8 Best ARK Server Hosting Options Compared (255+ Player Slots)

 In a hurry?  Here’s a summary of our findings:

What to look for when picking an ARK server host

Pricing obviously comes into play when choosing the best ARK server hosting option. We also like to see flexibility in that pricing, where you have several options to choose from for things like SSD storage and server locations. This way, you’re able to keep costs as low as possible by only paying for the absolute essential resources.

However, there are a few other areas to consider when picking the best ARK hosting server, especially if you’re interested in using expansions or playing with large groups of people.

Here’s what to look for when picking an ARK server:

• A customizable game control panel – This is ideal for turning the control panel into something that’s easy for you to understand and enjoyable for you to set up your games.
• High-powered hosting options like a Virtual Private Server (VPS) – Shoot for at least 1 GB RAM and 1 CPU core to ensure support for around ten players. This isn’t a hard rule, but it helps to guide your choice.
• Automatic updates – Look for automatic updates, or at least a simple, one-click option.
• Multiple server locations – Nearby servers make for more efficient gameplay, so you want servers near all your players.
• Expandable storage – You should be able to expand your SSD or NVMe drive by upgrading to a new plan.
• Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) protection – Look for other security features as well.
• Support for mods – Not all hosts support every modification in the game, or they may limit you to how many mods are possible.

The best ARK server hosting options to choose from

Now that you understand the essentials to look for when shopping for the best ARK server hosting, keep reading to learn about our favorite hosting companies for the ever-expanding survival game.

1. HostHavoc – the best ARK server hosting

It’s also possible to switch games at any time, seeing as how HostHavoc uses its servers for a myriad of games like Arma, Counter-Strike, and Minecraft.

Along with all that, you gain access to your server via File Transfer Protocol (FTP) and receive benefits like 24/7 customer support and complete control over the server.

💵 Pricing:

You can get a HostHavoc server for ARK by choosing a number of slots based on how many players are planning on using the server.

They sell on a per-slot basis, but that final slot rate is combined into a total monthly fee.

The minimum number of slots is 30, and it goes all the way up to 100 slots.

You receive a good amount of flexibility in your slot selections, but here are a few examples of what you may have to pay:

As you can see, you save money by signing up for more slots. The monthly pricing goes up a bit, but you’re actually cutting costs on a per-player basis.

On top of the standard pricing, you can choose add-ons, like:

• High CPU priority – add $4 per month.
• BattleMetrics RCON – add $3 per month.
• Upgraded RAM – add $7.50 per month for 12 GB, or $15 per month for 16 GB (the 16 GB option is required for Gen 2 and Lost Island maps).

You can cut costs by paying in advance: save 5% for quarterly billing; 8% for semi-annual billing; and 12% for annual billing.

HostHavoc also offers free migration services and a 3-day money-back guarantee in case you’re not satisfied with your initial impression.

⚙️ Features:

• Ten global data centers to increase your chances of having a server near all your players. Some locations include Los Angeles, Chicago, Nuremberg, and Sydney.
• Support for up to 100 players.
• A slick and easy-to-understand control panel with file management included and two-step authentication for security.
• Support for all ARK mods, along with a mod installer to add elements like Cross ARK Chat, the ARK API, and more.
• A 99.9% uptime guarantee due to the high-quality hardware being used.
• ARK server hosting with free DDoS protection to ensure your servers remain safe and operable while playing.
• FTP access that links up to the control panel’s file manager.
• A command-line manager to get more advanced with your configuration.
• Optional daily backups to save your data and never lose it in the future.

2. ServerBlend

The ServerBlend hosting infrastructure includes data centers from all around the world, including locations in Canada, the US (several data centers), the UK, Germany, Poland, Australia, France, and the Netherlands. This allows you to choose the closest data center for optimal speeds.

Users receive DDoS protection, a user-friendly interface, and the ability to switch between any game server for no extra cost. All games are included, and there’s no limit on the number of game switches.

💵 Pricing:

ServerBlend sticks to monthly subscription plans where you receive a certain number of game slots. After which, you can upgrade to more slots if needed. It’s also possible to cancel at anytime to pause the monthly payments. Furthermore, ServerBlend offers a 7-day satisfaction guarantee, which lets you test to see if it’s the best ARK server hosting for you; otherwise, you get your money back.

There are two plans to choose from; they both have starting prices for 30 slots. You’re able to upgrade to more slots (ServerBlend supports an unlimited number of slots) but the standard package pricing increases.

With both plans, you’re able to upgrade from 30 slots to as many as you want. Pricing goes up based on the number of slots needed. For instance, going with 35 slots adds $2.50 to either plan. Opting for 150 slots increases plan pricing by $60 per month.

Several add-ons are available as well. Pricing increases if you upgrade:

• Reserved RAM – add $2.99 per month for 8 GB; $6.99 for 12 GB; $12.99 for 16 GB; and $19.99 for 20 GB.
• CPU priority – add $7.99 per month for high priority, and $12.99 for extreme (real-time) priority.
• Subdomain – add $2 per month.
• SSD type – add $3.90 per month for NVMe M.2.
• Priority support – add $3.99 per month for VIP tickets.
• Admin configuration – $10 one-time fee for professional server configuration.

