How Much Does a Core Keeper Server Cost in 2026?
The most common buyer question for Core Keeper is simply how much a server costs. The honest 2026 answer is $4 to $20 per month for the great majority of groups, and which end you land on depends far more on what you are running than on how many people are playing. This page breaks down each tier, the memory figures that actually decide it, and whether self-hosting is worth it for Core Keeper specifically.
What you actually pay per month
| Tier | Monthly | Players | What it realistically covers |
|---|---|---|---|
| Budget | $4-8 | 2-8 | Vanilla world, small group. Core Keeper is cheap to host. |
| Standard | $8-14 | 8+ | Larger group or a long-running world. |
| Performance | $14-20 | 8+ | Big explored world with heavy building. |
These are market ranges across reputable hosts in 2026, not a single provider's price list. Anything far below the budget column is usually shared hardware that will disappoint at peak; anything far above the premium column should come with something specific attached, such as managed admin support.
How much RAM a Core Keeper server actually needs
RAM is the figure that decides your tier for most games, so it is worth getting right before you compare prices.
| Scenario | Memory |
|---|---|
| Minimum class hardware | 4 GB |
| Storage | around 2 GB |
What drives the price
- Very light overall. Core Keeper is one of the cheapest games in this catalogue to run.
- Explored area is the main growth driver as the map is revealed.
- Base building and automation add steady load in long runs.
- Small storage footprint keeps costs down.
Self-hosting versus renting
Core Keeper is an excellent self-host candidate. Requirements are low enough for almost any spare machine.
The honest arithmetic for self-hosting any game server looks like this:
| Item | Approximate annual cost |
|---|---|
| Electricity for a machine running 24/7 | $120-350/year depending on hardware and local rates |
| Internet capable of hosting | $0-300/year, more if you need a business tier or static IP |
| Hardware, amortised | $150-400/year |
| Your time | 10-30 hours/year on updates, crashes and backups |
That puts realistic self-hosting somewhere around $300-1000 per year before your time is counted. A $12 per month rented plan is roughly $144 per year. Self-hosting wins when you already have the hardware running anyway and your group is small. Renting wins when you want the world online while you are asleep.
Hidden costs worth checking before you buy
- Setup fees. Reputable hosts charge nothing to set up.
- Backups as a paid add-on. Automated backups with real retention should be included, not sold separately.
- FTP or file access behind a paywall. Should be standard.
- Mod or plugin installation charged per action. Should be included.
- Support tiers. If basic support costs extra, that is a red flag rather than a feature.
- Long contract lock-ins. One month minimum is normal. Be careful with forced annual commitments, especially for an early access game.
- Slot upgrades that force a full plan change rather than an in-place resize.
Quick decision guide
- Small group, vanilla, occasional sessions: the budget tier at $4-8 is enough. Do not overbuy.
- The usual case, a settled group on a developing world: $8-14. This is where most Core Keeper servers belong.
- Heavy use, mods, or a long-running world: $14-20. Size for the mature world, not the fresh one.
- You already run a machine 24/7 and the group is small: self-hosting is genuinely worth pricing out first.
Supercraft Core Keeper hosting runs on AMD EPYC hardware with NVMe storage, automated backups, multiple regions, in-place plan upgrades and a 2-day refund window. Cancel any time. Live pricing for your region is on the plan page.