Best Don't Starve Together Server Hosting in 2026
Co-op wilderness survival with a dark art style and deep crafting.
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Don't Starve Together is one of the most affordable and lightweight games to host. A dedicated server lets your group maintain a persistent world where progress continues even when the host player isn't online — crucial for a game where every day counts toward surviving.
Why DST Hosting Is a Great Value
DST is remarkably lightweight compared to most survival games:
- Minimal RAM — 1GB handles most servers comfortably
- Low CPU usage — The 2D game engine is efficient
- Small world files — Save files rarely exceed a few megabytes
- Cheap plans — Expect $3–5/month for a fully capable server
This makes DST an ideal first dedicated server for groups new to game server hosting.
Overworld + Caves Setup
One unique aspect of DST hosting is the caves system. Running caves requires a second server instance that links to your overworld. This doubles your resource needs:
- Overworld only — 1GB RAM, single instance
- Overworld + Caves — 2GB RAM, two linked instances
Most hosting providers handle this automatically with a "caves enabled" toggle. Make sure your host supports multi-instance DST if you want the full experience — caves contain unique resources, bosses, and biomes.
Mod Support
DST has excellent Steam Workshop integration. Popular mods include:
- Combined Status — Shows temperature, season, and moon phase
- Geometric Placement — Grid-based building
- Global Positions — See all players on the map
- Extra Equip Slots — Quality-of-life inventory expansion
Server-side mods auto-download for players when they join. The game handles mod synchronization well, so running 10–20 mods has minimal performance impact.
Season and World Settings
DST servers are highly configurable. You can adjust season length, resource regeneration rates, boss difficulty, and more through the worldgenoverride.lua file. Good hosts provide a web panel for these settings, but FTP access lets you fine-tune everything manually.