These optional add-ons are free:

• Off-site backups
• Removing the ServerBlend branding
• Enabling clusters
• Changing maps
• Enabling chats within clusters
• Transferring from another host

⚙️ Features:

• ARK server hosting that starts with 30 slots, and includes several options to upgrade.
• A custom TcAdmin control panel for a user-friendly experience, and specific control panels for each game.
• A free initial admin configuration and migration from any other hosts.
• Complete access to your server via FTP.
• One click installations for all available plugins.
• Public pay support.
• 13 global data centers in 8 different countries, including France, the US, and Poland.
• Cross-Ark travel and server clustering.
• 24/7/365 DDoS protection to ensure your server remains online.
• High-performance SSD and NVMe disks, along with fast ECC RAM, Intel Xeon processors, and storage with RAID.
• Unlimited map and game switching.
• Options to connect to a subdomain.
• Off-site backups.
• Support for all events and maps from ARK.
• Auto-installations and updates for workshop mods.

3. Survival Servers

We really like the customer support, since you can either email the direct customer service team, research information yourself in the Wiki, or chat with other users in the community forums.

As of this article, Survival Servers has options for the PC (Steam, Epic, and Stadia) and PlayStation versions. Full mod support is available on the Steam PC version but not for Epic Games. You also can’t use mods on the PlayStation server.

💵 Pricing:

Pricing is based on your number of needed slots and servers. You can go with up to 15 servers and 255 slots. The minimum slot count is ten.

Here are some examples of pricing for Survival Servers:

The per slot and per server hosting gets cheaper in the long run with more slots and servers. This makes the monthly pricing higher, but it’s a better value from a per-player perspective.

You can also save money with Survival Servers by opting for a longer billing cycle. For instance, paying annually saves around 25%, while paying quarterly saves about 10%. They also have the occasional coupon that automatically gets added to the cart. It’s not free ARK server hosting, but rather inexpensive.

⚙️ Features:

• Full mod support on the Steam PC version. Although you can’t use mods on PlayStation or the Epic Games PC servers.
• Support for up to 255 players.
• Options to add more than one server.
• 3 PC server options and one for PlayStation.
• Free DDoS protection on every server location.
• Seven server locations to choose from, including options like Los Angeles, Germany, Singapore, and France.
• Automatic updates through the customizable control panel.
• A pre-set control panel configuration just for ARK.
• Options to switch server locations whenever you want.
• High-powered Intel/AMD CPUs with ultra-fast NVMe drives.
• A map generator and cluster game server tool to transfer maps.
• A password locking feature to keep unwanted visitors away from your server.

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4. PingPerfect

You can even get a free unbranded ARK server to make it your own and customize your interface.

Ping Perfect offers hosting for users worldwide thanks to its network of servers in places like the US, UK, Germany, Singapore, Australia, Canada, and South Africa.

💵 Pricing:

Ping Perfect pricing isn’t as easy to understand as the competition, but it does give you several plans to choose from, making it a rather flexible payment experience.

Rates depend on the number of game slots (up to 100 slots), TeamSpeak slots, RAM, SSD, support level, and CPU. As you can see, it’s a far more customizable pricing structure when compared to other servers, but that also makes it a bit confusing.

Here are some examples of pricing options:

Adding extra RAM increases the price. The same can be said for an increased CPU priority, support level, and SSD.

Here are the add-ons:

• Host migration – $10.81 one-time fee.
• CPU priority – add $4.05 per month for above normal priority, or $13.52 per month for high priority.
• Extra RAM – add $18.92 per month for 11 GB; $35.14 per month for 15 GB; and $67.58 per month for 19 GB.
• NVMe – add $2.03 per month for 5x faster NVMe disk (as opposed to an SSD).
• Support – one-time fee of $6.76 for a platinum setup, and an extra $40.55 per month for platinum support.
• Extreme performance server location – add $20.27 per month.

You receive a discount if you opt for a longer contract and if you’re willing to have the Ping Perfect branding on your server. In addition, ARK server hosting is free for up to 1 GB of space.

Finally, Ping Perfect sells TeamSpeak slots at an additional cost. This external program offers a secure, high-quality communications platform for chatting with your team. You can pay for up to 250 TeamSpeak slots.

⚙️ Features:

• A simple configuration with advanced features and a full FTP connection for swapping files.
• A sub-user section of the control panel for sharing access to the server, so other people can control the features too.
• A solid control panel with access through mobile devices and quick links to things like configuration files, updates, and backups.
• Options to de-brand the control panel and server.
• High-performance CPU and storage solutions with high specification software to remove problems with your gaming.
• An area to quickly switch games.
• A full backup system to save all data from your ARK server and restore later.
• Global server locations in places like the USA, UK, and scattered throughout the EU, Africa, and Asia.
• 1 GB of ARK server hosting free.

5. Nitrous Networks

💵 Pricing:

Nitrous Networks pricing is about as simple as it gets.

