ScalaCube vs Shockbyte

For single-host detail see the ScalaCube review and the Shockbyte review. Other hosts are on the hosts hub.

Which should you buy for your situation?

Side-by-side: what differs on 8 November 2026

ScalaCube's 8 GB first month works out to $12 (half of $24), and Shockbyte's premium 8 GB to $22.39. The first is a first-invoice discount and the second is labelled recurring, so the second month is $24 against $22.39 if both labels hold. Shockbyte's budget 8 GB is $15.99 throughout, and its page does not tie a CPU to either line. A lower figure is no evidence of weaker or equal hardware.

The free plan and how to read it

ScalaCube's free 8 GB plan is a real price difference, and the pages read do not list its limits. The free-plan page says "No credit card. No time limit." The Terms say ScalaCube "does not offer free technical support" except where paid for in a plan. Whether free servers share hardware with paid plans is not stated. TechRadar's 2022 article described a 3 GB free plan "limited to a single player", so before relying on it, sign in and read what the current plan allows. Free hosting generally is covered in the free hosting guide.

Renewal, lapse and exit

ScalaCube's Terms need the most care here. All services are paid in advance. For a VPS, payment is due within 1 day before the term ends, and clause 3.2 says that without payment the VPS "will automatically be blocked; it cannot be restored". Clause 3.5 then says a server "shall be unblocked upon receipt of the full payment within 24 hours", so the two do not sit easily together. Treat missing a payment as data loss. To cancel, use "Cancel Subscription" in the panel, then cancel any PayPal subscription yourself, because ScalaCube says it is your responsibility.

Shockbyte's Terms give a 1-day grace period, then suspension, then deletion after 30 days. Its refund runs through the panel's "Request Refund" option or a cancellation request. Refunds may be "credit or via the original payment method at our discretion", and account credit is "non-refundable and non-withdrawable". Its text also refers to "a monthly plan commencing", so ask before relying on it for an annual plan. On either host, copy your world off before cancelling.

Terms that bite on each side

ScalaCube can block a server "in case of causing an increased Network load", and clause 5.2 says that happens "without refund of prepaid services". Clause 5.2.1 reserves the right to block a server "in the event of incoming DDOS attacks", and 4.8 can require a $5 deposit to unblock after a block you caused. Clause 4.5 makes the client "fully responsible for their public statements and actions against the Company", and 8.10 lists "spreading slanderous information about the Company" as grounds for blocking. The Terms may change without notice.

Shockbyte limits pre-generation to a 10K radius, bars pre-generated chunks in worlds above 5 GB, and caps backups at three or 15 GB. Neither host mentions benchmarking, and silence is not permission.

What the published evidence cannot tell you

TechRadar measured the companies' websites, not game servers, and its prices are dated. ScalaCube's home page now says 24/7 support, which conflicts with both TechJury and clause 7.10, so ask how support works on your plan. The two Godlike articles are separate tests of Godlike against each host, 24 days apart. The ScalaCube article says world seeds were not standardised between hosts, and the Shockbyte article states no seed detail. They do not compare ScalaCube with Shockbyte and cannot be subtracted from each other, and each is one plan, one run, one workload.

A concrete way to decide

1. Start on ScalaCube's free plan if a free tier is the draw, and read its limits in the panel.
2. If the free plan falls short, compare first-renewal cost at your RAM using the arithmetic above, and find your region in both lists.
3. Ask ScalaCube which CPU and storage your location gets, and whether support is included on your plan.
4. For a paid trial, order Shockbyte first and keep it: an order at 10:00 on 14 November 2026 needs its refund request by 10:00 on 17 November, once per client. A ScalaCube payment on 14 November gives until 21 November, with a stated reason.
5. Use the same pack and world in ordinary play. Run no load bots, and avoid anything that raises "Network load" on ScalaCube. Neither host grants a right to profile.

A same-month matched run would need written permission first, because ScalaCube's load clauses are broad. None of it exists; see the planned test rig.

Next decision: weigh price against hardware disclosure with the host picker, or return to the hosts hub.