Best SCP: Secret Laboratory Server Hosting in 2026

SCP: Secret Laboratory is a round-based game, so a server doesn’t carry a growing world from week to week. What it carries is a community: a player count that peaks every evening, an EXILED plugin stack that has to survive every game update, and a spot on the official server list that depends on staying online. Hosting pages for SCP:SL are hard to compare, though. Some hosts sell RAM, some sell player slots, some bundle RAM into named plans, and several charge extra for CPU cores. This comparison lines up the hosts that sell SCP:SL on price per GB, CPU policy, and support model, using each host’s own SCP:SL page, so you can pick one without guessing.

How We Ranked These Hosts

Price per GB of RAM. Where a host sells RAM or states the RAM in each plan, we compare the per-GB rate. Hosts that bill per player slot without stating RAM are listed at a comparable player count instead, rather than given a per-GB figure they don’t publish.

Like-for-like tiers. We compare each host’s recommended or most popular plan against WinterNode’s equivalent, never a competitor’s budget tier. Where a host splits plans into quality tiers, we use the non-budget one.

CPU policy. A full SCP:SL round means dozens of players, SCP abilities, and constant position updates, all processed on the server. A host that caps you at a fixed number of vCores, or sells CPU priority as an add-on, will show it at peak hours when your server is full.

Support model. SCP:SL problems are usually a plugin that broke after a game update, a failed auto-verify, or a config change that didn’t apply. Whether you reach 24/7 live chat, a ticket queue with a 12 to 24 hour window, or a support desk with set hours matters when your server is down on a busy night.

How Much RAM Does an SCP:SL Server Need?

Less than persistent-world games, because each round starts fresh and memory doesn’t pile up over weeks. Player count and EXILED plugins are what move the number. Our SCP:SL RAM guide covers what uses memory and gives a recommended allocation for each server size, from a private group to a large public server with heavy plugins. Size your server with that guide, then use the prices below to see what that allocation costs at each host.

The Best SCP: Secret Laboratory Server Hosting in 2026

WinterNode

WinterNode sells one plan type at $1.99/GB with no quality tiers, no CPU limits, and no cap on player slots. Plans start at 3GB ($5.97/mo), and the 5GB tier we recommend for a 20 to 25 player community is $9.95/mo. A large public server on 8GB is $15.92/mo.

You can choose the EXILED Plugin Framework at checkout, and plugins install through the File Manager or SFTP. Servers have static IPs for !verify static, NVMe storage that’s unmetered with free expansion, backups twice daily with 45-day retention, DDoS protection, and a 99.9% uptime guarantee, on AMD Ryzen hardware in 9 locations. Prices above are for Chicago and the European locations; Los Angeles and Miami add $1/mo, and New York and Sydney add $2/mo. Start your SCP:SL server at WinterNode and it’s online in under 60 seconds. There’s no free trial, but every plan is backed by a 48-hour money-back guarantee.

BisectHosting

BisectHosting sells SCP:SL on its BisectOne plan at about $3.00/GB, with a 3GB minimum. The 4GB plan its site flags as most popular is $11.99/mo, against $7.96/mo for 4GB at WinterNode. Its BisectOne page says plans can access up to 8 vCores under fair usage rather than hard per-plan caps, and BisectOne includes a dedicated IP. The SCP:SL page advertises EXILED framework integration and 3 days of free backups. Support is 24/7 by live chat or ticket, and it runs 21 locations. New customers can get a refund within 3 days of activation.

PingPerfect

PingPerfect bills per slot on top of a hardware tier. Its “Most Popular” plan is 12 slots with 6GB for $11.03/mo, about $1.84/GB, which is less per GB than WinterNode’s $11.94/mo for 6GB. The catch is the slot count: 12 slots is half a standard community, and its cart tops out at 24 slots, where the plan it lists is $33.52/mo on Extreme hardware. Its page and cart also disagree on how much RAM the base plan includes (4GB vs. up to 9GB). PingPerfect does a lot right for SCP:SL: one-click EXILED and LabAPI from its Mod Manager, nightly offsite backups with restores up to a week back, 20 locations, and 24/7 ticket support. CPU is fair usage with paid priority add-ons. It offers a free 48-hour trial and a 48-hour money-back guarantee, with payment gateway fees deducted from refunds.

Shockbyte

Shockbyte sells SCP:SL as fixed plans. Its “Most Popular” Euclid plan is 3GB for 20 players at $11.99/mo, about $4.00/GB, against $5.97/mo for 3GB at WinterNode, which doesn’t cap players. CPU is the bigger difference: Euclid includes 2 vCores, and 4 vCores (+$4.00/mo) or 7 vCores (+$10.00/mo) cost extra. Its page says it supports EXILED plugins, its store lists NVMe storage with unlimited disk space, and its terms cap backups at 3. A dedicated IP is a $5.00/mo add-on. Refunds are self-serve within 72 hours of payment for new services.

