HostAdvice experts performed an independent study on the Best VPS providers for all types of users. The list of the top 6 best VPS hosting for game servers was made by our experts, who while working on this page performed a research on this topic. The research is based on thousands of independent user reviews, tests, and surveys, and all tests were conducted separately on all the leading gaming VPS providers. However, if you want to cut to the chase and don’t want to read the whole article, here is our selection of the top 6 best VPS for Gaming.
Short on Time? Check Our Top VPS for Gaming
What Is VPS for Gaming, and Who Is It For?
Virtual Private Server (VPS) for Gaming is a hosting solution that you can get to host your own game server. The best VPS for game servers sit between shared and dedicated hosting and are an excellent way to host a game server for multiplayer and single-player games. They offer enhanced performance, security, etc., compared to shared hosting, but less so compared to dedicated hosting.
A VPS for Gaming allows users to have full root access to their game servers so that they can customize their games. Also, it allows users to choose the operating system they prefer, which is excellent for gamers since they can select the operating system that fits best with their game.
VPS for Gaming is best for users who want:
- To host gaming sessions for the games of their choice with their own rules;
- To host the connection of other players, to decrease lag;
- To create games that won’t experience dropped connections;
- Root access to set up, manage, and customize their game servers however they want;
- To use the best enterprise-grade hardware for an affordable price;
- To have more privacy and control over their games;
- To set up matches for other players with no lag;
- To create mods and other similar things without the game publisher;
- And more.
The Best VPS for Gaming of 2023 (Bought and Tested):
Contabo is a German hosting provider that was founded in 2003. Since its inception, it has expanded its services and offers a wide range of hosting types. It operates in 190 countries and has data centers in Europe, the USA, Asia, and the UK. Contabo owns all of its data centers and hardware, which is why it can provide its customers with high-quality services at low prices. It has won multiple awards for its VPS services and has been validated by industry experts.
- Overall score: 4.2
- Features: 4.2
- Support: 4.2
- User Friendly: 4.2
- Pricing: 4.5
- Reliability: 4.2
Features: All Contabo VPS plans come with either SSD or Gen 4 PCIe NVMe SSD at no extra cost, non-stop DDoS protection, DNS management, Snapshots, API and CLI, one-click upgrades, IPv4 and IPv6 addresses, and VNC access. However, we gave it a 4.2 rating because the process of transferring a domain from another provider is a bit complicated and tedious.
Support: Contabo’s award-winning customer support team is available via phone and email 24/7. Additionally, it provides documents and tutorials to its customers. However, we gave it a 4.2 rating because some customers have experienced minor data loss during the backup process.
User-Friendly: Contabo’s user interface is not as intuitive compared to its competitors, and it can be difficult to get used to and navigate. However, it does provide the cPanel control panel and a demo account, where you can log in and test out its service before committing to it. However, we gave it a 4.2 rating because some processes are more complex for beginners.
Pricing: The Contabo entry-level Cloud VPS S plan costs $5.99 per month and includes 4 vCPU cores, 8 GB RAM, 50 GB NVMe or 200 GB SSD storage, 1 Snapshot, and 32 TB outgoing and unlimited incoming traffic. However, we gave it a 4.5 rating because there are some additional fees for recovering a deleted VPS.
Reliability: Contabo uses AMD EPYC 7282 16-core processors that can handle intensive workloads. Additionally, it uses optimized hardware from Dell, HP Enterprise, Samsung, AMD, and Intel to ensure stable overall server performance. However, we gave it a 4.2 rating because some customers have reported few-minute-long outages.
Additional parameter: Server uptime: 4.5: Contabo offers a 99.996% uptime guarantee. Thus, if you get a Contabo VPS plan, your gaming will experience minimal downtime and lag. Additionally, it uses AMD EPYC 7282 16-core processors that can handle intensive workloads, large traffic, and all types of single and multiplayer games. However, because of some reported outages by customers, we gave it a 4.5 rating.
