Best Icarus Server Hosting 2026
We hands-on tested the hosting companies behind this list, then re-checked 15 current Icarus products for August 2026: pricing, RAM models, backups, support, file access, server locations and Dangerous Horizons readiness. Indifferent Broccoli takes our top spot because its no-card trial and uncapped RAM model are unusually well suited to a persistent Icarus world.
Icarus hosting has changed since most comparison pages were written
Dangerous Horizons launched on 5 March 2026 with the Elysium map, while the free Kepler update brought major systems and Tier 5 content across the wider game. More importantly, RocketWerkz still uses its Host-Owned expansion policy: one owning host can bring the expansion experience to the group. You do not need every player to buy the map DLC.
RocketWerkz’s current dedicated-server configuration still ships
ShutdownIfNotJoinedFor=300 and ShutdownIfEmptyFor=300.
That is configured behaviour, not automatically evidence that your rented server crashed.
We cover it properly further down.
The three Icarus hosts we would start with
Our #1 is not the host with the nearest datacentre or the largest CPU number. Indifferent Broccoli wins because it lets you test your real server before paying and does not attach a fixed RAM ceiling to the plan. Kinetic is the stronger fixed-resource value pick, while LOW.MS remains the best Icarus-specific technical package.
Two days free without entering a card means you can create or import the actual Prospect you intend to run, connect your real group and judge the experience before committing. Plans also have no fixed RAM ceiling, so world growth does not automatically push you into a new memory tier.
The 12GB tier is excellent value for an established Open World and includes NVMe, automatic backups, full files/SFTP, scheduled tasks and no provider-level player cap. London is also available for groups where that route genuinely performs best.
LOW.MS has the deepest current Icarus documentation we found, covering setup, configuration, prospects, ports and troubleshooting. It also includes cloud backups and a five-day refund.
We tested the hosts, not just their landing pages
Every provider ranked below has been hands-on tested by GameServerHosting.co.uk at provider level. We have logged into the panels, run and managed game services, used consoles and file tools, opened support tickets and checked backup or recovery workflows where available. For this Icarus refresh we then performed a separate game-specific re-check against what each company is actually selling now.
Hands-on provider test
Panel usability, console and file access, setup flow, admin controls, support tickets and backup/recovery behaviour.
Icarus-specific re-check
We re-checked the live Icarus product, current price, usable resources, UK/EU routing, current backups, configuration access and whether the product is actually orderable.
Peer-review audit
We review recurring customer feedback and Trustpilot patterns to identify repeated strengths or weaknesses that a shorter test period may not expose.
Server location is one factor, not a ranking shortcut. A London node is useful if it gives your group the best route, but we will rank a nearby European host higher when the total product is stronger. In Icarus, being able to test the real Prospect for free and avoid a fixed RAM ceiling is more valuable to us than simply having “London” in the location list.
15 current Icarus server hosts compared
Hosts price Icarus in different ways: RAM, player count, slots or dynamic configurations. We therefore show what the displayed price actually buys instead of pretending every headline number represents an equivalent server.
