Managed game server (what we sell)
Your server runs in its own container on a machine shared with other customers. You get a panel, dedicated RAM, a fair share of CPU, NVMe disk, backups, DDoS protection and support, and you never see an operating system. Perfect for one game server or a handful; you administer the game, we administer the machine.
Limits: you cannot install system software, run arbitrary services or change the kernel. You get the ports we allocate. CPU is shared, so a single server cannot take an entire machine.
VPS (virtual private server)
A slice of a machine with its own Linux, root access and a public IP. You install and run whatever you want: several game servers, a website, a database, a bot. Prices start around the cost of a mid-range game server, but you also pay with your time: updates, security, backups, firewall, Pterodactyl itself if you want a panel. All of that is your job.
Choose it when you want to learn Linux, run many small things, or need software a managed host does not offer.
Dedicated server
A whole physical machine. Fastest, most predictable, most expensive: from about 50 euros a month for older hardware to several hundred for current CPUs. Sensible at a few hundred players, for a network of many servers, or for games that genuinely need the whole machine.
In one table
| Managed game server | VPS | Dedicated | |
|---|---|---|---|
| You administer | the game | the operating system | everything, incl. hardware choice |
| Setup time | minutes | hours to days | days |
| Root access | no | yes | yes |
| DDoS protection | included | depends | depends |
| Typical price | 5-15 € / month | 5-30 € / month | 50-300 € / month |
| Good for | 1-5 servers, small teams | many small services, learning | big networks, special needs |
When to move up
When your managed server is limited by CPU share rather than RAM (constant 100 % CPU with low RAM use), when you need more than a few servers with shared tooling, or when you need system access. Before that, an upgrade slider is cheaper and takes a minute. We will tell you honestly in a ticket if you have outgrown us.