Free Project Zomboid Server: The Real Options and Their Catches
Project Zomboid comes with everything you need to play with friends without paying for a server. What changes from one option to another is who keeps the world running and how much their PC can take. These are the free ones, catches included.
Rather not set it up yourself? Project Zomboid servers from €12 a month, no contract and a full refund within 72 hours. Or create a free Project Zomboid server, no card needed.
2. Steam's free dedicated server
In your Steam library, under “Tools”, you'll find “Project Zomboid Dedicated Server”, for free (it takes up about 7 GB). On a PC that's always on, the world stays there even when you're not playing.
You don't pay rent, but you do pay for that PC's electricity day and night, and you have to open UDP ports 16261 and 16262 on your router (with CG-NAT, some ISPs don't allow it; the ports guide explains). Settings are changed by hand in its .ini and sandbox files. How to set it up step by step, memory included, is in the guide to a dedicated server on your PC.
3. The NapNodes free server
A Project Zomboid (Build 42) dedicated server with 6 GB of RAM and 15 GB of disk, with no card and no end date. There's one per person, for the game of your choice. You turn it on with “Start” in the panel when you want to play, and it switches itself off after 20 minutes with nobody on. How the queue and turns work is in the NapNodes free server guide (in Spanish).
Things worth knowing first: the game takes up about 7 GB of those 15, so there's room for Workshop mods (in the “Mods” tab), but not many; we email you at 80 % and 95 % disk usage. The admin username and password are in “Settings” → “In-game admin”. It has no backups. If nobody plays for 14 days in a row, it's deleted along with its save (we email you 3 days before). And paid servers come first: free ones use the spare room, with less CPU. If all the free slots are taken, you join the waiting list and the server is created automatically when there's room.
Create your account
From “Create your free server”, with your email. No card needed.
Choose Project Zomboid
In “Buy”, the free server is shown above each game's plans.
Wait for the install
The first time it downloads the whole game from Steam, which takes 10–15 minutes. You'll get an email when it's ready.
Join
In the game, “Join” → “Favorites”, with the address and port shown in the panel.
When is it worth paying?
When you want the server on at any hour, when you're more than a small group or run lots of mods or maps, and when you want backups of a game that's lasted weeks. Fort (6 GB), with more CPU than the free server and no queues; Bastion (8 GB) for lots of mods or maps.
From the free server, use “Move to a plan” on its card in “My servers” (or “Choose a plan” in “My plan & invoices”): it stays the same server, with the same save. You pay the full plan and the month starts that day.
Frequently asked questions
Can you get a Project Zomboid server for free?
Yes: with “Host” from the game's menu, with Steam's free dedicated server on a PC that's always on, or with a hosting company's free server, like the NapNodes one (6 GB, Build 42, no card).
Is the NapNodes free server always on?
No: it switches itself off after 20 minutes with nobody on, and you turn it on from the panel with “Start”. For a server that's on at all hours, you need a paid plan.
Can I add mods to a free Project Zomboid server?
Yes, from the Steam Workshop, in the panel's “Mods” tab. The disk is 15 GB and the game takes about 7, so a few will fit; for lots of mods or maps, a plan is better.
Do I lose my save if I move to a plan?
No. When you move it to a plan it stays the same server with the same save: how to move the free server to a plan (in Spanish).
Shall we set it up for you?
Project Zomboid servers from €12 a month, never oversold: your RAM is yours alone. And if you'd rather start without paying, there's a free Project Zomboid server, no card needed.
Not sure whether your server is online? Check it in a second with the Project Zomboid server status checker: players, version and password, free.
Free tool: What does it cost in electricity?. What it costs in electricity to keep the server running on your PC at home, side by side with a plan and the free server.