| # | Provider | GBP price | Tier shown | UK / nearby route | Why it ranks | Visit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Indifferent Broccoli | £7.37/mo$9.99 · from £4.42 | 4 players · no fixed RAM cap | Germany | 2-day no-card trial, uncapped RAM model, simple panel, human support | Visit |
| 2 | Kinetic Hosting | £9.58/mo$12.99 · from £3.68 | 12GB practical pick | London | Excellent fixed-resource value, backups, files, no slot cap, 7-day refund | Visit |
| 3 | LOW.MS | £7.74/mo$10.50 | Current Icarus entry | London | Best Icarus documentation, cloud backups, 5-day refund | Visit |
| 4 | Host Havoc | £8.82/mo~$11.96 | 8 slots | London | Own-operated fleet, offsite backups, current DLC support, fast support | Visit |
| 5 | GTX Gaming | £8.60/mo~$11.66 | Current catalogue start | London network | Experienced admin panel, broad network, daily offsite backups | Visit |
| 6 | Gaming Deluxe | £4.12/mo~$5.59 | Current starting configuration | London | GBP billing, 7-day backup history, full FTP and mod tools | Visit |
| 7 | 4NetPlayers | £4.59/mo~$6.22 | 4 players · recurring price | London | Simple 4/8-player plans, large location network, game switching | Visit |
| 8 | Sparked Host | £5.90/mo$8.00 | 8GB · 3 cores | Paris / Helsinki / Vienna | Modern Apollo panel, 24-hour trial, importer and SFTP | Visit |
| 9 | Wabbanode | £6.59/mo$8.94 catalogue start | Dynamic configuration | London network | Flexible RAM/CPU, backup manager and European network | Visit |
| 10 | BisectHosting | Live quoteDynamic per-GB pricing | BisectOne | 21 global locations | Excellent custom panel, instance manager and mature support | Visit |
| 11 | Shockbyte | £9.68/mo~$13.13 | 4 players · 6GB | Global locations | Automatic updates/backups, full files, 72-hour refund | Visit |
| 12 | Nitrado | £8.96/mo~$12.15 · €10.49 native | 8 slots · 30 days | Frankfurt | Flexible rental periods, daily backups and game switching | Visit |
| 13 | GPORTAL | £11.50/mo$15.59 | 10 slots · 30 days | Central Europe | Simple managed experience, 50GB backup storage, short rental option | Visit |
| 14 | AleForge | £11.79/mo$15.99 | 8GB Standard | London | Clear RAM tiers, backups, NVMe and full config access | Visit |
| 15 | GGServers | £17.70/mo$24.00 | Current public Icarus start | Global network | Established platform, but weak current Icarus value | Visit |
GBP is shown first. USD equivalents use approximately $1 = £0.737 on 17 August 2026; €1 ≈ £0.855. Promotional first-month prices are not used as the recurring comparison. Wabbanode’s live configurator rendered an invalid $0 total during our check, so we use its separate current catalogue starting price and recommend verifying checkout. BisectHosting remains a live quote because its dynamic pricing cannot be reliably reduced to one fixed number.
Our hands-on verdict on every Icarus host
These reviews deliberately distinguish between what we experienced using each provider and what we freshly verified about its current Icarus service.
Why Indifferent Broccoli is our #1 Icarus host
Icarus is exactly the type of game where Indifferent Broccoli’s model makes sense. A fresh Prospect is not the same workload as a persistent Open World months later, and buying a server from a fixed 6GB, 8GB or 12GB menu means guessing how much room the world will eventually need. Indifferent Broccoli removes that particular problem: its Icarus plans do not have a fixed plan-level RAM cap.
That does not mean infinite physical resources or infinite performance. CPU capacity, node load and the underlying machine still matter. What it means in practical terms is that you are not forced into another commercial RAM tier simply because your Icarus process grows beyond an arbitrary allocation.
More importantly, you can test the service for two days without entering a credit card. For us, that is more valuable than a location badge. You can create or upload the Prospect you actually intend to use, connect from the homes and ISPs your group actually uses, inspect the panel, test the connection and decide whether Germany routes well enough before any payment commitment exists.
Indifferent Broccoli is one of the least frustrating hosting platforms we have tested. The panel is intentionally simple, common server actions are easy to find, and support has felt human rather than scripted when we have interacted with it. That impression is also repeated frequently in customer reviews. For this Icarus refresh we separately verified the current two-day no-card trial, player-based pricing and uncapped-RAM policy.
Pricing starts at £4.42 ($5.99) for one player, with four players currently costing £7.37 ($9.99). Larger groups scale by player count rather than by memory. It is not necessarily the absolute cheapest service for every group size, but the trial and RAM flexibility make it the easiest package here to recommend before you know exactly how demanding your long-term Icarus world will become.
