Hosting

Choosing the right hosting solution is crucial for your FiveM server’s performance, reliability, and cost-effectiveness. This guide covers provider options, setup procedures, and migration strategies.

Hosting Types

VPS (Virtual Private Server)

Virtual Private Servers provide dedicated resources within a shared physical server.

Pros:

• Cost-effective (starting from €5-10/month)
• Scalable (easy to upgrade resources)
• Full root access and control
• Quick deployment
• Good for small to medium servers (10-64 players)

Cons:

• Shared physical hardware
• Limited by host node performance
• May experience “noisy neighbor” issues
• Less predictable performance under load

Best For:

• Small to medium servers (10-64 players)
• Development and testing
• Budget-conscious operators
• Learning and experimentation

Dedicated Server

Dedicated servers provide exclusive access to physical hardware.

Pros:

• Full hardware resources (no sharing)
• Best performance and consistency
• Predictable performance
• Full control over hardware
• Ideal for large servers (64+ players)

Cons:

• Higher cost (€50-200+/month)
• Requires more technical knowledge
• Longer setup time
• Hardware maintenance responsibility

Best For:

• Large servers (64-128+ players)
• High-traffic production servers
• Multiple server instances
• Performance-critical applications

Cloud Hosting

Managed cloud platforms (AWS, Google Cloud, Azure).

Pros:

• Highly scalable
• Global infrastructure
• Managed services available
• Pay-as-you-go pricing
• Enterprise-grade reliability

Cons:

• More expensive than VPS
• Complex pricing structure
• Requires cloud expertise
• Can be overkill for small servers

Best For:

• Enterprise deployments
• Multi-region setups
• Auto-scaling requirements
• High availability needs

Provider Comparison

Hetzner

Overview: German hosting provider known for excellent price-to-performance ratio.

Pricing:

• VPS: €4.15-40/month
• Dedicated: €40-200+/month

Pros:

• Excellent price/performance
• High-quality hardware (AMD EPYC, Intel Xeon)
• Fast NVMe SSDs
• Good network (1 Gbps)
• DDoS protection included
• EU data centers (GDPR compliant)

Cons:

• Limited support (community-based)
• No managed services
• Payment verification required
• Limited locations (EU only)

Recommended Plans:

VPS (CX11 - Small Server):

• 2 vCPU cores
• 4 GB RAM
• 40 GB NVMe SSD
• Price: €4.15/month
• Players: 10-20

VPS (CPX31 - Medium Server):

• 4 vCPU cores
• 8 GB RAM
• 160 GB NVMe SSD
• Price: €8.31/month
• Players: 30-50

Dedicated (AX41 - Large Server):

• AMD Ryzen 5 3600 (6 cores)
• 64 GB RAM
• 2x 512 GB NVMe SSD
• Price: €40/month
• Players: 64-128+

OVH

Overview: French hosting provider with global presence and strong DDoS protection.

Pricing:

• VPS: €3.99-50/month
• Dedicated: €40-300+/month

Pros:

• Strong DDoS protection (included)
• Global data centers
• Good support
• Flexible billing
• Enterprise options available

Cons:

• Higher prices than Hetzner
• Setup can be complex
• Support response time varies

Recommended Plans:

VPS (Starter - Small Server):

• 2 vCPU cores
• 4 GB RAM
• 80 GB SSD
• Price: €3.99/month
• Players: 10-20

VPS (Value - Medium Server):

• 4 vCPU cores
• 8 GB RAM
• 160 GB SSD
• Price: €7.99/month
• Players: 30-50

Dedicated (Game-1 - Large Server):

• Intel i5-8400 (6 cores)
• 32 GB RAM
• 2x 240 GB SSD
• Price: €79/month
• Players: 64-128+

DigitalOcean

Overview: US-based cloud provider with excellent documentation and developer-friendly interface.

