Palworld, ARK and Minecraft are all about survival, building and creatures, but they play very differently. Choosing the right one determines what kind of server you need and what experience your group gets.
Quick comparison
| Palworld | ARK: SA | Minecraft | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Genre | Survival + creature collection | Survival + dinosaur taming | Sandbox + survival |
| Server RAM | 12 to 16 GB | 10 to 16 GB per map | 2 to 8 GB |
| CPU need | High (single-thread) | Very high | Medium |
| Max players | 32 | 70 | Unlimited (practical: 100+) |
| Modding | Growing (UE4SS) | CurseForge mods | Massive (plugins + mods) |
| Learning curve | Medium | High | Low |
| Content depth | 100+ hours | 1000+ hours | Infinite |
Choose Palworld if...
- Your group wants a fresh experience with creature collection mechanics.
- You like base building with automated workers (Pals do tasks for you).
- You want something between Minecraft's simplicity and ARK's complexity.
- Budget: plan for 16 GB RAM for a comfortable server.
Choose ARK if...
- Your group wants deep dinosaur taming and breeding mechanics.
- You want multiple maps with character/dino transfer between them.
- You enjoy long progression systems (weeks to months per map).
- Budget: plan for 12 to 16 GB per map. A cluster with 3 maps needs 40+ GB.
Choose Minecraft if...
- Your group ranges from casual to hardcore players.
- You want maximum customization through plugins, mods and datapacks.
- You want the lowest server cost and most flexible hosting options.
- Budget: 2 to 4 GB for vanilla, 4 to 8 GB for modded.
Server hosting cost comparison
Based on the RAM each game requires:
- Minecraft: cheapest. A 4 GB plan is enough for 10 to 20 players with plugins.
- Palworld: mid-range. 16 GB plan recommended.
- ARK: most expensive. 16 GB per map, and most groups want 2 to 3 maps.
Can I run all three on one VPS?
Technically yes, if you have enough RAM (32+ GB). Each runs in its own container or process. In practice, running Palworld and ARK simultaneously needs significant resources.
Which game has the best longevity?
Minecraft. It has been running for 15+ years and still receives major updates. ARK has deep content but a finite endpoint. Palworld is newer and still growing.
All three are available at HostValues: Minecraft, Palworld, ARK.