- Best risk-free test in this comparison
- No fixed plan-level RAM ceiling
- Simple panel we found easy to work with
- Strong human-support experience
- Full file access for Prospect management
- Pricing scales by group size instead of RAM tier
- No London Icarus location currently listed
- Player-based pricing can become less competitive for large groups
- Uncapped RAM does not remove CPU or underlying hardware limits
Why Kinetic ranks #2
If you would rather know the exact memory allocation you are buying, Kinetic is the strongest alternative. Its 8GB tier is £5.89 ($7.99), while 12GB costs £9.58 ($12.99). For an established Icarus Open World we prefer the latter because it leaves useful headroom without pushing the monthly price very far.
Automatic backups, five retained backup slots, SFTP, a browser file manager, scheduled tasks, live console and no provider-level player cap are all included. Its London performance pool currently contains Ryzen 9 7950X, 9950X and EPYC 4564P hardware, although the exact processor depends on assignment and should not be described as a guaranteed 9950X.
Kinetic’s panel is one of the easiest power-user environments we have tested. Console, files, backups and schedules are logically placed without stripping away advanced access. We have also tested their support flow and found it human-led rather than blocked behind an AI layer. For Icarus we separately verified the live RAM ladder and London hardware pool.
- Excellent 8GB and 12GB value
- London available
- Full files, SFTP, schedules and backups
- No provider-level player-slot cap
- Seven-day refund
- No genuine free trial before payment
- Fixed RAM tier can eventually require a plan change
- Exact CPU varies by deployed node
Why LOW.MS ranks #3
LOW.MS has the deepest current Icarus documentation in the group. Setup, ports, troubleshooting, Prospect migration and configuration are covered with actual Icarus instructions instead of generic hosting tutorials.
London, cloud backups with restore/download tools and a five-day refund make it one of the safest traditional managed packages. LOW.MS also recommends roughly 10GB as a useful Icarus baseline, which sits close to our own practical buying range.
We have used LOW.MS’s TCAdmin environment directly. It is visually older than the custom panels above, but the actual administration workflow is predictable. Console, files, scheduled tasks and backups are easy to reach, and the Icarus-specific knowledge base is considerably more useful than a polished homepage when troubleshooting.
- Best Icarus-specific documentation here
- London location
- Cloud backups with restore/download tools
- Strong current value
- Five-day refund
- TCAdmin feels dated
- No no-card trial
- Fixed resource structure is less flexible than IB’s model
Why Host Havoc ranks #4
Host Havoc remains our support-focused Icarus choice. Its current service supports Olympus, Styx, Prometheus and Elysium and includes London, NVMe, console, file management, offsite backups and restore tooling.
The company directly operates its wider hardware fleet, giving it more control over infrastructure than a simple reseller. That does not mean each customer gets a dedicated physical machine, but it is still a useful operational advantage.
We have opened real Host Havoc support tickets and responsiveness has consistently been among the stronger experiences from established providers. TCAdmin is functional rather than beautiful, but console, file and recovery tools do what we expect. Their current published average response remains below ten minutes.
- Excellent support responsiveness
- London available
- All current major Icarus maps supported
- Offsite backups and restores
- TCAdmin is visibly older
- Less flexible resource model than IB or Kinetic
Why GTX Gaming ranks #5
GTX’s current catalogue confirms Icarus at £8.60/mo, while its network includes London and its broader platform provides daily offsite backups, full administration controls and current Ryzen/NVMe infrastructure.
GTX’s panel is dense but capable. We prefer that when we know what we are doing because it exposes a lot of control quickly. A new server owner will face more options than on Indifferent Broccoli. The rank reflects the current Icarus product’s weaker transparency, not a lack of capability in GTX’s hosting platform.
- Powerful admin workflow
- London network
- Daily offsite backups
- Long hosting history
- Current Icarus page is relatively sparse
- More intimidating panel for beginners
Why Gaming Deluxe ranks #6
Gaming Deluxe has one of the lowest current managed Icarus starting prices we found and bills directly in GBP. London, seven days of automatic offsite backup history, full FTP and mod tooling are all available on the current product.
Its hosting environment is more traditional than the newest custom panels, but routine files, service controls and backups were straightforward in our testing. We would still inspect the exact resource allocation attached to the £4.12 checkout configuration before treating it as a long-term Icarus recommendation.
