How much RAM does a Team Fortress 2 server need?
Team Fortress 2 is an old, extremely well-optimised engine, and its memory requirements reflect that.
132 Players
Recommendation
You need a server with at least
4GB
- Engine / Base OS:
- 2 GB
- Player Overhead:
- +1.2 GB
- Estimated Raw Usage:
- 3.2 GB
- Suggested cores:
- 2
- Disk to allow:
- 25 GB+
Old, well-optimised engine. Custom map downloads use more disk than the game itself.
View 4GB PlansWhat actually drives Team Fortress 2 memory use
The Source engine holds one map at a time and clears state between rounds, so usage is stable and low. What does add up is custom content: community map rotations, custom sounds and cosmetic assets all get loaded, and a heavily customised server can use noticeably more than a stock one.
The mistake to avoid
Sizing for the player slots rather than the map rotation. Thirty-two players on stock maps is cheap; a custom map pack with large downloads is what actually raises the requirement.