SELF-HOSTED · AI-MANAGED→SEE THE REAL COSTS

ARK: SURVIVAL EVOLVED SERVER HOSTING · BRING YOUR OWN HARDWARE

ARK server hosting, without paying retail for RAM.

ARK runs one of the hungriest dedicated servers in gaming, which is exactly why hosted plans for it cost so much. Rent the RAM yourself at commodity prices, and let Warp, our AI server admin, do the part that used to require a sysadmin.

Start your server See how it works

Recommended RAM

16 GB^{8 GB min}

Typical VPS cost

$15-30/mo

Setup

One sentence

Terminal skills

None

01THE MATH

What hosting actually costs.

A playable ARK server wants 16 GB of memory, and managed ARK hosting typically runs $25 to $40 a month for that tier. The same 16 GB VPS rents for roughly half that at cost. The difference was always the setup and the babysitting.

Honest math: at the 8 GB tier the two roads cost about the same. ARK rarely stays at 8 GB. The bigger your tribe and mod list get, the further ahead you come out owning the box.

THE USUAL WAY

Managed ARK host

$25-40/mo for a 16 GB ARK plan
Slot caps and paid map upsells
Panels tuned for the average server
Map or rate changes mean panel sessions

SELF-HOSTED

Your VPS + Warp

16 GB box typically $15-30/mo at cost
$15/mo flat for the AI admin
Full root, any map, any settings
Rates, mods, and maps changed by asking

02THE ADMIN

Meet Warp, your server admin.

Warp connects to your box over SSH and does the whole ARK dance: SteamCMD, the dedicated server install, GameUserSettings.ini, mods, and the restart schedule. You describe the server you want; it types the commands.

Install the ARK dedicated server with SteamCMD
Tune rates: taming, harvesting, XP, breeding
Switch maps or run several as a cluster
Install and update mods
Schedule restarts and save backups
Diagnose crashes and memory pressure

Connect a machine More about Warp

warp · root@vps · arkonline

You

set up an ARK server on The Island

Warp

Installed SteamCMD, downloaded the ARK dedicated server, and launched The Island in a screen session. It shows up in the server browser.

You

make taming 5x and harvesting 3x

Warp

Set TamingSpeedMultiplier to 5 and HarvestAmountMultiplier to 3 in GameUserSettings.ini, then restarted. Rates are live.

You

restart it every morning at 6 and back up the saves

Warp

Scheduled a daily 6:00 restart with a save backup beforehand. Backups keep the last 7 days.

THE ISLAND · RAGNAROK · CUSTOM RATES · MODSyou own the box

03THE BOX

What to rent for ARK: Survival Evolved.

ARK punishes small boxes. Skimping on memory shows up as rubber-banding and crash loops, so treat 16 GB as the comfortable baseline and let Warp watch usage for you. Any provider works: pick one, rent the box, and Warp takes it from there.

Memory

16 GB

8 GB boots a small map with a few players; 16 GB is the comfortable baseline.

CPU

4 vCPU

A couple of fast cores; more helps with bigger tribes.

Storage

60 GB SSD

The install alone is large, and mods add more.

Region

Near your tribe

Latency matters twice as much in PvP.

04HOW IT WORKS

Three fields, then just ask.

You bring the machine. Warp brings the expertise. Nothing to install on your side, and no terminal to learn.

Rent a VPS anywhere

Any provider, any region. You get an IP, a username, and a password or SSH key by email.

Connect it to Warp

Paste those credentials once. Warp verifies the box and pins its host key. Credentials are encrypted at rest.

Ask for your ARK: Survival Evolved server

Describe what you want in your own words. Warp installs it, configures it, and reports back.

things people ask · ark

“Set up ARK on Ragnarok with 5x taming”

“Add these Workshop mods”

“Back up saves before every restart”

Plain language in, running server out

05PRICING

Flat rate. No per-gigabyte games.

One flat subscription per environment. You pay your VPS provider directly for the hardware, at their price, and you pay us for the agent that runs it. That is the whole model. No resource markup, no surprise overages.

Bring your own VPS from any provider
Up to 3 environments per account
Fair use, no per-command metering
Cancel anytime from billing

warp · plan

PER ENVIRONMENT

$15/ month

One environment is one machine you own, managed by the agent in plain language. The VPS itself is billed by your provider, separately and at cost.

Start your server

Fair use applies · not a coding agent

06QUESTIONS

Asked before renting.

How much RAM does an ARK server need?

8 GB is the practical minimum for a small map with a few players. 16 GB is the comfortable baseline, and heavily modded or busy servers want more. Renting the box yourself means a RAM upgrade is a provider resize, not a plan change.

How much does it cost to host an ARK server?

Managed ARK hosting typically runs $25 to $40 a month at the 16 GB tier. Self-hosted, the same box rents for about $15 to $30 at cost, plus $15 flat for Warp to run it. Bigger servers tilt the math further toward self-hosting.

Can I change rates like taming, harvesting, and XP?

Yes. Ask for the multipliers you want in plain language and Warp edits GameUserSettings.ini and Game.ini, then restarts so the rates take effect.

Does it support ARK mods?

Yes. Ask for the mods you want and Warp installs them with SteamCMD and adds them to the launch settings. Updating them later is another sentence.

What about ARK: Survival Ascended hosting?

ASA's dedicated server currently ships for Windows, so it does not self-host on a standard Linux VPS the way ARK: Survival Evolved does. This page covers ASE, which has a first-class Linux dedicated server.

Can I run more than one map, like a cluster?

Yes, if the box has the memory. Each map is its own server process, so a two-map cluster wants around 32 GB. Warp sets up the shared cluster directory so characters and dinos can transfer between maps.

07MORE GAMES