Best Starbound Server Hosting UK (Nov 2026)
Starbound is a 2D space sandbox where your crew flies a starship between procedurally generated planets to mine, build, farm and fight. Vanilla Starbound is light on a server, but big mods such as Frackin’ Universe and a universe full of explored worlds push memory up fast. We compared 15 hosts that sell a Starbound server on regular monthly price, memory, UK locations, mod support, backups and refunds.
Quick verdict: LOW.MS is our #1: ten slots with 10GB included in London from £7.59/mo ($10.10) and lockable cloud backups. GTX Gaming gives ten slots in London for £10.00/mo ($13.30), and Host Havoc starts at 12 slots for £6.77/mo ($9.00) on its own hardware.
- Our #1 pick
1. LOW.MS£7.59/mo ($10.10)Visit LOW.MS →
London with 10GB4.4 Trustpilot 
2. GTX Gaming£10.00/mo ($13.30)Visit →
London, priced in pounds4.6 Trustpilot
3. Host Havoc£6.77/mo ($9.00)Visit →
12 slots, own hardware4.8 Trustpilot
Our top 3 Starbound server hosts
All three host in London, so a British crew gets low ping on every planet.
LOW.MS
4.4/5 on Trustpilot- London
- 10GB included
- Up to 20 cloud backups
GTX Gaming
4.6/5 on Trustpilot- Priced in pounds
- London by default
- Daily full backups
Host Havoc
4.8/5 on Trustpilot- London
- 12 slots
- Offsite backups
Also worth a look: Kinetic Hosting, with 6GB for £6.76/mo ($8.99), and Shockbyte, with four players and 2GB for £6.01/mo ($7.99).
Starbound server hosting compared
All 15 hosts side by side, at each host’s entry plan. Click #, Provider, Trustpilot, Price or RAM to sort. Scroll sideways on mobile.
| # | Provider | Trustpilot | Entry price | RAM | Slots | UK location | Backups | Refund / trial | Best for | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | LOW.MS | 4.4 · 200 reviews | £7.59/mo ($10.10) 10 slots · 10GB included | 10GB, up to 30GB | 10 slots | ✓ London | Cloud backups (up to 20) | 5-day money-back | London with 10GB | Visit → |
| 2 | GTX Gaming | 4.6 · 1,429 reviews | £10.00/mo ($13.30) 10 slots · 5GB | 5GB included, more at checkout | 10–120 slots | ✓ London | Daily full backups | 24-hour refund | London, priced in pounds | Visit → |
| 3 | Host Havoc | 4.8 · 1,634 reviews | £6.77/mo ($9.00) 12 slots | See checkout | 12–50 slots | ✓ London | Offsite backups | See Host Havoc’s terms | 12 slots, own hardware | Visit → |
| 4 |  Kinetic Hosting | 4.8 · 398 reviews | £6.76/mo ($8.99) 6GB · 12GB at £12.02/mo ($15.99) | 4–124GB | Uncapped slots | ✓ UK | 5 backup slots | Refund on request | 6GB for big modpacks | Visit → |
| 5 |  Shockbyte | 4.2 · 10,388 reviews | £6.01/mo ($7.99) Primitive · 4 players · 2GB | 2–5GB+ | 4–24+ players | See checkout | Automatic backups | 72-hour self-serve refund | Plans by player count | Visit → |
| 6 |  PingPlayers | 4.9 · 1,010 reviews | £6.74/30 days ($8.97) 3GB · 6GB at £13.50/30 days ($17.95) | 3–9GB | Unlimited | ✓ London | Automated backups | 24-hour money-back | 3GB billed per 30 days | Visit → |
| 7 |  AleForge | 4.9 · 145 reviews | £3.00/mo ($3.99) Initiate · 2GB | 2–48GB | Unlimited slots | ✓ London | 4 user backups | See AleForge’s terms | 2GB with four user backups | Visit → |
| 8 |  Apex Hosting | 4.5 · 8,169 reviews | £3.00/mo ($3.99) 1GB · 2GB at £6.01/mo ($7.99) | 1–16GB | Set by RAM | See checkout | Automatic backups | See Apex’s terms | 1GB entry plan | Visit → |
| 9 |  ScalaCube | 4.4 · 4,821 reviews | £3.75/mo ($4.99) 4 slots | See checkout | 4–24 slots | See checkout | Backups | See ScalaCube’s terms | Slot plans up to 24 | Visit → |
| 10 |  ZAP-Hosting | 4.3 · 19,549 reviews | £5.81/mo ($7.73) Entry plan | See checkout | Set by plan | See checkout | Backups | See ZAP’s terms | Prepaid, lifetime option | Visit → |
| 11 | SSSurvival Servers | 4.6 · 1,005 reviews | £7.48/mo ($9.95) 8 slots | See checkout | 4–24 slots | See checkout | See checkout | See Survival Servers’ terms | Workshop mods installed for you | Visit → |
| 12 |  G-Portal | 4.6 · 3,134 reviews | £11.44/30 days ($15.22) 10 slots | See checkout | 10 slots and up | See checkout | 50GB backup space | See G-Portal’s terms | 10 slots per 30 days | Visit → |
