Project Zomboid is the one game where the cheapest plan on the market is usually the wrong plan, and the reason is Build 42. We run Connect Hosting — and we have the most expensive entry point in this comparison, so this is a good place to explain why rather than pretend otherwise. Every price below came from the host's own Project Zomboid page on 12 October 2026.
Build 42 changed what a Project Zomboid server needs
B42 simulates animals, basements and far more of the world server-side than B41 did. It wants roughly 6GB before a single mod loads, and a real Workshop list pushes that up quickly. In our own testing, a fresh B42 world generation was killed by the out-of-memory reaper on an 8GB server.
That matters because the Project Zomboid plans you'll see advertised most cheaply are 3GB and 4GB. They were sized for B41. A 4GB B42 server doesn't fail with a clear message — it hangs during world generation, or it runs until a few players spread out and then stutters, desyncs and rolls back. It reads as a bad host.
You don't have to take our word for the memory appetite. GPORTAL's own Project Zomboid FAQ states that reaching the 32-player maximum requires an 18GB plan — a competitor's published figure, not ours.
Compare price per GB, not the headline
| Host | Entry plan | RAM | Players | Price per GB |
|---|
| Connect Hosting — Survivor | $14.99/mo | 10GB | No cap | $1.50 |
| Shockbyte — Wood Axe | $11.99/mo | 4GB | 6 | $3.00 |
| GPORTAL — 3GB | $9.79/30 days | 3GB | Unlimited slots | $3.26 |
And across each host's published ladder:
| Host | Tiers published on 12 October 2026 |
|---|
| Connect Hosting | Survivor 10GB $14.99 · Veteran 12GB $21.99 · Horde 16GB $27.99 — no player cap on any plan |
| Shockbyte | Wood Axe 4GB/6 players $11.99 · Metal Pipe 6GB/10 players $16.99 · Chainsaw 8GB+/16+ players $20.00 |
| GPORTAL | 3GB $9.79 · 4GB $13.43 · 9GB $25.89 — per 30 days, unlimited slots |
So we're the highest entry price and the lowest price per gigabyte, by roughly half. That's the whole trade: you can't buy a small Project Zomboid server from us, and what you can buy is more memory per dollar than anywhere else in this table.
The hosts
Connect Hosting
This is us. Three plans — Survivor 10GB at $14.99, Veteran 12GB at $21.99, Horde 16GB at $27.99 — with no player cap on any of them, billed per server rather than per seat. Quarterly billing takes 10% off, yearly 20%. Seven regions — Frankfurt, Helsinki, London, Montreal, Virginia, Dallas and Sydney. Workshop mod management and backups with one-click restore on every plan.
Where we're the weaker choice:
- We have no small plan. If you want a cheap 4GB B41-era server for three friends, we don't sell one and won't. Our floor is 10GB on purpose.
- We're more expensive to start. $14.99 against $9.79 is a real difference if your budget is the binding constraint.
- We're smaller and newer than GPORTAL or Shockbyte, with a focused game list.
- No free tier for Project Zomboid. Our permanently free tier is BeamMP only.
Shockbyte
Three published tiers, the entry one at $11.99 for 4GB and 6 players. A large, established host with a wide catalogue. Their page notes quarterly billing at 10% off and annual at 25% off.
The thing to weigh: the entry plan carries both a 4GB memory allocation and a 6-player cap. For a B42 server with mods, the tier that matches the game is their 6GB/10-player plan at $16.99 or the 8GB+ tier at $20.00 — so price the plan you'd actually run, not the one at the top of the page.
GPORTAL
3GB at $9.79 per 30 days, 4GB at $13.43, 9GB at $25.89, all advertised with unlimited slots, and an introductory 3-day option from $1.84. One of the largest European hosts with an enormous game list, and the slot model is genuinely friendlier than per-seat pricing.
Two things to know. Prices are per 30 days, which is not quite a calendar month over a year. And their 3GB and 4GB tiers are below what B42 wants — which their own FAQ effectively concedes when it puts the 32-player configuration at 18GB.
How to choose
- Build 42 with a Workshop mod list: 10GB or more, whoever you buy it from. Compare per-GB rates at that tier and the answer will not be the cheapest headline.
- Build 41, vanilla, three or four friends: a 4GB plan is genuinely enough, and a cheaper host is the right call. We don't compete here.
- You want the shortest possible commitment: GPORTAL's 3-day term is the only one in this group.
- Players in Australia or New Zealand: choose on region before price. Zomboid desync is punishing at high latency.
- You're already hosting and it stutters: before you switch, check whether it's memory or mods. Project Zomboid B42 server lag and desync fixes separates the two, and the answer is frequently neither the host nor the plan.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much RAM does a Build 42 server need?
Around 6GB before mods, and more as the Workshop list and the number of explored map cells grow. We tested this properly in how much RAM a Project Zomboid B42 server needs. For context on the upper end, GPORTAL's own FAQ puts a 32-player server at 18GB.
Why is your cheapest plan 10GB when other hosts sell 4GB?
Because a 4GB B42 server fails in ways that look like our fault. Our own testing had an 8GB server's world generation killed by the out-of-memory reaper, so 10GB is the smallest size we're willing to sell as a working Project Zomboid server. If you want 4GB, another host will sell it to you — we're telling you what it does.
Do any hosts charge per player?
Some do, most now sell slots or memory. Ours have no player cap at all: the price changes when you want more memory, not more people. When you compare, convert everything to price per GB at the tier you'd really run — it's the only figure that survives the difference between slot-based and RAM-based plans.
Can I move my existing server to another host?
Yes — the save, the mod list and the config are files. Our server migration pulls them from your current host over SFTP with a preview before anything is written, and no deletions. The same approach works in reverse if you leave.
Will my Workshop mods survive a move or an update?
A move, yes. An update, sometimes not — a mod updating underneath a running server is one of the most common causes of a Zomboid server that suddenly won't load. When a mod update breaks your server covers how to spot it and what to do, and it's worth reading before you blame the host.