Top 5 Finest Terraria Server Hosting Providers

Terraria is often seen as the 2D version of Minecraft due to its blocky graphics, sandbox nature, and focus on crafting and exploration. However, anyone who is familiar with both titles can tell you that there’s a lot more to Terraria than meets the eye. Although crafting is indeed an important part of the gameplay, Terraria focuses primarily on the action-adventure elements and puts more emphasis on combat. The game also features more item variety and a progression system that’s miles ahead of what Minecraft currently offers.

Terraria offers a fantastic single-player experience but I strongly recommend playing it with some friends if you want to make the most out of it. The multiplayer component is very well put together and makes exploring ancient underground passages that much more enjoyable. Don’t have any friends who might be interested in playing Terraria with you? I’ve ran into this little problem myself but don’t worry because the Terraria community is absolutely massive so finding people to play with shouldn’t be a problem.

But regardless of whether you want to team up with friends or random strangers, the first thing you’ll need to consider is the server you’re going to play on. You could simply jump into an existing server but if you want to have full control over it you’ll need to create one yourself. But do you host the server on your own computer or rent one instead? There are pros and cons to both options so let’s talk about them in a bit more detail.

Renting a Terraria Server vs Hosting Your Own

You only need to take a quick look at Terraria’s retro-inspired graphics to realize that this isn’t a very demanding game. Indeed, the fact that the game can run on old systems is one of the main reasons behind its popularity. Hosting your own server is easier in Terraria compared to many other games thanks to the low system requirement. But while you won’t need to spend a ton of resources to keep the server offline, you’ll still need to make sure your computer runs 24/7 if other people are playing on the server as well.

Another disadvantage of hosting your own server is that you’ll need to take care of all the maintenance yourself. This includes things like game updates, server backups, and just generally making sure that your server runs as smooth as butter at all times. I know a lot of people who enjoy all this busy work but I personally found it to be a bit of a hassle. The setup process itself is also quite complicated if you’re not using Steam, which is another aspect that needs to be considered because some of the people you want to play with might have purchased their copy of Terraria from a different marketplace like GOG.

Those are just some of the reasons why I always recommend renting a server instead of trying to host your own. Terraria servers are generally pretty cheap compared to other games and you can easily get a good server for about $10 a month or less. In return, you can rest assured knowing that your hosting provider will take care of pretty much everything so that you can focus entirely on the game.

Things to Note About Gaming Hosting Providers

Ideally, you’ll want to go for a provider that offers a good balance between price and features. Although choosing the cheapest option is very tempting, it’s often a good idea to invest a bit more than the bare minimum if it means getting a bunch of useful features in return. So what sort of features would you actually need? Well, first I would recommend checking to see if the provider you’re interested in offers mod support. That’s not necessarily a must-have feature for everybody but a lot of people play Terraria with mods so it’s nice to have mod support if possible.

On the maintenance side of things, you’ll likely want features like automatic server backups, automatic game updates, and maybe location switching. That said, some players like to take care of updates and backups manually so that’s up to you. Something else you should keep an eye on is whether the provider offers free DDoS protection and debranding.

Features aside, you’ll want to pick a provider that has a data center close to your location. The largest providers on the market tend to have servers all over the world but the smaller ones usually only have a handful of locations scattered across NA and EU. The closer you are to your server, the less you’ll have to worry about latency.

Also worth keeping in mind is that you don’t need a huge server if you’re only playing with a couple of people. The server’s capacity is indicated by the number of slots (or players) it can support. The price of the server will go up with each extra slot you add so you’ll probably want to go for a large server only if you plan on building a sizeable community around it.

Top 5 Terraria Server Hosting Providers in 2022

Now that you know a little bit about hosting providers it’s time to look at a few specific examples. The companies I’m going to cover in the next section are some of the best in the business right now and all of them can do a great job at hosting your Terraria server.

The list below is based not only on my personal preferences but also on what the Terraria community as a whole seems to gravitate towards right now. With that in mind, let’s take a look at the top 5 Terraria server hosting providers as of 2022.

1. GTX Gaming

GTX Gaming is a UK-based provider that is slowly but surely expanding its network all over the world. The company has very good prices for Terraria servers and GTX is also known for cramming as many interesting features as possible into its hosting packages.

