Best VPS for game servers.
prices as of · Contabo as of · re-ranked daily · 246 qualifying plans
Game servers are the classic RAM-plus-single-thread workload: worlds live in memory, ticks run on one or two cores, and lag is instantly visible to everyone connected. We only include plans with 8 GB+ RAM, 2+ vCPU and a disk included in the price. Today 246 of the 524 plans qualify, and the top pick costs $46.49/mo. They're ranked by how much of the hardware this workload relies on you get for each dollar.
The plan to start with is netcup VPS 8000 G12 · 16 vCore · 64 GB at $46.49/mo, 16 vCPU and 64 GB of RAM, picked from 246 plans that clear the minimums, checked 16 Sept 2026.
What actually matters here
- 8 GB RAM to start
- Vanilla Minecraft runs in 4 GB, while modpacks and 10+ players want 8 to 16 GB. Valheim and Palworld sit in the same range.
- Dedicated vCPU matters most here
- The tick rate depends on a single thread, all the time, so a throttled shared core shows up as lag every second, not just at peaks. Public specs don't list clock speeds, so check provider benchmarks before you decide.
- Traffic and DDoS
- Player traffic is modest, but public game server IPs attract attacks, so providers that include DDoS protection have the edge.
- 1
netcupVPS 8000 G12 · 16 vCore · 64 GB
16 vCPU · 64 GB RAM · 2048 GB NVMe · value 96/100
✓ unmetered traffic
$46.49/mo
- 2
ContaboCloud VPS 6 · 6 vCPU · 12 GB
6 vCPU · 12 GB RAM · 200 GB SSD · value 99/100
✓ unmetered traffic
$8.65/mo
checked 10 days ago - 3
$6.35/mo
checked 10 days ago - 4Contabo
Cloud VPS 8 · 8 vCPU · 24 GB
8 vCPU · 24 GB RAM · 300 GB SSD · value 99/100
✓ unmetered traffic
$16.15/mo
checked 10 days ago - 5Contabo
Cloud VPS 12 · 12 vCPU · 48 GB
12 vCPU · 48 GB RAM · 400 GB SSD · value 98/100
✓ unmetered traffic
$28.85/mo
checked 10 days ago - 6Contabo
Cloud VPS 16 · 16 vCPU · 64 GB
16 vCPU · 64 GB RAM · 500 GB SSD · value 97/100
✓ unmetered traffic
$42.69/mo
checked 10 days ago - 7netcup
RS 2000 G12 · 8 dedicated cores · 16 GB
8 vCPU · 16 GB RAM · 512 GB NVMe · value 97/100
✓ dedicated vCPU✓ unmetered traffic
$20.78/mo
- 8netcup
VPS 2000 G12 · 8 vCore · 16 GB
8 vCPU · 16 GB RAM · 512 GB NVMe · value 98/100
✓ unmetered traffic
$18.67/mo
- 9netcup
VPS 1000 G12 · 4 vCore · 8 GB
4 vCPU · 8 GB RAM · 256 GB NVMe · value 98/100
✓ unmetered traffic
$10.05/mo
- 10
$7.58/mo
One-click stacks for this workload
Everything below runs on any VPS if you set it up yourself. These providers also offer it as a one-click install in their official catalog (verified 20 Jul 2026).
- Minecraft
- one-click on Vultr, DigitalOcean, Linode, OVHcloud, Hostinger
- Docker
- one-click on Hetzner, Vultr, DigitalOcean, Linode, OVHcloud, Scaleway, Contabo, Hostinger, IONOS
Frequently asked
- What is the cheapest VPS that qualifies for game servers?
- Contabo Cloud VPS 4 · 4 vCPU · 8 GB at $6.35/mo (excl. VAT) meets the minimum requirements as of 16 Sept 2026.
- How are these requirements chosen?
- The minimums (8 GB RAM, 2 vCPU) reflect what the workload actually stresses, as explained under "what matters", and the ranking weights those dimensions rather than raw price.
- How fresh is this list?
- Prices are re-fetched from all 26 providers daily and this ranking recomputes automatically. Last refresh: 16 Sept 2026.