Host a Game Server at Home or Rent One?
By Linus Pierre · Updated November 2026
You can run a game server on your own PC or a spare machine, and for a few friends it can work well. This guide explains what home hosting really needs, the risks people do not think about, and the point where renting a server becomes the easier choice.
Hosting at home is fine for a small group of friends who play together while the host is online, if your internet upload is decent and you can open a port on your router. Rent a server when the world needs to stay online without you, when more than a handful of people play, when your connection sits behind CGNAT or when you would rather not share your home internet address.
- Home hosting costs no rent, but needs a machine left on, a good upload speed and port forwarding.
- Renting keeps the world online 24/7 and puts DDoS protection in front of it.
- You can start at home and move later: most games let you upload the world to a host.
The three ways to run a game server
“Hosting at home” can mean two quite different things, so it helps to separate them. Host and play is the built-in multiplayer option in many games. A dedicated server at home is the proper server program, running on a computer you own. Renting moves that same server program into a data centre.
Host and play
One player hosts from the game
You start a multiplayer game and friends join you through an invite or join code. The world only exists while you are playing, and your PC runs the game and the server at the same time.
A dedicated server at home
Server software on your PC or a spare one
You run the game’s dedicated server program on your own hardware. Friends connect to your home internet address, and the world is online whenever that machine is on.
A rented server
A host runs it in a data centre
You pay a monthly fee and the host runs the server on its own hardware and network. The world stays online all the time, and you manage it from a web control panel.
Host and play is the simplest, but the world disappears when the host logs off and the host’s game can stutter while it serves everyone else. Our guide to what a dedicated server is in gaming explains the difference in more detail, and the guides to playing Minecraft with friends and playing Palworld with friends show what each option looks like in practice.
What hosting at home actually needs
The server program itself is usually free to download, and many games publish system requirements for it. The harder part is everything around it: the machine, your connection and your router.
The machine
- 1Enough RAM and CPUThe server needs its own share of memory and processor time. If you play on the same PC, the game and the server compete for both. Our guide to how much RAM and CPU a game server needs gives figures by game.
- 2Left switched onThe world is only online while the machine is on and the server is running, including overnight if people play at different times.
- 3Kept up to dateWhen the game updates, the server usually has to be updated too, or players on the new version cannot join.
Your connection
- 4Upload speedEvery player’s game data leaves your home through your upload, which on many home connections is much slower than the download. A busy server on a slow upload means lag for everyone.
- 5Port forwardingYou add a rule on your router so traffic on the game’s port reaches the server machine. Each game uses its own ports, listed in its server documentation.
- 6A reachable addressSome providers use CGNAT, which shares one public address between customers and makes port forwarding impossible. Many home addresses also change from time to time, so friends need the new one.
The risks people do not think about
Hosting at home is not dangerous for a private group of friends, but it does move some jobs that a host would normally handle onto you and your household.
Your address is shared
Home IP exposure
Everyone who joins learns your home internet address. That is fine among friends, but once the address is posted in a public server list or a large Discord, you no longer control who has it.
Attacks hit your home
No DDoS filtering
If someone floods your address with junk traffic, it is your whole home connection that goes down, not just the game. Home broadband has no game-focused filtering in front of it.
Power, noise and heat
A machine that never sleeps
A PC left on all day uses electricity, makes noise and gives off heat. It is also out of action for anything else heavy while the server runs.
Opening a single port for a game server is a normal thing to do, but it is worth doing carefully: forward only the ports the game needs, to the one machine running the server, keep that machine updated and close the rule when you stop hosting. Our guide to game server security covers admin passwords, whitelists and backups, which matter wherever the server runs.
Home hosting vs renting at a glance
Neither option is right for everyone. The table sets out what changes when the same server moves from your home to a host.
| At home | Rented server | |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly cost | No rent. You pay for the electricity and any hardware you buy. | A monthly fee. Entry plans for many co-op games start from around £4.50 ($5.99). |
| Online when you are not | Only while your machine is on | All the time |
| Setup | Install the server, forward ports, open the firewall | Pick a game and a plan, then use the control panel |
| Your home connection | Carries every player’s traffic on your upload | Not involved: players connect to the data centre |
| DDoS protection | None in front of your home line | Included at most hosts we review |
| Your home address | Shared with every player | Never shared |
| Updates and backups | Your job, by hand | Often one click, with automatic backups at many hosts |
| Best for | A few friends playing together, short projects | Groups that play at different times, bigger or public servers |
What renting costs
Rented plans are priced by player slots, by memory or per player, depending on the host. As one example, Indifferent Broccoli, top of our UK ranking, lists entry plans for the games below at these regular monthly prices.
