The other three hosts we would shortlist for a UK Sons of the Forest server.
Quick verdict: Indifferent Broccoli is now our top pick for Sons of the Forest. The 2-day no-card trial makes it the easiest host to test with your own group before spending anything, and that matters a lot for a casual co-op survival server. LOW.MS stays second because it has the cleaner admin workflow, while Kinetic remains third as the best pure value option if price matters most.
Sons of the Forest is a much easier hosting decision in 2026 than it was around launch. The game has been fully released since February 2024, the normal multiplayer experience is still a small co-op group of up to eight players, and the dedicated server ecosystem is mature. That means you do not need to overspend on a giant plan just because a host advertises high-end hardware.
What matters more is the boring stuff that keeps a long-running save painless: enough RAM, dependable backups, file access for saves and mods, sensible update handling, and a data centre close to your group. We rank providers around those practical differences instead of rewarding whoever has the longest generic feature list.
How we tested and ranked Sons of the Forest hosting
We treat the provider page as the starting point, not the review. We check the live order flow, the plan we would actually buy for a normal co-op group, location choice, panel controls, file access, backup tools, refund terms and support experience where we have hands-on access. Then we compare those results against the way Sons of the Forest is actually played.
We price the tier we would actually use for a small co-op server, not a one-player teaser plan or a tiny RAM package.
We look for easy restarts, console access, save uploads, SFTP or file manager access and backup restores.
London gets priority for UK groups. Nearby Europe is still perfectly workable if the provider does not offer a UK node.
Refund windows, free trials and support access matter because they let you test your own save before committing.
What we do not fake
We do not publish made-up ping, TPS or benchmark scores. If something comes from our own hands-on checks, we say so. If a RAM amount, CPU model, refund policy or location comes from the provider, we treat it as a verified specification instead of pretending we benchmarked it ourselves.
Best Sons of the Forest server hosting, reviewed
These are the four we would shortlist for a UK group today. The ranking is specific to Sons of the Forest and its eight-player co-op format.
Indifferent Broccoli
Indifferent Broccoli moves to first because Sons of the Forest is one of those games where ease of getting started matters almost as much as raw price. Most groups just want a private world up quickly, then want to know whether they will actually keep playing long enough for a subscription to be worth it. The 2-day no-card trial is extremely good for that use case.
We also like how beginner-friendly the whole offer feels. Instead of pushing you toward a complicated configuration decision, it lets you test the server with your own group first and back out easily if the save never sticks. That is a very strong fit for a survival co-op game where plenty of groups play hard for one weekend, then stop. It is not the cheapest host in the list, but it is the easiest one to recommend first.
- ✓ 2-day free trial with no card required
- ✓ Easy first setup for a private co-op server
- ✓ Good fit if you want to test before committing
- ✓ Strong support reputation
- ✗ Costs more than Kinetic
- ✗ Not the most configurable option for advanced admins
Best for: groups who want the easiest first recommendation, especially if you want to test the server before paying.
LOW.MS
LOW.MS stays very high here because it is still the host we prefer when the server owner actually likes having proper admin controls. Its backup and restore workflow is one of the cleanest in the group, and that matters more for Sons of the Forest than theoretical hardware flexing does.
The main reason it sits behind Indifferent Broccoli rather than ahead of it is that LOW.MS is more of an owner-focused recommendation. If you are the person who cares about snapshots, migrations and restore controls, it is excellent. If you just want the easiest thing to recommend to a normal friend group, Indifferent Broccoli has the softer landing.
- ✓ Strong backup and restore workflow
- ✓ Modern Intel or AMD hardware with NVMe
- ✓ Free server migration
- ✓ 5-day money-back guarantee
- ✗ Slightly less beginner-friendly than Indifferent Broccoli
- ✗ Less compelling if you only need a simple set-and-forget server
Best for: owners who care about backups, save management and a more admin-focused hosting experience.
Kinetic Hosting
8GB RAM
Kinetic drops to third, but this is not a negative verdict. It is still the best pure value play in the list. The current 8GB budget tier is very well matched to Sons of the Forest, and if your group simply wants the cheapest strong configuration with useful save tools, Kinetic still does that job very well.
We moved it below Indifferent Broccoli and LOW.MS because the page is no longer only rewarding price. Indifferent Broccoli is easier to test risk-free, and LOW.MS has the cleaner management experience. Kinetic remains the host we would point to if the brief is simply, “give me the cheapest good option and let me get on with it.”
- ✓ Lowest strong 8GB option we found
- ✓ Full file access, SFTP and automatic backups
- ✓ No player slot cap imposed by the host
- ✓ 7-day no-questions refund
- ✗ Budget plan uses older Xeon hardware rather than the Ryzen performance tier
- ✗ Less of a polished first-time experience than Indifferent Broccoli
Best for: buyers who mainly care about keeping monthly cost down without giving up the practical tools that matter.
