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If you’ve been playing Conan Exiles for a while, you might have begun to consider renting a server. Official servers get the job done, but having a server offers a chance to build a community, host events, and tailor the experience to your needs.
However, not all server providers are equal. Where is the best place to rent a Conan Exiles server? Today, we’ll be examining the titans of the server rental space to determine which vendor is the best.
My Top Picks at a Glance
If you play on Xbox or Playstation: G Portal is your go-to. Although there might be a few hiccups in features and the website might not be perfect, it stands as the solitary option for player-owned servers on these platforms.
For those on PC, HostHavoc reigns supreme. It not only offers competitive pricing but also promises outstanding server performance and unwavering reliability.
The customer support is commendable, and it’s evident they prioritize a personal touch, endearing many to their service. If, for any reason, you’re exploring alternatives, Nitrado makes for a commendable second.
Qualifying Factors to Choose a Server
Server providers are plentiful, far too many to list. Therefore, I’ll utilize a small set of criteria to determine which server providers we examine. The criteria are as follows:
- Over 1000 TrustPilot Reviews
- Trustpilot rating of 4 stars or above
- Must be known within the server rental community
These simple criteria will allow us to filter out lesser-known server providers that may not be as trustworthy. That’s not to say you should disregard them, and smaller vendors may offer comparable or even better services than the ones we list here.
However, by qualifying the vendors with Trustpilot reviews, we can feel safe examining the best of the best.
Calculating Pricing
Where possible, price comparisons will follow the standard formula. That formula will compare the price of a 32-slot server, rented for 30 days. Where 32 players are unavailable, I’ll look at the closest option. I’ll also compare prices in the United Kingdom, mainland Europe, and across the USA.
Numerous server providers will offer discounts for renting your server over a longer period. There are also options for smaller capacity servers, further reducing the cost.
However, I believe 32 slots over 30 days is a good barometer for comparison. Additionally, due to location-based currency, pricing will often be shown first in GBP and converted over into USD. This may create some slight inaccuracy in the USD prices, though the actual figure should be pretty close to my conversion.
So, with that cleared up, let’s examine the best server providers for Conan Exiles.
G Portal
G Portal is perhaps one of the best-known server providers for online gaming. They’ve been around for twenty years, providing servers big and small since the long-gone days of 2003.
G Portal currently holds a Trustpilot rating of 4.8 stars with 1,791 reviews. 89% of those reviews are five stars, giving the company an incredibly respectable score.
G Portal is notable for being the only server provider offering its services for consoles. Funcom, the developers of Conan Exiles, are partnered with G Portal as the official server vendor. G Portal can even be accessed from the main menu of Conan Exiles by clicking the ‘Server Rental’ button.
By being the only server provider on the Playstation and Xbox platforms, G Portal has a monopoly on those markets. G Portal also does not offer a consistent price per slot, as the pricing changes depending on location. With that, how do the costs stack up?
PC Server – 32 Sots, 30-day Duration
- Europe – Frankfurt: £18.49/$23.55
- Europe – London: £29.00/$36.93
- USA – New York: £21.60/$27.51
- USA – Los Angeles: £21.60/$27.51
- USA – Dallas: £21.60/$27.51
- USA – Washington: £21.60/$27.51
PS4 Server – 32 Slots, 30-day Duration
- Europe – Frankfurt: £18.49/$23.55
- Europe – London: £29.00/$36.93
- USA – New York: £21.60/$27.51
- USA – Los Angeles: £21.60/$27.51
- USA – Dallas: £21.60/$27.51
- USA – Washington: £21.60/$27.51
On the technical side, G Portal servers have the capacity for as little as 10 slots, or as many as 70, though the configure page shows up to 1000 players. This is a strange inconsistency, as 1000-player servers are impossible on Conan Exiles.
Servers also have NVMe SSD hardware, DDOS protection, 24/7 support, Gamecloud, and Steam Workshop integration for the PC platform.
G Portal also offers servers in Australia, China, Spain, Brazil, and Japan. The pricing for those areas varies, with China and Australia having comparable pricing with the USA. Japan and Brazil are, however, much more expensive. Japan comes in at £33.52/$42.69, and Brazil at a staggering £58.07/$73.96.
