If you've been playing Valheim with friends using the in-game "Start Server" option, you've already run into the limitations: the world only exists when you're online, your PC takes a hit hosting and rendering at the same time, and nobody can hop on while you're away. A dedicated server fixes all of that. It runs around the clock on its own machine, your friends can play whenever they want, and your home PC is no longer doing double duty.
This guide covers the two ways to host a Valheim dedicated server in 2026 — running it yourself on your own hardware, or renting one — and what you actually need to think about before pulling the trigger.
Option 1: Self-host with SteamCMD
If you've got a spare machine and you're comfortable on the command line, you can run a Valheim dedicated server for free using SteamCMD.
The rough steps:
- Install SteamCMD.
- Use it to download the Valheim Dedicated Server (Steam app ID 896660):
steamcmd +login anonymous +app_update 896660 validate +quit - Edit the start script with your server name, world name, password, and port.
- Forward UDP ports 2456 and 2457 on your router (Valheim uses two consecutive ports — the launch port and the next one up).
- Leave the machine running.
It works, and it's free, but there are real downsides. Your home IP is handed out to everyone you play with, your upload speed becomes the server's upload speed, you're on the hook for updates and backups, and you need to keep that machine running 24/7 (electricity adds up faster than people expect). It's a fine option if you're already running a homelab. For most people it's more hassle than it's worth.
Option 2: Rent a dedicated server
This is what most groups end up doing, including most of our customers who started out self-hosting. The pitch is straightforward: someone else handles the box, the network, the updates and the backups, and you get to focus on actually playing.
What you should be looking for in a Valheim host:
- Enough RAM — Valheim's recommended minimum is 4 GB but worlds with a lot of building or any modding will eat through that quickly. Aim for 8 GB or more if you can.
- Single-core clock speed — Valheim's world simulation is largely single-threaded, so a fast core matters more than a high core count.
- DDoS protection — your home connection isn't exposed.
- Automatic backups — corrupt worlds happen, especially around game updates.
- A region close to your players — ping makes a noticeable difference.
- Support that actually knows the game — if you've ever opened a ticket about a Valheim mod conflict and had to explain what BepInEx is to the support agent, you'll understand.
Pricing is all over the place between hosts. Be a little careful: lots of providers advertise rock-bottom starting prices but only include 2 GB of RAM at that tier, which won't get you very far on Valheim. Always compare like-for-like on RAM and CPU before judging by the headline number. We list our Valheim hosting plans here, and you can pick the region closest to your group at checkout.
Setting up your LOW.MS Valheim server
Once your server is provisioned (it takes a couple of minutes), head into the LOW.MS Panel, open your server, and you'll see your IP and port front and center. Default port for our Valheim servers is 27515 rather than the vanilla 2456 — share the IP and port with your friends and they're ready to connect.
From the panel you can set:
- Server name — what shows up in the in-game browser
- Password — needs to be at least 5 characters and must not contain the world name (Valheim silently rejects passwords that do)
- World name — this is the save file the server loads. Change it and you'll create or load a different world
Hit save, start the server, and you're up.
How your friends connect
Three options, depending on whether you're playing vanilla or modded and which platforms you're on.
Steam server browser. Open Steam → View → Servers → Favorites → Add a Server, drop in IP:Port, and join from the favorites list.
In-game browser. Start Valheim, hit Join Game, and either search for your server name in the Community tab or click "Add Server" and enter the IP and port directly.
Crossplay join code. If you've enabled crossplay (more on that below), the server prints a join code in the log instead of relying on IP/port. Friends on Xbox or Game Pass paste the code into the same Join Game screen.
For the long version with screenshots, see Getting Started with Your Valheim Server.
Crossplay and the mods trade-off
This catches people out so I want to flag it early: crossplay and BepInEx mods can't run together. Iron Gate's crossplay backend uses PlayFab and the mod loader hooks the same DLLs PlayFab does, so enabling -crossplay on your server stops BepInEx from loading at all. The Valheim modding community has been asking for years and the situation hasn't changed.
So you've got a choice:
- Crossplay on, no mods — Steam, Xbox and Game Pass players can all join a single server using a join code.
- Mods on, no crossplay — everyone has to be on Steam, but you get the entire Thunderstore mod scene.
If your group is mixed-platform, crossplay is the right call. If everyone's on Steam and you want quality-of-life mods, performance fixes or building tools, skip crossplay and stay on the BepInEx side of the fence.
Enabling crossplay on a LOW.MS server is a single setting in the panel — flip it, restart, and the join code shows up in the server log under the line that starts with Join code: .
What about hardware?
Valheim isn't a heavy game on the server side, with two caveats:
- Worlds with huge builds get expensive. Every building piece is tracked and synced to every player who walks into the area. If your group builds the kind of bases that get featured on r/valheimbuilds, expect to chew through more RAM and more single-thread CPU.
- Single-thread performance matters more than core count. A 2-core machine with high clocks will outperform a 6-core machine with low clocks for Valheim's purposes. The world simulation runs on one thread.
For a typical group of 4-10 vanilla players, 4-6 GB of RAM is enough. For modded servers or building-heavy groups, give it more.
Moving an existing world to your server
If you've been playing on a local world and want to bring it across, your save lives in %appdata%\..\LocalLow\IronGate\Valheim\worlds_local\ on the client (note the _local — that's the client folder; the dedicated server uses a separate worlds folder). Each world is two files: YourWorld.db and YourWorld.fwl. Upload both via the panel's file manager and set the world name in your server settings to match.
There's a step-by-step walkthrough here: Locate Your Valheim Save and Upload It to LOW.MS.
Mods
If you're going modded, the short version is: install BepInEx on the server, drop the mod .dll files into the plugins folder, and make sure your players install matching versions on their clients. The long version (including the difference between Linux and Windows server installs) is in the Mod Installation Guide.
A few things I've learned from running modded servers for years:
- Wait a few days after a Valheim update before updating the server. Mods nearly always break on update day, and rolling back is more painful than waiting.
- Keep mod versions pinned across the group. Mismatched versions are the single most common cause of "I can't connect" tickets.
- Start small. Resist the urge to install 30 mods on day one. Add them in batches and verify the server still boots between batches.
Things people forget
- Pick a region close to most of your players. It's the easiest performance win you'll ever make.
- Set up your admin list early so you're not locked out of your own server when something goes wrong.
- Restart weekly. It's not strictly necessary, but it cleans up memory and keeps things smooth.
- Back your world up before any major change — adding mods, changing world modifiers, accepting an unstable game update. LOW.MS does cloud backups automatically, but a manual one before risky changes is cheap insurance.
Ready to get your server going? Our Valheim hosting plans are here, and if you get stuck during setup our support team is around 24/7 — open a ticket from the panel and we'll help you sort it.