from CurseForge, and the panel tells you before you pay when a pack can’t run on a server. A backup is made before every mod install.
Backups you can restore yourself
A crash, a bad mod or a griefer can wreck a world in minutes. You want to roll it back from the panel, without waiting on a ticket, and download a copy to keep. Every feature
YesOn Wilderack: A safe copy of your world is made every 10 minutes while the server runs and each time it naps, with a copy off site every day. Restore or download any of them from Backups.
Switching games without a new order
Groups move on to new games. A host that makes you cancel and order again, or charges to switch, makes that cost more than it should. Saving and swapping games
YesOn Wilderack: Switch your server to another game whenever your group does, with no fee. Your old world is saved, and the address stays the same.
Sleep that doesn’t lock friends out
A server that sleeps while nobody plays costs less to run. That only helps if a friend who wants to play can wake it without you. How each game wakes
With a catchOn Wilderack: Servers nap when nobody plays, which is how we keep prices down. Minecraft, Project Zomboid, Terraria, GMod, Satisfactory, Factorio, Windrose and Romestead wake when someone joins. For Enshrouded, open your wake link first. Rust stays on around the clock, to stay on its public server list.
Help from real people
When a server breaks, your friends are waiting. You want a person who reads your server’s logs, not a bot and not a paid support tier. Our support promise
YesOn Wilderack: Real people answer by email and from your panel, with a first reply within 24 hours, every day of the year. Support is included in every plan.
A refund if it isn’t for you
Read the refund policy before you pay. It should be short, plain and give new customers a way out. Refund policy
YesOn Wilderack: New to us? Ask within 7 days of your first payment for a full refund, no questions. A renewal nobody used can be refunded within 7 days too. A 3-day pass, from $1.35, is only refunded if a problem on our side stopped it.
Price matters too, as long as the plan has enough memory. Cheap game server hosting shows our smallest plan for each game.
A buyer’s guide for each game
Every game adds its own checks, like wipe days on Rust or mod sites on Minecraft. Each guide goes through them for that game, with what it costs by group size.
| Buyer’s guide | Mods | When nobody plays | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Minecraft | Mods and plugins in one tap from Modrinth, CurseForge or Hangar | Naps, and wakes when someone joins | On sale |
| Rust | Plugins in one tap from uMod (Oxide) or Carbon | Stays on for the server list | On sale |
| Enshrouded | No server mods | Naps, and wakes from your wake link | On sale |
| Project Zomboid | Mods in one tap from the Steam Workshop | Naps, and wakes when someone joins | On sale |
| Terraria | Mods in one tap from the Steam Workshop | Naps, and wakes when someone joins | On sale |
| Garry's Mod | Mods in one tap from the Steam Workshop | Naps, and wakes when someone joins | On sale |
| Satisfactory | Mods in one tap from ficsit.app | Naps, and wakes when someone joins | On sale |
| Factorio | Mods in one tap from the Factorio Mod Portal | Naps, and wakes when someone joins | On sale |
| Windrose | No server mods | Naps, and wakes when someone joins | On sale |
| Romestead | Mods by upload, in Files or over SFTP | Naps, and wakes when someone joins | On sale |
Coming soon, with a guide each: Hytale, Palworld, Valheim, ARK: Survival Ascended, 7 Days to Die, FiveM, Farming Simulator 25, WARDOGS, Squad, Arma 3 and Conan Exiles.
Where Wilderack falls short
No host is right for every group. These are the reasons we might not be the one for yours.
- Two regions open so far: US East and Europe. Groups in Asia, Oceania or South America will have higher ping than with a host nearby.
- 10 of our 21 games can be ordered today. Hytale, Palworld, Valheim, ARK, 7 Days to Die, FiveM, FS25, WARDOGS, Squad, Arma 3 and Conan are coming soon. Each one opens once we have what its publisher asks of hosts, and its waitlist hears first.
- We are still testing whether joining wakes a sleeping Enshrouded server. Until we are sure, friends open the wake link first.
- No free plan or free trial. The cheapest way to try us is a 3-day pass, from $1.35.
- We are new, so we can’t show you years of uptime yet.
Not sure you need a host at all? How renting a game server works compares it with hosting from home, and dedicated game server hosting explains what a dedicated server is.
How we checked
What each game needs comes from our sourced game guides, which list their publishers’ documentation. What we do comes from our plans, the panel and the policies linked above, and it is read from them each time this page is built. If something here is out of date, email support@wilderack.com and we will fix it.
Questions
What is the best game server hosting?
The one that fits your game and your group. Check for a region near your players, enough RAM for your game, support for its mods, backups you can restore yourself and a fair refund policy. No host is the best for every game.
How much does a game server cost?
From $6.49 a month here, for games that need little memory. Heavier games need bigger plans. Each game’s buyer’s guide lists what it costs by group size.
Which region should I pick for my game server?
The one closest to most of your players, because distance adds ping. US East (New Jersey, near New York City) and Europe (Frankfurt, Germany) are open now.
Is a cheap game server host worse?
Not always. A cheap plan is fine if it has enough memory for your game, backups you can restore and a fair renewal price. Too little memory is what makes a server lag.
Can I get a refund if I don’t like it?
Yes. If you’re new to Wilderack, ask within 7 days of your first payment and we refund it in full, no questions asked.