FiveM Server Requirements

What a FiveM server genuinely needs, and which of the numbers you will read elsewhere are sizing a script-dense roleplay city while calling it a minimum. Two of the four constraints here are not hardware at all.

The four things that actually constrain a FiveM server

CPU: one fast core beats many slow ones

The FXServer main loop is effectively single-threaded, so the tick rate your players feel is set by single-thread performance rather than by core count. This is the constraint that actually stops a server growing: pushing past 64 concurrent players is a CPU problem long before it is a memory one. Extra cores help with the surrounding work, the database and streamed asset delivery, but they cannot make the main loop faster.

RAM: sized by your resource list, not your slot count

A bare FXServer is light. What consumes memory is everything you install on top: the framework, ox_lib and ox_inventory, a dispatch system, a phone, voice, job packs, and above all custom MLOs and streamed vehicles. Two servers with identical slot counts can differ several-fold in RAM depending on how much city has been built. Budget from the resource list.

A MySQL database, before the framework starts

ESX, qbcore and qbox all store characters, jobs, vehicles and inventories in MySQL through oxmysql. The database is not optional and it has to exist and be reachable at boot, or the framework throws on its first query and txAdmin restarts it in a loop. On a VPS the database also competes for the same RAM as the game server, which is a cost people forget to count.

Disk: streamed assets, not the server files

The FXServer artifacts and a framework install are small. Custom vehicles, clothing packs and MLOs are not, and they are the reason an RP server outgrows its disk. Plan for the content you intend to stream rather than for the base install.

The slot cap is not a hardware question

This is the requirement that surprises people, because no amount of CPU or RAM lifts it. Your maximum player count is set by Cfx.re, not by your server:

Tier	Maximum slots	Cost to you
Free, without OneSync	32	Free
Free, with OneSync	48	Free
Element Club Argentum	64	Paid, direct to Cfx.re
Element Club Aurum	128	Paid, direct to Cfx.re

A server configured above its tier fails its heartbeat and drops out of the public server list, which is a far more confusing symptom than a clean error. If you intend to run more than 48 players, the Element Club subscription is a requirement of the platform and is paid to Cfx.re rather than to any host. No host can include it or waive it, and one that implies otherwise is selling you something it does not control.

Ports

FiveM is refreshingly simple here. Exactly one port needs to be reachable publicly:

30120, TCP and UDP. Both protocols on the same number. Game traffic and the server listing both depend on it, so a rule written for only one protocol produces a server that half works.
40120, TCP. The txAdmin web panel. This one is for you, not for players, and it should never be open to the world without a password set.

On a managed deployment both are handled at deploy time. On a VPS they are yours to open, and a missing UDP rule on 30120 is one of the more common reasons a freshly built server never appears anywhere.

Sizing a plan

The honest way to size a FiveM server is to start from what you are running rather than from how many people you hope will join. These tiers pair the game server with a synced MySQL database, so the database is not eating the same memory as the server:

Plan	Game server	Database	Suits
32 slots, $9.91/mo	6 GB, 3.5 vCores	1 GB MySQL	A modest city, a framework and a normal script list
48 slots, $13.28/mo	8 GB, 5.5 vCores	2 GB MySQL	A script-dense build, several MLOs, an active community
64 slots, $16.39/mo	12 GB, 6.5 vCores	2 GB MySQL	A large RP city with heavy streamed content (Element Club required)

If you are unsure, the resource count is a better predictor than the player count. A 32-player server running two hundred resources works harder than a 48-player server running forty.

What the requirements do not include

Two things belong on this list even though they are not specifications. The first is a Cfx.re licence key, which is free, issued to your own account from the Cfx.re portal, and pasted into txAdmin after deploying. Without it FXServer exits before your framework is even reached. Because it is registered to you rather than to a host, it is also what makes a server portable.

The second is uptime. An RP community is a schedule as much as a server, and a machine that is only on when you are is a different product from one that is always there. That is the real dividing line between self-hosting and managed hosting, and it does not appear in any spec table.

Deploy a right-sized FiveM server

Port 30120 open, txAdmin ready, MySQL provisioned and connected. From $9.91/mo, first month free.

Frequently asked questions

How much RAM does a FiveM server need?

It is set by your resource list rather than your slot count. A modest city with a framework and a normal script list is comfortable on 6 GB; a script-dense build with several MLOs and large streamed content wants 8 to 12 GB. Figures of 16 or 32 GB quoted as a minimum are sizing a large roleplay city, not a floor for FiveM itself.

Is FiveM CPU or RAM bound?

CPU, at the point where it matters. The FXServer main loop is effectively single-threaded, so tick rate and desync are governed by single-thread performance. Growing past 64 concurrent players runs into that ceiling well before it runs into memory.

What ports does a FiveM server use?

Port 30120 on both TCP and UDP for the game and the server listing, and TCP 40120 for the txAdmin panel. A rule that covers only one of the two protocols on 30120 leaves you with a server that partially works, which is harder to diagnose than one that does not work at all.

How many slots can a FiveM server have?

32 on the free tier without OneSync, 48 on the free tier with it, 64 on Element Club Argentum and 128 on Aurum. The cap is enforced by Cfx.re and no hardware lifts it. A server configured above its tier fails its heartbeat and disappears from the public server list.

Do I need a database for a FiveM server?

For a vanilla server, no. For ESX, qbcore or qbox, yes, and it has to be reachable before the framework starts or it fails on its first query and restarts in a loop. On our plans MySQL ships with the server rather than as an add-on, and it does not share memory with the game server.

Do I need my own Cfx.re key?

Yes. It is free, issued from the Cfx.re portal to your own account, and pasted into txAdmin after deploying. FXServer will not start without one. Because it belongs to you and not to your host, moving between hosts later costs nothing but time.