Satisfactory Server Requirements: RAM, CPU and Player Slots
A Satisfactory dedicated server is planned around three published figures: a fast 64-bit CPU, 8GB of RAM as a baseline and a default of four players. Here is how those numbers change as the factory grows, and why the official step-up is 16GB for larger saves or more than four people.
That figure is the community recommendation on the official wiki. It is the starting point for a fresh world with up to four players.
Use it for larger saves or more than four players. There is no separate official RAM figure for mods.
The server can start several threads, but the game loop is still fundamentally single-threaded, so one core does the heaviest work.
The server is tuned for four players. Raise slots only to the size of your actual group.
What a Satisfactory server actually needs
These figures come from the official Satisfactory wiki’s dedicated server page, where they are listed as community recommendations for a minimum. The server may run on less in a quiet world, but the wiki is clear that you should exceed the minimum if you can, especially for CPU. The dedicated server is a separate free tool for 64-bit Windows and Linux. It is not available on console, and there is no 32-bit or ARM build.
| Resource | What you need | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| CPU | A recent x86-64 processor; Intel i5-3570 or AMD Ryzen 5 3600 or better; single-thread rating of 2000 or higher | The server can use more than one core, but it heavily favours high single-core performance. Factory simulation, autosaves and busy moments all lean on that main thread. |
| RAM | 8GB baseline; 16GB for larger saves or more than 4 players | The save, the connected players and the live world state all sit in memory. This is the only official step-up published for growing a server. |
| Storage | 12.4GB of server files on Windows; 8GB on Linux | You do not need the full game installed on the server machine. Linux’s 8GB figure covers a typical server distro of up to 2GB plus about 2GB of game server files, with room around that. |
| Operating system | Windows 10, 11, Server 2016, 2019 or 2022, or a Linux distro such as Debian or Ubuntu | Those are the platforms the dedicated server tool supports. There is no 32-bit or ARM option. |
| Network | A broadband connection, with port forwarding or a VPN if you host from home | Every player is fed world state from the server. The ports themselves are 7777 TCP and UDP plus 8888 TCP. |
If you still need the install, claim and port-forwarding steps, our Satisfactory dedicated server setup guide covers that path. This page stays on the question people actually search: how much machine do you need, and what changes that answer as the factory grows.
CPU: why one fast core beats a pile of slow ones
Satisfactory looks multi-threaded if you open a process monitor. Coffee Stain has said the server can spawn up to 26 threads per work set. The same explanation is clear about the limit that matters for requirements: the game loop is still fundamentally single-threaded, the extra work happens on ticks, and one core always works harder than the rest.
That is why the wiki’s examples are about single-core speed rather than core count. An Intel i5-3570 or AMD Ryzen 5 3600 is the published floor. A single-thread rating of 2000 or higher is the rule of thumb that sits next to those names. A cheap virtual machine with many slow cores can look generous on paper and still struggle once the factory is busy, because the main simulation thread cannot borrow time from the idle cores beside it.
Two platform traps belong here as well. There is no ARM build, so a Raspberry Pi or similar board is not a supported host. On a VPS, the kvm64 CPU type is not compatible with the dedicated server binaries: the process may start, then crash when you create a new game. Use the host CPU type instead of kvm64.
RAM: 8GB, 16GB and what “larger saves” really means
Satisfactory does not ask you to pick a world size when you create a session. There is no “small, medium or large map” setting in the dedicated server tool. The world grows as you build. More machines, belts, vehicles, trains, stored items and explored areas make a larger save, and that larger save is what the official 16GB recommendation is describing.
no more than four players
than four players online
figure just for mods
- More machines, belts, vehicles and items make a larger save
- The server writes that save every 5 minutes by default
- A machine near its memory limit makes those pauses worse
Use 8GB when the world is new and the group is no larger than four. That is the baseline the wiki gives, not a promise that a years-old megafactory will stay comfortable there. Move to 16GB when either of two things is true: the save has grown into a large factory, or you want more than four players online. Those are the only two RAM triggers the official page publishes, and they are enough to plan with if you do not invent extra bands between them.
Memory pressure shows up as hitching rather than a neat “out of RAM” message. If the machine starts swapping, everyone feels long freezes during normal work, especially around autosaves. The server writes a save every 300 seconds by default, which is five minutes, and that write itself causes a short drop in performance. A machine that is already near its memory limit makes those five-minute pauses much worse.
Player slots: four by default, and why raising them costs more
A fresh dedicated server is set up for four players. The official configuration notes are blunt about that: the server is tuned to be most performant with the default player cap of four, and increasing the limit may hurt stability, performance and resource usage. That is the practical meaning of “player slots” on Satisfactory. The number in the setting is not a free extra; it is permission to add more simulation, more memory use and more network traffic.
and it is tuned for four
or with a launch option
not practical in play
- More simulation on the main thread
- More memory use and more network traffic
- More than four players is a reason to plan for 16GB
Up to 127 players are theoretically possible. The same notes say that is not practical. If your group is six or eight people, raise the cap to the size of the group rather than opening a huge public slot count “just in case”. The official RAM page already tells you what that change implies: more than four players is one of the two reasons to plan for 16GB.
You can raise the cap without digging through files by adding a launch option:
-ini:Game:[/Script/Engine.GameSession]:MaxPlayers=8
The same value can go in Game.ini under [/Script/Engine.GameSession] as MaxPlayers=8. Stop the server before you edit ini files, because a graceful shutdown writes those files and can overwrite a change you made while the process was still running.