It has one pricing plan for standard ARK servers, at $19.40 per month for 8 GB of RAM, full support for all mods, and DDoS protection. That plan starts with 20 player slots and gets more expensive as you add more (up to 70 slots).

Here are some examples:

You can save money by opting for a quarterly, semi-annual, or annual plan. You can also take advantage of the free ARK server hosting option, free Mumble Voice server, and the free MySQL.

⚙️ Features:

• 7 server locations in places like Amsterdam, London, and Atlanta.
• The option to get a free Mumble Voice server to communicate with players.
• An option to sign up for ARK server hosting free with the community version.
• DDoS protection to keep all data safe on your server.
• Support for the PC version of ARK, but no other platforms.
• Slots for up to 70 players.
• Integrations with TeamSpeak servers for communications during gameplay.
• Support for all ARK game mods.

6. GTX Gaming

💵 Pricing:

The billing cycle determines your overall pricing and discounts that come with your package. For example, a quarterly billing cycle costs less than a monthly one. The same can be said for a yearly billing cycle.

You can get anywhere from ten to 250 player slots. More slots and options, like CPU, hard disk, and support options, determine how much you have to pay.

Here are some situations for pricing:

You can also upgrade things like memory allocation, CPU clock speed, and your hard disk.

Here are the add-ons:

• Memory allocation – add $8.51 per month for 12 GB. There are several other options, going up to an extra $29.19 per month for 32 GB.
• CPU clock speed – add $6.07 per month for 4.6 GHz, or $7.29 per month for 5.2 GHz.
• CPU priority – add $6.07 per month for high priority, or $8.51 per month for real-time priority.
• Priority support – add $2.42 per month for VIP ticket support.
• Hard disk – add $6.07 per month for NVMe.
• Disk space – add $8.51 per month for 120 GB. There are several additional options, going up to an extra $18.24 per month for 200 GB.

⚙️ Features:

• Multiple CPU priorities with turbo-boost included for some.
• Up to 32 GB of memory.
• Steam and Epic Games support (on PC).
• Options for an SSD Enterprise drive or an NVMe extreme performance hard disk.
• Access to a Steam workshop, free with ARK server hosting.
• Worldwide coverage with servers in 20 locations, including Sydney, Stockholm, Los Angeles, and Madrid.
• Off-site backups to clone your data and API plugins.
• Support for all mods and maps for ARK.
• Rapid game switching to move from something like ARK to another game.
• An automated mod updater.
• A decent control panel with DDoS protection and an instant configuration.
• Automatic timed messages you set up to be sent to your server at any time.

7. ScalaCube

💵 Pricing:

All of ScalaCube’s ARK server hosting plans come with features like 320 GB of SSD storage. 8×3.4 GHz CPU, and 32 GB of RAM. The variable that sets them apart is the number of player slots supported, with the lowest being $19.00 per month for 20 player slots, and the highest being $48 per month for 120 player slots. Availability is limited to Europe, the UK, and America.

Here’s a sample of the pricing plans:

When selecting your plan, it’s possible to choose your server location, map, server address (IP or domain), and extra applications (like automated backups for a $10 one-time fee).

⚙️ Features:

• An immediate server configuration.
• Full access to FTP.
• Free domains with your paid or free ARK server hosting.
• Options to add official ARK mods like Extinction, Ragnarok, Fjordur, or Scorched Earth.
• Custom launch parameters.
• Steam workshop mods.
• Support for Epic Games and Steam (PC).
• SSD drives.
• DDoS protection included with all memberships.
• Customization for your free ARK hosting server location, map, and server address.
• An option to add automated backups for an extra fee.

8. Indifferent Broccoli

💵 Pricing:

We recommend starting with the trial for free ARK server hosting during the first few days. Thereafter, switch to one of the paid plans for anywhere from 8 to 64 players. Regions for your ARK servers include North America and Europe, but that doesn’t change the pricing.

ARK pricing from Indifferent Broccoli is just about the simplest you can find on the market, with only three plans to choose from and a quick setup process.

Here are the pricing options from Indifferent Broccoli:

Other than that, you can select the region for your ARK server. All other features, like FTP access, come standard with the plan without having to sign up or upgrade.

⚙️ Features:

• Three simple ARK server plans.
• Server hosting locations in Europe and North America.
• A trial to run a server without having to type in payment information.
• Customer support through email or Discord.
• Mod support.
• Multi-map support.
• Debugging support.
• A custom built control panel.
• An incredibly easy configuration and deployment.

Conclusion on the best paid and free ARK server hosting

Each option outlined above has its pros and cons, but hopefully, you’re able to narrow down your search based on features, pricing, and which hosts support elements like mods and multiple ARK versions.

If you’re still wondering which of these best ARK server hosting options is for you, take a look at our final suggestions:

Here’s the summary table again in case you need it:

Let us know in the comments below if you have any questions about these best paid and free ARK server hosting options. Also, share your favorite ARK host companies if they’re not on the list!

Layout and presentation by Chris Fitzgerald and Karol K.