Rust dedicated server: how to host one

Cheapest on-demand Rust hosting: from €0.03/h, pay only while you raid.

Rust makes the case for pay-as-you-play better than most survival games: a group plays hard for the first few days right after a wipe, then drops off until the next cycle. A fixed monthly subscription forces you to pay for weeks of empty downtime. If you prefer not to manage a server machine yourself, you can host a Rust server by the hour: billing is strictly by the started hour, startup time is not billed, and a stopped server costs €0.

1. What you get with an on-demand Rust server

Rust servers are resource-intensive, but flexible on-demand hosting gives you full control without wasted spend:

• 10 to 50 player slots, and a procedural map size of 2000, 3000, or 4000 chosen upon creation.
• WebRCON admin console: Run administrative commands, kick or ban players, and monitor server performance live from your browser dashboard.
• Oxide (uMod) plugins: Enable Oxide in server settings and drop your .cs files into tickserv/oxide/plugins/ via the built-in file manager.
• Rust+ companion app integration: The companion port is open by default so you can pair the server directly from the in-game menu.
• Automatic world preservation: The server flushes and saves world progress before every shutdown. When no players are connected, the server stops automatically to ensure €0 idle spend.

2. Choosing map size and seed

In Rust, the map size and seed are part of the save file's identity (proceduralmap.<size>.<seed>.<version>.sav).

• For small groups or fast PvP action, a size of 2000 or 3000 keeps encounters frequent and boots faster.
• For large groups building sprawling bases, a size of 4000 offers expansive terrain.
• Note: Changing map size or seed on an existing world forces Rust to generate a brand new map, resetting structures.

3. Recommended RAM: why 16 GB is safest

Rust's memory footprint behaves differently from other games:

• A freshly generated size-3000 map uses approximately 4.35 GB RAM at idle.
• However, as bases are built, deployables multiply, and players roam during a wipe, entity counts climb past 30,000+ items and memory usage scales up significantly.
• We recommend the 16 GB tier for smooth wipes without out-of-memory crashes as your wipe progresses.

4. Surviving the monthly Facepunch wipe

On the first Thursday of every month, Facepunch releases a mandatory game update that wipes world maps across every host. Your server automatically pulls the update on its next boot and starts a fresh procedural map so your group can jump straight into the new wipe.

Create your Rust server from €0.03/h. First hour of play is free.