The cheapest good Vintage Story server depends on how often your group plays. Official Simple Server Hosting costs 10 EUR for 30 days and is the easiest choice for a small, vanilla group, but it is limited to eight concurrent players, hosted in Central Europe, and does not allow third-party mods or world uploads. If you play only occasionally, TickServ advertises an hourly tier from €0.02 per hour, which can cost less when the server is stopped between sessions. Monthly third-party plans advertise lower starting prices than the official service, while self-hosting can remove the rental bill if you already have suitable hardware and a reliable connection.
There is no universally cheapest good host. Compare the price for your actual running hours, memory allocation, region, mod and world support, backups, and the effort required to keep the server available.
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Our top pick: Godlike.Host
For a Vintage Story group that wants a managed server without the official plan’s limits, our top pick is Godlike.Host. It offers Vintage Story servers across 10 data-center locations (US West Coast, US East Coast, Canada, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Poland, Ukraine, Finland and Singapore), free DDoS protection, up to three free backups a day with restore, a built-in mod installer and updater, and SFTP/FTP access. You can upgrade or downgrade from the panel with prorated billing, and support is available 24/7 by live chat or ticket. Prices change with region and on-page offers, so see the current plans.
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Use this decision rule before looking at individual providers:
#1 Best Overall
- ENTERTAINING AND UNEXPECTED QUESTIONS: This handy box is filled with 140 surprising and engaging prompts to inspire reminiscences between family, friends, or couples!
- FAMILY GAME NIGHT FUN: A special way to inspire intergenerational sharing. Great family game for kids and adults.
- TAKE IT ANYWHERE: The portable box is the ideal size to throw in your bag to take on vacation or to a family get-together.
- A FUN GIFT: Perfect for game night enthusiasts; kids, parents, and grandparents wanting to connect across the generations; anyone in search of birthday presents, anniversary gifts, or stocking stuffers for adults, teens, or the whole family.
- EXPLORE THE ENTIRE SERIES: This game is part of the Games Room series, a collection of elegantly designed, geometrically patterned small boxes filled with engaging games to inspire lively conversation and endless laughs.
- Choose official hosting if you want the simplest setup, play a mostly vanilla game, have no more than eight simultaneous players, and value convenience over flexibility.
- Choose hourly hosting if your group plays scheduled sessions and can stop the server when nobody is using it. At €0.02 per hour, the advertised rate reaches €10 after 500 running hours, before any taxes or higher-tier requirements.
- Choose a monthly third-party plan if the server should remain available, you need mods or world uploads, or you want a region outside Central Europe. Advertised examples include €3.20 per month from OXY.Games and $4.50 per month from Gravel Host, but their currencies, hardware tiers, locations, taxes, and renewal terms are not directly equivalent.
- Self-host if you already own a computer that can stay on, have a dependable internet connection, and are comfortable with firewall configuration, updates, backups, and troubleshooting.
All provider prices below are advertised starting prices viewed in 2026. They are not independent market averages, guaranteed checkout totals, or performance results. The official Vintage Story Wiki says its third-party provider list is not vetted, so treat each service’s feature and performance statements as claims to verify before paying.
Price comparison at a glance
The figures use different currencies and plan definitions. The table is a shortlist of starting points, not a like-for-like ranking.
