Valheim dedicated server requirements

What does Iron Gate publish about Valheim servers?

Iron Gate documents how to run a Valheim server and leaves hardware unstated. The official dedicated-server guide is dated 11 April 2024 and covers the Steam version. Read on 8 November 2026, it says:

• Ports: "The default Port Range that the Server uses is 2456-2457", and "Valheim uses the specified Port AND specified Port+1". The page does not state the protocol.
• Linux software: "minimum requirements of GLIBC_2.29 and GLIBCXX_3.4.26", plus libatomic1, libpulse-dev and libpulse0. Docker is offered for older systems.
• Saves: every 30 minutes by default, with one backup 2 hours old and three backups 12 hours apart.
• Crossplay: with -crossplay, "the server transmits data via a relay server and therefore does not require Port Forwarding".

It states no CPU, RAM, storage, bandwidth, player limit or tick rate. Its launch arguments include no memory setting, so unlike a Java game server there is no heap to set: the plan or machine is the limit.

The guide also predates Valheim 1.0, which Iron Gate released on 9 September 2026. Its patch notes list a new save system that "splits world data across chunks to reduce how much data is serialized and written", faster world generation and reduced memory use from textures and audio, with no server RAM figure.

What figures do hosting companies report for Valheim?

Every publisher below sells hosting or links to its own plans. These are sizing opinions, and only two of them report any readings of their own.

One conflict matters. Indifferent Broccoli attributes a 2 GB "official minimum" to Iron Gate, but the guide read here states no memory figure, and berrybyte calls 2 GB "a bare-minimum community baseline, not an official figure". This page doesn't treat 2 GB as official.

Two sellers publish readings from their own servers. Connect Hosting says the 1.0 server (build l-1.0.7) used 1.34 GB idle on a fresh world in a 4 GB Linux container. Supercraft reports 600 servers over the 30 days to 12 October 2026 with 1.8 GB typical memory at every player band, and 90th-percentile memory of 2.4 GB with 1-2 players, 2.5 GB with 3-5 and 3.2 GB with 6-10. Neither shows logs, and both sell plans, so treat those as claims.

How much RAM does a Valheim server need for your group?

Find the Valheim row closest to your world, then start at the plan named in the last column. That column is a reading of the published figures above and not a measurement.

These figures mean memory the server can use. berrybyte makes the point directly: a computer with 4 GB in total does not give the game 4 GB free, so a self-hosted machine needs room for the operating system on top.

What makes a Valheim server use more?

World history moves Valheim's memory most, according to the hosts, while player count moves CPU. Iron Gate says nothing on either.

• Building and exploration. Host Havoc says "the whole loaded world sits in RAM". Connect says memory tracks the world more than the player count.
• Players apart. berrybyte says ten players in one base can be easier on the server than four sailing in different directions.
• Players online. Supercraft's typical memory stays at 1.8 GB across player bands, while typical CPU rises from 0.2 to 0.7 of a core and busiest-tenth CPU from 1.3 to 3.0 cores.
• Mods. berrybyte says no accurate per-mod formula exists. It also notes console players can't install BepInEx, so a crossplay group with console players should stay vanilla.
• Saves. Indifferent Broccoli says the world save clones the world in memory. Iron Gate's 1.0 save rework may have changed that, and nothing read confirms either way.

What CPU, storage and bandwidth does a Valheim server need?

Sellers agree that Valheim wants a fast core more than many cores, and their disk and bandwidth figures vary widely.

• CPU. Host Havoc says the main simulation runs on one thread; Connect calls the server "largely single-threaded". Publishers suggest 4 cores with high clock speed.
• Self-hosting on your gaming PC. Iron Gate's Patch 1.0.20 (15 October 2026) fixed a dedicated server "running at uncapped frame rate if v-sync was enabled in client on the same computer, wasting massive amounts of CPU time", so patch before judging CPU use.
• Storage. Published figures run from about 1.5 GB of files (Host Havoc) to 60 GB free (DatHost); Connect says 20 GB is plenty. Host Havoc says a mature .db is usually 50 to 200 MB. With Iron Gate's default of four backups, a 200 MB world plus its copies needs about 5 × 200 MB = 1 GB.
• Upload. Host Havoc says about 1 Mbps per player. Supercraft says Steam connections cap at 150 KB/s, which is 1.2 Mbit/s, so 10 players need up to 12 Mbit/s. DatHost's 250 Mbit/s is unexplained.

How can you tell whether a Valheim plan is enough?

Log the Valheim server's memory through a real evening, then compare the peak with your plan. On Linux:

while true; do
  echo "$(date -Is),$(ps -o rss= -p "$(pgrep -f valheim_server | head -n1)")" >> valheim-rss-kb.csv
  sleep 60
done

Iron Gate's guide names the server program valheim_server, but confirm the running process with ps first. Note world age, mods and player count beside the file, and have players spread out as they normally would. The general method is in how to benchmark your game server.

What should you check on a host's Valheim plan?

Valheim plans are sold in different units, so compare what each one actually limits.

• Unit. Host Havoc lists $9.99 per month with 10 slots and sizes plans by RAM. Indifferent Broccoli sells by player count from $5.99 (1 player) to $18.99 (10 players), with "uncapped RAM" under fair use. DatHost's plan page lists 10 slots with 16 GB DDR5 and an "AMD Ryzen 9 7950X (or similar) & EPYC" CPU at €14.90 monthly or €6.90 per month on a yearly term; its FAQ also mentions 128 GB per machine, unexplained on the page.
• CPU. Ask for the model and whether cores are shared, since the main thread is what counts.
• Crossplay. Confirm -crossplay is available if anyone joins from console.
• Updates and resizing. Ask how fast patches land, and whether you can upgrade without moving the world.
• Backups. Check that copies don't eat your disk allowance.

For sizing arithmetic use the server RAM calculator; its output is built from published figures, so it's an estimate.

What does GameServerBench plan to record?

GameServerBench holds no Valheim measurements. The planned protocol would run a matched world at 2, 6 and 10 players and log memory, CPU and bandwidth with dates, publishing the raw logs. Hosts' terms may restrict automated load; see independence and host terms.

Next, decide where to run it with Valheim rent, VPS or home host costs, or compare plan structures on the Valheim hosting hub.