Keen Games answers this in its dedicated-server FAQ, and the answer has three parts: the server uses about 4.4 GB idle, adds roughly 100 MB per connected player, and "should not use more than 6 GB". Those are the only official memory figures for the Enshrouded dedicated server. This article works through what they add up to, what Keen says about the rest of the machine, what none of it tells you, and why the smallest Enshrouded plan we sell is 6 GB rather than 4.
Keen's numbers, worked out
| Players | 4.4 GB + 100 MB each | RAM |
|---|
| 0 (idle) | 4.4 | 4.4 GB |
| 4 | 4.4 + 0.4 | 4.8 GB |
| 8 | 4.4 + 0.8 | 5.2 GB |
| 16 (the cap) | 4.4 + 1.6 | 6.0 GB |
The shape of the formula is the useful part. The idle figure is most of the total: the world, the terrain, whatever the engine keeps resident with nobody connected. Players are comparatively light — a full 16-slot server is only 1.6 GB above empty. That is the opposite of games where each player carries a gigabyte, and it changes what "enough RAM" means: the question is not how many people play, it is whether the baseline fits at all.
Keen's ceiling matches the arithmetic. 4.4 GB plus sixteen players is exactly 6.0 GB, which is the "should not use more than" figure.
Why 4 GB does not exist
A 4 GB server is below Keen's idle figure. It would be short before the first player joined. That is why there is no 4 GB Enshrouded plan at Connect, and why, if a host offers one, the number to ask about is not the price but the idle memory. The entry plan is Ember at 6 GB — Keen's ceiling — with eight player slots for a small group.
What Keen says about the rest of the machine
Keen's dedicated-server article gives a hardware recommendation alongside the RAM guidance, in two tiers by player count — the exact figures are in Keen's article. Two things to notice about them. The whole-machine memory figure Keen quotes is for a PC that is also running Windows and whatever else, not the server's own use, which Keen caps at 6 GB. And the step from a small group to sixteen players grows the processor, not the memory. On a dedicated server, processing is the constraint that grows with players; memory is the constraint that decides whether the server fits at all.
Disk. Keen says the server files are about 13 GB uncompressed and recommends 30 GB free. A world save is small — Keen's FAQ says 1 to 100 MB — so the 30 GB is for the install itself and for updates. A community-maintained server image warns that an update can temporarily need up to twice the game's size in free space while Steam stages the new files; treat that as a single source, but it is consistent with Keen's 30 GB.
What the numbers do not tell you
Keen gives idle, per-player, a ceiling, and a two-tier hardware recommendation. Keen does not give:
- Growth over time. Whether a world that has been built on for weeks idles higher than a fresh one. In several survival games it does; for Enshrouded nobody has published a figure.
- Preset effects. Whether
Hard or Survival changes memory. Nothing published.
- 1.0. Keen has said performance work is part of 1.0 (Steam post, 27 August 2026), but has not said whether the server's memory profile changes on 15 October.
We are not going to fill those gaps with guesses. Host pages publish memory tiers that disagree with each other and with Keen, and none says where its number came from. Without a measurement attached, a tier is a price point, not a specification.
What we will publish
We run the official dedicated server, which means we can measure it rather than repeat the FAQ. The plan is to record idle memory with a fresh world on a stated build, then at four, eight and sixteen connected players, then again on a world that has been played for a month, and again after the 1.0 build lands. When those numbers exist they will replace this section, with the build number attached so you can tell whether they still apply.
Until then, the honest answer to "how much RAM does an Enshrouded server need" is Keen's: about 4.4 GB idle, 100 MB per player, no more than 6 GB.
Choosing between 6, 8 and 12 GB
Our three Enshrouded plans are Ember at 6 GB, Flame at 8 GB and Inferno at 12 GB. All three run the same official server in the same regions (US East, Dallas, London, Frankfurt, Helsinki, Sydney), with backups, file manager, SFTP and DDoS protection. The differences are memory headroom and seats: Ember carries 8 player slots, Flame and Inferno the game's full 16.
- Ember, 6 GB — Keen's ceiling, with 8 slots. The plan to start on for a small group on a fresh world.
- Flame, 8 GB — a third above Keen's ceiling, for a world you intend to keep and build on, or a server that stays up around the clock.
- Inferno, 12 GB — double Keen's ceiling, for the largest builds and the most margin.
We are not going to tell you that 8 GB makes the game smoother or that 12 GB loads faster, because we have not measured it and Keen has not said it. What we can say is that none of the three raises the 16-player cap, and that your world is a folder you can download from the file manager at any time, so the choice is not a one-way door — you can change plan later and the world comes with you.
More on how the cap and the roles fit together in Enshrouded server roles explained, and the whole install in the dedicated server guide. If you would rather skip the sizing, Enshrouded server hosting at Connect starts at the 6 GB Keen's ceiling asks for. The dashboard's save and backup detail is in backups and saves.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much RAM does an Enshrouded dedicated server need?
Keen's FAQ says about 4.4 GB idle, plus roughly 100 MB per player, and it should not use more than 6 GB.
Is 4 GB enough for an Enshrouded server?
No. Keen's idle figure is 4.4 GB, so a 4 GB server is short before anyone joins.
How much RAM for 16 players?
By Keen's numbers, 4.4 GB plus 1.6 GB, which is 6 GB — Keen's stated ceiling.
What CPU does the server need?
Keen's hardware recommendation grows the processor, not the memory, as the player count rises — the exact tiers are in Keen's dedicated-server article. We have not published our own CPU measurements.
How much disk space?
Keen says about 13 GB of server files and recommends 30 GB free. Worlds are 1 to 100 MB each.
Does more RAM allow more than 16 players?
No. Sixteen is the game's own slot cap on any machine. Plans differ below it — Ember seats 8, Flame and Inferno the full 16 — and no amount of RAM raises it.