Starbound Server HostingStarbound Server Hosting
A persistent Starbound universe that stays online while your crew scatters across the stars, with starbound_server.config and the mods folder fully in your hands.
Choose your Game Server
Select from our wide range of optimized game servers. Each server is configured for maximum performance and comes with DDoS protection.
1. Plan Type
2. Location
3. Choose Plan
Bronze 4GB
Silver 6GB
Gold 8GB
Platinum 10GB
Diamond 12GB
Emerald 16GB
Xtreme 32GB
Which Starbound Plan Is Right for You?
Compare recommended use, plan hardware and monthly prices.
| Plan | Recommended for | Hardware | Monthly price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bronze 4GB | 2–8 players, vanilla or light modsHandles a vanilla universe at the default 8-player cap; ideal for a small group of friends. | 4 vCore Ryzen 9950X · 4 GB DDR5 6000MHz · 50 GB NVMe SSD Samsung 990 PRO | ₺240.00/mo |
| Silver 6GB | 8–12 players, mid-size mod listLeaves safe headroom for the extra worlds that load when players split across systems. | 4 vCore Ryzen 9950X · 6 GB DDR5 6000MHz · 60 GB NVMe SSD Samsung 990 PRO | ₺345.00/mo |
| Gold 8GB | 4–10 players on Frackin' UniverseOur recommended starting point for the asset and script load of big content mods. | 4 vCore Ryzen 9950X · 8 GB DDR5 6000MHz · 70 GB NVMe SSD Samsung 990 PRO | ₺440.00/mo |
| Platinum 10GB | 10–16 players, large mod packsA comfortable buffer for crews stacking several heavy mods and scattering often. | 4 vCore Ryzen 9950X · 10 GB DDR5 6000MHz · 100 GB NVMe SSD Samsung 990 PRO | ₺530.00/mo |
| Diamond 12GB | 16–24 players, modded communityKeeps busy evenings stable when many planets and ships stay loaded at once. | 4 vCore Ryzen 9950X · 12 GB DDR5 6000MHz · 110 GB NVMe SSD Samsung 990 PRO | ₺617.50/mo |
| Emerald 16GB | 24+ players, many worlds open6 vCores add CPU room for big communities spread across the whole universe. | 6 vCore Ryzen 9950X · 16 GB DDR5 6000MHz · 120 GB NVMe SSD Samsung 990 PRO | ₺840.00/mo |
| Xtreme 32GB | More than Starbound needsMost Starbound communities use a fraction of this; only for very large events. | 12 vCore Ryzen 9950X · 32 GB DDR5 6000MHz · 200 GB NVMe SSD Samsung 990 PRO | ₺1520.00/mo |
Why TheCrewHost for Starbound?
The features that matter on a Starbound server are the ones shaped around how the game actually stores worlds, accounts and mods.
Full Access to the JSON Config
Edit maxPlayers, maxTeamSize, serverName and the ban lists in storage/starbound_server.config from the file manager. One stray comma stops the server from starting, and the console shows the error in its first lines.
.pak Uploads to the mods Folder
Drop content mods into the mods folder over SFTP. Every Workshop download arrives as contents.pak, so give each file a unique name before uploading or they will overwrite one another.
Account-Based Logins
Define usernames and passwords in serverUsers and set allowAnonymousConnections to false, and only account holders can join. It is the most practical way to whitelist a Starbound server.
CPU Headroom for a Scattered Crew
Every ship, planet and mission instance is simulated as its own world. Load climbs when players split across systems, and the Ryzen 9 9950X keeps those worlds running smoothly side by side.
Your Universe, Backed Up
Planets, colonies and player ships live under storage/universe. Automatic backups protect that folder, and a manual snapshot before adding a big mod brings a broken universe straight back.
24/7 Support in Turkish
Stuck on the Steam-account install step, a port setting or a mod conflict? Our Turkish-speaking team picks up tickets, Discord, WhatsApp, calls and live chat at any hour.
TheCrewHost Starbound server hosting starts at ₺240.00 per month ($6.00) and runs the Linux starbound_server binary around the clock, so your universe no longer depends on one player keeping the game open. The server sits in our İstanbul datacenter on a Ryzen 9 9950X with NVMe storage, giving players in Türkiye quick beam-downs and warps. You edit storage/starbound_server.config from the panel, set maxPlayers and serverName, and use the serverUsers block to create password-protected accounts and admins. Upload .pak files for big content mods like Frackin' Universe into the mods folder over SFTP and give your crew a galaxy far larger than vanilla.
Why does your own Starbound server mean a persistent universe?
Your own Starbound server gives the crew a shared universe where colonies and ships stay put even when nobody is online. When you invite a friend through Steam, the universe lives on your PC and vanishes for everyone when you quit. On a dedicated server, planets, bases and each player's ship sit in the server's storage/universe folder, and people drop in whenever they like.
In Starbound, characters are stored on each player's own machine while the server keeps the world. That means someone arriving with a fresh character still finds your planets and can pitch in on shared colonies. The default starbound_server.config allows eight players; raise maxPlayers to host a larger community, and use maxTeamSize to cap party size.