- Very low current entry price
- London
- Native GBP billing
- Seven-day backup history
- Check exact entry-plan resources before ordering
- Traditional rather than modern panel design
Why 4NetPlayers ranks #7
Four players currently cost £4.59 recurring while eight players cost £9.19. London is directly selectable along with Frankfurt, Paris and several other international locations.
4NetPlayers is not flashy, but ordinary server management has been straightforward in our use. Game and location switching are particularly easy to understand. It lacks the same level of Icarus-specific technical documentation as LOW.MS.
- Transparent recurring pricing
- London available
- Simple package sizes
- Large location network
- Less detailed game-specific documentation
- Slot model hides resource allocation
Why Sparked Host ranks #8
Sparked currently gives 8GB RAM, three cores and 50GB storage for £5.90 ($8), with a 12GB option at £8.85 ($12). It also offers a 24-hour free trial and 48-hour refund period.
Apollo is one of the cleaner hosting panels we have tested. Console, files and imports are pleasant to work with. European Icarus locations currently include Paris, Helsinki and Vienna rather than London, but we would judge that from actual routing rather than penalising it simply for crossing a national border.
- Good 8GB pricing
- Very good custom panel
- 24-hour trial
- SFTP and importer
- No London Icarus location currently listed
- Check selected backup allowance at checkout
Why Wabbanode ranks #9
Wabbanode lists Icarus from £6.59 ($8.94) and lets you configure RAM and CPU rather than buying one fixed package. Its wider European network includes London, Germany, France and Finland.
The backup workflow is useful because snapshots can be restored or downloaded. The main problem in this comparison is pricing transparency: the live configurator rendered $0.00 during our check, so we refuse to treat that as a real price and use the current catalogue start instead.
Why BisectHosting ranks #10
Bisect’s current Icarus service includes 21 locations, NVMe, game swapping, Instance Manager and configurable backups. The administration experience is excellent; the problem is that its dynamic order flow does not expose one stable Icarus price we can responsibly normalize.
Starbase/BisectOne is one of the stronger panels we have tested. Instance management and files are logically grouped, and the platform feels significantly more modern than legacy TCAdmin. The rank penalty is price transparency rather than product quality.
Why Shockbyte ranks #11
Shockbyte’s current Icarus package is clear: roughly £9.68 gets four players and 6GB, with automatic updates, backups, DDoS protection and full file access. The problem is value — several hosts above provide more headroom for less money.
Shockbyte’s newer panel is substantially cleaner than its older hosting environment. Routine file and server management is straightforward. Customer support feedback, however, remains more mixed than our highest-ranked providers.
Why Nitrado ranks #12
Nitrado’s current Icarus service starts at eight slots for €10.49 per 30 days and offers rental periods from three to 365 days. Daily backups, shared account access and multi-game switching remain useful differentiators.
Nitrado’s panel is capable but busy. Once familiar, the depth is useful, especially if you rotate between games. For a first-time Icarus owner, though, simpler panels require less hunting for everyday controls.
Why GPORTAL ranks #13
GPORTAL currently sells ten Icarus slots for about £11.50 over 30 days and includes 50GB of backup storage. Short rental periods are also available.
GPORTAL’s panel is among the easier options for basic server management. We like it for beginners, but the trade-off is weaker resource transparency and less granular power-user control than the highest-ranked specialists.
Why AleForge ranks #14
AleForge currently sells an 8GB Icarus Standard configuration for around £11.79, including NVMe, user backups and London availability. Technically it is a sound package, but Kinetic offers materially more memory for less money.
AleForge’s management environment is logical and gives good file, statistic and backup access. We particularly like clear backup counts. Its position here is driven by current Icarus value rather than a poor panel experience.
Why GGServers ranks #15
GGServers still offers Icarus, but the current public starting price is around £17.70 ($24). Against 8–12GB services costing much less, that is difficult to justify.
We have used GGServers’ panel and support channels ourselves and there is nothing fundamentally broken about everyday management. It finishes last because of current Icarus pricing, not because the company is incapable of hosting game servers.