Features:

GTX offers free DDoS protection and debranding along with full FTP access and a TCAdmin control panel. There’s also a mobile app that acts as a control panel that you can access on the go. The company makes it very easy to find and install mods thanks to clever Steam Workshop integration. There is no location switching but you can take advantage of a feature that allows you to change your Terraria server for any other game hosted by GTX. Automatic game updates and server backups are both included as well. GTX has a total of 28 data centers across the globe so the location coverage is quite good.

Pricing:

Prices at GTX start at $6.70 for 10-slot servers and can reach up to a whopping $170.85 for 255-slot servers. It’s unlikely that you’ll ever need that many slots for a Terraria server, but if you do, GTX is one of the few providers that can offer these types of huge servers. On the flip side, renting a server in Sweden, Spain or Brazil will cost you a bit extra for some reason. If you have money to spare, you can invest in some customizing options like faster CPU clock speed, better SSD, and higher CPU priority. You can also spend a couple of bucks to prioritize your support ticket if needed. As an additional service, GTX can migrate your old server from your previous provider for a one-time fee of $9.37. The company only works with monthly payments, at least as far as Terraria servers are concerned.

Support:

GTX Gaming offers 24/7 support via tickets and email. Live chat is not available but you can join the company’s dedicated Discord channel if you’re looking for quick technical assistance. In addition, GTX can also be contacted via phone at its London or Texas offices.

Pros:

• Affordable prices
• Very impressive location coverage
• Mobile control panel
• Server customization
• Game switching

Cons:

• Paid server migration
• Paid priority support
• Only accepts monthly payments

2. Streamline Servers

This aptly named company rose to popularity by streamlining the whole server renting process and making things as straightforward as possible. Everything from simply browsing Streamline’s website to the server setup process itself is very simple and intuitive.

Features:

Streamline offers great mod support complete with a mod manager and 1-click installs. A standard TCAdmin control panel allows easy access to the server but there’s also full FTP access for users who are looking for a more hands-on approach. As far as the maintenance is concerned, there’s no location switching and you’ll need to take care of server backups and game updates manually. The company does offer daily automatic updates but you’ll need to pay a monthly fee in order to benefit from this feature. On the bright side, the company does offer a free game server migration service along with free DDoS protection and debranding. Location coverage is very good, with servers being available in 22 locations across five continents.

Pricing:

Prices start at $7.50 per month for 10-slot servers and can reach up to $24 per month for 32-slot servers. The minimum slot count is a bit higher compared to other companies on this list but the price-per-slot is pretty good. Streamline’s servers are customizable to a certain extent, with users being able to tweak the CPU speed and priority for an extra monthly fee. The payment system is flexible and you can expect to benefit from discounts of up to 20% off by opting for a yearly billing cycle.

Support:

Streamline offers 24/7 customer support via a ticket system. There’s also a chat system but agents are not available all the time so you’ll mostly have to rely on tickets or the knowledge base found on the official website whenever you need a bit of help.

Pros:

• Free game server migration
• Flexible payment system + discounts
• Great location coverage
• Customizable servers

Cons:

• No automatic updates
• Paid automatic backups

3. GameServers

GameServers is one of the most popular hosting providers around, which automatically makes it the default choice for a lot of people. The company is a bit more expensive than some of its rivals but makes up for it by offering good performance and global location coverage.

Features:

GameServers offers free debranding, DDoS protection, and location switching. Servers can be accessed via a custom control panel or by connecting using an FTP client like FileZilla. The company only offers basic mod support for Terraria and lacks advanced features like 1-click installs or auto-updating mods. Game updates and server backups do not occur automatically either so you’ll need to take care of those things the old-fashioned way. On the bright side, GameServers has the largest server network around, with around two dozen locations spread across six continents.

Pricing:

I mentioned GameServers being on the more expensive side but don’t worry because you can get a 10-slot server from these guys for just $9.95 per month. At most, you can expect to pay $31.95 per month for their largest Terraria servers, which can support up to 32 slots. The payment system is quite flexible as you can pay either on a monthly basis or several months in advance. Paying in advance will net you some nice discounts, with can reach as high as 15% off for yearly subscriptions. In addition, the company also offers voice servers (TeamSpeak, Mumble, or Ventrilo) at 50% off.

Support:

GameServers offers 24/7 customer support but only via email and tickets. There is no live chat option and the GameServers forums seem to have been disabled some time ago. The good news is that the company’s support agents are very experienced and always prepared to help users in need of technical assistance.