Pros and Cons
Pros
- Affordable prices for amazing features
- A connection speed between 200 Mbit/s and 1 Gbit/s
- Global data centers with hardware from the best companies
- Availability of multiple OS templates
- Always-on DDoS protection
- Grea0074 DevOps features, including custom images, cloud-init, and SSH keys
- Easy setup
- Private networking
- DNS management
Cons
- Outdated web design
- Not easy to navigate
- No live chat support
Contabo is an excellent choice for all gamers that are looking for a top-notch VPS for gaming provider with excellent performance and features for an affordable price. Check out its offer today!
InterServer was founded in 1999 and is considered to be one of the most experienced and secure hosting providers. It offers a wide range of affordable services and provides amazing performance and reliability. InterServer provides its customers with many one-click installations, over 450 cloud apps, and amazing custom security features like InterShield and Inter-Insurance. Additionally, InterServer uses the KVM, OpenVZ, Virtuozzo, and Hyper-V virtualization platforms so that other servers cannot access your server on the same node.
- Overall score: 4.4
- Features: 4.4
- Support: 4.3
- User Friendly: 4.4
- Pricing: 4.5
- Reliability: 4.4
Features: InterServer offers amazing features, including InterShield protection, free SSL Certificates, root access, Inter-Insurance, integration with over 450 apps, free website migration, global content caching, malware protection, and Cloudflare CDN. However, we gave it a score of 4.4 because it does not offer a free domain and has very few data centers.
Support: InterServer’s 24/7 customer support can be accessed via phone, email, ticketing system, Facebook chat, and live chat. However, to get managed support, you will need to buy at least four slices of hardware, which is why we gave it a 4.3. Another reason for this rating is that some queries do not have accurate responses, and agents are not always available.
User Friendly: InterServer provides the cPanel to its customers, which is widely regarded as one of the best control panels out there. However, it does not have a good user interface, its web design is outdated, and its website is overloaded with elements, making it harder to navigate. That is why we gave it a 4.4.
Pricing: The price you pay will depend on the OS you choose and on the number of hardware resources, a.k.a slices you get. The cheapest option is a Linux VPS plan, with a base price of $6 per month per slice. One slice includes 1 CPU core, 2048 MB RAM, 30 GB SSD storage, and 2 TB bandwidth. We give it a 4.5 because you have to purchase at least 4 slices for managed support.
Reliability: InterServer’s VPS hosting comes with self-healing hardware, meaning that InterServer’s AI automatically redirects your server to a different node if your server is experiencing a glitch or another issue. However, we gave InterServer a 4.4 rating because it has slower loading speeds.
Additional parameter – Server uptime: 4.8: InterServer provides a 99.9% uptime guarantee, which is considered decent based on the industry standard. Its VPS infrastructure is powered by SSD storage and self-healing hardware, ensuring that your server will be online virtually non-stop with minimal downtime. We gave it a 4.8 rating because it only has data centers in the USA, which means that customers outside of the USA will experience latency issues and lag.
Pros and Cons
Pros
- Self-healing hardware
- A 99.9% uptime guarantee
- Root access
- Custom security features like InterShield and Inter-Insurance
- Free manual data backup
- Free DDoS protection
- Cloudflare CDN
- Free SSL Certificates
- Some cryptocurrencies are accepted as payment options
- Data is stored on RAID-10 disks
Cons
- Difficult to navigate
- Outdated web design
- Slow loading speeds
If you want a VPS for Gaming provider that will guarantee the safety of your server and data, then InterServer is your best bet! Check it out today and have a secure and smooth gaming experience!
A2 Hosting is one of the oldest hosting providers, with over 20 years of experience. It has won multiple awards over the years for its services and reliability. It offers both managed and unmanaged VPS plans that include many free features, like SSL Certificates, the cPanel control panel, and site transfers. All of the A2 Hosting VPS solutions use SSDs, which enables them to offer fast and reliable performance with little to no downtime and lag.
