ARK: Survival Evolved (ASE / ARK SE) dedicated hosting for a small friend group (2026)
ARK: Survival Evolved (ASE / “ARK SE”) is Studio Wildcard’s legacy Unreal Engine 4 dinosaur survival — The Island, Scorched Earth, Ragnarok, Genesis, Steam Workshop mods — not the same product page as ARK: Survival Ascended (ASA), Conan Exiles, SCUM, or ATLAS (different engines / remake, host SKUs, and RAM floors). An ASE server cannot be joined from ASA and the other way around. Shockbyte, Apex Hosting (separate ASE URL from its ASA page), Nodecraft, GameTeam, BisectHosting and PebbleHost all list Survival Evolved product pages we could read. Prices below are host-owned; recurring preferred; first-month sales disclosed. ASE is still RAM-heavy — treat printed GB floors seriously. Confirm the bill and map/mod load at checkout.
RAM, slots, maps and mods
- Friend-group fit: A passworded 4–8 friend tribe on one map does not need Shockbyte’s Rex 125+ box. Shockbyte’s labeled Raptor · 30 players · 10 GB is the practical ASE entry we quote for a small Discord. Apex sells ASE by RAM (4 / 5 / 10 GB cards). Nodecraft marks Budget “Not recommended for this game” and pushes Premium 24/7 from 10 GB. PebbleHost sells by slots (30 / 50 / 75 / 100) with printed GB. You do not need a full cluster on night one — each cluster map is its own server bill.
- RAM honesty (host claims only — ASE is often high): Shockbyte’s ASE ladder starts at 10 GB then 12 GB / 16 GB+. Apex’s ASE page labels 4 GB as “Minimum for ARK: Survival Evolved” (basic / some modpacks), then 5 GB and 10 GB (advanced / all modpacks) — friend groups with DLC maps or Workshop packs should still budget toward the 10 GB card or Shockbyte’s 10 GB floor rather than stretching a 4 GB “minimum.” Nodecraft Budget/Premium cards list 10 / 12 / 16 GB. GameTeam’s FAQ claims 8–12 GB for a single map (budget that much per map in a cluster). PebbleHost prints 7 / 8 / 10 / 12 GB on slot tiers — 7 GB may be tight for a busy 4–8 friend Island with mods; step up if the panel shows memory pressure. Bisect prices per GB but did not display a clear $/GB rate on the markup we read. Do not reuse ASA (Night 11) RAM tables — ASA’s Unreal Engine 5 floors are higher and sold on different URLs.
- Mods / maps (host claims only): Shockbyte claims Instant Mod Installer, Modding Support, Expansion Support, PC Crossplay (Steam/Epic), Xbox not currently supported. Apex ASE claims Full FTP File Access; 10 GB card says “Advanced servers & all modpacks.” Nodecraft claims file manager + SFTP + game swapping (no ASE-specific Workshop one-click line on the page we read). GameTeam FAQ claims Steam Workshop (mod IDs in config, pulled on start). Bisect claims Integrated Steam Workshop Mod Installer + One-Click Server Clustering + share items/dinos cross-server. PebbleHost claims automatic mod installer/uninstaller, all mods & maps supported, all maps available at a click. Only trust map/mod claims printed on that host’s ASE page. See Night 6.
Comparison: ARK Survival Evolved (ASE) plans
Price sources: every price comes from the host’s own ASE / ARK Evolved page (fetched 24 Oct 2026, NZDT). No third-party or search-summary prices are used. Recurring monthly figures are preferred over first-month sale teasers (sales disclosed where shown). TBD means the host page showed no clear plan total (e.g. “… / GB” without a dollar rate). Confirm at checkout — and confirm the plan is Evolved, not Ascended.
