How to choose FiveM hosting: what to look for

A FiveM server differs from a typical game server mainly because it runs dozens to hundreds of scripts, a database and often custom maps and vehicles. A plan sized by slot count therefore says little about performance. Below is what actually matters for FiveM hosting, and for each point the questions you can ask any provider before you order.

CPU: single-thread performance decides

The server side of FiveM (FXServer) handles most script work on its main thread. When the main thread falls behind, players notice delayed actions, “teleporting” vehicles or desync, and the console shows a hitch warning. More cores won’t change much — what matters is the performance of a single core, meaning the processor’s architecture and clock speed.

That is why you should ask about the exact CPU model, not just the number of “vCores”. A vCore is usually a cap on a shared physical processor: it says how much compute time the server may use, but nothing about how fast a single core is. More vCores alone will not raise server FPS.

• Which CPU model will the server run on, and is it a desktop or a server line?
• Is a vCore a dedicated core, or a cap on a shared processor?
• How many other services share the same machine?

Memory: sized by scripts, not by slots

RAM usage depends mostly on what runs on the server: the framework, the number and quality of resources, custom MLOs, vehicles and other assets. Player count raises it too, but less than you might expect. Hundreds of poorly written scripts will strain even a larger plan more than dozens of good ones.

For orientation: the advisor on our FiveM plans page uses a starting point of roughly 2 GB for a standalone server without a large framework, 4 GB for ESX and 5 GB for QBCore. It then adds headroom based on expected concurrent players (up to 32, 32–64, over 64) and on how heavy your resources are. The estimate assumes one server instance and a MySQL database on the same machine. It is a starting point, not a guarantee — you will only see real usage in production.

• Can the plan be upgraded later without a reinstall or data loss?
• Does the database count towards the plan's memory, or does it run separately?

NVMe storage and a MySQL database

Roleplay frameworks store characters, inventories, vehicles and money in a MySQL or MariaDB database, which scripts usually talk to through the oxmysql library. A slow or distant database shows up when players connect and on every action that reads or writes data. That is why it makes sense to have the database next to the server and the server on NVMe SSD rather than a traditional drive.

• Is a database included with the service, or do I need to arrange one elsewhere?
• Does the database run on the same machine or in the same network as the server?
• How do I access it (panel management, remote access, export)?

txAdmin, the panel and file access

txAdmin is a web interface for managing a FiveM server that ships with the server builds. It handles scheduled restarts, player and ban management, performance monitoring and deploying a server from a recipe, for example with an ESX or QBCore base. Make sure you can use it fully with your host. Beyond that you need file access over SFTP and the server console — without them uploading and debugging your own scripts is painful.

Being able to choose the server artifacts version, i.e. the FXServer build, matters too. Cfx.re releases them continuously and some scripts need a newer build. A provider should let you change the version yourself. Our guide Changing the artifacts version shows how it works here; available builds are listed on runtime.fivem.net.

DDoS protection: what to ask

Game servers are a frequent DDoS target and FiveM communities are no exception. But “DDoS protection included” can mean very different things. Without answers to the following questions, offers can't be compared:

• Who provides the protection and at what capacity? A Tbps figure without a named provider is impossible to verify.
• Is filtering always on, or does it activate when an attack is detected? With on-demand activation the server may drop for the first tens of seconds of an attack.
• Which layers does it cover? Network-layer protection (L3/L4) catches volumetric attacks. Application-layer attacks need different measures, and hosts usually don’t promise them.
• Is it included in the price or billed separately? And what happens when an attack exceeds the capacity?

Location and latency

The server should be as close to your players as possible. For a community in Czechia and Slovakia, a Central European datacentre makes sense; a server on another continent adds latency for every player that no plan can offset. Ask where exactly the hardware is located and, if possible, ping the provider's test address from where your players will connect.

Ask about the IP address too. On game plans it is common for the server to run on a shared IPv4 address with its own port. That doesn't limit players — they connect through the server list or a cfx.re/join link — but it's good to know in advance.

Backups

A roleplay server lives on its data: characters, property and the economy take months to build. Don't just ask “do you have backups?” but:

• Are backups automatic, or do I trigger them myself?
• Does a backup include the database, or only server files?
• How many backups can I keep and how do I restore from them?

Cfx.re licence and OneSync

Every FiveM server needs a licence key, which the operator creates on the Cfx.re portal and puts into server.cfg. Hosting usually doesn’t include it. For more than 32 players you need to enable OneSync; slot terms are set by Cfx.re, not by the host. The general server setup is described in the official FiveM documentation.

Pre-order checklist

How we answer these

So this isn’t just theory, here are our answers. FiveM servers run on our own hardware with AMD Ryzen 9 5900X CPUs and NVMe SSDs colocated in the firstcolo FRA4 datacentre in Frankfurt am Main (see the datacentre page), with 1 Gbit/s node uplinks. A vCore here is a cap on a shared physical processor. You manage the server in the Pterodactyl panel with SFTP and console (panel basics), with txAdmin and a MySQL database included (database and txAdmin guide). Always-on network-layer (L3/L4) DDoS protection with 7.4 Tbps capacity by Dataforest is included. The server, including its MySQL database, is backed up automatically every night and we keep the last 5 days; on top of that you can make manual backups in the panel. The server runs on a shared IPv4 address with its own port. We don’t offer an SLA with an uptime percentage. Plans start from 60 CZK per month.

If the server breaks after changes, see the guide on reinstalling a FiveM server. You can translate a cfx.re/join link to a server address with our Cfx resolver tool.

Summary

What decides FiveM hosting is single-core CPU performance, enough memory for your specific resources, fast storage and a database next to the server. Equally important is whether you have full access (txAdmin, SFTP, console, artifacts choice), how exactly DDoS protection works and how backups are made. You don’t need to take any of this on trust from marketing — ask the provider the questions from the checklist above. If you like, send us your resource list and expected player count through the contact form and we’ll suggest a plan for your specific setup.