Pricing:

• Droplets: $6-80/month
• Dedicated: $300+/month

Pros:

• Excellent documentation
• User-friendly interface
• Good support
• Global data centers
• Predictable pricing

Cons:

• More expensive than Hetzner/OVH
• Limited DDoS protection
• No dedicated servers (only droplets)

Recommended Plans:

Droplet (4GB - Small Server):

• 2 vCPU cores
• 4 GB RAM
• 80 GB SSD
• Price: $24/month
• Players: 10-20

Droplet (8GB - Medium Server):

• 4 vCPU cores
• 8 GB RAM
• 160 GB SSD
• Price: $48/month
• Players: 30-50

Other Providers

Contabo:

• Very cheap VPS options
• Good for testing
• Performance can vary
• Price: €4-20/month

Vultr:

• Good performance
• Global locations
• Hourly billing
• Price: $6-40/month

Linode (Akamai):

• Reliable performance
• Good support
• Price: $12-48/month

Provider-Specific Setup Guides

Hetzner Setup

1. Create Account and Server

1. Visit hetzner.com 
2. Create account (verification required)
3. Go to Cloud Console
4. Create new project
5. Add server → Choose location (Falkenstein/Nuremberg)
6. Select image: Ubuntu 22.04
7. Choose plan (CPX31 recommended for medium servers)
8. Add SSH key or set root password
9. Create server

2. Initial Server Setup

# Connect to server
ssh root@your-server-ip
 
# Update system
apt update && apt upgrade -y
 
# Create FiveM user
useradd -m -s /bin/bash fivem
usermod -aG sudo fivem
 
# Set up firewall
ufw allow 22/tcp
ufw allow 30120/tcp
ufw allow 30120/udp
ufw allow 40120/tcp
ufw enable
 
# Install dependencies
apt install -y curl wget git unzip

3. Install FiveM Server

# Switch to FiveM user
su - fivem
 
# Create server directory
mkdir -p /home/fivem/server
cd /home/fivem/server
 
# Download FiveM artifacts (replace with latest version)
wget https://runtime.fivem.net/artifacts/fivem/build_proot_linux/master/[LATEST]/fx.tar.xz
tar xf fx.tar.xz
 
# Set permissions
chmod +x run.sh

4. Configure Server

# Create server.cfg
nano server.cfg
 
# Add basic configuration
set sv_licenseKey "your-license-key"
set sv_maxclients 64
set onesync on
set onesync_enableInfinity 1

OVH Setup

1. Create Account and Server

1. Visit ovh.com 
2. Create account
3. Go to Public Cloud
4. Create new project
5. Add instance → Choose region
6. Select image: Ubuntu 22.04
7. Choose flavor (b2-7 recommended)
8. Add SSH key
9. Create instance

2. Initial Server Setup

# Connect to server
ssh ubuntu@your-server-ip
 
# Update system
sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y
 
# Install FiveM (same as Hetzner)
# Follow Hetzner steps 2-4

DigitalOcean Setup

1. Create Droplet

1. Visit digitalocean.com 
2. Create account
3. Go to Droplets → Create
4. Choose region
5. Select image: Ubuntu 22.04
6. Choose plan (8GB recommended)
7. Add SSH key
8. Create droplet

2. Initial Server Setup

# Connect to server
ssh root@your-droplet-ip
 
# Update system
apt update && apt upgrade -y
 
# Install FiveM (same as Hetzner)
# Follow Hetzner steps 2-4

Cost Analysis

Small Server (10-20 players)

Recommendation: Hetzner CX11 or OVH Starter for best value.

Medium Server (30-50 players)

Recommendation: Hetzner CPX31 for best price/performance.

Large Server (64-128+ players)

Recommendation: Hetzner AX41 for dedicated performance at VPS price.

