Best Rust server hosting: how to choose

Three ways to run a Rust server

Before you compare hosts, it’s worth knowing you might not need one. Here is how the three ways to play Rust with friends compare.

What to look for in a Rust host

These are the things that matter for Rust in particular. Each one says why, links the guide with the details, and says honestly what Wilderack does about it. The checks that matter for every game, from ping to refunds, are in our guide to choosing a game server host.

1. Enough RAM for your map

   Facepunch suggests 12 GB of free memory for a typical server, and more for a 6000 map. Memory use also grows through a wipe, because every wall, box and dropped item stays in memory. Rust server performance and RAM guide

   YesOn Wilderack: Plans are sold by RAM, not player slots. We recommend Grove 12 GB always-on, and Grove 8 GB always-on is enough for a few friends on a small map.

2. Wipe day handled for you

   Facepunch forces a map wipe on every server on the first Thursday of the month, with its update. The new version can’t load the old map, so there is no skipping it. Rust wipe day guide for server owners

   YesOn Wilderack: The Rust wipe day preset in Schedules warns players, stops the server, updates Rust and your plugin framework, wipes and starts the new map.

3. Plugins through Oxide or Carbon

   Rust plugins run through a framework, Oxide (uMod) or Carbon, and each Rust update needs a matching framework release before plugins work again. Rust plugins with Oxide and Carbon

   YesOn Wilderack: Pick Oxide or Carbon as the server type in Settings, then install plugins from the Mods tab in one tap.

4. A daily restart

   Rust runs best with a regular restart, which clears memory the server no longer needs. Rust server performance and RAM guide

   YesOn Wilderack: Add the Daily restart with warnings preset in Schedules. It warns players 5 minutes and 1 minute before, and can wait until nobody is online.

5. Backups you can restore yourself

   A bad plugin or a mistyped setting can break a wipe’s worth of building. After a forced-wipe update, though, Rust can’t load a map saved before it, even from a backup. Rust server backups and moving your world

   YesOn Wilderack: A safe copy every 10 minutes while the server runs and every time it sleeps, plus your own. Configs, plugins and blueprints always restore.

6. The Rust+ app working

   The Rust+ companion app needs its own port open on the server to show your base and alarms on your phone. How to connect to your Rust server

   YesOn Wilderack: We open the app’s port for you, so pairing works with nothing to set up.

What a cheap Rust server costs

A cheap server is one with enough memory for your group, not the lowest price on a page. These are the plans we sell for Rust, with the group size each one suits.

Monthly plans renew at the price shown, and you can cancel any time. A 3-day pass is a one-time payment that doesn’t renew. Prices in US dollars + applicable taxes.

A cheap Rust server is a small one: Grove 8 GB always-on runs a few friends on a 2000 to 3000 map. Memory climbs through each wipe, so a bigger map or a public server needs Grove 12 GB always-on or more, and a server near its limit slows down by the end of the wipe.

Rust servers have to stay on to stay on the public server list, so they never nap. That uses the memory around the clock, which is why always-on plans cost more.

Where Wilderack falls short

No host is right for every group. These are the reasons we might not be the one for yours.

• Rust Console Edition players can’t join. It is a separate game with servers only its publisher hosts.
• 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.
• We are new, so we can’t show you years of uptime yet. A 3-day pass is the cheap way to try us first.

How we checked

The facts about Rust come from our own Rust guides, which our team checks against Facepunch Studios’s documentation and patch notes, listed under Sources below. The facts about Wilderack come from our plans and the panel. Prices are read from our price list when this page is built, so they match the plans page. If something here is out of date, email support@wilderack.com and we will fix it.