// comparison
Apex vs BisectHosting vs Shockbyte for modpack servers
We run DSN Servers, a small host that only does modded Minecraft, so we’re not neutral. Right now you can’t buy from us at all: we’re relaunching on new hardware and ordering is closed. So here’s a straight comparison of the three big hosts people ask us about, with every price and spec linked to the host’s own page and the date we checked it, and our planned prices next to them so you can see where we’d fit.
Prices at a glance
| RAM | Shockbyte | Shockbyte budget | BisectHosting | Apex Hosting | DSN (planned) | Source, checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 GB | $7.99 | $3.99 | $5.99 | $7.99 | Not offered | SB · SB budget · Bisect · Apex |
| 4 GB | $15.99 | No 4 GB plan (3 GB $5.99) | $11.99 | $14.99 | $16 | SB · SB budget · Bisect · Apex |
| 8 GB | $31.99 | $15.99 | $23.99 | $27.99 | $30 | SB · SB budget · Bisect · Apex |
| 12 GB | $47.99 | No budget plan over 8 GB | $35.99 | $38.99 | $42 | SB · SB budget · Bisect · Apex |
| Per GB at 8 GB | $4.00 | $2.00 | $3.00 | $3.50 | $3.75 | Worked out from the row above |
When we checked, Shockbyte showed 30% off its regular plans for as long as you keep them (8 GB for $22.39), and Apex offered 25% off the first month with a code. Apex’s 2 GB and 12 GB prices come from the custom-plan picker on its pricing page. Shockbyte’s budget plans come in 1, 2, 3, 6 and 8 GB only. DSN’s prices are what we plan to charge at launch; nothing is on sale yet.
On price per gigabyte, Shockbyte’s budget plans win, and BisectHosting is the cheapest of the regular plans at every size we checked. Our planned prices are not the cheapest, and we won’t pretend they are. The rest of this page is about what each host gives you for the money.
What you’re actually buying
RAM is the number every host advertises because it’s the easiest to compare. Once you have enough of it, the bigger difference is the CPU: Minecraft’s main game loop runs on one thread, so a modpack server leans on the speed of a single core. Our RAM calculator shows how much your pack needs.
| Shockbyte | BisectHosting | Apex Hosting | DSN (planned) | Source, checked | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CPU | Listed per location: AMD EPYC 4004-series chips (up to 5.4–5.7 GHz) in four of its five North American locations, EPYC 9555P in Texas | Not listed per plan. Mixed CPUs, “up to 5.7 GHz”, chosen by its provisioning system; up to 8 shared vCores | Regular plans: “Apex Ryzen Servers”, shared cores at 4.5–4.8 GHz. Specs page lists each city’s CPUs: Ryzen 9 7950X in most, alongside Xeon Gold 6348 and older Xeon and Core i7 chips in some. EX tier (16 GB, $71.99) gets 4 dedicated cores | New hardware: CPU announced before ordering opens | SB · Bisect · Apex specs · Apex EX |
| Storage | NVMe SSD | NVMe, unlimited disk space | NVMe on its Ryzen servers; a few older nodes list plain SSD | Announced before ordering opens | SB · Bisect · Apex |
| Control panel | Its own Shockbyte Control Panel, which replaced Multicraft (out for Minecraft since February 2025) | Its own Starbase panel | A Multicraft-based panel | Pelican, as before the relaunch | SB · SB, Multicraft · Bisect · Apex |
| Backups | Scheduled backups you set up; up to 3 stored at a time | Daily backups, 3 days kept, plus 2 backup slots | A daily world backup; the panel keeps only the latest one | Nightly off-site backups with a monthly restore test, plus your own | SB · Bisect · Apex |
| One-click modpacks | One-click installer; supports CurseForge, FTB, Technic and ATLauncher packs, and more | Over 2,300 modpacks | “Hundreds of modpacks” | CurseForge and Modrinth packs | SB · Bisect · Apex |
| Locations | 5 in North America, plus South America, Europe, Asia and Australia | 21 worldwide, free to switch | 14 cities on its specs page, 6 in North America | One location, planned for US East (Virginia), confirmed before ordering opens | SB · Bisect · Apex |
| Support | 24/7 | 24/7 live chat and tickets; says it answers in 15 minutes on average | 24/7 | The owner, by email and Discord. Not 24/7 | SB · Bisect · Apex |
| Refund window | 72 hours, self-serve | 72 hours, for new customers | 7 days | 7 days from setup, first month | SB · Bisect · Apex · DSN |
| DDoS protection | Included | Included | Included | Confirmed with the new hardware | SB · Bisect · Apex |
“Listed” means the host’s own page names it; we haven’t benchmarked any of these hosts. Where a host’s pages disagree (BisectHosting mentions both 3 and 7 days of backups), we used the plan’s feature list.
