How much RAM for an ARK: Survival Ascended server?
ARK: Survival Ascended needs 14 GB of RAM at minimum for an official map and a handful of players, and 20 GB as soon as mods are installed or several tribes are building. The game was rebuilt on Unreal Engine 5: its requirements bear no relation to Survival Evolved, where 8 GB covered the same use.
| Type of server | Players | Recommended RAM | Matching plan |
|---|---|---|---|
| Official map, single tribe | 2 to 20 players | 14 GB | £15.76incl. VAT/mo |
| Several tribes, a few mods | 20 to 50 players | 20 GB | £24.89incl. VAT/mo |
| Cluster, modded maps, public server | 50 players and up | Unlimited | £41.49incl. VAT/mo |
What drives memory up
- Map and creature mods, which keep extra assets loaded at all times.
- The number of tamed dinos: each is a simulated entity, even when stabled.
- Structures placed by tribes, accumulating without limit week after week.
- Clusters: each map in the cluster is a full server, with its own memory.
Signs you are short on memory
- Map loading taking several minutes at startup.
- Dinos disappearing or teleporting after a restart.
- Saves getting longer and longer, freezing the server while they run.
- Repeated crashes at peak hours, when several tribes play together.
Frequently asked questions
Does ARK: Survival Ascended really need more than Evolved?
Markedly. Moving to Unreal Engine 5 roughly doubled the memory needed server-side for comparable use. A server that ran Evolved on 8 GB needs 14 to 16 GB in Ascended for the same tribe and the same map.
Is an ARK server crossplay?
ARK: Survival Ascended allows crossplay between PC and consoles; ARK: Survival Evolved does not. It changes nothing about the memory needed, but it decides who can join your server.
How can I cut consumption without changing plan?
Cap the number of dinos per tribe, enable automatic decay of abandoned structures, and clear out unused mods. Those three settings often give back several gigabytes, but they do not replace a larger plan on a genuinely busy server.
Each memory tier matches a plan. Prices are monthly, tax included, with no minimum term. See the plans ARK: Survival Ascended →