How to estimate the resources your group needs
You do not need a spreadsheet for this. The official figures already give you a decision path based on save size and player count.
| Your situation | RAM to plan for | CPU to plan for | Player cap to set |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fresh world, up to 4 players | 8GB | i5-3570, Ryzen 5 3600, or a single-thread rating of 2000 or higher | Leave the default of 4 |
| The same small group, but the factory has grown into a large save | 16GB | The same single-core floor, with extra clock speed helping more than extra weak cores | Still 4, unless the group itself has grown |
| More than 4 players, even on a newer world | 16GB | The same CPU floor; more players add work to the main simulation thread | Set MaxPlayers to the real group size |
| A large save and more than 4 players | 16GB | This is where a slow CPU shows up first, because save size and extra players stack on the same main thread | Keep the cap honest; a theoretical maximum of 127 is not a plan |
That table uses only the published RAM steps and the published player-cap warning. It does not invent a third memory tier for “eight players” or “a full map”, because Coffee Stain has not published one.
What about mods?
Satisfactory mods can be installed on dedicated servers with the Satisfactory Mod Manager, and they work with both Steam and Epic game installs. Coffee Stain does not fully officially support modding yet, and the dedicated server requirements page does not publish a separate RAM or CPU figure for a modded world.
What mods actually change is the size and complexity of the world the server has to keep in memory. Extra buildings, systems and items become part of the save. That is the same growth the 16GB recommendation already covers for larger saves. If you add mods, treat the official step-up as your planning figure rather than inventing an extra “modded” RAM number on top.
The other cost is stability after patches. Major updates, and any update that changes the Unreal Engine version, have historically made mods incompatible. Incompatible mods can make the game unplayable until you remove them. That is a reason to keep a clean copy of the save, not a reason to assume a particular extra amount of RAM will absorb a broken mod.
Settings that change how hard the server works
A few server options change load without changing the hardware you bought. They are worth knowing when you are trying to decide whether the machine is too small or the settings are asking for extra work.
| Setting | Default or published behaviour | What it does to the machine |
|---|---|---|
| Auto Pause | Can pause the world when nobody is connected | When it is on, an empty server stops simulating and uses much less CPU. Turn it off only if you want the factory to keep running with nobody online. |
| Autosave interval | Every 300 seconds, which is 5 minutes | Each save causes a short drop in performance. Shorter intervals lose less progress after a crash, but they also hitch more often. |
| Rotating autosaves | 3 copies by default | This costs disk space, not RAM planning, and gives you more than one rollback point. |
| Server tick rate | 30 | This is an upper limit. If the hardware cannot hold 30 already, raising it will not fix lag and usually makes the main-thread bottleneck worse. |
| Network Quality | Adjustable in Server Manager | Higher values can help client load times and network performance, but they cost server framerate. |
| MaxPlayers | 4, with a theoretical ceiling of 127 | The server is tuned for four. Extra slots add simulation, memory and network load. |
Leave the tick rate at 30 unless you have a clear reason and the CPU already has headroom at the default. For a private group, Auto Pause is the simplest way to stop an idle server burning CPU overnight.
When a rented plan makes more sense
Self-hosting is fine if you already have a machine that can stay on, a CPU that meets the single-thread floor, and a router you can forward 7777 and 8888 on. Renting becomes the simpler option when the home PC is also your gaming PC, the upload is weak, or you want the world online without leaving a desktop running.
As of Patch 1.2.5.0, Coffee Stain lists Indifferent Broccoli as an officially supported dedicated server host, including from the Rent a Server button in Server Manager. That does not change the hardware maths above. Whether you rent or self-host, the same 8GB and 16GB steps, the same single-core CPU floor and the same default of four players still apply. If you want to compare current plans, locations and panels, use our Satisfactory server hosting comparison.
Look for enough RAM for your save and player count, plus strong single-core performance rather than a long list of slow cores. Compare current Satisfactory plans when you are ready to rent.
Compare the best Satisfactory server hostsSatisfactory server FAQ
How much RAM does a Satisfactory dedicated server need?
Plan for 8GB as the baseline, and 16GB if the save is large or you want more than four players. Those are the community recommendations on the official dedicated server page. There is no separate official RAM figure for a modded server.
What CPU does a Satisfactory server need?
Use a 64-bit x86 processor with strong single-core speed. The published examples are an Intel i5-3570 or an AMD Ryzen 5 3600, or anything with a single-thread rating of 2000 or higher. The server can start extra threads, but the game loop is still fundamentally single-threaded, so one core does most of the simulation work. There is no 32-bit or ARM support, and the kvm64 CPU type on a VPS can crash when you create a new game.
How many players can a Satisfactory dedicated server hold?
The default cap is four, and the server is tuned for four. You can raise MaxPlayers in Game.ini or with a launch option. Up to 127 players are theoretically possible, but that is not practical. Each extra player adds simulation, memory and network load, and more than four players is one of the two official reasons to plan for 16GB of RAM.
Do I need more resources as the factory grows?
Yes. Satisfactory does not use a fixed map-size setting. As the factory grows, the save gets larger, and the official recommendation steps from 8GB to 16GB for those larger saves. The CPU demand rises too, because the same main thread has more world state to simulate each tick and a heavier file to write every five minutes.
Do mods change Satisfactory server requirements?
Mods can run on a dedicated server through the Satisfactory Mod Manager, but Coffee Stain does not publish a separate RAM or CPU number for them. Extra content becomes part of the save, which is what the 16GB recommendation already covers for larger worlds. After a major update, incompatible mods can also stop the game working until you remove or update them, which is a stability issue rather than a reason to guess an extra memory figure.
More Satisfactory server help
The host comparison, plus the setup guide that covers install, ports and claiming.
Checked against the official Satisfactory wiki dedicated server requirements, configuration notes and modding pages, November 2026. The RAM, CPU and player-cap figures above are the ones those pages publish; host plans change their labels, but the same resource steps still apply.
