Picking the wrong VPS is the #1 mistake new game server owners make. High ping, shared CPU cores that throttle under load, or no DDoS protection — it kills the experience for your players.
I've tested all of these personally. Here's the honest breakdown.
| Provider | Price | RAM | CPU | DDoS | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 🥇 Hetzner | €4.51/mo | 4GB | 2 vCPU (AMD) | ✓ | EU players, best value overall |
| 🥈 Vultr | $6/mo | 1GB | 1 vCPU | ✓ (add-on) | US players, 25+ regions |
| 🥉 Contabo | €5.50/mo | 8GB | 4 vCPU | ✗ | RAM-heavy modpacks |
| BisectHosting | $2.99/mo | Managed | Managed | ✓ | Beginners, no Linux knowledge |
| DigitalOcean | $6/mo | 1GB | 1 vCPU | ✗ | Devs, great API/docs |
Hetzner's CX22 is the gold standard for budget game server hosting in Europe. AMD EPYC CPUs with strong single-thread performance, NVMe storage, and competitive pricing that nobody else comes close to. DDoS protection is included by default.
✓ Best price/performance in EU
✓ AMD EPYC CPUs — fast single-thread
✓ DDoS protection included
✓ NVMe SSD storage
✓ Hourly billing, easy rescale
✗ EU locations only (Nuremberg, Helsinki, Ashburn)
✗ No Asia-Pacific locations
Best choice if your players are in North America or Asia. 25+ data center locations worldwide means you can put the server close to your players. The $100 referral payout is also the highest of any VPS provider — their affiliate program is extremely generous.
✓ 25+ global locations
✓ Hourly billing
✓ Good performance/price
✓ New customers get $100 free credit
✗ More expensive per GB RAM than Hetzner
✗ DDoS protection costs extra
Contabo gives you absurd amounts of RAM for the price. Running a heavily modded Minecraft server (ATM9, All the Mods) or multiple server instances? Contabo is worth looking at. The downside: CPU performance is mediocre and there's no DDoS protection.
✓ Massive RAM per dollar
✓ Good for RAM-heavy workloads
✓ Flat monthly pricing
✗ No DDoS protection
✗ CPU can throttle under load
✗ Support is slow
If you don't want to touch a command line, BisectHosting is the easiest option. One-click Minecraft, Valheim, Rust, and more. Pre-configured, DDoS protected, and extremely beginner friendly. It's more expensive per resource than a raw VPS but you're paying for the ease.
✓ Zero Linux knowledge needed
✓ One-click game installs
✓ DDoS protection included
✓ 24/7 support
✗ More expensive per GB than raw VPS
✗ Less control/customization
| Game | Min RAM | Recommended RAM | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Minecraft Vanilla | 1GB | 2GB | 2GB handles 10–15 players comfortably |
| Minecraft Modded (big packs) | 6GB | 8–12GB | ATM9, All the Mods need serious RAM |
| Valheim | 2GB | 4GB | Scales well with player count |
| CS2 | 2GB | 4GB | CPU matters more than RAM here |
| Rust | 6GB | 8GB+ | Very RAM hungry, needs fast CPU too |
| FiveM (GTA) | 4GB | 8GB | Depends heavily on server scripts/plugins |
Ready to set up your server? Start here: Install Pterodactyl Panel →