| Game | Indifferent Broccoli entry plan | Compare hosts |
|---|---|---|
| Valheim | £4.50 ($5.99) | Best Valheim hosting |
| Palworld | £4.50 ($5.99) | Best Palworld hosting |
| Project Zomboid | £4.50 ($5.99) | Best Project Zomboid hosting |
| Enshrouded | £4.50 ($5.99) | Best Enshrouded hosting |
| Terraria | £4.50 ($5.99) | Best Terraria hosting |
| Minecraft | £7.51 ($9.99) | Best Minecraft hosting |
Other hosts can be cheaper or include more for the money. Our cheap game server hosting page compares the lowest regular prices across every host, and our guide to slots vs RAM pricing explains how to compare plans that are priced in different ways.
Which one is right for your group?
Most groups can decide with five questions. Go through them in order and stop at the first answer that points firmly one way.
Does the world need to be online when you are not playing?
Can friends reach your home network?
Will more than a handful of people play at once?
Will the server be public, or listed where strangers can see it?
Do you enjoy setting things up and fixing them yourself?
Home hosting is fine when
Small, private, flexible
- Two to a few friends who play at the same time as the host.
- You want to try a game before committing to a rented server.
- Your router has a public address and your upload is comfortable.
- You enjoy the setup and do not mind fixing things.
Rent when
Always on, bigger or public
- People play at different times and expect the world to be there.
- The group is growing, or the game is heavy on RAM or CPU.
- The server is public, or you do not want to share your home address.
- You are behind CGNAT or cannot change your router settings.
If renting is the answer, our guide to game servers, VPS, dedicated and cloud explains which kind of rental fits, and how to choose a game server host lists the ten things to check before you pay.
Start at home and move to a host later
Choosing home hosting now does not lock you in. In most games the world is a set of save files, and a rented server lets you upload them through a file manager or SFTP. Many groups start at home, then move once the world matters to them or the group grows.
The usual order is: stop the server so the save is fully written, copy the world folder and your server settings, upload them to the new server, check it runs the same game version and mods, then start it and test before inviting everyone back. Our guide to moving your game server to a new host covers the whole process step by step, and these guides show the exact files for each game.
| Game | Moving a world to a server | Compare hosts |
|---|---|---|
| Valheim | Transfer a Valheim world to a server | Best Valheim hosting |
| Enshrouded | Transfer an Enshrouded world | Best Enshrouded hosting |
| Vintage Story | Upload an existing world | Best Vintage Story hosting |
| Don’t Starve Together | Back up and transfer a world | Best Don’t Starve Together hosting |
| Factorio | Upload, back up and transfer saves | Best Factorio hosting |
If you decide to rent
These are the top three hosts in our UK ranking, in ranking order. All three include DDoS protection, so attacks hit a protected network instead of your home line.
Home hosting vs renting: common questions
Is self-hosting a game server free?
The server software for most games is free, and there is no monthly rent. You still pay for the electricity to keep a machine running, and for any hardware you buy. For some games there are also free hosted options with limits, such as our guides to a free Minecraft server and free Terraria server hosting.
Why can’t my friends connect to my home server?
The most common causes are a missing port forwarding rule on your router, a firewall blocking the server program, or a connection behind CGNAT, where your provider shares one public address between customers. With CGNAT, port forwarding cannot work, so a rented server or the game’s invite option is the usual answer.
Is it safe to port forward for a game server?
For a private server among friends it is a normal setup. Forward only the ports the game needs, only to the machine running the server, keep that machine updated and remove the rule when you stop hosting. Remember that every player learns your home internet address.
Can I move my world to a host later?
Yes, in most games. Stop the server, copy the world folder and settings, upload them to the rented server through its file manager or SFTP, and check it runs the same game version and mods before you start it.
Is hosting at home faster than renting?
Not usually for your friends. Everyone except you connects through your home upload, which is often much slower than a data centre connection. You may get the lowest ping yourself, but the other players may get more lag.
Can I run the server on the same PC I play on?
Yes, for small games and small groups. The game and the server share the same RAM and CPU, so expect lower performance than on a separate machine, and the world goes offline when you turn the PC off.
