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Arcade shooters are a dime a dozen, but few games seek to capture the grit and realism of armed combat. That’s why, despite being a decade old, Arma 3 still keeps hardcore players coming back with everything from new content to intricate mods that spawned genre-defying games of their own. You’ll want the best Arma 3 server hosting provider if you want to get as close to the modern battlefield as your gaming chair allows. Here are our recommendations.
Host Havoc
Player limit: 100 | Mod support: Yes | Moneyback guarantee: 72 hours | DDoS protection: Yes | 24/7 support & knowledge base: Yes | Control Panel: TCAdmin 2
Host Havoc is an established and versatile hosting site that features in all our host lists due to excellent uptimes, responsive customer service, and fair prices. For Arma 3 specifically, it offers a large player count and effortless mod installation either directly or through integration with the Steam Workshop.
You’ll want to assemble a ready & willing platoon before signing up for Host Havoc since the minimum is 40 slots. The upside is that each costs only $0.50 per month.
That’s with a single month’s commitment – going for quarterly, six-month, or yearly payments brings the price down by up to 12%. You can use the savings to boost your server’s CPU priority or add extra RAM.
You might want to do the latter if you plan on maxing out Host Havoc’s 127-player cap, which will depend on the map and game mode. Host Havoc has a stand-alone Altis Life installer if you’re into the life sim aspect of Arma 3 modding and supports other popular mods seamlessly. Advanced hosts can tinker with the TCAdmin-based control panel and dial in their game settings further.
Coverage is excellent but concentrated in North America and Europe. Aussies get to experience the sandbox shooter at low pings too. Not so for the rest of the world, though.
Armahosts
Player limit: 255 | Mod support: Yes | Moneyback guarantee: 48 hours | DDoS protection: Yes | 24/7 support & knowledge base: Yes | Control Panel: Custom
All the other providers on our list have to juggle servers and support for dozens of titles. As you might have guessed from the name, Armahosts is different. It’s been around for a while and has since become more than a provider of game servers. Even so, Armahosts, or Open Group as it’s called now, is still hard to beat.
A professional look and sparse layout may confuse visitors looking for a gaming server provider. However, Arma vets will quickly find information to drool over. Since it’s dedicated to a single game, Armahosts can implement unique features like a proprietary profile tool. This lets you maintain a list of qualifications, stats, and achievements that attract others to your server and make joining other groups easier.
In keeping with the theme, the server selection process is simple too. You choose among three tiers with exponentially-growing player slots. Jumping from 9 to 32 and then to 255 seems limiting at first. However, it’s impossible to criticize that last option, as a full server costs less than $0.20 per person.
On top of all this, Armahosts also enjoys an excellent customer reputation. They will set the server up if you find it tedious or instruct you on all the ins & outs of server management.
Nitrado
Player limit: 200 | Mod support: Yes | Moneyback guarantee: 72 hours | DDoS protection: Yes | 24/7 support & knowledge base: Yes | Control Panel: Custom
As fun as Arma is, sometimes you want to slaughter your friends online in other ways. Enter Nitrado, a host that lets you switch among five games, upgrade & downgrade servers at will, and try them out for a few days before committing.
Renting a Nitrado server is a different experience since you get to choose four other games to use it for. That doesn’t mean they don’t offer Arma-specific tools or lack mod support, though. Nitrado might be the best Arma 3 server hosting provider for green soldiers since it offers a three-day trial and has an equally long refund policy.
We’re fans of Nitrado’s approachable UI. Everything is laid out clearly, from the number of slots you’re purchasing to the discounts – up to 21% – you can expect when buying more time in bulk.
Alternatively, you can pick among a few popular packages and get going immediately. It’s also an excellent choice for small bands since four is the minimum slot count. Pay attention, Host Havoc.
Arma is a PC exclusive, but Nitrado hosts console versions of games like DayZ. Since it caters to both camps, the lack of detailed configuration options at checkout isn’t surprising.
While Nitrado has decent overall server coverage, some locations don’t support Arma 3. Japanese and Brazilian troops might want to check out Apex Hosting instead.
GTX Gaming
Player limit: 120 | Mod support: Yes | Moneyback guarantee: 24 hours | DDoS protection: Yes | 24/7 support & knowledge base: Yes | Control Panel: TCAdmin 2
Like Host Havoc, we feel comfortable recommending GTXGaming for almost any game with a high max player count. Although not the cheapest, it’s the best Arma 3 server hosting service for commanders who know precisely how many players will be participating and want the ability to tweak the hardware that supports their theater of war.
You’ll hardly get that impression from the landing page due to little information and the same buzzwords the competition uses. However, entering the server setup process exposes far more options than most players care for.
GTXGaming sells slots in batches of 10, unsurprising for a game that plays out on sprawling maps. Ten slots are a good starting point, but it’s also the most expensive option.
Luckily, larger groups get hefty discounts, so much so that renting 120 slots costs just over $70. Book a year’s worth of server time and knock that down by another 15% if you’re part of a dedicated community.
It’s easy to negate any long-term savings due to GTXGaming’s extensive options. Need a better CPU or automatic infiSTAR Vision setup to keep the cheaters at bay? All can be yours for a modest fee. Want to run multiple servers? With switching, it’s a breeze.
Apex Hosting
Scalability is among Arma’s greatest features, and the best thing about it is how the game remains fun whether you’re in a small team or squaring off against other squads. Apex is the best Arma 3 server hosting service for commanders who don’t know exactly how many soldiers they’ll be sending into battle.
Most hosting companies charge per slot, which may not always be optimal. Apex gets around this by keeping the slot count unlimited and focusing on the server’s RAM requirements instead.
You may book as little as 2GB, which is enough for smaller groups and can end up costing little for each member. Modded servers with larger armies need more, and Apex maxes out at 16GB.
Arma can be a CPU hog, so consider bumping the processor that runs your game up to a 5900X for smoother and larger engagements.
Apex Hosting provides value to its customers in diverse ways. It has a substantial Arma 3 knowledge base that covers everything from server setup to tinkering with the most popular mods. Its 7-day refund policy is also among the most generous in the business.
Finally, Apex prides itself on data centers spanning much of the world. US and Europe are a given, but its Asian coverage is excellent too. You’re also in luck if you’re from Brazil or Israel since they have a presence in these countries.
Fozzy
Player limit: 150 | Mod support: Yes | Moneyback guarantee: 7 days | DDoS protection: Yes | 24/7 support & knowledge base: Yes | Control Panel: Custom
Our list of best Arma 3 hosting providers ends with Fozzy. Don’t mind the nonsensical name, as they have everything you’ll need to get a dynamic server going. Fozzy also offers hosting solutions for businesses, letting you kill two birds with one stone if you’re the entrepreneurial type.
Like with Armahosts, you’ll want to estimate the number of troops enlisting in your army before settling on a server. The three options – Charlie, Bravo, and Alpha – cater to 10, 50, and 150 players. The gap is wide, and the pricing is steeper than our runner-up’s, so double check there’s enough interest before renting some of the larger options.
A platoon of players can take Fozzy out for a spin and enjoy a three-day trip to one of the game’s many current, legacy, or player-generated terrains. Regular tours are subject to payment in different installments.
Fozzy is the only provider on the list with whom you can sign up for two years. Not many companies will have that kind of staying power, but the 20% off is worth it for the dedicated.
Fozzy’s setup options aren’t on GTXGaming’s level, but they’re well-rounded. You can heighten CPU priority by two levels, add more RAM for modding purposes, and expand your allotted NVMe SSD’s storage.