| 13 |  BisectHosting | 4.7 · 27,344 reviews | £9.02/mo ($11.99) 4GB | 4–48GB | Set by plan | See checkout | See checkout | See Bisect’s terms | 4GB for modded universes | Visit → |
| 14 |  Streamline Servers | 4.4 · 127 reviews | £9.02/mo ($12.00) 8 slots at £1.13 ($1.50) per slot | See checkout | 8–256 slots | ✓ London | See checkout | See Streamline’s terms | Per-slot pricing, London | Visit → |
| 15 |  PingPerfect | 4.5 · 1,045 reviews | £9.92/mo ($13.20) 10 slots · 9GB | 9GB | 10 slots and up | See checkout | Nightly backups | 48-hour free trial | 10 slots with 9GB | Visit → |
Conversion used: £1 = $1.33
Trustpilot scores checked 10 Nov 2026.
All prices are regular monthly prices from each host’s Starbound page on 10 November 2026; first-month deals, sale prices and promo codes are left out. PingPlayers and G-Portal bill per 30 days.
How we compared Starbound server hosts
We compared each host’s live Starbound product on what matters for a shared universe: a London or nearby location, enough memory for your mods, easy mod uploads, config access, backups, refund terms and the regular price. Hosts without a live Starbound product were left out. Prices come from each host’s public plan page, converted at £1 = $1.33. Our full process is on how we compare.
The 15 best Starbound server hosts, reviewed
Each review covers the plan that suits a Starbound server, what it costs and the detail that decides whether it fits.
LOW.MS
LOW.MS hosts Starbound in London from £7.59/mo ($10.10) for ten slots, and every server includes 10GB of memory. Vanilla Starbound needs only a fraction of that, so the headroom goes to what actually fills a server: big total-conversion mods such as Frackin’ Universe and a universe full of explored planets.
Automatic cloud backups keep up to 20 copies of your universe, and you can lock the ones that matter so a newer backup never replaces them. Restoring takes one click, which is worth having before you add or update a large mod. A five-day money-back guarantee applies.
Support, billing and the control panel are covered in our full LOW.MS review.
- London
- 10GB included
- Lockable cloud backups
- Ten slots on the only plan
GTX Gaming
GTX Gaming sells Starbound in pounds: ten slots with 5GB of memory for £10.00/mo ($13.30) a month, with any slot count up to 120 and extra memory available at checkout. London is the default location, so a British crew gets low ping without changing anything.
Settings sit in drop-down menus in its control panel, it takes a full backup of the server every day and you can switch the server to another game later. If it is not right for you, GTX refunds within 24 hours.
Support, billing and the control panel are covered in our full GTX Gaming review.
- Priced in pounds
- London by default
- Daily backups
- Short refund window
Host Havoc
Host Havoc starts Starbound at 12 player slots for £6.77/mo ($9.00) a month, with any even slot count up to 50. London is its recommended European location, and it runs the servers on hardware it owns.
You get full FTP access on its TCAdmin panel, a Workshop installer and offsite backups with easy restores. Its own notes explain the Starbound basics well: mods go in the mods folder as .pak files, and admin accounts live in starbound_server.config.
Support, billing and the control panel are covered in our full Host Havoc review.
- London
- Workshop installer
- Own hardware
- Memory not stated on the plan
Kinetic Hosting
Kinetic Hosting suggests 6GB for £6.76/mo ($8.99) a month for a few mates and 12GB for £12.02/mo ($15.99) for bigger servers or lots of mods. Smaller packages start at 4GB for £3.75/mo ($4.99). There are no player caps and five backup slots.
A UK location is available at checkout, the plan can be split into a second server or switched to another game later, and refunds are handled on request.
Support, billing and the control panel are covered in our full Kinetic Hosting review.