Apex vs BisectHosting, head to head
These two come up together more than any other pair, so here they are side by side.
| Apex Hosting | BisectHosting | Source, checked | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4 / 8 / 12 GB | $14.99 / $27.99 / $38.99 | $11.99 / $23.99 / $35.99 | Apex · Bisect |
| Biggest plan | 32 GB, plus the 16 GB EX tier | 48 GB | Apex · Bisect |
| CPU disclosure | Every city’s CPUs listed; dedicated cores only on EX | “Up to 5.7 GHz”, CPU not named | Apex · Bisect |
| Panel | Multicraft-based | Starbase (its own) | Apex · Bisect |
| Automatic backups kept | 1 (the latest daily one) | 3 days | Apex · Bisect |
| Locations | 14 cities | 21 locations | Apex · Bisect |
| Refund window | 7 days | 72 hours | Apex · Bisect |
Pick BisectHosting if price matters most: it’s cheaper at every size here, keeps three days of automatic backups instead of one, and has more locations and bigger plans. Pick Apex if you want to know which CPU you’re on before you buy, a week to change your mind instead of three days, or dedicated cores for a big server (the EX tier).
Is Shockbyte good for modpacks?
It can be, on the right plan. Its own control panel, which replaced Multicraft and has been out for Minecraft since February 2025, has a one-click modpack installer that can also update the pack, and its hardware page lists AMD EPYC 4004-series CPUs at up to 5.4 to 5.7 GHz in most of its North American locations, which suits single-threaded modded servers.
Three things to know first. Its regular prices are the highest per gigabyte of the three ($4 per GB; it was running a 30% discount when we checked). The panel stores at most 3 backups, on a schedule you set up yourself, so set one up on day one. And the budget plans, which are much cheaper ($15.99 for 8 GB), stop at 8 GB, and the budget page we checked doesn’t say which hardware they run on. That’s fine for a light or mid-size pack with a few friends; a 300 to 500 mod pack like All the Mods 10 wants 12 GB once a group spreads out (see the RAM table).
Where each host beats DSN
- All three: you can order from them today. We can’t take orders until the relaunch, and we haven’t published the new hardware yet.
- Shockbyte: its budget plans cost about half our planned price ($15.99 for 8 GB against our $30), and it has more locations.
- BisectHosting: cheaper at every size, 21 locations, 24/7 live chat, over 2,300 one-click packs, and plans up to 48 GB, where our biggest planned plan is 12 GB.
- Apex Hosting: cheaper than our planned prices at all three sizes we plan (4, 8 and 12 GB), 24/7 support, a large guide library, a dedicated-core tier, and a CPU list for every location.
What we plan to do differently: host modded Minecraft only, test a backup restore every month instead of just taking backups, have the person who runs the servers answer your messages, and publish the CPU and location before we take anyone’s money. Whether that’s worth a few dollars more is your call, and you can’t try it until we launch.
How to decide in 30 seconds
- Smallest budget, small group, light pack: Shockbyte’s budget plans.
- Best price on a regular plan, or more than 12 GB: BisectHosting.
- