How Much RAM Does an SCP: Secret Laboratory Server Need?

“How much RAM do I need?” is the first question everyone asks before buying an SCP:SL server. The short answer: 4-5GB for most servers. But SCP:SL is different from games like Minecraft or Satisfactory in ways that affect how you should think about RAM, so it’s worth understanding what’s actually going on.

Quick Reference: RAM by Server Size

These assume vanilla or lightly modded servers. Heavy EXILED setups with many plugins should add 1-2GB to these numbers.

Why SCP:SL Is Different From Other Games

Most RAM guides for game servers focus on world complexity - how many blocks are loaded in Minecraft, how many machines are running in Satisfactory, how large the map is in Valheim. Those games have persistent worlds that grow in complexity over time and eat more memory the longer they run.

SCP:SL doesn’t work that way. It’s session-based. Every round starts fresh with a newly generated facility layout. There’s no persistent world state accumulating between rounds. When a round ends, the server clears it all and starts over.

This means:

• RAM usage is more predictable. A 20-player SCP:SL server uses roughly the same amount of RAM every round, unlike Minecraft where RAM needs grow as players explore.
• Player count is the primary RAM driver. Each connected player is a fully simulated entity with inventory, equipment, role, health, status effects, and position. More players means more entities to track.
• You don’t need to plan for long-term growth. A server that runs well today with 25 players will still run well with 25 players six months from now. The RAM requirements don’t creep up over time.

What Actually Uses RAM

The Server Itself

The SCP:SL dedicated server binary uses roughly 2GB at idle before any players connect. This is the baseline cost of running the server at all - the game engine, the facility generation system, the networking layer.

Players

Each player adds memory overhead for their entity simulation. The per-player cost varies during a round (SCPs are slightly heavier to simulate than human classes due to ability tracking), but you can estimate roughly 50-80MB per connected player as a working number.

This is higher than most games on a per-player basis because SCP:SL simulates each player in more detail - inventory items, role-specific abilities, status effects, position in a 3D environment with physics.

EXILED and Plugins

The EXILED framework itself adds a small baseline cost (under 200MB). Individual plugins vary:

If you’re running a standard set of 5-10 popular plugins, budget an extra 0.5-1GB over your vanilla baseline. If you’re running MapEditorReborn with elaborate custom areas, you may need more depending on complexity.

Facility Generation

Each round generates a new facility layout from predefined room modules. The generation process uses a burst of memory that settles down once the round starts. This is part of why the idle baseline is around 2GB - the server keeps the generation system ready.

When to Upgrade vs When You’re Fine

You’re fine if:

• Rounds run smoothly without crashes
• No noticeable lag when all player slots are full
• Server restarts are clean (no out-of-memory errors in logs)

Upgrade when:

• The server crashes during rounds, especially when player count is high
• You’re adding more plugins (especially map or content plugins)
• You want to raise your max_players setting above what your current RAM supports
• Console logs show memory warnings or out-of-memory errors

Don’t upgrade if:

• You’re experiencing lag but your RAM usage is well below capacity - that’s usually a CPU or network issue, not a RAM issue
• You’re at 60-70% usage during peak - that’s healthy headroom, not waste

SCP:SL vs Other Games: RAM Comparison

To put SCP:SL in context with other games you might be familiar with:

SCP:SL sits in the middle - more than lightweight games like Terraria, less than persistent-world games like Minecraft or Satisfactory. The session-based design keeps things predictable.

Our Recommendation

For most SCP:SL servers - a community server running 20-25 players with a handful of EXILED plugins - 5GB is the sweet spot. It gives you comfortable headroom above the baseline without paying for RAM you’ll never use.

If you’re running a larger public server (30+ players) or a heavily modded setup with custom maps, 8GB gives you room to grow without worrying about crashes during peak hours.

Starting small and upgrading when you need to is a perfectly valid approach. SCP:SL’s predictable memory usage means you’ll know pretty quickly if your current plan is tight.

At WinterNode, all game servers are $1.99/GB with no CPU limits, no storage caps, and no tiers of quality. Get your SCP:SL server → Upgrades are instant and take effect immediately - no migration, no downtime, no waiting.