- Lots of memory for the money
- Uncapped slots
- Location chosen at checkout
Shockbyte
Shockbyte sizes Starbound by players: Primitive gives four players and 2GB for £6.01/mo ($7.99) a month, and Industrial gives 12 players and 4GB for £11.27/mo ($14.99) at the regular monthly price. Larger custom plans start at 24 players.
Steam Workshop mods are supported, with a guide for installing them, and it includes automatic backups and a 72-hour self-serve refund. You pick the location at checkout.
Support, billing and the control panel are covered in our full Shockbyte review.
- Clear player sizing
- 72-hour refund
- 2GB is tight for big mods
PingPlayers
PingPlayers prices Starbound by memory at its regular rate: 3GB for £6.74/30 days ($8.97), 6GB for £13.50/30 days ($17.95) and 9GB for £20.24/30 days ($26.92). Player slots are unlimited on every plan.
London is one of its 12 locations, backups restore in one click and a 24-hour money-back guarantee applies. It bills every 30 days rather than per calendar month.
Support, billing and the control panel are covered in our full PingPlayers review.
- London
- Unlimited players
- Billed per 30 days
AleForge
AleForge starts Starbound at 2GB for £3.00/mo ($3.99) a month, with 3GB for £4.50/mo ($5.99) and 4GB for £6.01/mo ($7.99). Every plan has 60GB of NVMe storage and unlimited player slots, and custom builds go up to 48GB.
London is one of its 11 locations, four user backups are included and its panel has one-click mod installs and offsite backups.
Support, billing and the control panel are covered in our full AleForge review.
- London
- Cheap entry
- Unlimited slots
- Entry plan is small for heavy mods
Apex Hosting
Apex Hosting starts Starbound at 1GB for £3.00/mo ($3.99) a month at its recurring price, which it calls the minimum for Starbound. 2GB costs £6.01/mo ($7.99) and 4GB £11.27/mo ($14.99).
Its web panel handles mods, server settings and automatic updates. The first month is cheaper, so budget on the recurring price shown here.
Support, billing and the control panel are covered in our full Apex Hosting review.
- Low entry price
- 1GB only suits vanilla
ScalaCube
ScalaCube sells Starbound by slots from £3.75/mo ($4.99) a month for four players, with plans up to 24 slots.
Its control panel installs add-ons and gives full FTP access. The first month is discounted, so the regular price above is what you pay afterwards.
Support, billing and the control panel are covered in our full ScalaCube review.
- Low entry price
- Memory not shown on the plan
ZAP-Hosting
ZAP-Hosting lists Starbound from £5.81/mo ($7.73) a month on prepaid terms, with a one-off lifetime server also available.
Support, billing and the control panel are covered in our full ZAP-Hosting review.
- Prepaid
- Lifetime option
- Memory not shown on the listing
Survival Servers
Survival Servers sells Starbound with eight slots for £7.48/mo ($9.95) and 24 slots for £15.00/mo ($19.95) a month at the regular price, and installs Steam Workshop mods from its panel.
- Workshop mods from the panel
- UK location not confirmed
G-Portal
G-Portal rents Starbound prepaid, with ten slots for £11.44/30 days ($15.22), plus short three-day rentals from £1.99/mo ($2.65) and 50GB of backup space.
Support, billing and the control panel are covered in our full G-Portal review.
- Short rentals available
- Billed per 30 days
BisectHosting
BisectHosting sizes Starbound by memory: 4GB for £9.02/mo ($11.99), 6GB for £13.53/mo ($17.99) and 8GB for £18.04/mo ($23.99) a month.
Support, billing and the control panel are covered in our full BisectHosting review.
- Clear memory tiers
- Dearer entry price
Streamline Servers
Streamline Servers charges £1.13 ($1.50) per slot with an eight-slot minimum, so a Starbound server starts at £9.02/mo ($12.00) a month. London is one of its 22 locations.
Support, billing and the control panel are covered in our full Streamline Servers review.
- London
- Scales to 256 slots
- Eight-slot minimum
PingPerfect
PingPerfect starts Starbound at ten slots with 9GB of memory and around 100GB of storage for £9.92/mo ($13.20) a month, with a 48-hour free trial.
Support, billing and the control panel are covered in our full PingPerfect review.
- Free trial
- 9GB on entry
- Dearest entry price here
How a Starbound server works
A Starbound dedicated server holds one shared universe for everyone on it. Each player keeps their own character and ship, but planets, bases and colonies live on the server, so your crew can keep building whenever they like instead of waiting for whoever hosts to be online.
Three things decide how much server you need:
- Players. Each active player loads the planet they are on, so a crew spread across several worlds uses more than one that sticks together.