GTXGaming

GTXGaming bills per slot at $0.71, so 20 slots is $14.20/mo, with up to 5GB of RAM included and higher amounts sold as add-ons. Storage is NVMe with up to 100GB included. Normal CPU priority is included, and High (+$6.32/mo) and Realtime (+$12.67/mo) priority are paid add-ons, along with clock-speed boosts. Its SCP:SL page doesn’t mention EXILED, LabAPI, or verification. It offers 24/7 support by ticket and Discord, lists 19 locations on its order form, and refunds within 24 hours.

Survival Servers

Survival Servers bills per slot with a Standard (“Basic Tier”) or Premium hardware option. Its “Most Popular” size is 20 slots, which is $17.94/mo on Premium (overclocked CPU, DDR5, NVMe) at the standard recurring price (the first payment is discounted). It includes the LabAPI framework, supports EXILED plugins by upload, and its panel explains how to request Northwood’s verification review. RAM isn’t stated. Support is by ticket with responses promised within 12 to 24 hours, across 8 locations. Its FAQ offers a refund within the first 72 hours, though its terms of service say refunds are only made in special circumstances.

XGamingServer

XGamingServer sells fixed RAM plans with unlimited slots on Ryzen 9 7950X hardware. Its recommended Rookie plan is 8GB for $25.00/mo, about $3.13/GB, against $15.92/mo for 8GB at WinterNode. Each plan comes with a set number of dedicated CPU threads (3 on Rookie). Its page has a one-click plugin manager for LabAPI and EXILED plugins. Backups run every 24 hours on a best-effort basis. Its legal terms limit refunds to uptime or unresolved technical problems, with no general money-back window. It runs 5 locations on its order form.

ZAP-Hosting

ZAP-Hosting bills per slot, with about 205MB of RAM per slot, and offers a Standard or Premium CPU tier. Standard runs on 2.0 to 3.4 GHz hardware, so the like-for-like comparison is Premium (3.4 to 4.4 GHz), which doubles the price: 20 slots with 4GB is $26.44/mo at its base German location, US locations add 11.2%, and London, Montreal, Sydney, and Singapore add 56%. EXILED is a separate game version you pick, and your own IPv4 address is a $3.36/mo add-on. ZAP’s page calls it an official server provider for SCP:SL, but the answers on its own Q&A disagree on whether its servers are verified, listed automatically, or need a pastebin entry, so ask before counting on it. Support runs daily from 10:30 to 23:00 by ticket, live chat, and email, across 8 locations. It offers no money-back guarantee; its terms give EU consumers a 14-day withdrawal right, which its checkout says ends once the server is set up.

Iceline Hosting

Iceline sells preset plans in GBP. Its “Recommended” Roleplay plan is 2 vCPU, 8GB, and 30GB NVMe for £21.60/mo (about $28.59), against $15.92/mo for 8GB at WinterNode. CPU has a guaranteed baseline with bursting when spare capacity is available. Its page says it supports EXILED and other plugin frameworks, and backups are included without a stated retention. Support is 24/7 by ticket, Discord, and email, across 6 locations. You can get a full refund within 48 hours, and a prorated account credit up to 14 days.

Head-to-Head: WinterNode vs. the Field

The honest case against WinterNode: PingPerfect’s most popular plan is less per GB ($1.84 vs. $1.99), offers one-click EXILED and LabAPI, and comes with a free 48-hour trial. BisectHosting, PingPerfect, GTXGaming, and Shockbyte all run in more locations than WinterNode’s 9. And if you want one-click plugin installs, PingPerfect and XGamingServer have them in their panels, where WinterNode adds EXILED at checkout and plugins by upload.

The case for WinterNode is price and policy together on the plans people actually buy. Compared on each host’s own recommended or most popular plan:

• 3GB: WinterNode $5.97/mo vs. Shockbyte Euclid at $11.99/mo, with no vCore limit.
• 4GB: WinterNode $7.96/mo vs. BisectHosting at $11.99/mo, with 45 days of backups instead of 3.
• 6GB: WinterNode $11.94/mo vs. PingPerfect at $11.03/mo. PingPerfect is $0.91 less, but caps that plan at 12 slots, where WinterNode has no slot cap.
• 8GB: WinterNode $15.92/mo vs. XGamingServer Rookie at $25.00/mo and Iceline Roleplay at about $28.59/mo.
• 20 players on slot-billed hosts: WinterNode’s recommended 5GB tier at $9.95/mo, against $14.20 (GTXGaming), $17.94 (Survival Servers Premium), and $26.44 (ZAP-Hosting Premium).

