Because Terraria runs comfortably on a fraction of the hardware that games like Valheim or Rust demand, most managed hosts can afford to offer something meaningful for free — not just a crippled test tier. Indifferent Broccoli takes that furthest with a genuinely full-featured 2-day trial, which is why it’s our top pick for anyone who wants to properly test a real dedicated server before deciding whether to pay for one.
What sets this trial apart from a “free tier” elsewhere on this page is simple: it’s the real product. Same Xeon E-2288G hardware drawn from a shared pool of 128–256GB RAM, same control panel, and — importantly for Terraria specifically — support for all three server types: Vanilla for a straightforward friends server, tModLoader if you’re planning to run Calamity or Thorium, and TShock if you want admin tools or PC-to-mobile crossplay. You pick which one you need when you set up the trial, exactly as a paying customer would.
Two days is genuinely enough time to install your mod list, invite the people you’ll actually be playing with, and get a real sense of how the server behaves under normal use — which matters more for Terraria than raw specs do, since the game itself is light on hardware. After the trial, Terraria plans start from $12.99/month. There’s no confirmed UK data centre, so if low latency for a UK-based friend group matters more to you than trial length, weigh that against ScalaCube’s UK/EU locations further down this guide.
If you want a permanent free tier instead of a trial
These don’t time out after a couple of days — but they’re built as an entry point to a paid plan, not a replacement for one, so expect real limits on resources and duration.
The pick if a UK or EU server location matters more to you than trial length — ScalaCube offers a genuinely free plan across 14 locations including the UK, letting you spin up a basic Terraria server and test the control panel before paying anything. Once you’re ready to add mods or admin tools, paid plans start from $4.80/mo with both tModLoader and TShock supported. 4.5★ from 4,713 Trustpilot reviews.
Read our full review →Genuinely free to spin up, with reviewers reporting a smooth experience for small friend groups. Worth knowing before you commit a world to it: the free session length isn’t unlimited — user reports describe an initial session of a few hours, with shorter windows on return visits unless you upgrade. Treat it as a proper test drive rather than a long-term free server, and verify the current terms on their site since free-tier limits change.
godlike.host →Three different kinds of “free” — which one actually fits?
“Free Terraria hosting” covers three genuinely different things, and picking the wrong one is the most common source of disappointment. Work out which one you actually need first.
Indifferent Broccoli’s model — the real product for 2 days, no card needed. Best if you’re deciding between paying for a host and want an honest test of Vanilla, tModLoader or TShock before committing.
ScalaCube and Godlike Host’s model — free to start, with a genuine cap on RAM, slots or session length. Best for testing a specific provider’s panel and support before upgrading, or casual short sessions.
Genuinely £0 forever — you run Terraria’s own dedicated server software on hardware you already own. Best if your group plays on a set schedule and you don’t mind your PC staying on and connected while anyone’s playing.
The free and near-free options, side by side
| Option | Cost | Duration | Server types | 🇬🇧 UK node | Main catch |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Indifferent Broccoli Top pick | Free trial | 2 days | Vanilla, tModLoader, TShock | ⚠ EU, no confirmed London node | Time-limited — pay from $12.99/mo after |
| ScalaCube | Free plan | Ongoing | Basic server (upgrade for tMod/TShock) | ✅ UK location selectable | Free tier is a basic test, not a full experience |
| Godlike Host | Free tier | Session-limited | Varies | ⚠ Not UK-confirmed | Free session length is short and can shrink over time |
| Self-hosted | £0 (electricity only) | Forever | Vanilla, tModLoader, TShock — your choice | N/A — it’s your own connection | PC must stay on; you handle port forwarding and uptime |
How to self-host a Terraria server on your own PC, for free
Terraria ships with its own dedicated server software, so you don’t need to buy or download anything extra beyond the game itself. The trade-off for zero cost is that the setup takes an evening rather than a few clicks, and your PC needs to stay on and connected for as long as anyone wants to play. Here’s the full process.
TerrariaServer.exe, typically found in C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Terraria. On Linux, the equivalent is TerrariaServer.bin.x86_64 — grant it execute permission first with chmod +x TerrariaServer.bin.x86_64. Either way, a console window opens asking you to choose or create a world and set your max player count.serverconfig.txt file in the same folder with your settings, then launch with TerrariaServer.exe -config serverconfig.txt. A basic example:# or worldpath= + autocreate=2 to generate a new one on first launch
port=7777
maxplayers=8
password=yourpasswordhere
motd=Welcome to our server!
sudo ufw allow 7777/tcp && sudo ufw allow 7777/udp.127.0.0.1. Friends outside your home network need your public IP address (search “what is my IP” to find it) plus the port, entered through Terraria’s Multiplayer → Join via IP screen. If a friend’s connection just times out, the most common cause is a missed port-forwarding rule — the second most common is your ISP using CGNAT, which blocks inbound connections entirely and can’t be fixed with port forwarding alone. If that’s the case, self-hosting a publicly joinable server genuinely isn’t possible on that connection, and a hosted option is the practical fix.TerrariaServer.exe won’t run Calamity, Thorium or similar content mods — for that you need the tModLoader dedicated server, installed the same way via Steam’s Tools filter. If you want permissions, anti-grief protection or PC-to-mobile crossplay instead of mods, download TShock separately from its official GitHub releases page and run TShock.Server.exe in place of the vanilla executable. tModLoader and TShock don’t run together — pick whichever matters more for your group.Self-hosting is genuinely free, but “free” doesn’t mean “no ongoing effort.” Your server is only online while that specific PC is on, connected, and running the process — close the laptop or restart for a Windows update and everyone’s disconnected. Long-running sessions can also build up memory usage over days, so scheduling an automatic daily restart (Task Scheduler on Windows, a cron job or systemd timer on Linux) is worth setting up if you’re keeping it running long-term. For an occasional weekend with friends, none of this matters much. For something you want available whenever people log on, a hosted option — free trial or paid — removes all of it.
Free Terraria server hosting — common questions
Outgrown the free options?
Terraria is one of the cheapest games to host once you’re ready to pay — our full Terraria hosting comparison ranks all 23 providers on price, hardware and mod support, or see the complete UK game server hosting ranking for every game we cover.
