How to compare Rust server hosts

When is a Rust server under the most strain?

A Rust server faces its first peak at wipe and a slower one as the wipe ages. Facepunch's wipe timer page gives default schedules: monthly servers on the first Thursday at 19:00 London time, with weekly and biweekly options also on Thursdays. Many servers wiping on one default schedule is why node contention is worth asking about, though no source read measures it.

Facepunch says two endgame events start 24 hours before a wipe, including Road Bradleys, whose number is "WorldSize / 1000 * 2". On a 4000 map that is 8 roaming APCs (4000 / 1000 × 2).

Late-wipe growth is reported only by sellers. Starmine, which sells hosting, says a server "can start with 7 GB of RAM, then end up at 14 GB after two days of wipe". Game Server Kings, also a seller, calls entity count the top config-side cause of lag as a wipe ages. Buy for the end of your wipe cycle.

What do Facepunch's own docs say a Rust server needs?

Facepunch's wiki states RAM, disk and a CPU rule of thumb, and gives no player-count table. Its Creating a server page (read 8 November 2026, undated) lists 12 GB of free RAM ("6k map will use more"), 15 GB of free disk with SSD or NVMe "highly preferred", and says "the more players, the faster your computer CPU needs to be". It points to RAM calculators from Pine Hosting and Physgun, both sellers.

Whose Rust figures conflict?

Sizing guidance varies several-fold, and most publishers sell hosting.

Pine's 16 GB attribution does not match the 12 GB on Facepunch's wiki as read on 8 November 2026. Map size moves these figures: Starmine notes that a 4000 map is 16 km² against 9 km² for a 3000, or 78% more land (16 / 9).

What do Rust host rankings actually test?

Rankings read for this page score published features, and those that claim measurement show no raw logs. Host Havoc's Rust ranking (updated 4 November 2026) ranks Host Havoc first, scores documented features, and says it did not factor in "unverified third-party benchmarks". It is the host's own marketing.

MamboServer says its writers "monitor performance over 30-day periods" and "measure server TPS". On the page read 8 November 2026, the only TPS result is under Hostinger: "consistent 30+ TPS even under heavy load", with no per-host table, player counts, dates or logs.

BestUSAVPS, which earns affiliate commissions, publishes first-person RAM and server FPS tables across VPS providers with simulated players. It shows no logs, and its own about note says rankings and comparison tables "use no benchmark measurements of our own". Those are VPS plans, so they say nothing about a game host's nodes. See MSPT and TPS explained for what a tick figure should come with.

How are Rust plans sold?

Rust plans are mostly sold by player slots, a unit that leaves RAM and CPU unstated. Two hosts were confirmed to sell Rust on pages read 8 November 2026, listed in no order of merit; other hosts may sell it too.

Which fits, on published plan structure only: Indifferent Broccoli's 10 to 320 player plans run from $5.99 to $24.99 a month, while Host Havoc starts at 30 slots for $16.00 a month and lists 12 to 16 GB for 50 to 100 players on its game page. Neither plan's wipe-day behaviour is known.

Indifferent Broccoli's Rust page lists "At least 128gb RAM", and its terms use that wording for host machines. The Host Havoc review and Indifferent Broccoli review cover wider plans.

What should you check before renting for a wipe?

Check these against your own wipe schedule, map and plugins.

• RAM: what does the slot count include, and can it grow mid-wipe without losing the map?
• CPU: which model, and what else shares it on a force-wipe Thursday?
• Plugins: Carbon or Oxide support, and who updates them after a force wipe?
• Wipe tools: map size and seed in the panel, scheduled wipes, a downloadable backup.
• Terms: does the refund window survive actual use? Citadel Servers' fair use policy reserves the right to deny refunds where refund windows are "used to avoid payment obligations while using services extensively".

How can you judge a Rust plan yourself?

Run a normal wipe with your real players and read server.fps at three points. Game Server Kings, a seller, recommends that command from the console or RCON.

1. Empty, on a fresh map. The best the setup can do.
2. At your peak population. A big drop points at players, networking or CPU headroom.
3. Late in the wipe. A steady fall points at entities and memory.

Starmine says a healthy server stays close to 30 server FPS and that actions lag below 20, a seller's threshold. Read how to benchmark your own server for other readings and independence and host terms before running anything beyond normal play. Silence in terms is not permission.

What would be measured, and why?

The planned protocol would run an identical map on three hosts through a wipe-day population ramp. No method for generating that load has been confirmed, and whether it needs full game clients is unknown; see load profiles.

No test server exists; the simulation question comes first, then each host's terms. Next: the benchmarks hub or method overview.