Palworld Self-Host vs Paid Hosting — Honest Calculator
Plug in your real numbers. The calculator shows the full annual cost of self-hosting (VPS or home machine) including time, power, and recovery friction — versus paid hosting. We’ll tell you when self-hosting is the right call.
Your situation
Self-host parameters
How we calculate
The math is intentionally simple and conservative — every assumption is editable above. Time costs are based on real reports from r/admincraft, r/Palworld self-host threads, and Hetzner / DigitalOcean tutorials. Sources:
- VPS pricing baseline — Hetzner CCX13 dedicated vCPU plan at €15.59/mo (≈ $19 USD / 80 PLN). Source: hetzner.com/cloud
- Palworld dedicated server requirements — 4 vCPU, 16 GB RAM, ~30 GB storage for 8-player. Source: Palworld official server guide
- Setup time estimates — beginner 6-8 h, intermediate 3-4 h, pro 1-2 h. Based on Hetzner / DigitalOcean Palworld tutorials and community reports.
- Patch / update breakage — Palworld pushes ~1 server-breaking update / quarter on average. Source: Palworld Steam news
- Power cost (home option) — 60 W average draw × 24 × 30 = 43 kWh/month × 0.30 EUR/kWh ≈ 13 EUR / 55 PLN.
This calculator does not bake in: DDoS-mitigation, hardware failure, ISP upload bandwidth (Palworld needs ~5-10 Mbps up at 8 players), or the value of your weekend when the server crashes mid-raid. Add those manually if they apply.
Frequently asked
Is Palworld self-hosting actually cheaper?
Pure cash-out: a $5-10/mo VPS will technically run a 2-4 player Palworld server. But that VPS is undersized once you hit ~6 players or load mods, and the time cost (setup + 1-2 h/quarter for patch breaks) usually erases the savings unless you value your time at zero.
What VPS specs does Palworld actually need?
The official Palworld dedicated server guide lists 4 vCPU + 16 GB RAM as the recommended spec for 8-player. Underspeccing causes the dreaded 30-second freeze when a player encounters a Pal pack. Hetzner’s CCX13 (4 dedicated vCPU, 16 GB) at ~€15.59/mo is the cheapest mainstream option that actually meets spec.
Can I run it on my home PC?
Yes, if (a) you have an always-on machine, (b) your ISP gives you a public IP or you accept DDNS/tunnel friction, (c) you accept that your home upload bandwidth is the bottleneck, and (d) you accept hardware failure means hours of recovery. Power cost on a 60 W mini-PC running 24/7 is ~50-60 PLN / month. The calculator above adds this in.
What about backups and crash recovery?
Self-host: your responsibility. Set up a cron job that copies SaveGames to a remote bucket weekly minimum. Paid hosting on Supercraft includes daily off-server backups by default. Recovery from a crashed home machine: ~4 hours including reinstall, port forwarding, save restore. That time × your hourly rate is a hidden cost the calculator includes.
Why does the calculator default time-value to 50/hr?
That’s roughly the median net wage in PLN. If you genuinely don’t mind tinkering or this is a hobby project, set it to 0 — the calculator will then compare on cash cost only and self-host wins for most situations. The 50/hr default catches people who under-estimate the opportunity cost of their weekend.
Should I just use the 2-day money-back to test paid hosting?
Probably yes. Paid hosting is the “less risk” option for first-time admins — set up takes 2 minutes, the cost of finding out it’s not for you is one weekend. Self-hosting is the “less risk” option if you already run a homelab and value control over convenience.