Game servers: prepaid or subscription?Two billing models and when each one fits

Published on October 12, 2026

The two models

We work exclusively with prepaid. Why is explained in the next section - along with the downsides this model brings. All thirteen games with their entry price and a direct way to order are on Game servers without a contract.

Why prepaid suits game servers

Game servers have a typical life cycle that contract models reflect poorly:

• A game comes out and everyone plays it intensively - often for a few weeks.
• A community grows and falls asleep again after a few months.
• A Rust server runs from wipe to wipe, with clear breaks in between.
• A tournament needs a server for a weekend, not for a year.

In all of these cases, a twelve-month commitment is the wrong answer. With prepaid, you stop by not topping up any more - no cancellation letter, no deadline, no forgotten renewal.

For many, it is also a question of cost control: especially when younger players pay for the server, a fixed amount of credit is easier to plan than a recurring charge. The available payment options are listed under Payment methods; the route without a bank account is described in Game servers with Paysafecard - note that Paysafecard carries a 15 % fee added on top, while all other payment methods are free of charge.

What prepaid asks of you

To be honest, the model also has downsides, and you should know them:

• You have to remember. If the credit runs out, the server stops. There is no goodwill charge that keeps it alive.
• No term discounts. If you play for twelve months straight anyway, a contract provider may give you a lower monthly price.
• Data isn't safe forever. A stopped server doesn't remain in place indefinitely. If you are planning a break, back up beforehand.

The last point is the most important one. Backups are self-service with us throughout, via SFTP and the web file manager - there are no automatic backups. For most games, that means downloading the world folder or save files and the configuration before the credit runs out.

The calculation that makes the difference

Term discounts sound more convincing than they are - because they are calculated on the time booked, not the time played. An example with round numbers:

A twelve-month contract is 20 % cheaper than the monthly price. That means it only pays off if you actually use the server for around ten of the twelve months. If the community instead lasts six months, you have paid six full months in which nobody logged in any more - the discount is long gone, and in the end you have paid considerably more than with billing based on actual use.

The honest question is therefore not "which monthly price is lower", but "how long will the server realistically be used". And that is where most people get it wrong: a server set up for a game release rarely lasts a year. If you are unsure, you are better off with the model that makes stopping early free of consequences.

For completeness: the opposite case exists. A clan server that has been running for years and will still be running next year makes full use of a term discount. In that case, a contract is the better choice mathematically - you just have to check honestly whether you really belong to that group. What the monthly price is made up of in the first place is explained in How much does a game server cost?.

Topping up: 30, 90 or 360 days

Prepaid doesn't mean having to think about it every month. You extend by 30, 90 or 360 days - the only place where we count in days instead of months, because this really is about how long the credit lasts and not about a price.

• 30 days suit the start, while it is still unclear whether the group will stick. Maximum flexibility, at the cost of checking your balance most often.
• 90 days are the everyday case for an established group: less effort, a manageable amount paid in advance.
• 360 days pay off for a server that runs permanently anyway - and take "I forgot" out of the equation completely.

The decisive difference from a subscription remains: a longer extension is not a commitment. It is just credit you use in advance - there is no automatic renewal and no deadline you could miss. If you want automatic renewal anyway, you can switch it on optionally via PayPal and end it at any time.

If a break is coming up, two things belong to it: inform the group and download the world data. The server stops as soon as the credit runs out and doesn't remain in place indefinitely afterwards.

Which model suits you?

An honest decision aid:

• Prepaid fits if the playing time is open, several people chip in, you play seasonally or you simply don't want a contract.
• A contract can fit if you know for certain that the server will run for a full year and the discount makes the difference.

In practice, most people overestimate how long a server will run. That is exactly why we chose prepaid - better a model that makes stopping early free of consequences.

What each plan costs per game is broken down on the cost pages, for example Minecraft, Valheim or Rust.

Frequently asked questions