Before you rent anything: co-op holds 4 players and costs nothing, but only runs while the host is in the world. A dedicated server holds 32 by default and runs without you — and the server software itself is a free download. What you are actually buying from a host is a machine that stays on and a network your friends can reach.
Do you need a host at all?
Co-op — free
Invite from inside your own world. Holds 4 players (CoopPlayerMaxNum), needs no setup and no port forwarding. The catch is absolute: when you log off, the world stops. Nobody can play, and nothing in your bases progresses.
Self-hosted — free
The dedicated server is a free download on Steam — you do not need a second copy of the game, and it runs on Windows or Linux. Holds 32 by default (ServerPlayerMaxNum). You supply the machine, the uptime and one open UDP port (8211).
Rented — paid
The same server software on somebody else’s hardware. What you are paying for is uptime, a routable address, backups and a panel — not extra game features. Worth it when the group plays at different hours, which is most groups.
That first column is the reason to read this page before a price table. A group of four that plays together does not need to spend anything.
What the server actually needs
Pocketpair’s figures
Component
Stated requirement
CPU
4 cores or more
RAM
16 GB is the stated standard. 8 GB is described as carrying a crash risk, and more than 32 GB is recommended for larger servers.
Storage
An SSD — the documentation warns that slow storage can corrupt saves.
OS
Windows 64-bit, or Linux 64-bit (Ubuntu, AlmaLinux and similar)
Network
UDP port 8211 by default, changeable (PublicPort)
These are Pocketpair’s own numbers from the dedicated-server documentation, not a host’s recommendation — a host has an interest in the answer and Pocketpair does not. Note what is not published anywhere: a RAM-per-player formula. Anyone quoting you “1 GB per player” has made it up.
What actually makes a Palworld server heavy
Player count is the number hosts sell on, but it is not the number that decides whether your server stutters. Bases are. Every Pal working at a base is being simulated continuously, and the settings file lets one guild run BaseCampMaxNumInGuild bases of BaseCampWorkerMaxNum Pals each — so 4 × 15 = 60 working Pals per guild before anyone changes a setting. The shipped file’s own note on the worker cap is that raising it is the usual cause of base-camp lag.
The practical consequence: a four-player server where everyone builds sprawling bases works the hardware harder than a sixteen-player server where nobody does. If you are sizing a plan, size it for how your group builds, and read the worker cap before you raise it.
What five hosts state on their own pages
read 2026-09-09
Only what each host’s own Palworld page says, in the currency and billing period it quoted. This is not a ranking: the right host depends on where your group lives and how you like to pay, and a table that pretended otherwise would be a sales pitch. Prices move; the date above is when each page was read.
BisectHosting prices per GB of RAM rather than per plan, and the figures load dynamically — they were still shown as "... / GB" when the page was opened in a real browser, so no number is recorded here.
Locations
21 worldwide locations
Trial
3 days of free server backups stated; refund terms not stated on this page
Mods
Stated as supported
Crossplay
PC, Xbox, PlayStation, Steam, Game Pass
Each host's own Palworld product page, read on the date below. Nothing here comes from a comparison blog or from a host's marketing copy about a rival. Fields a host does not state are omitted rather than guessed, and prices are recorded in the currency and billing period the page quoted — converting them would invent precision the pages do not have. None of these links are affiliate links; this site earns nothing if you use them.
Once the server is running
Everything a Palworld server does differently from single-player is one line in PalWorldSettings.ini. The settings reference lists all 120 with the defaults the game ships, and its config generator writes the file for you and refuses keys the game does not have — which is the usual reason a hand-edited config silently does nothing. The settings most groups change first: ExpRate, DeathPenalty and egg hatching time. To run commands on a live server you need RCON and an admin password — both off by default — and here is what you can then type.
Extracted from Palworld's game files on (build 4570874460).Methodology