- Mods. Total-conversion mods such as Frackin’ Universe add thousands of items, biomes and scripts, and they are the main reason a Starbound server needs more memory.
- Universe size. Every planet you visit is saved, so a long-running server grows on disk and in memory over time.
How much RAM does a Starbound server need?
Starbound is light by modern standards until you add mods. Size your plan by players and mods:
| Server | Players | Sensible RAM |
|---|---|---|
| Vanilla, a few friends | 2–4 | 1–2GB |
| Vanilla group or light mods | 4–8 | 2–4GB |
| Frackin’ Universe or big modpacks | 4–12 | 4–6GB |
| Busy public server with mods | 12+ | 6GB or more |
Apex Hosting treats 1GB as the minimum for vanilla, Shockbyte pairs four players with 2GB and 12 with 4GB, and Kinetic Hosting suggests 12GB for big modpacks. LOW.MS includes 10GB on every server, which covers almost any modded setup. Our hardware requirements guide explains how CPU, RAM and network trade off.
The settings every Starbound server owner should know
Most hosts put the common settings in a panel, but these are the pieces behind them:
| File or setting | What it controls | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| starbound_server.config | Server name, player limit, ports and every other server setting | The core file; a single misplaced comma makes the server fall back to defaults |
| serverUsers | Named accounts with passwords and an admin flag | How you lock the server to your crew and give yourself admin |
| allowAnonymousConnections | Whether players without a listed account can join | Set it to false for a private server |
| mods folder | Mods as .pak files | Workshop mods download as contents.pak, so rename each one before uploading |
| Port 21025 | The default game port on TCP | Your host shows the exact address and port |
Add yourself to serverUsers with admin set to true and you can use /admin in game. Take a backup before every game or mod update, because a mod mismatch is the most common reason players cannot join.
Mods on a hosted Starbound server
Starbound mods are .pak files that go in the server’s mods folder. Steam Workshop mods download as a file called contents.pak, so give each one its own name before you upload it. Host Havoc and AleForge explain this in their panels, and Shockbyte and Survival Servers support Workshop mods from theirs.
Everyone who joins needs the same mods as the server, or they will see missing items or crash on join. Big packs such as Frackin’ Universe are worth planning for: give the server 4GB or more, and read our guide to slots versus RAM pricing to see how hosts charge for that headroom.
Starbound hosts with UK servers
7 of the 15 hosts show a London or UK location:
| Host | UK location | Entry price |
|---|---|---|
| LOW.MS | ✓ London | £7.59/mo ($10.10) |
| GTX Gaming | ✓ London | £10.00/mo ($13.30) |
| Host Havoc | ✓ London | £6.77/mo ($9.00) |
| Kinetic Hosting | ✓ UK | £6.76/mo ($8.99) |
| PingPlayers | ✓ London | £6.74/30 days ($8.97) |
| AleForge | ✓ London | £3.00/mo ($3.99) |
| Streamline Servers | ✓ London | £9.02/mo ($12.00) |
Starbound combat and platforming feel better on a nearby server, and a London server keeps a British crew in sync. Read more in our guide to server location and ping.
Other 2D sandbox and co-op games to host
Compare hosts for Terraria, Necesse, Core Keeper, Stardew Valley and Don’t Starve Together.
Self-hosting vs renting a Starbound server
The Starbound dedicated server is included with the game. You install it through SteamCMD signed in to an account that owns Starbound, edit starbound_server.config, forward port 21025, leave the PC on and update the server after every patch.
| Self-host | Rented server | |
|---|---|---|
| Cost | Free with the game; you pay for power and bandwidth | From £3.00/mo ($3.99) |
| Setup | SteamCMD with your own account, JSON config and port forwarding | Installed for you |
| Updates | Update after every game patch | Updated by the host |
| Uptime | Only while your PC is on | Online 24/7 |
| Security | Your home IP is shared with every player | Host’s network and DDoS protection |
Our self-hosting guide and guide to dedicated hosting cover the trade-offs.
Cheapest Starbound server hosting UK
Each host’s cheapest Starbound plan, all 15 sorted by regular monthly price. For a modded universe, budget for around 4GB. For other games, see our cheap game server hosting guide.
