How much does a CS2 server cost?Four plans - and why the game mode decides the price

Published on October 5, 2026

Prices at a glance

Four plans, all prepaid and without a contract. The buttons take you to the order with the plan already selected:

The player numbers are recommendations, not limits. We don't sell slots - you set how many places your server offers yourself.

Which plan for which mode?

With Counter-Strike 2, the first question isn't technical but about content: what is the server for?

For a team that plays in the evenings, plan S for €5.99 / month is the right choice. Plan M for €9.99 / month pays off as soon as several plugins run in parallel.

What drives the price - and what doesn't

Counter-Strike 2 is modest with memory: as a guideline, 2 to 4 GB without plugins and 4 to 6 GB with them. The differences between the plans come from elsewhere:

• Continuous operation instead of match nights. A public server is occupied around the clock, a match server two hours a day.
• Plugins. The foundation of Metamod:Source and CounterStrikeSharp carries everything else. Every plugin on top costs memory and computing time.
• Storage. The Counter-Strike 2 server installation is large, and Workshop maps come on top. That is why even the small plans come with plenty of NVMe storage.

What doesn't drive the price is the tickrate. Counter-Strike 2 works with sub-tick; there is no configurable tickrate any more - and therefore no surcharge for "128 tick". What counts instead is stable performance per core and a clean connection.

What costs nothing extra

Three things people often ask about before ordering:

• The GSLT. You create the Game Server Login Token for free in your Steam account. Without it, the server doesn't appear publicly.
• The plugin foundation. Metamod:Source and CounterStrikeSharp are freely available.
• Workshop maps. You load individual maps and whole collections at no extra cost.

One item remains, and it isn't on any invoice: after major game updates, the plugin layer has to be updated. The server itself updates automatically, the plugins don't. If you are planning a tournament day, check this the evening before.

What is included in the price

• Unlimited slots in every plan.
• RCON and task scheduler for commands from outside and scheduled restarts.
• Config editor, web file manager and SFTP for server.cfg, your own configs and demos.
• Automatic updates after every Valve patch.
• Access for the team, so a single account doesn't have to manage everything.
• DDoS protection up to 250 Gbit/⁠s, located in Frankfurt am Main, provisioned in around 120 seconds.

Backups remain self-service: you download configs, plugin settings and demos yourself via SFTP or the web file manager.

Keeping costs low

• One mode per server. Several modes on one server bring conflicting convars and more plugins. A cleanly set up mode runs on the smaller plan.
• Start without plugins where possible. Deathmatch, Wingman and a plain Workshop map server work without the plugin foundation.
• Rent by season. Without a contract you only pay while you play. A league team rents for the season and lets the credit run out afterwards; you keep the configs locally.
• Start small. You upgrade to a larger plan yourself in the customer interface, and configuration and plugins are kept.

How prepaid works without a minimum term is explained on Game servers without a contract.

Frequently asked questions