- Overall score: 4.7
- Features: 4.7
- Support: 4.7
- User Friendly: 4.7
- Pricing: 4.6
- Reliability: 4.7
Features: A2 Hosting offers many amazing features to its customers, including the cPanel control panel, many one-click installations, free migrations, a free SSL Certificate, DNS, and a free custom website builder. Additionally, all VPS plans are compatible with Cloudflare CDN and provide root access to customers. We gave it this score because not all features are available in cheaper plans.
Support: All A2 Hosting customers can access Guru Crew Support, a team of experts available 24/7/365. You can access the A2 Hosting support via the multilingual live chat, phone, email, and ticketing system. We gave it this score because some users report minor issues with certain agents.
User-Friendly: The provider caters to both developers and non-tech-savvy customers. Most of its services are user-friendly, with many automated and simple manual processes. Additionally, customers can utilize multiple guides, self-help articles, and video tutorials. We gave it this score because some services are a bit more complex for beginners.
Pricing: The price of an A2 Hosting VPS plan depends on whether you choose a managed or unmanaged one. Of course, the cheapest VPS plan is the Runway 1 unmanaged plan, which comes with 1 GB RAM, 150 GB SSD storage, 1 Core, 2 TB transfer, root access, and a price tag of $4.59 per month. The cheapest managed plan is Lift 4, which costs $23.99 monthly. It comes with 4 GB RAM, 150 GB SSD storage, 2 TB transfer, 2 cores, a free SSL Certificate, a free cPanel control panel, and a free site transfer. A2 Hosting received this score because its renewal prices are quite higher than the purchasing price.
Reliability: A2 Hosting is known for its reliability. It uses SSD storage, and all plans are hosted on a fast SwiftServer platform. It has a 99.9% uptime guarantee, four data centers, and a Cloudflare CDN with all managed VPS plans. We give A2 Hosting this score because Turbo options are only available for more expensive plans.
Additional parameter – Server uptime: 4.9: Server uptime is crucial for VPS for Gaming because it shows how well a provider maintains its servers and how long they can run before rebooting. With an uptime guarantee of 99.9%, A2 Hosting guarantees its customers that they will experience as little downtime and lag as possible. We gave it this high score because it runs its servers on the SwiftServer platform.
Pros and Cons
Pros
- Blazing fast performance due to the SwiftServer platform
- A 99.9% uptime guarantee
- A 30-day money-back guarantee
- Expert Guru Crew 24/7/365 support
- Option for Turbo server for up to 20x faster speed
- cPanel control panel
- Free SSL Certificate
- Free Cloudflare CDN
- SSD storage
Cons
- Higher renewal prices
- Some limitations to cheaper plans
A2 Hosting ensures you get the best gaming experience by providing fast and stable performance, so your game server has little to no downtime and lag. Learn more about what it offers today!
How Do We Rank and How You Should Choose Your VPS for Gaming?
- CPU Power and Memory13%
- Server Uptime15%
- Full Root Access8%
- Security11%
- Customer Support10%
- Type of Hosting Service7%
- Extra Features6%
- User Reviews30%
When we are ranking the best hosting providers, we test specifically for each category. Our experts develop a list of relevant factors for the category we are ranking, and they perform independent performance tests on every provider that qualifies in that specific category. Also, they consider thousands of real, independent user reviews when we rank.
Here are the factors that we tested and that you need to take into consideration when ranking and choosing the best VPS for Gaming:
- CPU Power and Memory (13%): CPU (Central Processing Unit) with a minimum 2.5Ghz clock speed, 8GB RAM (but 16GB and up is better), 1TB SSD with high read and write speeds, 64-bit Linux or Windows OS.
- Server Uptime (15%): Uptime of 99.95% or above, enterprise-grade hardware, SSD Storage, Cloudflare CDN, etc.
- Full Root Access (8%): Does the provider allow you to customize your game? Does the provider allow you to have complete control over your server and its resources?
- Security (11%): Does the Gaming VPS provider offer additional security features like DDoS protection, encrypting root tools, a VPN, daily backups, disaster recovery options, dedicated IP addresses, malware scans, etc.?