When it comes to Xbox pricing, G Portal behaves strangely. Rather than showing the prices on the website, you must download the G Portal Microsoft app. From there, you can select Conan Exiles. It has the same repertoire of servers, though with no customization option. Instead, you choose your location, and press order.
The app states that every server has a 30-day term and unlimited slots. This sets off alarm bells for me, considering the price difference. All Xbox servers are shown at €12.99/$14.14 per month, significantly cheaper than PC or PS4 servers, with apparently unlimited slots.
This system is incredibly opaque, and maybe I’m more paranoid than most, but it throws up a lot of red flags for me. Of course, if you’re an Xbox player, G Portal is your only option, but the app design worries me.
Online user testimonies for G Portal are varied and mixed. Most Trustpilot reviews are good, though some customer feedback on Reddit is negative.
Users report high latency, server instability, difficulty using the management features, and issues with customer service. Additionally, some users in the community have previously reported issues with mod support on G Portal servers.
Ultimately, no server provider is perfect, but criticisms of G Portal have also abounded on games like Ark, where their servers are also prevalent. However, if you’re a console player, G Portal is the only game in town.
They provide a starting step into server rental and management, but you may find better alternatives elsewhere.
HostHavoc
HostHavoc is an up-and-coming server provider, holding a respectable 4.8 stars on Trustpilot, with 1,114 reviews. While the name isn’t as well known as titans like G Portal, HostHavoc has received high praise from its customers.
To be transparent, HostHavoc is my server provider, and I’ve had a business relationship with them for a few years. Nevertheless, that will not affect the review of HostHavoc, and the opinions given here will remain fair and honest.
HostHavoc is a PC-exclusive server provider, offering its services exclusively for the Steam platform. HostHavoc offers Conan Exiles servers for as low as 34 cents per slot. Their servers can hold between 30 and 70 players. So, how do the costs line up?
PC Server (Steam) – 30 Slots, Monthly Billing
All Locations: $15/£13.78 per month
HostHavoc’s blanket pricing is a massive advantage over some competitors. A basic 30-slot server for $15 is a great price and makes jumping into the server hosting world a cheaper endeavor.
You can make additional savings by choosing to pay quarterly, semi-annually, or annually. You will pay the lump sum at once, though you also save five, eight, and twelve percent respectively.
On the technical side, HostHavoc servers run on Ryzen and Xeon E-series CPUs, offering speeds of up to 4.6GHz. Most systems also use NVMe SSDs, and their data centers guarantee a minimum of 99.9% uptime.
Servers come standard with near-instant setup, Steam Workshop integration, DDoS protection, 8GB of RAM, a customized TCAdmin control interface, and 24/7 year-round customer support. Servers are available in the following locations for no extra cost:
- Seattle, USA
- Los Angeles, USA
- Chicago, USA
- Atlanta, USA
- New York City, USA
- London, UK
- Amsterdam, Netherlands
- Sydney, Australia
HostHavoc offers further upgrades to add to your bill. These optional upgrades are as follows:
- High CPU Priority: $4
- BattleMetrics RCON: $3
- 12GB RAM: $7.50
- 16GB RAM: $15.00
There’s also a free file migration service, in which HostHavoc will transfer all saved data from your previous provider to your new server at no extra cost.
HostHavoc’s name is not mentioned enough in the server rental space. Their services are cheap and incredibly efficient, with servers having good performance and latency, even under heavy loads. Additionally, if you struggle with server configuration or any other issues, customer support is impeccable.
The average ticket response time is ten minutes, and the support staff are friendly and helpful. They’ll even directly help with any issues you might be having, an enormous benefit as a first-time server owner. If you’re still not happy, there’s a 72-hour money-back guarantee.
Users of HostHavoc offer overwhelmingly positive feedback, myself included. A small handful of negative reviews state issues with latency or server configuration, though customer support is eager to fix issues for customers, or fulfill refunds when necessary. HostHavoc stands out as one of the best server providers in the market.