Dangerous Horizons changes the content, not the basic hosting logic
Elysium is the Dangerous Horizons map, while Kepler pushed new technology and systems into the wider game. The practical hosting requirements remain familiar: enough memory headroom, strong CPU performance, reliable storage, backups and sensible network routing.
Elysium and Dangerous Horizons
Dangerous Horizons released in March 2026 and added Elysium. It is a good reason to leave hardware headroom, but we do not find a defensible basis for claiming that every Elysium server automatically requires 16GB.
DLC is Host-Owned
RocketWerkz maintains a Host-Owned multiplayer policy for expansion content. The owning host can expose the expansion experience to the rest of the group rather than requiring every player to purchase the DLC separately.
CPU still matters
Icarus is sensitive to CPU performance during simulation-heavy moments, but describing the entire dedicated server as purely single-threaded is too simplistic. Strong modern per-core performance and low node contention remain desirable.
Location is not the ranking
London is a useful first test for a British group, but Germany, France or the Netherlands can also route extremely well. We would rather have a better overall hosting product in Frankfurt than a weaker one in London if real-world ping remains good.
How much RAM does an Icarus server actually need?
These are practical buying bands, not official RocketWerkz minimum requirements. Player count matters, but Prospect age, build density, mods and active simulation can matter just as much.
| RAM | How we would use it | Our take |
|---|---|---|
| 4GB | Testing, temporary prospect, very small vanilla group | Usable as an entry point, but little comfort margin. |
| 8GB | Small ordinary co-op group | A practical fixed-allocation floor for a persistent rented server. |
| 10–12GB | Established Open World, regular group, DLC or moderate mods | The fixed-RAM sweet spot we recommend to most groups. |
| 16GB+ | Heavy world, aggressive modding or measured high usage | Buy because your workload shows the need, not because Elysium exists. |
The five-minute shutdown is not necessarily a crash
RocketWerkz’s current default configuration still contains both 300-second inactivity values. If a new server stops shortly after nobody joins or after everyone leaves, inspect these settings before diagnosing hardware failure.
[/Script/Icarus.DedicatedServerSettings] ShutdownIfNotJoinedFor=300.000000 ShutdownIfEmptyFor=300.000000 AllowNonAdminsToLaunchProspects=True ResumeProspect=True
RocketWerkz maintains the current default file on its official IcarusDedicatedServer repository.
Back up the Prospect workflow, not one guessed file extension
Provider documentation does not always describe Icarus save data in exactly the same way. The safer migration strategy is to preserve the relevant Prospect directory and configuration through the host’s supported import flow rather than basing the backup policy on one extension.
Before updating or migrating
- Stop the server cleanly.
- Create a provider snapshot where available.
- Download the relevant Prospect data.
- Keep current configuration files with it.
- Only then modify the live service.
What we want from a host
- Backups independent from the live game process.
- A visible restore workflow.
- Downloadable off-provider copies.
- SFTP or full file access.
- Scheduled maintenance tools.
Two details every Icarus admin should know
Default dedicated-server ports
Icarus uses UDP 17777 for game traffic and UDP 27015 for Steam query/server-browser traffic by default. Managed hosts normally configure these automatically. The SteamCMD dedicated-server App ID is 2089300.
Mods are not a Steam Workshop experience
Icarus commonly uses .pak mods distributed outside Steam Workshop. Server
and client mod sets need to remain compatible, which makes full file access far more
meaningful than a generic “mods supported” badge.
Questions we would answer before buying
Indifferent Broccoli
Two-day free trial with no card · no fixed plan-level RAM cap · simple control panel · full file access · human support. For Icarus, we value being able to test the real Prospect and real network route before paying more than we value a location label on its own.
Linus · GameServerHosting.co.uk
I have used these hosting companies through real control panels, server setups, file and backup tools and support tickets. For each game comparison I add a fresh game-specific product check so the ranking reflects what the provider actually sells now rather than treating one old provider test as permanent evidence for every game.