No other host here states backup retention beyond about a week, and WinterNode keeps 45 days with no CPU limits and no slot cap. For an SCP:SL community, WinterNode is the better host and the more affordable one on the plans that match how people actually run servers.

EXILED Plugin Support: What to Look For

EXILED is the main community plugin framework for SCP:SL. It loads through LabAPI, Northwood’s official plugin framework that ships with every dedicated server, and plugins are .dll files dropped into the EXILED Plugins folder. Everything runs server-side, so players join with the normal client.

What a host needs to support:

• EXILED installed or easy to install. Some hosts offer EXILED as a game version you pick at checkout, others expect you to run the installer yourself. Either works, but a checkout option saves a step.
• Full file access. You need SFTP or a file manager that reaches .config/EXILED/Plugins and the dependencies folder under it, plus the per-port config files plugins generate.
• Backups and an update routine. SCP:SL updates can break EXILED and plugins until their authors catch up. WinterNode servers pull the latest game build on restart, so check that your plugins support it before restarting after a patch, and know how to get a backup restored if something breaks.

On WinterNode, you choose the EXILED Plugin Framework when you order, and plugins install by uploading the .dll through the File Manager or SFTP (step by step). For which plugins are worth running, see our best EXILED plugins guide.

Verified Server Listing: What It Takes

Verification is what puts your server on the official in-game server list. Without it, players can only join by Direct Connect with your IP and port. Northwood’s Safety and Compliance Team decides verification, not your host, and the requirements are the same everywhere:

• A public IPv4 address. IPv6 addresses and domain names can’t be verified. A static IP lets you use !verify static.
• Required config fields. contact_email, your own serverinfo_pastebin_id with a contact method for players, and a server_name, all in config_gameplay.txt.
• No more than 60 slots. Verified servers above 60 slots may be de-listed.
• Uptime. Verified servers are expected to stay online. A server offline for 14 or more days in a row loses verification.
• Community Server Guidelines. Breaking them can get verification revoked.

Auto-verify from the console is instant when it works. If it fails, the fallback is an email to Northwood’s team, which takes 3 to 7 business days. WinterNode servers have static IPs and run 24/7 with a 99.9% uptime guarantee, and support can help troubleshoot a failed auto-verify. Our verification walkthrough covers every field and the troubleshooting steps.

Player-Count Sizing

Pick your slot count first, then size RAM to it.

• Private or friends server (up to about 15). Rounds work with fewer players, but a group of 10 to 15 fills out the starting roles: SCPs, Class-D, scientists, and guards. Verification is optional here, since friends can Direct Connect.
• Standard community (20 to 25). The most common public setup, and the size several hosts’ “most popular” plans target.
• Large public server (30 to 40). Rounds get chaotic in the way public players come for, and CPU load climbs with every player. This is where vCore limits and CPU priority add-ons on other hosts start to matter.
• Above 40. Possible, but keep the 60-slot cap for verified servers in mind, and plan for more RAM and CPU headroom than a 30-player server needs.

max_players lives in your server config, and our settings guide covers it alongside the other values worth changing. WinterNode doesn’t cap slots at any plan size, so the only limit is the RAM you choose, and you can upgrade at any time. The RAM guide maps each of these sizes to an allocation. See SCP:SL plans at WinterNode.

FAQ

What is the best SCP: Secret Laboratory server host in 2026?

WinterNode, at $1.99/GB with no CPU limits, no slot cap, 45-day backup retention, and EXILED available at checkout. PingPerfect’s most popular plan is less per GB but capped at 12 slots, and BisectHosting’s most popular 4GB plan is $11.99/mo with 3 days of backups.

How much RAM does an SCP: Secret Laboratory server need?

It depends mostly on player count and plugins. See our RAM guide for a recommendation by server size.

Does WinterNode offer a free trial for SCP: Secret Laboratory?

No. WinterNode doesn’t run an SCP: Secret Laboratory trial. Every plan is backed by a 48-hour money-back guarantee instead, which covers you if the server doesn’t work out.

Can a host get my SCP:SL server verified?

No host can approve verification. Northwood’s Safety and Compliance Team decides it, and you request it from your server console with !verify static (or !verify dynamic without a static IP) once your config fields are set. A host’s job is a static public IPv4 address, stable uptime, and help if auto-verify fails.

How much does SCP: Secret Laboratory server hosting cost per month?

At WinterNode, $5.97/mo for a 3GB private server, $9.95/mo for the 5GB tier we recommend for a 20 to 25 player community, and $15.92/mo for 8GB, all at $1.99/GB with no slot caps.

Do players need to install EXILED to join my server?

No. EXILED and LabAPI plugins run on the server only, and players join with the normal game client.

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