ESX Server Hosting

ESX is the oldest of the roleplay frameworks and still the one with the deepest script library behind it. It is also the lightest of the three on CPU, which changes what you need to rent. Servers here start at $9.91 a month with MySQL already provisioned and txAdmin waiting for your licence key.

What running ESX actually demands

Less than people expect, and more than the framework alone suggests. ESX itself is a set of resources on a standard FiveM server, so there is no special build and no special host. What it does insist on is a MySQL database, reached through oxmysql, that exists and is populated before the server first queries it. Skip that and the server restarts in a loop while the console repeats the same connection error.

Everything after that is your resource list, not the framework. A stock ESX install is small. An ESX city with a full job set, a phone, a dispatch system and a few large MLOs is not, and it is the MLOs and the inventory that move memory, not the number of players in the slot count.

Why the CPU question favours ESX

Of the three common frameworks, ESX is generally the lightest on CPU, with qbox in the middle and qbcore the heaviest. That matters more on FiveM than on most game servers, because the parts that decide whether a busy evening stutters are single-threaded: a fast core beats extra cores nearly every time.

In practice that means an ESX server can often sit comfortably a tier lower than an equivalent qbcore one at the same player count. Size from your resource list, then check the console during your first busy evening rather than trusting anyone's table.

What you get on a Flux plan

A dedicated server with txAdmin on its own address, ready for the ESX recipe or a manual install.
MariaDB and the operator that keeps it synced across instances, in every tier rather than as an add-on.
Ports 30120 on TCP and UDP and txAdmin on 40120 published for you, so there is no forwarding to get wrong.
Your own cfx.re licence key, registered to your Cfx.re account rather than to us.
A region you choose at deploy from more than 50 countries, changeable later.

Plans are $9.91, $13.28 and $16.39 a month for 32, 48 and 64 slots. Past 48 slots FiveM itself requires a Cfx.re Element Club Argentum subscription on your key, at $15 a month paid to Cfx.re with OneSync enabled; without it a server set higher keeps running but leaves the public server browser. That applies to every host, not just this one.

Deploy a server for ESX

Database connected, txAdmin running, ports published, in about a minute. First month free if your Flux account is new.

Frequently asked questions

Is ESX hosting different from FiveM hosting?

No. ESX is a resource set on a standard FiveM server, so any host that runs FiveM runs ESX. The only thing that genuinely varies between hosts is whether a MySQL database comes with the plan and arrives already connected, because ESX cannot start without one.

How much RAM does an ESX server need?

Size from the resource list rather than the framework. ESX is the lightest of the three common frameworks, so a modest city often runs comfortably on the 6GB game server in the 32-slot plan. Heavy MLOs, large inventories and a full job pack move that up faster than the player count does.

Can I run ESX and switch to qbox later?

The server does not change, only what you install on it. Both are resource sets using MySQL through oxmysql on a standard FiveM install. A migration is a resources and database job, so take a dump before you begin and expect to rebuild rather than translate your character data.

Do I need my own cfx.re key for ESX?

Yes, and it is the same free key any FiveM server needs, issued from the Cfx.re portal to your own account. Paste it into txAdmin once after deploying. Because it is registered to you rather than to the host, moving elsewhere later never costs you the server identity.

Which framework should a new server pick?

Nothing on this page needs you to pick ESX. ESX has the deepest script library and the lightest CPU profile, qbox is the actively maintained modern option and keeps compatibility with most qbcore scripts, and qbcore remains very widely deployed. All three run on the same server with the same database, so the hosting decision does not lock the framework decision.