How Much Does a The Forest Server Cost?
The Forest is a relatively light dedicated-server workload, but the cheapest headline is not always the cheapest usable world. Compare the billing term, player capacity, CPU/storage, location, backups, access controls, and refund policy. Prices below were checked on 29 August 2026 and can change with region, tax, promotion, and renewal.
Editorial disclosure: Supercraft sells game-server hosting and is included for comparison. Competitor figures are public offer snapshots, not hands-on performance tests or paid rankings.
Published price snapshots
| Provider | Published offer checked | Useful detail |
|---|---|---|
| Supercraft | From the current plan selector | Managed setup, region choice, backups, file access, and game switching; check checkout for the exact term. |
| Shockbyte | From $7.49 displayed on its games listing | Confirm the current The Forest plan, renewal, and included backup policy. |
| Nitrado | $12.99 for 8 slots / 30 days | Higher slot tiers are listed; pricing is term and region dependent. |
| GPORTAL | $15.99 for 10 slots / 30 days | Backups and locations are listed; compare like-for-like billing terms. |
| Host Havoc | £11.75/month for a 20-slot listing | TCAdmin and locations are listed; verify that the advertised slot count matches your actual client use. |
Source pages: Shockbyte games listing, Nitrado, GPORTAL, and Host Havoc.
What affects the price
- Actual player capacity: The Forest co-op is commonly played with up to eight players; a provider's larger slot label needs verification against the game and config.
- Hardware and location: CPU consistency, SSD/NVMe storage, and distance from the group matter more than a generic RAM number.
- Operations: backups, restore access, DDoS protection, logs, support, and automatic updates are part of the useful cost.
- Mods: The community ModAPI ecosystem is not the same as an official server mod API. Confirm compatibility before paying extra for “mod support.”
- Billing: compare first-term discounts, renewal, taxes, setup fees, slot changes, and backup retention.
Self-hosting versus renting
| Option | Best fit | Trade-off |
|---|---|---|
| Home PC | LAN, testing, or a small group that plays together | No hosting bill, but you own uptime, upload, port forwarding, firewall, power, and backups. |
| VPS | Admins who want OS-level control | Flexible, but you manage security, updates, storage, monitoring, and recovery. |
| Managed game host | Persistent co-op with minimal server administration | Recurring fee in exchange for panel workflows, provider networking, backups, and support. |
Quick decision guide
- Small vanilla group: choose the lowest reputable plan that passes a real join and save/restart test.
- Long campaign: prioritize backup downloads, restore access, region, and support over a first-month promotion.
- Self-hosting: follow the setup guide, correct the network rules, and keep a dated save copy.
Related guides
See current Supercraft availability on the The Forest hosting page.