Pros:

• Very impressive location coverage
• Flexible payment system + discounts
• 50% off voice servers
• Very experienced

Cons:

• Fairly expensive
• No automatic backups
• No automatic updates

4. Low.ms

Just as its name indicates, Low.ms is primarily focused on offering low latency regardless of where you’re playing from. The company has only been around for a few years and hasn’t quite reached its ultimate goal just yet, however, Low.ms definitely made great progress since its inception.

Features:

Low.ms takes pride in its ability to host all its servers on top of the line hardware so you can expect excellent performance from these guys. Users have full FTP access and can also monitor their servers via a TCAdmin control panel. Automatic game updates, server backups, location switching, and DDoS protection are all included for free but debranding will set you back a couple of bucks. Mod support is pretty decent and the company even offers a mod manager GUI but there are no 1-click installs or auto-updating mods. Location coverage is fairly good, with around a dozen locations to choose from across four continents.

Pricing:

Renting a server from Low.ms can cost you anywhere between $7.28 per month for 8 slots to $63.70 per month for 70 slots. However, servers in Australia and SEA cost an extra $6.07 per month. You can customize your server by adding dedicated CPU threads, a dedicated IP, and a faster NVME SSD. Adding all of these extra options will set you back around $35 per month, which is pretty expensive. I find it a bit strange that Low.ms charges for dedicated CPU threads but I suppose it’s understandable given that the company only uses high-end hardware. Another thing that’s somewhat odd is that Low.ms offers flexible payments for other games but only accepts monthly payments for Terraria servers.

Support:

Low.ms offers 24/7 customer support via tickets and email. There was live chat as well at one point but the system is no longer available and has temporarily been replaced with a Discord channel, which is definitely not a bad alternative.

Pros:

• Great performance
• Good location coverage
• Decent mod support

Cons:

• Paid debranding
• Expensive server customization
• Only accepts monthly payments

5. Nitrous Networks

Nitrous Networks is another well-known company that has been offering servers for a wide variety of games for almost a decade now. The provider tends to focus on performance above all else in order to ensure a smooth experience for gamers.

Features:

Nitrous Networks lacks a bit when it comes to certain features but still offers many of the basic ones like free DDoS protection, debranding, and mod support. Servers can be accessed via FTP or a phpMyAdmin control panel but there is no location switching and you’ll need to take care of game updates and server backups manually. However, the company does offer some nice features to sweeten the deal, including a free Mumble voice server, free web hosting, a free MySQL database, and a premium website that you can use for free for the first 13 days. Location coverage is pretty average, with servers being available in the US, UK, Germany, and the Netherlands.

Pricing:

Terraria servers at Nitrous Networks can be rented for anywhere between $5.46 per month for a 6-slot server to $27.30 per month for a 30-slot server. The low minimum amount of slots is a pretty big advantage, especially since I find Terraria to be best enjoyed with small groups of people. Nitrous Networks’ payment system is flexible, with the standard four billing cycles to choose from, but there are no discounts for paying in advance.

Support:

Nitrous offers 24/7 customer support but you can only reach out to them via the ticket system. The company has a pretty helpful knowledge base on its official website but unfortunately, none of the articles found there are specifically about Terraria.

Pros:

• Free web hosting
• Free voice server
• Free MySQL database
• Low minimum slots

Cons:

• Few support channels
• No automatic backups
• No automatic updates

Final Thoughts

If you’ve made it this far, you should now have a good idea of just how easy it is to rent a Terraria server and why it’s often a better option than hosting one yourself. Admittedly, hosting your own server won’t cost you any money but it does require a significant time investment if you want to do it right and make things enjoyable for all the other people playing on the server. Personally, though, I’m okay with spending a few bucks and letting a professional hosting provider take care of all the busy work so I can focus solely on the game.

So which provider should you sign up with if you do decide to rent a server? Well, you know my picks but your ideal provider may differ from mine. All of the companies I covered in this article are definitely safe choices. However, some are a bit better than others at certain aspects like price, features, or location coverage. Ideally, you’ll want to pick a provider that strikes a good balance between all of these things.

For me, that provider was GTX Gaming because I was very interested in some of the special features like game switching and the mobile control panel. However, I can see why some people might prefer a company that focuses on performance like Low.ms or one with many years of experience like GameServers. Ultimately, the choice is up to you and I really hope this article was useful in helping you make a well-informed decision.