Choosing a Garry’s Mod Server Hosting Provider

Shared Gmod Server Hosting

Shared hosting is the easiest way for players to get a GMod server set up quickly. It’s a great way for new players to host their own server without having any server knowledge.

When you rent from a Garry’s Mod server rental company they will handle all of the technical aspects for you.

Allowing you to get your server up quick. Which means you and your friends can play just minutes after completing your purchase.

If it’s your first time or you have limited experience dealing with hosting than shared hosting has more positive than negatives.

Positives

• Very good value for money
• Easy to use control panel
• No server set up required
• Servers are instantly set up
• Support from Knowledgeable staff
• DDOS Protection

Negatives

• Limited server access.
• Hosting companies can restrict resources
• Overselling of server space

What to consider when choosing a shared server?

Support

Does the game hosting company offer 24/7 support? Most companies will offer you support no matter the time or day.

They should help you set up, fix or change your server settings. Make sure support is included in the initial package price.

Location

Most companies will offer the most popular server locations including North America, United Kingdom and Europe. Some server providers will offer other locations like Australia and South America. But you will usually have to pay a premium for these servers.

Mod Support

Will the company give you free mod support? Normally a server provider will include this service in the start up cost. However I have seen that some companies like to charge extra fees for mod support and set up.

Control Panel

TCAdmin is the most common control panel used. It’s great for both new and experienced users. Some companies may offer a custom built control panel. If they do have a different panel ask them to help you understand it.

Player Slots

All Gmod servers are priced per slot with a minimum starting capacity of around 8 – 12 players. Each additional slot you rent will gradually bring the price of your server down. Make sure you only rent the amount you need. It’s a waste of money buying extra slots if you are not going to use them.

Extra Features

Some companies will try to up-sell other features like premium support or CPU priority. This will usually cost a few extra dollars or pounds. If it’s your first time owning a server, I would avoid added extras as you probably won’t notice the difference in performance.

Which company should you choose?

If you’re looking for more information about Garry’s Mod dedicated servers, you should read my “The Best Garry’s Mod Server Hosting” guide on the home page where I take an in depth look at the top ranked companies that offer GMod servers.

All of the companies that I review offer shared hosting. I compare the best and worst hosting companies to bring you the top 10 including “Best Budget” and “Best All Round” contenders.

Avoid Dedicated Server hosting

Dedicated server hosting is very different to shared hosting. If you are new to servers or have limited server knowledge, you will struggle using a dedicated server. Unlike shared hosting, you will be given a blank server that you have full control over. Which means you will have to completely learn how to upload and manage the game you want to play to the server.

A dedicated server can be a great choice for experienced gamer’s with plenty of experience working on servers. Alternatively large communities tend to use dedicated servers as well as they have many users that know how to customise and run a server.

Dedicated servers are much more expensive as you have more resources at your disposal. There are positives and negatives to renting a dedicated machine, but it does depend on your circumstance and experience.

Positives

• Very Flexible
• You get a lot of dedicated resources
• Can run multiple servers on one machine

Negatives

• Very Expensive
• Need Server Knowledge
• Not very user friendly
• Limited gaming support

Conclusion

If you’re new to game server hosting, choose a shared server as you will have less to learn and less to manage. It’s a much better solution for players that want to play without having to do too much technical work. It’s cost effective and you have the support of the server provider if you run into any technical issues.