| Option | Published price example | Best fit | Important checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Official Vintage Story hosting | 10 EUR per 30 days | Small vanilla group wanting in-game setup | Maximum eight concurrent players; Central Europe; no third-party mods or world uploads; stable or release-candidate versions only |
| Hourly third-party hosting | TickServ advertises from €0.02 per hour | Intermittent play with the server stopped between sessions | Calculate real running hours; confirm RAM tier, region, autosave, and what “stopped” means for billing |
| Monthly third-party hosting | OXY.Games advertises from €3.20 per month; Gravel Host from $4.50 per month | Continuously available servers, mods, or broader region choice | Compare equivalent RAM, CPU, location, taxes, renewal price, backups, support, and migration tools |
| Self-hosting | No rental price quoted by the official guide | Technically comfortable owner with suitable always-on hardware | Hardware, electricity, upload bandwidth, firewall or port forwarding, maintenance, and backups |
How hourly pricing changes the answer
Hourly billing is only cheaper when the server runs for fewer hours than the monthly alternatives. Multiply the advertised hourly rate by the number of hours your group expects to run the world:
monthly running cost = hourly rate × running hours
At TickServ’s advertised entry rate of €0.02 per hour, the arithmetic is:
Rank #2
- HOWDY PARTNER - Welcome to Disney Pixar Toy Story Obstacles & Adventures, the cooperative deck-building game that brings the world of Toy Story to life! Play as your favorite characters from the films - Sheriff Woody, Buzz Lightyear, Jesse, Rex and Bo Peep
- TO INFINITY, AND BEYOND - This family board game features artwork, characters, obstacles, and adventures from across all the Toy Story movies and television films - Toy Story, Toy Story 2, Toy Story 3, Toy Story 4, Toy Story of Terror!, and Toy Story That Time Forgot
- THERE'S A SNAKE IN MY BOOT - Watch out for the hazards and obstacles that try and end playtime, While the toys may be cute, don't let them deceive you as there are serious challenges along the way
- YOU'VE GOT A FRIEND IN ME - Work together in this cooperative group game as you build your deck and move along the 6 sequential games that build on their level of difficulty
- 2-5 players | Ages 8+ | 30-90+ Min Play Time
| Running time in a 30-day period | Cost at €0.02/hour | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| 50 hours | €1 | Potentially below every listed monthly starting price, if the required tier is available at that rate |
| 100 hours | €2 | Still below the official 10 EUR plan on price alone |
| 150 hours | €3 | Close to the lowest advertised monthly third-party example |
| 300 hours | €6 | More expensive than €3.20, but below the official plan before taxes or tier changes |
| 500 hours | €10 | Matches the official plan’s listed price |
This calculation assumes the €0.02 rate applies to the server size your world needs. A larger memory tier, storage charge, tax, minimum billing increment, or separate backup fee can change the result. Confirm whether stopping pauses compute billing, whether storage remains charged, how the world is saved, and how quickly the server restarts. TickServ says the world is saved between sessions and the server costs €0 while off; verify the exact behavior in the plan terms.
What the official 10 EUR plan includes—and excludes
Why it is attractive
The official Simple Server Hosting plan is listed at 10 EUR per 30 days. Its main advantage is reduced administration: the official service is integrated with Vintage Story’s setup flow, so a small group can start playing without configuring a separate operating system, firewall, or server panel. The official hosting description says paid internet hosting means “Everyone can join at any time and setup is simplified.”
The hard limits
- The plan supports up to eight concurrent players.
- Servers are hosted in Central Europe, which may be inconvenient for groups elsewhere.
- Third-party mods are not supported.
- You cannot upload an existing world to the service.
- Only stable and release-candidate versions are supported, rather than arbitrary experimental builds.
These restrictions make the official plan a poor fit for a modded community, a group migrating an established save, or players who need a region close to North America, Asia, or Oceania. For a new, vanilla world with up to eight players, the convenience can justify paying more than an hourly plan.
When a monthly third-party host is better value
Third-party hosting is usually the practical choice when you need mod support, world import and export, a selectable data-center region, more than eight players, or a server that remains online without someone manually starting it. OXY.Games advertises plans from €3.20 per month, and Gravel Host advertises plans from $4.50 per month. Those figures are provider-published starting prices, not independent performance measurements.
Check the specification behind the headline price
A low monthly number is meaningful only when the plan has enough memory and CPU capacity for your world. Ask for the exact RAM allocation, CPU share or thread count, storage type and size, player limit, and whether backups consume your quota. A €3.20 plan with insufficient memory can be worse value than a €6 plan that avoids crashes and lag.
Rank #3
- A WHOLE NEW WAY TO PARTY: Skip the small talk and spark unforgettable conversations with It’s Kind of a Fun Story, the adult party game where the story of your life earns you points. Perfect for adult game nights, pre-games, happy hours, bachelorette parties, or family gatherings.
- EASY TO LEARN, FUN TO PLAY: Take turns drawing cards and answering questions to be the first player to earn seven points! Story Cards put you in the spotlight to tell a story from your life, but watch out, if another player thinks they have a better tale, they can play a Hear Me Out Card to try to steal your points. Left or Right, Point a Finger, and Everybody Answers cards keep every round fresh, fast-paced, and full of surprises.
- FUN, HEARTFELT, AND FULL OF CONNECTION: With 320 conversation cards, every round is unique, hilarious, and full of exciting stories. More than just a funny adult card game, it brings people closer: laugh together, share embarrassing memories, and bond over stories that are silly, surprising, or even deep.
