How Much RAM Does a Game Server Need? (By Game)

The minimum figure on a game's wiki reflects a bare server with no players and no mods. Running an actual community server is a different story. These are realistic figures from real usage.

Why RAM matters more than most people expect

Game servers do not just run the game logic. They also run the operating system, the server process, and everything loaded on top: plugins, mods, active player sessions, and any additional processes running in the background.

RAM is not a hard limit where performance is fine up to X and then the server crashes. As available memory gets low, the OS starts swapping to disk. Disk is orders of magnitude slower than RAM. Swap causes the kind of lag that looks like the server is "freezing for a few seconds" or players getting kicked for timing out.

As a rule: size for your peak expected player count and your full addon list, not for a quiet server. Aim to be using 60–70% of RAM at peak load: headroom matters.

RAM by game: realistic figures

Garry's Mod / DarkRP

Vanilla sandbox, 10 players, handful of addons: 1–2 GB is workable with little headroom.
DarkRP with 20–30 players and 30–60 addons: 4 GB is the practical minimum. This is where most small communities start.
DarkRP with 40–80+ addons and 40–50 peak players: 6–8 GB. Under 4 GB you will see OOM-related crashes or players getting kicked on map change.
The reason GMod is memory-hungry is Lua. Every active addon script is loaded into memory and runs on the server's Lua VM.

Minecraft

Vanilla server, 10–15 players: 2 GB covers it with room to spare. 1 GB is too tight once OS overhead is included.
Paper or Spigot with 10–15 plugins: 3–4 GB is comfortable. Plugin count matters more than player count at smaller scales.
Large modpack (300+ mods, like a Feed the Beast pack): plan for 6–10 GB. Forge modpacks are known for aggressive memory use at startup.
Minecraft's JVM garbage collection means RAM use fluctuates significantly. Budget extra headroom for chunk loading and busy servers.

Rust

Small vanilla map (2000 size), 30 players: 6–8 GB. Rust is one of the heavier games to host.
Standard vanilla server (3500–4000 map size), 50–75 players: 10–12 GB.
Heavily modded Oxide server with active player population: 12–16 GB is realistic.
Rust's memory use also scales with time since the last wipe. As players build more structures, memory use climbs.

Terraria

Vanilla multiplayer, up to 8 players: 1.5 GB is enough, including a Large world -- its own generation peaks around 1.2 GB before anyone connects. Terraria is one of the lightest games to host.
tModLoader with 10–20 mods (Calamity, Thorium, etc.): 2–3 GB is realistic. Large content mods load substantial asset and entity data.

Project Zomboid

Standard co-op server, 8–16 players: 4 GB minimum, 6 GB comfortable. The game simulates a large open world even when players are not actively in those areas.
Heavily modded server with population mods and map expansions: 8 GB or more. Population mods significantly increase the number of active zombie entities being tracked.

RAM reference table

Game	Config	Players	Suggested RAM	Notes
Garry's Mod	Sandbox, light addons	Up to 20	2 GB	Tight; watch usage
Garry's Mod	DarkRP, 30–60 addons	20–40	4 GB	Practical minimum for DarkRP
Garry's Mod	DarkRP, 60+ addons	40–60	6–8 GB	Under 4 GB expect crashes
Minecraft	Vanilla	Up to 20	2 GB	1 GB too tight with OS overhead
Minecraft	Paper + 10–15 plugins	Up to 30	3–4 GB	Watch plugin data growth
Minecraft	Heavy modpack (300+ mods)	Up to 20	6–10 GB	Forge packs use a lot at startup
Rust	Vanilla, small map	Up to 30	6–8 GB	Wipe age increases usage over time
Rust	Vanilla, standard map	50–75	10–12 GB	Minimum for a real community server
Rust	Oxide modded	50–100	12–16 GB	Heavily modded needs headroom
Terraria	Vanilla	Up to 8	1.5 GB	One of the lightest games to host -- a Large world alone peaks around 1.2 GB during generation
Terraria	tModLoader + large mods	Up to 16	2–3 GB	Calamity etc. load a lot of assets
Project Zomboid	Standard	8–16	4–6 GB	Simulates world beyond player view
Project Zomboid	Modded, map expansions	Up to 24	8 GB+	Population mods add entity load

Warning signs you are running low on RAM

Players get kicked with "connection lost" or "timed out" without obvious network issues, often the server pausing during garbage collection or OS swapping.
The server "freezes" for 2–5 seconds repeatedly at regular intervals, classic JVM GC or Lua GC pausing to free memory.
The server crashes with no obvious error in the log. An OOM kill from the OS produces no clean error. The process is just killed.
Startup takes longer and longer over time as the server session ages.
Map change or restart resolves the problem temporarily, but it comes back after a few hours, a classic sign of a memory leak in a plugin.

Frequently asked questions

How much RAM does a DarkRP server need?

It depends on your addon count and player numbers. A DarkRP server with 20–30 players and 30–60 active Lua addons needs at least 4 GB of RAM. If you are running 60+ addons or expecting 40–50 concurrent players, plan for 6–8 GB. Running less than 4 GB with a full addon set typically results in crashes after a few hours as memory pressure builds.

How much RAM does a Minecraft server need?

A vanilla Minecraft server for 10–15 players runs on 2 GB. With Paper or Spigot and a reasonable plugin set, 3–4 GB is comfortable. Large modpacks, especially Forge packs with 300 or more mods, typically need 6–10 GB. The JVM's garbage collector means Minecraft's memory use spikes during chunk loading, so budget extra headroom for busy servers.

How much RAM does a Rust server need?

Rust is one of the more memory-intensive games to host. A small vanilla server for up to 30 players needs 6–8 GB. A standard community server with 50–75 players needs 10–12 GB. Modded servers with Oxide or Carbon, or servers that have been running for a long time since the last wipe, will push those figures higher.

What happens if my game server runs out of RAM?

The OS will start swapping memory to disk, which is far slower than RAM. This shows up as periodic server freezes, players timing out, or slow responses to commands. If the server exhausts all available memory including swap, the OS will kill the server process. The log usually just stops mid-line with no error. Upgrading your plan or reducing your addon count resolves this.

Can I upgrade my plan later without losing server data?

Yes. Upgrading a plan on Zeros Host does not wipe your server files. Your world saves, config, and addons are preserved.

Not sure which plan is right for your server?

Every Zeros Host plan comes with a two-hour free trial. Start your server, install your addons, watch the RAM usage in the panel, and upgrade before you commit. No card required.

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