GTX Gaming
GTX is still the cleanest recommendation if your whole group is in Britain and you want to remove location guesswork. London is a confirmed option, the order flow bills in pounds, and the Sons of the Forest product is configurable instead of forcing everyone into one fixed bundle.
It sits fourth mainly because the first three offers are easier to justify on either ease of use or price. Even so, for a UK-only group that values a London node and native GBP billing, GTX remains a very sensible shortlist option.
- ✓ Confirmed London hosting
- ✓ Native GBP pricing
- ✓ Flexible configuration at checkout
- ✓ Long-established game hosting specialist
- ✗ Starting price is higher than Kinetic and LOW.MS
- ✗ Final price rises as you add resources
Best for: UK-only friend groups that want London hosting and straightforward GBP billing.
Sons of the Forest hosting providers compared
GBP is always shown first. USD is shown in brackets. We use the live plan that makes sense for a normal small co-op server where the provider exposes enough detail to compare fairly.
| # | Provider | Plan used | Price | UK fit | Why consider it | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 6 players | £9.60 ($12.99) | Nearby EU | Best overall, easiest trial | Visit → | |
| 2 | Current SOTF plan | £7.87 ($10.65) | UK available | Backups and admin tools | Visit → | |
| 3 | 8GB budget | £5.16 ($6.99) | UK/EU options | Best value | Visit → | |
| 4 | Starting config | £8.90 ($12.04) | London | Best UK-first choice | Visit → | |
| 5 | 8 slots / 16GB | £12.74 ($17.25) monthly | London | Maximum headroom | Visit → | |
| 6 | 8 slots | £11.08 ($15.00) | UK available | Own hardware | Visit → | |
| 7 | 8 slots / 30 days | £9.24 ($12.51) | Central Europe | Simple fixed package | Visit → | |
| 8 | 8 slots | £9.60 ($12.99) | EU network | Flexible prepaid model | Review → | |
| 9 | 8GB budget | £5.91 ($8.00) | 8 locations | Cheap trial option | Visit → | |
| 10 | Starting config | £8.00 ($10.83) | UK company | Native GBP billing | Visit → | |
| 11 | 8 players / 8GB+ | £14.77 ($19.99) | Global | Simple managed package | Visit → | |
| 12 | 6GB standard | £13.30 ($18.00) | Global | Large network | Visit → | |
| 13 | 6GB | £16.62 ($22.49) | Global | Beginner-friendly panel | Visit → |
Prices checked against current provider pages and our August 2026 provider dataset. Currency conversions use 18 August 2026 rates: $1 = £0.738921 and €1 = £0.85527. Promotional and renewal pricing can change, so verify the checkout total before purchasing.
Best Sons of the Forest host for your group
Indifferent Broccoli
Best first recommendation thanks to the 2-day no-card trial and easy setup flow.
LOW.MS
Our preferred option if backups and restore controls matter most.
Kinetic Hosting
£5.16/mo ($6.99) for 8GB with backups and full file access.
GTX Gaming
Confirmed London location and native GBP billing from £8.90 ($12.04).
How much RAM does a Sons of the Forest server need?
For this game, we would size the server by how active the world is rather than chasing the maximum slot count. The normal co-op experience tops out at eight players, so there is very little reason to pay for huge player capacity.
| Server type | Players | RAM we would target | What we would buy |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small private world | 2 to 4 | 4 to 6GB | A basic managed plan |
| Normal co-op group | 4 to 8 | 8GB | Kinetic 8GB or similar |
| Modded / long-running save | 4 to 8 | 8 to 12GB | More RAM plus strong backups |
| Maximum headroom | Up to 8 | 16GB | DatHost fixed 16GB plan |
Do not confuse RAM with player slots
Sons of the Forest is an eight-player co-op game. A host advertising dozens of slots does not automatically give you a better server. For most buyers, 8GB, good backups and a nearby node are more useful than theoretical slot capacity you will never use.
Should you self-host Sons of the Forest?
Self-hosting makes sense if one person in the group already has a spare PC, is comfortable keeping it online, and does not mind dealing with ports, updates and backups. For a short private playthrough, that can be completely reasonable.
We would rent instead if the world needs to be available when the owner is offline. That is the main quality-of-life upgrade a managed server buys you here. Everyone can jump in independently, backups run without someone remembering to copy the save folder, and moving or restoring a world is much easier when the host exposes proper file tools.
Sons of the Forest server hosting FAQ
Indifferent Broccoli
2-day free trial · No card required · Easy setup · £9.60/mo ($12.99)
Affiliate disclosure: we earn a commission if you purchase via our links at no extra cost to you. Prices verified August 2026. GBP is primary and USD is shown alongside.
