Vanilla or tModLoader
Terraria hosting comes in two flavours. Vanilla runs the standard dedicated server and is very light. tModLoader is the modded route that unlocks the big content mods, and it needs more memory and a matching client. On GHosting you pick the variant when you create the server.
How much RAM for Terraria
Vanilla Terraria is one of the lightest games to host, and a full group of friends runs happily on the entry plan. Mods change that. Large tModLoader packs like Calamity, plus Magic Storage and quality-of-life mods, use far more memory, so modded worlds want a step up.
- Vanilla, any normal group: entry plan
- A few tModLoader mods: entry to mid
- Big mod packs such as Calamity: mid tier or higher
Adding mods
With the tModLoader variant you paste Steam Workshop links into the Mods tab, save, and the server installs them and keeps them in sync with your players. There is no copying .tmod files or matching versions by hand.
Mod sets are also the thing most likely to break a Terraria server, because tModLoader is version-locked and a mod built for a different branch will refuse to load. Installing from Workshop links rather than loose files keeps the server on what the mod authors actually published.
Try it before paying for it
A verified account can start one 48-hour Explorer trial per game with no payment card and no automatic renewal, subject to available capacity. It is the real server with the real panel rather than a demo, so it is the fastest way to find out whether the mod list your group wants actually runs before any money changes hands.
If you continue on a paid term afterwards, the world and files stay exactly where they are. Nothing has to be rebuilt or moved across.
Getting your friends connected
Terraria joins by address rather than a server browser, so what you share is the address on the dashboard and the join password if you set one. That is the whole process for vanilla. There is no Steam invite chain to keep alive and nobody has to be online first for the others to play.
tModLoader adds one step: every player needs the same mod set as the server before they can join. Because the server installs from Workshop links, players can subscribe to the same items and tModLoader lines them up, which avoids the version mismatch that makes modded servers feel fragile.
Bringing an existing world across
A Terraria world is a single .wld file, which makes it one of the easiest games to migrate. Upload it through the Files tab and restart, and your existing map is live with its buildings, NPCs and progress intact. Keep the matching .twld file alongside it when you copy from a modded singleplayer save.
Characters stay on each player's own machine as usual, so everyone joins with the character they already have.
Regions, and what prepaid actually means
Pick Europe or North America based on where most of your group plays. Terraria is light on bandwidth, so the main thing distance changes is how responsive combat feels during boss fights.
Terms are prepaid and nothing renews on its own. When a term ends the server stops and your files are kept while you decide, rather than the card being charged again quietly. Renew inside the seven-day grace window and the same world comes straight back. Past that the server is deleted, so download the .wld file if you are pausing between playthroughs. Your first server is covered by a 72-hour money-back guarantee.