- CUSTOMIZE YOUR VIBE: Keep it clean or make it spicy with the included R-Rated mini-expansion pack. Clearly marked R-Rated cards let you adjust to your group, and every player gets a Nope Card to skip any topic they’re not comfortable with. Everyone stays engaged and having fun. Perfect as a drinking game, icebreaker game, or casual conversation game.
- PERFECT FOR EVERY OCCASION: Ideal for friends’ game nights, family gatherings, pre-games, happy hours, bachelorette parties, or adult game nights. It’s Kind of a Fun Story is the ultimate adult storytelling card game that gets everyone laughing, sharing, and connecting every time you play.
Verify the renewal and cancellation terms
Find the regular renewal price, billing interval, taxes, refund policy, cancellation deadline, and what happens to files after cancellation. “Starting at” can describe a promotional term, the smallest memory tier, or a longer billing commitment. Save a copy of your world before ending a subscription.
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Do not treat the provider directory as an endorsement
The official Vintage Story Wiki labels its third-party list as “not vetted.” That does not make every listed service unsuitable; it means you should independently confirm uptime history, support responsiveness, backup restoration, data-center location, and migration procedures. No provider in this comparison has been independently performance-tested.
Memory, CPU, and connection requirements
Use the official estimates as a starting point
The official Vintage Story self-hosting page gives a rough conservative recommendation for a normal survival world: Windows or Linux, 1 GB of base memory plus 300 MB per player, and four CPU threads. Its CPU guidance states “Frequency: 1 GHz base + 150 MHz per player.” The current dedicated-server guide on the official Wiki states 1 GHz base plus 100 MHz per player instead. Because the two official pages differ, do not combine the figures into a single guaranteed formula; use the self-hosting page’s current recommendation and check the guide again when planning your machine.
These are rough recommendations, not performance guarantees. Mods, large explored worlds, many entities, automation, and frequent saves can require more headroom. A host that technically meets the baseline may still produce pauses when the world grows or several players load new terrain at once.
Plan for headroom
- Reserve memory above the calculated base instead of assigning every available megabyte to the game.
- Leave CPU capacity for the operating system, backups, monitoring, and other services.
- Use fast, reliable storage for the world and backup files.
- Estimate upload bandwidth for the number of simultaneous players and the activity in newly generated terrain.
Ask a provider whether its advertised RAM is dedicated or shared, and whether CPU limits are stated in threads, percentages, or a shared pool. “Unlimited players” without a memory or CPU specification is not a useful capacity promise.
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Rank #4
- In Prey, you awaken aboard Talos I, a space station orbiting the moon in the year 2032.
- You are the key subject of an experiment meant to alter humanity forever - but things have gone terribly wrong.
- The space station has been overrun by hostile aliens and you are now being hunted.
Self-hosting: the subscription-free option
Self-hosting can eliminate a monthly rental payment, but it does not eliminate costs or work. The official guide distinguishes local hosting, paid internet hosting, and free internet hosting. A free internet route may require technical setup, a strong connection, and leaving the computer running. Electricity, hardware wear, internet service, and the owner’s time are part of the real cost.
Choose self-hosting when these conditions are true
- You have a computer that meets the server recommendations and can remain powered on.
- Your upload connection is reliable, and your internet service permits hosting.
- You can configure the operating-system firewall and router port forwarding, or use an appropriate alternative networking method.
- You will perform updates, monitor disk space, and maintain offline or separate backups.
- The group accepts that the server is unavailable when the owner’s machine, power, or connection fails.
A mini PC is optional, not a requirement
A low-power mini PC can be a sensible self-hosting category if you do not want your main desktop running continuously. No particular model has been independently selected or tested here. Compare its CPU performance, installed memory, storage, operating-system support, cooling, and expected always-on power draw with the current Vintage Story requirements before buying. Renting a server is simpler if the hardware purchase would take months to recover through electricity savings.
A practical self-hosting checklist
- Install the dedicated server on supported Windows or Linux hardware.
- Allocate memory and CPU capacity with headroom above the rough per-player estimate.
- Set a fixed local address for the host and configure the required firewall and router rules.
- Start with a test player outside your home network to confirm that internet access works.
- Configure automatic saves and scheduled backups to a separate disk or machine.
- Record the server version, mods, configuration files, and restore steps so another group member can recover the world.
