How much does a Valheim server cost?Four plans - and why the world decides the price, not the player count

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 "Best for" column describes what a plan is designed for, not a slot limit. We don't sell slots - the number ten is a limit of Valheim itself.

Which plan for which group?

The decision boils down to four cases:

• Up to ten players, new world, no mods: plan S. This is the most common case and also the cheapest. A freshly generated map is small and only grows over time.
• Up to ten players with a long history or first mods: plan M. A world that has been built on for months, or a manageable collection via BepInEx, needs the extra memory.
• More than ten players: plan L. You raise the limit with a server mod that all players then need as well. L is designed for around 20 players.
• Large community with mods: plan XL for 30 players and more.

For a group that includes console players, the two large plans are out anyway: a crossplay group plays without mods, so the limit of ten players applies, and plans S or M are enough.

What really drives the price

In many games, the requirement grows with the number of players. Valheim behaves differently, because the player count is capped in the unmodified game. Three things drive memory use instead:

• The world file. Every built piece, every explored area and every change to the terrain is stored permanently. A world gets heavier with every hour played, never lighter.
• Large bases. Thousands of building pieces in one place have to be loaded and simulated as soon as someone is nearby.
• Mods. A collection via BepInEx brings its own content that also sits in memory. A raised player limit comes on top.

As a guideline: 4 to 6 GB for a vanilla group, 8 to 12 GB for a long-grown world with mods.

Valheim 1.0: a good moment for the small plan

The 1.0 release added the Deep North biome. Old worlds keep working, but Valheim only generates new biomes in areas nobody has explored yet. Iron Gate therefore recommends a fresh world for the full experience.

For the cost question this has a pleasant side effect: if you start over, you start with a small world. Plan S is enough to begin with, and the move to M only comes once the map has grown. So you don't pay from day one for a size you will only reach in a few months.

Host from the game or rent a server?

Valheim can be played without a rented server: one player opens their world and the others join. That costs nothing, but it comes at a price elsewhere:

For a group that always plays together at the same time, the first option is enough. As soon as someone wants to keep building while the host is asleep, your own server is the only solution. Your existing world simply moves with you: upload the .db and .fwl files via SFTP or the web file manager.

What is included in the price

• Crossplay across all platforms in every plan, at no extra charge.
• Server type with one click: you switch between Vanilla, BepInEx or Valheim Plus yourself in the game server panel, and world and settings are kept.
• Automatic updates after every Valheim patch.
• Console, config editor, web file manager and SFTP plus the task scheduler for restarts.
• World modifiers via the startup parameters.
• DDoS protection up to 250 Gbit/⁠s, located in Frankfurt am Main, provisioned in around 120 seconds.

Automatic backups are not included. You back up the two world files yourself via the web file manager or SFTP. That takes a few minutes and is a better habit before every mod change anyway.

Keeping costs low

Three levers that actually work:

• Start small. You can upgrade yourself at any time in the customer interface, and world and configuration are kept. There is no reason to order in advance.
• Use breaks. Without a contract you only pay while you play. Before a longer break, download .db and .fwl and let the credit run out; for the next big update you order again and restore the world.
• Clean out mods. Every mod nobody uses any more still takes up memory. A lean collection can save you the next plan tier.

How prepaid billing works without a minimum term is explained on Game servers without a contract, and all ways to top up credit are listed under payment methods.

Frequently asked questions