- 1AleForgeInitiate · 2GB · 2GB with four user backups£3.00/mo ($3.99)
- 2Apex Hosting1GB · 2GB at £6.01/mo ($7.99) · 1GB entry plan£3.00/mo ($3.99)
- 3ScalaCube4 slots · Slot plans up to 24£3.75/mo ($4.99)
- 4ZAP-HostingEntry plan · Prepaid, lifetime option£5.81/mo ($7.73)
- 5ShockbytePrimitive · 4 players · 2GB · Plans by player count£6.01/mo ($7.99)
- 6PingPlayers3GB · 6GB at £13.50/30 days ($17.95) · 3GB billed per 30 days£6.74/30 days ($8.97)
- 7Kinetic Hosting6GB · 12GB at £12.02/mo ($15.99) · 6GB for big modpacks£6.76/mo ($8.99)
- 8Host Havoc12 slots · 12 slots, own hardware£6.77/mo ($9.00)
- 9SSSurvival Servers8 slots · Workshop mods installed for you£7.48/mo ($9.95)
- 10LOW.MS10 slots · 10GB included · London with 10GB£7.59/mo ($10.10)
- 11BisectHosting4GB · 4GB for modded universes£9.02/mo ($11.99)
- 12Streamline Servers8 slots at £1.13 ($1.50) per slot · Per-slot pricing, London£9.02/mo ($12.00)
- 13PingPerfect10 slots · 9GB · 10 slots with 9GB£9.92/mo ($13.20)
- 14GTX Gaming10 slots · 5GB · London, priced in pounds£10.00/mo ($13.30)
- 15G-Portal10 slots · 10 slots per 30 days£11.44/30 days ($15.22)
Conversion used: £1 = $1.33
Which Starbound host should you choose?
- Best all-round: LOW.MS. See our LOW.MS review.
- Priced in pounds, London by default: GTX Gaming. See our GTX Gaming review.
- Own hardware and a Workshop installer: Host Havoc. See our Host Havoc review.
- Lots of memory for big modpacks: Kinetic Hosting. See our Kinetic Hosting review.
- Plans by player count: Shockbyte. See our Shockbyte review.
- Lowest price in London: AleForge. See our AleForge review.
Final verdict
LOW.MS is the best Starbound server host in 2026: ten slots with 10GB in London from £7.59/mo ($10.10) and backups you can lock. Pick GTX Gaming for ten London slots priced in pounds, or Host Havoc for 12 slots on its own hardware.
Starbound server hosting FAQ
What is the best Starbound server host in the UK?
LOW.MS is our #1, with ten slots and 10GB in London from £7.59/mo ($10.10) and lockable cloud backups. Our LOW.MS review covers it in depth.
How much RAM does a Starbound server need?
About 1–2GB for a few friends on vanilla, 2–4GB for a bigger group or light mods and 4–6GB for Frackin’ Universe or other large modpacks.
Can I run Frackin’ Universe on a hosted server?
Yes. Upload it to the server’s mods folder as a .pak file and make sure every player runs the same version. Give the server at least 4GB of memory.
How do I install Workshop mods on a Starbound server?
Each Workshop mod downloads as contents.pak. Rename it to something unique, upload it to the mods folder over FTP or the file manager and restart the server. Some hosts install Workshop mods from their panel.
How do I make myself admin on my Starbound server?
Add an account to serverUsers in starbound_server.config with admin set to true, restart, then log in with that account and type /admin in game.
How do I make my Starbound server private?
Add accounts with passwords to serverUsers and set allowAnonymousConnections to false. Only players with a listed account can then join.
Which port does a Starbound server use?
Port 21025 on TCP by default. Hosted servers set it for you, and some hosts give you a different port on a shared IP.
Which Starbound hosts have UK servers?
7 of the 15 hosts here show a London or UK location, including LOW.MS, GTX Gaming, Host Havoc, PingPlayers and AleForge.
What is the cheapest Starbound hosting?
Apex Hosting and AleForge both start at £3.00/mo ($3.99), with 1GB and 2GB. For a modded universe in London, LOW.MS includes 10GB from £7.59/mo ($10.10). See our cheap game server hosting guide.
Can I move my existing universe to a hosted server?
Yes. Upload the universe folder from your Starbound storage folder to the same place on the server over FTP, add the same mods and restart. Take a backup first.
Starbound server guides
Read our full reviews of LOW.MS, GTX Gaming, Host Havoc, Kinetic Hosting and Shockbyte. Browse every game on our game server hosting hub, or compare Terraria server hosting, Necesse server hosting and Core Keeper server hosting.
LOW.MS
London · 10 slots with 10GB from £7.59/mo ($10.10) · Up to 20 cloud backups · 5-day money-back · £7.59/mo ($10.10)
Affiliate disclosure: we may earn a commission if you buy through some links on this page, at no extra cost to you. Provider prices, RAM, locations and policies were re-checked on 10 November 2026.