How to decide whether the cheapest plan is still good
1. Match the plan to your schedule
Write down the expected running hours for a typical month. Include weekend sessions, spontaneous play, restart time, and periods when the server must remain online for asynchronous projects. Compare that total with hourly billing and the full monthly renewal price, not just an introductory number.
2. Match capacity to the real group
Count simultaneous players, then add headroom for mods, world age, and new-terrain generation. An eight-player cap is a hard stop on the official plan even if the machine could otherwise cope. Third-party limits may be contractual, technical, or both.
3. Confirm world portability before you start
Ask whether you can upload an existing save, download the complete world, retrieve configuration and mod files, and restore a backup without provider intervention. A cheap server that traps your only copy of a world is expensive to leave.
Best Value
- 3-Piece Premium Metal Puzzle Set for Adults 15+: This curated bundle has 3 unique vintage metal disentanglement puzzles for teens and adults craving brain challenges. Precision-cast high-strength alloy brings solid weight and smooth burr-free edges, no cheap plastic parts at all.
- Durable Anti-Rust Build for Long-Term Play & Collection：Premium electroplated vintage metal coating resists scratches, fading and rust after months of repeated twisting. The sturdy structure won’t bend or break easily, making it a long-lasting collection piece for countless play sessions.
- Boost Spatial Logic & Focus in a Screen-Free Way：This 3D IQ game trains your patience, spatial imagination and reverse thinking as you twist and explore hidden mechanisms. Gradual difficulty keeps you engaged for hours, melting work stress and keeping your mind sharp.
- Pocket-Sized Fun for Travel, Parties & Gatherings：Compact and lightweight enough to slip into your bag or jeans pocket, it lets you enjoy brain teasers on commutes, trips or family game nights. It livens up group interactions and pulls everyone away from mindless scrolling.
- Thoughtful Gift for Puzzle Lovers & Special Occasions：With clear illustrated instructions, this challenging disentanglement set is perfect for birthdays, anniversaries and holiday gifting. It’s more than a game — a fun, memorable way to share quality time with friends and partners.
4. Compare location and latency
Choose a data center near most players. The official service is in Central Europe; other hosts advertise different regions. Distance is not the only factor, but a nearby region generally gives players more consistent response times.
5. Inspect safeguards and support
Check backup frequency, retention, restore testing, support hours, incident communication, cancellation, and refund rules. A provider should explain what happens after a failed payment, a hardware failure, or an accidental world deletion.
Common failure modes and fixes
The server costs more than expected
Recalculate using actual running hours, taxes, storage fees, minimum billing increments, and the memory tier required by the world. Hourly pricing is not automatically cheaper if the server runs most of the month.
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Players experience lag after the world grows
Check memory pressure, CPU limits, disk performance, and the server region. Reduce unnecessary background services, review mod load, and move to a larger tier if the host confirms that the current plan is saturated.
You cannot use your existing world
This is an explicit limitation of official hosting. Select a third-party host that documents world import and export, or self-host where you control the files. Keep the original save untouched until the migrated copy has been tested.
The server disappears when nobody is playing
That can be normal for an hourly service or an automatically stopped plan. Confirm the stop schedule, autosave timing, restart delay, and whether storage remains available while compute is stopped. Never shut down immediately after a major build without allowing a save to complete.
Best-value recommendations by player type
- Two to eight vanilla players in Central Europe: Official hosting is the simplest choice at 10 EUR per 30 days.
- Scheduled weekend group: Price an hourly plan first. At €0.02 per hour, low monthly runtime can undercut every listed subscription, provided the required tier uses that rate.
- Modded group or existing world: Use a third-party monthly host with documented mod, upload, download, and backup support.
- More than eight concurrent players: Exclude the official plan and compare third-party capacity, memory, CPU, and region.
- Technically confident owner with spare hardware: Self-host after valuing electricity, maintenance, uptime, and backup responsibility rather than treating the rental price as the entire cost.
Bottom line
The lowest advertised number is not automatically the lowest total cost. For occasional sessions, hourly hosting can be cheapest because you pay only while the server runs. For a continuously available or modded world, a monthly third-party plan may provide better value than the official service, but compare equivalent hardware and terms rather than currencies alone. Official hosting remains the easiest option for a small vanilla group that fits its eight-player, Central Europe-only limits. Self-hosting can be financially attractive when you already own suitable hardware and accept the administration that comes with it. If you would rather rent than run your own machine, Godlike.Host’s Vintage Story hosting is our top pick.
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