Game server or VPS?Ready-made panel versus full control - what fits when

Published on October 20, 2026

The difference in one sentence

A game server is a fully set-up game server with a web interface: you choose the game, the rest is prepared. A VPS is a virtual server with root access on which you install and run everything yourself.

When the game server is the right choice

In the vast majority of cases - and that is not false modesty:

• You want to host one of our thirteen games and nothing else.
• You want to play today, not spend the weekend setting up.
• You want to edit configs in the browser instead of via SSH.
• You do not want to take care of system updates and hardening.
• Several people should help manage it without getting root access - via subusers with their own permissions.

The most important point is the effort after day one: a VPS needs ongoing maintenance. If you do not want that, the game server serves you better - that is the honest default case.

When a VPS pays off

There are clear cases where the game server is not enough:

• A game we do not offer. On a VPS, anything runs that you can install yourself.
• Several services on one machine - such as a game server, TeamSpeak and a clan website side by side.
• Your own automation - scripts, cron jobs, Docker containers. Our VPS plans are LXC containers with nesting, so Docker runs.
• Full control over versions - your own Java builds, patches, exotic configurations.
• You want to learn it. A perfectly legitimate reason - a VPS is a good practice environment.

How a Minecraft server is set up on a VPS is shown in Host a Minecraft server on your VPS.

What you take on in addition with a VPS

Root access also means responsibility. These tasks are then yours:

• System updates applied regularly.
• Hardening - secure SSH, set up a firewall. See Secure your VPS.
• Opening ports - configure them yourself, see Ports & firewall.
• Game server updates - keep up with them, regularly necessary for Rust and DayZ in particular.
• Backups - self-service as with the game server, but without a ready-made WebFTP. See Set up backups.

Weigh this up honestly: if you do not plan for the effort, you will have an unpatched server on the internet after three months.

The effort, honestly calculated

The difference lies less in the first evening than in what comes after. With a game server, setup is done once you have ordered; the server is ready in around 120 seconds, and after that, the work is limited to the game itself - adjusting configs, uploading mods, moderating.

With a VPS, three items come on top that recur permanently:

• The initial setup. Operating system, dependencies, game server, autostart, ports. The first time, it takes an evening; the second time, an hour - see First steps on your VPS.
• System maintenance. Security updates need to be applied regularly, not once. This is the item almost everyone underestimates.
• Game server updates. When a patch comes out, the server can no longer be joined until you have caught up. With Rust and DayZ, this happens regularly; with Minecraft modpacks, after every version change.

Weigh this against your everyday life, not against your enthusiasm on a free weekend. If you enjoy administration, the effort is no burden - if you only want to play, you will let it slide after two months, and then an unpatched server sits on the internet. Access also differs day to day: on the game server, several people can help manage it without getting root rights; on the VPS, you either share the password or set up separate logins yourself.

The middle way: combine both

The question is usually asked as either-or, but in practice it often is not. A common split looks like this: the game runs on the game server, everything around it on a separate machine.

• Game on the game server - fully set up, with web interface, console and WebFTP, without system maintenance.
• Voice, bots and automation on the VPS - such as a TeamSpeak server, a Discord bot or cron jobs that connect to the game server.
• Clan site on web hosting, if it is only about a website with mailboxes - that does not need root access.

This split has a practical advantage: a mistake in system maintenance does not bring the game session down. Conversely, the voice server stays reachable when something is wrong with the game server.

What stays the same on both routes: located in Frankfurt am Main, DDoS protection up to 250 Gbit/⁠s and billing via credit instead of a contract, see Prepaid or subscription?. And what the VPS cannot do belongs in an honest calculation: they are LXC containers, so your own kernel or nested virtualization are not possible - the distinction is explained in LXC or KVM.

The quick decision

Three questions that usually settle it:

1. Is your game among the thirteen? If not → VPS.
2. Do you need several services in parallel? If yes → VPS.
3. Do you want to take care of system maintenance? If not → game server.

What a game server costs is in How much does a game server cost?; the VPS plans are on the VPS page.

Frequently asked questions