| Host | Entry tier | Bigger tiers | Notes | Oceania | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ShockbyteAU brand | Raptor · 30 players · 10 GB · $14.99/mo Page title: ARK: Survival Evolved Server Hosting — labeled monthly total |
Sabertooth · 70 players · 12 GB · $29.99/mo Rex · 125+ players · 16 GB+ · $49.99/mo |
Instant Mod Installer + Expansion Support + PC Crossplay claimed; Xbox not currently supported; Automatic Backups; Global Locations; 99.9% uptime claim | Global locations; Melbourne company (check for an AU node) | Clearest under-~$20 ASE entry with a printed 10 GB floor for a friend tribe |
| Apex Hosting | 4 GB · $14.99/mo Sale teaser $11.24 first month (25% off) — we quote recurring $14.99/mo. Card: “Minimum for ARK: Survival Evolved” / basic & some modpacks. Separate URL from Apex’s ASA page |
5 GB · $18.75/mo ($14.06 first month disclosed) 10 GB · $35.00/mo ($26.25 first month disclosed) 10 GB card: “Advanced servers & all modpacks”; Full FTP File Access claimed |
Full FTP; Automatic Backups & Updates; DDoS; EX Series (Ryzen 7 5800X AU / APAC) pitched on this ASE page — ASA plans live on a different URL | EX Series AU / APAC hardware claimed on this ASE page | ASE when you want Apex panel/FTP; prefer the 10 GB card for mods/DLC rather than the 4 GB “minimum” |
| Nodecraft | Premium · 10 GB · $49.98/mo Sale teaser $34.99 first month — we quote recurring $49.98/mo. Page marks Budget “Not recommended for this game” |
Premium 12 GB · $59.98/mo; 16 GB · $79.98/mo Budget (Wake & Play) 10 GB · $29.80/mo; 12 GB · $35.76/mo; 16 GB · $47.68/mo (recurring; first-month sales also shown — host marks Budget not recommended) Page title: ARK: Survival Evolved |
File manager + SFTP claimed; Budget hibernates / Wake & Play vs Premium 24/7; game swapping claimed | Sydney / Melbourne / Auckland listed on this ASE page | 24/7 Premium for friend nights (host prefers Premium); Budget only if you accept hibernate + “not recommended” |
| GameTeam | Budget · $0.49/GB RAM Host FAQ: 8–12 GB for a single map — plan total depends on GB chosen at checkout (e.g. 10 GB ≈ $4.90/mo at the Budget rate). Unlimited slots claimed |
Premium · $0.74/GB RAM Same per-GB model; pick GB for your map/mod load |
Steam Workshop mods claimed in FAQ; AI copilot / INI edits claimed; cluster = budget RAM per map | Global locations claimed on site — AU/NZ node not verified on this ASE page | Pay-by-GB ASE when you want Workshop + low per-GB rate; confirm GB and location at checkout |
| BisectHosting | TBD ASE page we read showed “… / GB” without a clear dollar rate |
TBD | Integrated Steam Workshop Mod Installer + One-Click Server Clustering + share items/dinos cross-server claimed; 110+ games swap; 3-day backups; page showed an out-of-stock notice for a location | 21 locations claimed; confirm AU / APAC stock (out-of-stock notice on page) | Clustering / Workshop when price and stock clear at checkout |
| PebbleHost | 30 slots · 7 GB · $11.99/mo Page copy: ARK: Survival Evolved; labeled monthly total |
50 slots · 8 GB · $19.99/mo 75 slots · 10 GB · $29.99/mo 100 slots · 12 GB · $39.99/mo |
Automatic mod installer/uninstaller + all mods & maps supported claimed; all maps at a click; FTP; 7-day backups claimed | Sydney listed for Minecraft — not verified on this ASE page | Cheapest labeled ASE slot tier; step to 10 GB+ (75 slots) if 7 GB feels tight for mods |
Sources (host-owned ASE pages): shockbyte.com ARK (Evolved), apexminecrafthosting.com ARK Survival Evolved (distinct from Apex’s ASA URL), nodecraft.com/games/ark, gameteam.io ASE, bisecthosting.com ASE (features / “… / GB”; clear dollar rate not displayed; out-of-stock notice), pebblehost.com/game/ark. For Ascended plans see Night 11 ASA. No host is crowned “#1”. Confirm Evolved vs Ascended, slots, RAM and the recurring bill at checkout.
Oceania note
ASE tames, breed timers and fights stutter badly on long routes. AU/NZ tribes should check Nodecraft’s listed Sydney / Melbourne / Auckland nodes on this ASE page, then Shockbyte (Melbourne company; global locations claimed), Apex EX Series AU / APAC copy on the ASE page, and Bisect stock (21 locations; out-of-stock notice on the page we read). GameTeam global locations and PebbleHost’s Minecraft Sydney note were not verified as ASE-specific Oceania claims on the pages we read — ping-test before a long billing cycle. See the Oceania ping guide.
Budget note and shortlist (not rankings)
- Labeled under ~$20 recurring with a serious RAM floor: Shockbyte Raptor 10 GB / 30 players, $14.99/mo. PebbleHost 30 slots / 7 GB $11.99/mo is cheaper on paper but starts lower on RAM — step up if mods or DLC maps need headroom. Apex’s 4 GB “minimum” $14.99/mo recurring is ASE, but friend groups with Workshop packs should prefer Apex’s 10 GB $35.00/mo card or Shockbyte’s 10 GB floor.
- 24/7 Premium: Nodecraft Premium 10 GB $49.98/mo recurring (first-month sale disclosed); step to 12–16 GB for light modding / DLC maps. Budget from $29.80/mo hibernates and is marked “Not recommended.”
- Pay-by-GB: GameTeam Budget $0.49/GB (FAQ 8–12 GB single map); Premium $0.74/GB. Bisect ASE page price TBD until checkout shows a clear $/GB.
- Playing Ascended instead? Use Night 11 ASA — different host URLs and higher RAM floors.
- Similar nights: Conan Exiles (Night 22), SCUM (Night 53), ATLAS (Night 58), PixARK (Night 59). Also budget under ~$20 and Oceania ping.
Official links (affiliate placeholders)
Buttons below point at official ASE / Evolved product pages (Apex uses its Evolved URL, not the ASA URL). Tracked affiliate URLs will replace the #aff-* anchors once programs approve — see affiliates.md.
Related (pipeline)
Affiliate disclosure
HostForTheSquad may earn a commission if you purchase through links on this page (Shockbyte, Apex, BisectHosting, GameTeam, and others when approved). Commission rates do not decide table rows or “best for” notes. Prices and stock change — always verify on the host’s site before you pay.