With solid hardware, great communication, and fair pricing, they’re a serious contender for any server owner, new or experienced.
Nitrado
Nitrado is a well-known server vendor, providing its services to gamers across the world since 2001. With a Trustpilot score of 4.6 stars, and over 5000 reviews, Nitrado has developed a steadfast reputation in its many years of business.
Nitrado offers Conan Exiles servers exclusively for the PC platform. Nitrado does not advertise slot-based pricing, but rather as a package of slots over some time.
You can pay for Nitrado servers on a subscription basis or prepaid across a set period. Discounts are available on both plans for 90-day and 365-day periods, saving 10% and 18% respectively.
Servers are available with a minimum of 10 slots, and a maximum of 200. So, with that considered, what are the prices?
PC Server – 32 Slots, 30-day Subscription – £26.98/$34.35
On the technical aspects, Nitrado boasts an impressive technical array. Their game servers are stored exclusively on enterprise-grade SSD drives, and Nitrado owns all their hardware, optimized precisely for game server usage.
As an Intel Partner, Nitrado uses top-of-the-line CPU models, ready to deal with server demands of any size. Their systems are further equipped with ECC RAM, self-correcting errors to keep the servers stable.
In terms of reliability, all servers are DDoS protected and are fully equipped with secure networking, backups, and power supply protection.
Nitrado has servers spread far and wide across the world to suit your needs. The server location can be configured on the purchase screen, which also provides a utility to test your latency beforehand. The server locations are as follows:
- Frankfurt, Germany
- New York, USA
- Miami, USA
- Los Angeles, USA
- London, England
- Singapore, Singapore
- Sydney, Australia
- Tokyo, Japan
- São Paulo, Brazil
At the time of writing, the Japanese and Brazilian servers were not available. It’s unclear if that was due to geo-locking, or because Conan Exiles servers were unavailable in these regions.
Customer feedback on Nitrado is generally positive. Some users expressed confusion at first with some technical aspects, but many say that customer support helped solve their issues.
Additionally, many state that Nitrado has been a reliable and simple server provider. Some users reported issues such as high latency, server configuration problems, and slow customer support.
Customer support on TrustPilot seems to address negative feedback with helpful resolutions, though many responses appear somewhat cold and corporate. Nitrado is a good option for server hosting. They have a reliable and well-known reputation, and while some issues may arise, customer support seems helpful.
4Netplayers
4Netplayers is a long-standing server provider, with an impressive 4.4 stars on Trustpilot, with over 6100 reviews. 4Netplayers’s services are available for the PC platform. Servers have a minimum of 10 player slots and a maximum of 100.
Pricing is based on a fixed-term contract, which auto-renews unless you cancel, with fixed pricing. You can rent a server in increments of one month, three, 6, or 12. The latter three options carry a 3%, 5%, and 10% discount respectively.
4netplayers offers servers with a dedicated IP for €3.99/$3.40 and allows you to save €0.59/$0.50 by using the 4Netplayers brand in your server name. With that considered, how much does a server cost?
PC Server – 32 Slots, 1 Month Billing Period, Shared IP – €27.97/$30.34
On the technical side, 4Netplayers employs impressive technology in line with the competitors. Servers are equipped with Intel Xeon or AMD EPYC processors, alongside ECC RAM and high-quality SSD storage, though it isn’t confirmed if the drives are NVMe.
Servers also have DDoS protection, energy and network security, and regular backups. These features come standard on every server.
4Netplayers has an impressive array of server locations, covering much of the world. These locations are as follows:
- Portland, USA
- San Jose, USA
- Dallas, USA
- West Palm Beach, USA
- Chicago, USA
- Washington D.C, USA
- London, England
- Paris, France
- Madrid, Spain
- Frankfurt, Germany
- Helsinki, Finland
- Warsaw, Poland
- Bucharest, Romania
- Mumbai, India
- Singapore, Singapore
- Sydney, Australia
- Sao Paulo, Brazil (soon)
- Cape Town, South Africa (soon)
User testimonies for 4Netplayers are generally positive. Many users are pleased with the latency, server performance, and the guides available for server setup.
