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💰 Financial · Rex's Toolbox

Game Server Cost Calculator

Monthly cost per concurrent player and bandwidth spend.

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Rex says

Money math without the spreadsheet headache. Plug in your numbers and I'll show you exactly where the dollars land.

Try a scenario

Click to load — tweak from there.

Inputs

Result

Monthly hosting cost

$4,394

Compute cost

$1,840

Bandwidth cost

$2,554

Cost per peak concurrent player

$1.831

Cost per monthly active player

$0.0244

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How to use this

  1. 1Enter peak concurrent players.
  2. 2Enter players per instance.
  3. 3Enter instance cost ($/hr).
  4. 4Enter average utilization vs peak (%).
  5. 5Enter bandwidth per player (kbps).
  6. 6Enter egress price ($/GB).
  7. 7Enter monthly active players.
  8. 8Read your monthly hosting cost on the right — it updates as you type.
  9. 9Hit Share to keep the scenario or send it to someone.

About this calculator

Size a multiplayer backend from concurrency, players per instance, and bandwidth per player, then price it out per month and per active player.

FormulaInstances = peak CCU ÷ players per instance; cost = instances × rate + bandwidth.

Worked example

Using the values the calculator loads with:

Inputs

  • Peak concurrent players: 2400
  • Players per instance: 60
  • Instance cost: 0.14 $/hr
  • Average utilization vs peak: 45 %
  • Bandwidth per player: 90 kbps
  • Egress price: 0.08 $/GB
  • Monthly active players: 180000

Results

  • Monthly hosting cost: $4,394
  • Compute cost: $1,840
  • Bandwidth cost: $2,554
  • Cost per peak concurrent player: $1.831
  • Cost per monthly active player: $0.0244

What each field means

Inputs

Peak concurrent players
The peak concurrent players used in the calculation. Starts at 2400 so you have a working example on load.
Players per instance
The players per instance used in the calculation. Starts at 60 so you have a working example on load.
Instance cost ($/hr)
The instance cost used in the calculation, measured in $/hr. Starts at 0.14 $/hr so you have a working example on load.
Average utilization vs peak (%)
The average utilization vs peak used in the calculation, measured in %. Starts at 45 % so you have a working example on load. Accepted range: 5–100 %.
Bandwidth per player (kbps)
The bandwidth per player used in the calculation, measured in kbps. Starts at 90 kbps so you have a working example on load.
Egress price ($/GB)
The egress price used in the calculation, measured in $/GB. Starts at 0.08 $/GB so you have a working example on load.
Monthly active players
The monthly active players used in the calculation. Starts at 180000 so you have a working example on load.

Results

Monthly hosting cost
Returned as a money amount in US dollars and shown as the headline result. It recalculates instantly whenever you change an input, so you can compare scenarios without reloading.
Compute cost
Returned as a money amount in US dollars. It recalculates instantly whenever you change an input, so you can compare scenarios without reloading.
Bandwidth cost
Returned as a money amount in US dollars. It recalculates instantly whenever you change an input, so you can compare scenarios without reloading.
Cost per peak concurrent player
Returned as a money amount in US dollars. It recalculates instantly whenever you change an input, so you can compare scenarios without reloading.
Cost per monthly active player
Returned as a money amount in US dollars. It recalculates instantly whenever you change an input, so you can compare scenarios without reloading.

FAQ

Why is egress often the bigger line?

Compute scales down when players leave; bandwidth scales with every packet you send. For state-heavy games it can exceed compute entirely.

What per-MAU cost is sustainable?

Compare it to your ARPMAU. Infrastructure above 15–20% of revenue per player is a design problem, not a vendor problem.

Accuracy and limitations

  • Results are estimates before tax, fees, and inflation unless an input explicitly covers them.
  • Rates are treated as fixed for the whole period — variable-rate products will drift from this projection.
  • This is educational maths, not financial advice. Check anything contractual with the lender or your accountant.

Cite this calculator

Writing about this topic? Grab a citation — every link helps keep these tools free.

APA
RevenueLab. (2026). Game Server Hosting Cost Calculator. Retrieved from https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/game-server-hosting-cost
HTML
<p>Source: <a href="https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/game-server-hosting-cost" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Game Server Hosting Cost Calculator — RevenueLab</a> (2026).</p>
Markdown
Source: [Game Server Hosting Cost Calculator — RevenueLab](https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/game-server-hosting-cost) (2026).
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