Most servers fall into one of three camps: friend groups finishing the vanilla story together, modded servers chasing months of progression with overhauls like Frackin' Universe, and community servers built around building, role-play or trading. Which one you run shapes the plan choice described below far more than the raw player count does.
How much RAM does a Starbound server need?
A vanilla Starbound server for a handful of players fits comfortably in the 4 GB of our Bronze plan; what really drives memory is your mod list and how spread out your players are. The server loads and simulates every ship, planet and mission instance that has a player in it as a separate world. Eight friends on one planet keep a single world busy; eight friends in eight star systems keep eight worlds in memory.
Large content mods like Frackin' Universe multiply both the number of loaded assets and the scripting load. For a small group on a mod of that size, Gold 8GB is the safer starting point, while servers stacking several big mods and regularly hosting more than ten players are comfortable on Platinum or Diamond.
On the CPU side the load is partly parallel: because worlds are simulated separately, a scattered crew benefits from more than one core, yet a crowd packed into one busy base still depends on how fast that single world can tick. Emerald's 6 vCores make sense for large communities with many worlds open all the time. Xtreme is well beyond anything Starbound needs.
How do you install Starbound mods on the server?
Starbound mods ship as .pak files, and on the server they go into the mods folder. When you subscribe on Steam Workshop, the mod lands on your PC in a folder under steamapps/workshop/content/211820, always named contents.pak. When moving several mods to the server, rename each contents.pak to something unique, such as frackinuniverse.pak, or the files will overwrite each other. Then upload them over SFTP or through the file manager and restart.
Most mods that add content must be installed both on the server and in every player's game. With the default settings allowAssetsMismatch is enabled, so a player missing a mod can still connect, but meeting unknown items and blocks can cause errors, invisible objects or crashes. The healthy approach is to post the mod list with versions in your Discord and make sure everyone runs the same files.
Always take a backup before adding or removing mods. Planets holding items from a mod can break when that mod disappears, and a copy of the universe folder turns that risk into a cheap rollback.
Managing accounts, admins and bans
Starbound hands out permissions through the serverUsers block in starbound_server.config. Under each username you set a password and an admin value; accounts with admin set to true switch into admin mode in-game with /admin and can use commands like /kick and /ban. Accounts are separate from characters: players enter the account name and password when they connect.
allowAnonymousConnections defaults to true, which means anyone with your address can walk in without an account. Set it to false and the server only accepts accounts listed in serverUsers; that is how you whitelist Starbound. Never set anonymousConnectionsAreAdmin to true, or every anonymous visitor becomes an admin.
Bans are written to the bannedIPs and bannedUuids lists, which you can also edit by hand. playerBackupFileCount controls how many backup copies of player data the server keeps. To reset the universe, stop the server, back up storage/universe and then delete it; characters live on players' PCs, so nobody loses them. Always make changes with the server stopped, and restart after saving the file.
How do players connect to your Starbound server?
Players open Multiplayer, pick a character and enter your server address and port on the join screen; if you created accounts, they type the account name and password on the same screen. Starbound's default game port is 21025, but if the port assigned in your panel differs, give players the IP and the port separately so they can fill in both fields correctly.
On a player's first visit the server creates their ship, so the initial login can take a few seconds. On modded servers the most common connection problem is a player running a missing or mismatched mod; if the console shows asset mismatch warnings, compare mod lists first.
One more thing worth knowing: Starbound's server files ship with the game on Steam and cannot be downloaded anonymously, so installation requires a Steam account that owns Starbound. If that step raises questions during setup, our support team will walk you through it. Every player needs their own copy of the game as well, but they do not have to be your Steam friends to join; the address and port are all they need.
How to Set Up a Starbound Server
- 1
Choose a plan for your player count and mod list
Start with Bronze for vanilla and a small crew, or Gold for big overhauls like Frackin' Universe. Memory needs grow as players spread across different planets.
- 2
Check out and watch the install complete
Installation starts automatically after payment. Starbound's files come from Steam through an account that owns the game, so contact support if any step stalls.
- 3
Edit storage/starbound_server.config
Stop the server, set serverName, maxPlayers and maxTeamSize, keep the JSON syntax intact, save and restart so the new values load.
- 4
Create accounts and admins in serverUsers
Give yourself an account with admin set to true, hand your crew password-protected accounts, and set allowAnonymousConnections to false to close the server to strangers.
- 5
Rename mods and upload them to the mods folder
Give every Workshop contents.pak a unique name, upload them over SFTP to the mods folder and share the identical list with your players.
- 6
Share the address and port with your crew
Players enter the IP, port and any account details on the Multiplayer join screen. Their ship is created on first login and the exploring begins.
Frequently Asked Questions
What Starbound server owners ask most: mods, accounts, the Steam requirement and picking the right plan.
How much does Starbound server hosting cost?
How much RAM should I get for Starbound?
Do I need to own Starbound to host a server?
Can I run Frackin' Universe and other mods?
How do I make the server friends-only?
How soon is my server ready?
How do players join my server?
Is the universe backed up, and is DDoS protection included?
Can I reset the universe or upgrade my plan later?
İstanbul Location,
Maximum Performance
Our İstanbul datacenter runs on Ryzen 9 hardware, delivering low latency to players in Türkiye and good connectivity to Europe, the Middle East and the Caucasus.
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