Additional Costs

• Domain name: $10-15/year
• SSL certificate: Free (Let’s Encrypt)
• Backup storage: €2-5/month (optional)
• Monitoring: Free (self-hosted) or $5-20/month (managed)

Performance Benchmarks

CPU Performance

Test: FiveM server with 50 players, standard resources

Network Performance

Test: 50 players, average ping

Disk I/O Performance

Test: Database operations, resource loading

Migration Guides

Migrating Between Providers

Pre-Migration Checklist

• Backup server files
• Export database
• Document current configuration
• Notify players of downtime
• Schedule maintenance window

Step 1: Backup Everything

# Backup server files
tar -czf fivem-backup-$(date +%Y%m%d).tar.gz /opt/fivem/
 
# Backup database
mysqldump -u root -p fivem_db > fivem-db-backup.sql
 
# Backup server.cfg
cp server.cfg server.cfg.backup

Step 2: Set Up New Server

1. Create new server on new provider
2. Follow provider-specific setup guide
3. Install FiveM server
4. Install database (MySQL/MariaDB)

Step 3: Transfer Files

# On old server - create archive
tar -czf fivem-migration.tar.gz /opt/fivem/
 
# Transfer to new server
scp fivem-migration.tar.gz user@new-server-ip:/tmp/
scp fivem-db-backup.sql user@new-server-ip:/tmp/
 
# On new server - extract
cd /opt/fivem
tar -xzf /tmp/fivem-migration.tar.gz
 
# Restore database
mysql -u root -p fivem_db < /tmp/fivem-db-backup.sql

Step 4: Update Configuration

# Update server.cfg with new IP
nano server.cfg
 
# Update database connection if needed
# Update any IP-specific configurations

Step 5: Test New Server

# Start server
./run.sh
 
# Test connection
# Verify all resources load
# Test database connections
# Check logs for errors

Step 6: DNS/Connection Update

# Update DNS records (if using domain)
# Or update server list IP
 
# Update firewall rules if needed
# Test player connections

Step 7: Final Migration

1. Stop old server
2. Start new server
3. Verify all services running
4. Monitor for issues
5. Keep old server for 24-48 hours as backup

Upgrading Within Same Provider

Hetzner: VPS to Dedicated

1. Create new dedicated server
2. Follow migration steps above
3. Cancel old VPS after migration complete

OVH: Upgrade Instance

1. Go to OVH Control Panel
2. Select instance → Resize
3. Choose larger plan
4. Confirm upgrade (may require reboot)

Recommended Specifications

Small Server (10-20 players)

Minimum:

• 2 CPU cores
• 4 GB RAM
• 40 GB SSD
• 100 Mbps network

Recommended:

• 2-4 CPU cores
• 4-8 GB RAM
• 80 GB SSD
• 1 Gbps network

Provider Recommendations:

• Hetzner CX11 (€4.15/month)
• OVH Starter (€3.99/month)

Medium Server (30-50 players)

Minimum:

• 4 CPU cores
• 8 GB RAM
• 80 GB SSD
• 1 Gbps network

Recommended:

• 4-6 CPU cores
• 8-16 GB RAM
• 160 GB SSD
• 1 Gbps network

Provider Recommendations:

• Hetzner CPX31 (€8.31/month)
• OVH Value (€7.99/month)

Large Server (64-128+ players)

Minimum:

• 6 CPU cores
• 16 GB RAM
• 200 GB SSD
• 1 Gbps network

Recommended:

• 8+ CPU cores
• 32+ GB RAM
• 500 GB+ NVMe SSD
• 1 Gbps network

Provider Recommendations:

• Hetzner AX41 (€40/month)
• OVH Game-1 (€79/month)

Best Practices

1. Start Small: Begin with VPS, upgrade as needed
2. Monitor Performance: Track CPU, RAM, and network usage
3. Regular Backups: Automate backups to external storage
4. Security First: Configure firewall, use SSH keys, keep updated
5. Location Matters: Choose data center close to your player base
6. Test Before Migration: Always test new server before switching
7. Document Everything: Keep notes on configuration and changes
8. Plan for Growth: Choose provider that allows easy upgrades
9. Cost Optimization: Review usage regularly, downsize if possible
10. Support: Consider provider support quality for your skill level

Summary

• VPS: Best for small-medium servers, cost-effective
• Dedicated: Best for large servers, predictable performance
• Hetzner: Best price/performance, recommended for most
• OVH: Good DDoS protection, global presence
• DigitalOcean: User-friendly, good documentation
• Migration: Always backup, test thoroughly, keep old server as backup
• Specifications: Scale based on player count and resource usage