- Customer Support (10%): the technical knowledge and availability behind the support behind the VPS plan – preferably 24/7 support via live chat, phone, & email, guides, and tutorials.
- Type of Hosting Service (7%): Does the provider offer both fully-managed and unmanaged VPS services? Will the provider’s team help you configure the network ports of your VPS game server?
- Extra Features (6%): multiple data center & server locations, enterprise-grade hardware, scalable resources, free automatic security patches, free CDN, etc.
- User Reviews (30%): Real-life reviews and experiences from independent users. First-hand feedback and opinions on a provider’s quality and reliability.
Ranking comparison between the Top Providers
VPS for Gaming Pros and Cons
Now, I will cover some advantages and disadvantages you can experience by hosting your game server with a VPS.
Pros
- Excellent Value for Money – you will get to use some of the best enterprise-level hardware for a fraction of the price.
- Full Root Access – you can get full root access to your VPS gaming server and customize your server as much as you want.
- Dedicated (Private) Resources – you will get more power and dedicated (private) resources that only you will have access to and be able to use.
- Enhanced Security – since each user gets private resources from their VPS provider, they will also get better privacy and security with it.
Cons
- Cheat Prevention – if you intend to use your VPS gaming server to host a game that everyone can play and is available to a wider public, stopping players from cheating can be difficult and almost impossible to do.
- More Limited Resources Compared to Dedicated Servers – by hosting your game on a VPS server, you will get much more resources and enhanced features than with shared hosting, but much more limited resources and features compared to dedicated hosting.
Should You Get Managed or Unmanaged VPS for Gaming
When deciding whether managed or unmanaged VPS hosting is best for you and your game server, you should take into account the following factors:
- Do You Need Help From Tech Experts? – if you don’t possess advanced tech knowledge and don’t know how to set up, manage, and maintain a gaming server, you should consider going for managed instead of unmanaged VPS for Gaming. With a managed VPS plan, your provider will take care of all the technical tasks for you and monitor your server daily. to check out our Best Managed VPS page.
- Budget – if you are on a tighter budget but need a powerful hosting solution for your game server, you should go for an unmanaged VPS plan. Those plans are much cheaper than managed plans. However, if you need someone to help you set up your server and other similar tasks, getting a managed VPS plan is much more cost-effective than hiring additional IT staff.
- Scalability – if you go for an unmanaged VPS for your game server, you will have to monitor your server constantly and decide when to scale them. Some users prefer doing that by themselves. But for those who don’t, a managed VPS plan is a better choice since they won’t have to monitor their servers by themselves every day. Also, your managed VPS hosting provider will advise you on scaling your resources up or down.
- Customization – you will get full control and root access over your game server with an unmanaged VPS plan. Thus, you will be able to customize your server as much as you want without your provider interfering.
VPS for Gaming Requirements
A Gaming server needs:
- Strong and Uninterrupted Internet Connection – to play a game online, you need to have access to the Internet and a strong connection at all times. That way, you won’t lose any critical gaming data and won’t experience frequent disconnections.
- Enough Storage and Memory – if you host a game and plan to have 50-100 players, you will need at least 240GB of storage and 32GB of RAM. However, most gamers believe that 1TB of storage is the safest bet.
- High Computing Power – a game server must have high computing power to be able to handle multiple players playing the game at the same time. A CPU with a 2.5Ghz clock speed is considered the minimal gaming server requirement.
- A Fast Processor – a quick processor, will allow you to host games with minimal lag, stalls, and disconnects. A processor with four cores, eight threads, and a 3.80GHZ clock speed is considered a great choice for a gaming server.
Best VPS for Gaming Services: Summary
A Virtual Private Server (VPS) is an excellent fit for any gaming server. It offers scalable resources, excellent performance, and full root access, which allows users to customize their games as much as they want.
You can host all kinds of games with a VPS and experience little to no lag while doing so. Also, you can use VPS for Gaming to create mods, host matches, and many other gaming-related things!