Try a Project Zomboid Server Free for 48 Hours (No Card Required)
Project Zomboid hosting lives or dies on the mod list. A server with 30 Workshop items either boots or sits in a loop complaining about a missing dependency, and you usually find out which after you have paid for a month. GHosting now offers a real 48-hour Project Zomboid server trial with no payment card, no subscription and no automatic renewal, which is long enough to load the list your group actually wants and watch it survive a restart.
Try a Project Zomboid server free for 48 hours
What the free Project Zomboid trial includes
The trial provisions the same isolated server and dashboard as a paid plan. It uses the 4 GB Survivor plan, which suits a group of about eight, and includes:
- 4 GB RAM, 2 vCPU and 25 GB NVMe storage.
- A public address with both the game port and the RakNet UDP port open and proxied.
- The live server log, so you can watch mods download and the world finish loading.
- The Mods tab, with room for up to 40 Workshop items.
- Browser file access and SFTP for saves, the server ini and logs.
- A choice of Europe or North America, subject to available trial capacity.
The mod list is the real test
Paste Steam Workshop links into the Mods tab and save. The server downloads each item,
reads the mod ids straight out of every item's mod.info, and writes both
WorkshopItems and Mods into the ini for you. Players joining
download the same items automatically. Items that get de-listed on Steam are pruned
rather than left to break the next boot.
That distinction is where most self-managed servers come unstuck, and it is worth understanding even if you never edit the file yourself. Our guide on WorkshopItems vs Mods explains why the two lists hold different ids and what happens when they disagree.
Forty-eight hours is enough to add the list, restart, see what fails, remove the offender, and restart again. That loop is the whole point of a trial.
Settings worth testing
- Join password. Leave it blank for an open server, or set one to keep the world to your group.
- Max players. Anywhere from 1 to 64, defaulting to 16.
- PvP. On by default. Turn it off for a co-op only run.
- Pause when empty. Freezes the world while nobody is online, so time does not pass and the server barely touches the CPU until someone joins.
- Public listing. Put the server in Project Zomboid's in-game browser, or keep it unlisted.
Settings are saved without interrupting play and applied on the next restart to apply, so nobody gets dropped because someone opened the Settings tab mid-session.
Ports are handled for you
Project Zomboid needs two ports, and they are configured independently rather than as a simple pair, which is why so many home setups half-work: players connect and then time out. Both are allocated and proxied here. If you have been fighting this on a self-hosted box, our write-up on Project Zomboid server ports covers what each one does.
No card and no surprise charge
Starting the trial does not open Stripe Checkout. After 48 hours the server stops and nothing is charged. Trial files are kept for three days, giving you a short window to renew from the dashboard or download the save.
Can I keep the same Knox County?
Yes. Choose a paid term from the dashboard during the retention window and the same container resumes. The world, mod list, settings, files and public address stay in place, so nobody has to re-add the server or start a new character.
How to start the Project Zomboid trial
- Open the Project Zomboid server hosting page.
- Choose a region and select Start free trial.
- Create an account and verify your email address.
- Return to the Project Zomboid page, start the trial, then add the server from your dashboard.
Each verified account can claim one trial per eligible game. A rolling network allowance and a capacity reserve for paying customers keep the limited slots available for real groups.
Start the free Project Zomboid server trial