How much does a game server cost by the hour?
Short answer: for a group of friends playing a few hours a week, between €0.30 and €3 a month. The long answer needs a calculation, because everything hinges on one variable: how many hours you actually play.
This guide gives the real numbers, including the point where you would be better off not choosing us.
The rate depends on RAM, not on the game
This is the part that surprises people most. At most hosts, the price changes with the game. Here, a Minecraft server and a Factorio server of the same size cost exactly the same, because what we bill is a machine, not a licence.
| RAM | vCPU | Price per hour | Who it is for |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4 GB | 2 | €0.02 | Vanilla Minecraft, small group |
| 8 GB | 4 | €0.03 | Lightly modded Minecraft, Valheim, Factorio |
| 16 GB | 8 | €0.05 | Palworld, large modpacks |
| 32 GB | 16 | €0.10 | Very large modpacks, big factories |
These are Eco prices (shared vCPU), which suits the vast majority of games. The dedicated CPU tier costs roughly double for the same RAM: it only earns its keep if you need stable performance under load, typically a heavy Minecraft modpack or a Factorio factory starting to saturate a core.
All prices include VAT. There is no IP address surcharge, no setup fee and no storage fee. The only possible extra is optional: the premium backup plan (five timestamped backups instead of one), a monthly charge you pick at creation and cancel in one click.
What that looks like in practice
Here is the monthly cost by playing rhythm. The amounts are simply hours × rate, rounded to the cent.
| Playing rhythm | Hours / month | 4 GB | 8 GB | 16 GB |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 h on Saturday evening | 13 h | €0.26 | €0.39 | €0.65 |
| 1 h a day | 30 h | €0.60 | €0.90 | €1.50 |
| Big weekends (8 h + 4 h) | 52 h | €1.04 | €1.56 | €2.60 |
| 4 h a day, every day | 120 h | €2.40 | €3.60 | €6.00 |
Put another way: a €10 top-up covers 500 hours of Minecraft at 4 GB. At three hours a week, that is a little over three years of play.
When a subscription becomes cheaper again
This is the question no host answers honestly, so here is the maths. A typical monthly plan sits around €9 for 4 GB, €12 for 8 GB and €14 for 16 GB. The break-even point is that monthly price divided by our hourly rate.
| RAM | Typical monthly plan | Break-even | Which is, per day |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4 GB | ~€9 | 450 h / month | 15 h a day |
| 8 GB | ~€12 | 400 h / month | 13 h a day |
| 16 GB | ~€14 | 280 h / month | 9 h a day |
Translation: if your server runs more than nine to fifteen hours a day, every day, a monthly subscription will cost you less than we do. Go and get one, it is the right tool for that need.
Below that, the gap is wide. At four hours of play a day, an 8 GB server costs €3.60 a month against €12 on a plan, three times less. At three hours a week the ratio climbs past thirty.
One useful caveat: this calculation assumes your server switches off when nobody is playing. That is automatic here, but it means the reasoning only holds if you do not leave it idling. A server left running for a full month would cost €14.60 at 4 GB, so more than a plan. That is exactly why auto-shutdown exists, and why it is on by default.
Billing by the started hour, and why it barely matters
Billing works by the started hour. A ten-minute session is therefore billed as one hour: €0.02 at 4 GB. It is not the finest way to count, and a host billing by the minute would technically be fairer.
In practice the difference is negligible at these rates: even stacking up short sessions, we are talking about cents. The advantage of the started hour is that it is predictable and lines up exactly with how our infrastructure provider bills us, so no session can be sold at a loss. No under-billing to claw back later through a price rise.
What is never billed
- A stopped server. Zero euros, no idle fee and no reservation fee.
- Storing your world between sessions, within reasonable use.
- The permanent connection address, which stays the same from one session to the next.
- Automatic backups on every shutdown.
What you will not see on the invoice
No minimum term, and no automatic renewal you haven't switched on yourself: the wallet is topped up when you decide, and the service's only two renewing items — automatic top-up and the premium backup plan — are cancelled in one click. Any unused balance is refundable on request. And the price shown is the price paid, VAT included.
Estimating your budget in thirty seconds
The formula fits on one line: hours played per month × the hourly rate for your RAM.
If you would rather have the number worked out for you, the simulator on the home page takes your weekly rhythm and shows the estimated monthly cost next to what a monthly plan would charge. The detailed comparison goes further, line by line.
And if you are still hesitating, your first session is on us: the welcome credit lets you try without a card, and see on your own statement what an evening of play actually consumes.
Create your server and watch the counter while you play.