However, some customers report issues with refunds or unclear policies on order cancellations. Recent replies from 4Netplayers seem helpful, though argue that some issues may have been caused by user error.
Overall, 4Netplayers seems like a good option. They have an established name and reputation in the server rental space, though past financial issues with other customers may turn some people off.
GTX Gaming
Our final server vendor today is GTX Gaming. They have a Trustpilot score of 4.7 stars, with almost 1200 reviews. GTX Gaming has been operating since 2008, providing servers for numerous titles. GTX Gaming offers servers for the PC platform, with crossplay enabled for the Epic Games and Xbox PC Store.
GTX Gaming’s prices are based on a variety of customizable features, including the hardware of the server, location, and player slots. There are also discounts available for quarterly, semi-annual, and yearly payments, saving 5%, 10%, and 15% respectively. So, let’s look at the pricing based on our control metric.
PC Server – 30 Slots, 1 Month Billing Period, Default Configuration – £20.99/$26.72
While the GTX Gaming servers may come in cheaper than competitors, the difference is in the hardware. By default, servers have 8GB of RAM, an SSD Enterprise Drive, 30 Tickrate, and 100GB of Disk Space You also get a 4.9Ghz processor with eight cores and 16 threads, alongside normal CPU priority.
All of these options are customizable, allowing for the following upgrades:
- RAM: 12GB, 14GB, 16GB, 20GB, 24GB, and 32GB. Price scales from £6.99/$8.90 for 12GB to £23.99/$30.54 for 32GB.
- Hard Disk: NVMe. M2 Enterprise: £4.99/$6.35
- Disk Space: 120GB, 140GB, 160GB, 180GB, 200GB. Price scales from £6.99/$8.90 for 120GB to £14.99/$19.09 for 200GB
- Tick Rate: 60 for £2.99/$3.81
- CPU Priority: High for £4.99/$6.35, or Extreme for £6.99/$8.90
- Ticket Priority: High Priority for £1.99/$2.53
- FTP File Migration: £5.99/$7.63
Additionally, some server locations have options for better performance. Germany and New York both have options for extreme server configuration, priced at £9.99/$12.72 for Germany, and £14.99/$19.09 for New York. Some locations also have additional setup costs, as listed below:
- Stockholm, Sweden: £6.99/$8.90
- Helsinki, Finland: £4.99/$6.35
- Sao Paulo, Brazil: £20.00/$25.46
- Tokyo, Japan: £4.99/$6.35
- Bangkok, Thailand: £9.99/$12.72
- Mumbai, India: £2.99/$3.81
GTX Gaming’s server locations cover a large swathe of the world, with near-identical locations to most other server providers listed here.
Customer testimonies for GTX Gaming are generally good, though the negatives are worth consideration. Some users are dissatisfied with customer service, whereas others decry server performance.
Overall, GTX Gaming seems satisfactory for some. I don’t think GTX Gaming matches up with the competitors in terms of server hardware.
Asking for extra payment to match what other providers offer feels underhanded, and while some may find the cheaper servers better, others could be left wanting by the hardware.
The Best Server Provider?
Which server provider should you choose? The answer depends on what you’re looking for. Some vendors offer a better first-time experience, whereas others carry a full suite of tools for experienced server owners, and the learning curve that comes with that.
If you’re on Xbox or Playstation, the only option is G Portal. While some features may be lacking, and the website throws up some red flags, it is the only option for player-owned servers.
If you’re on PC, HostHavoc gets my full recommendation. Nitrado is also a good second-best, but HostHavoc puts its head above the parapet as the best server provider. Pricing is fair, server performance and reliability are excellent, and customer support is nearly flawless. Host Havoc manages to supply a quality service, whilst retaining the human touch that has left many customers endeared to them.
Conclusion
And there we have it, my comprehensive list of the major server providers for Conan Exiles, and my recommendation of which is the best. The answer may vary for your needs, and thus I would encourage using this article as part of your research, as opposed to a defacto instruction.
As always, stay tuned into Conan Fanatics to get all the latest Conan Exiles news, guides, tips, and tricks.
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