Palworld
Palworld servers
Three things worth sorting out before you pay for anything.
Server Planner
Answer four questions about how you play, and see which of the official figures fits.
Open the plannerServer Requirements
What Palworld's own server guide asks for, in plain language, with the source.
Read the requirementsSelf-host or rent
The trade-offs between running a server on your own machine and paying for one.
Weigh it up
The planner above reads Palworld's own published figures for your situation. The homepage planner covers all six games. Everything on these pages says whether it is an official figure, an official recommendation, or our own reading.
How a Palworld server works
Five things the official guide documents, all of which affect what you should set up.
- Nobody has to host from their game
- A dedicated server runs on its own. The person who set it up does not need to keep Palworld open, or even be online, for everyone else to play.
- Your own machine, or a rented one
- You can run a server on a computer you own, or deploy it to a VPS or hosting service. Both are documented options.
- Community servers show up in-game
- A community server is a dedicated server registered to appear in Palworld's in-game server list, so people can find and join it from there.
- Xbox and PS5 need a community server
- Players on Xbox and PS5 can only join if the server is deployed as a community server. Worth settling before you set anything up.
- The player limit is a setting
- The maximum number of participants is configurable when the server starts, using the -players argument — for example -players=32.
Sources, last checked:
- Palworld Server Guide — About the dedicated server — 29 September 2026
- Palworld Server Guide — Startup arguments — 29 September 2026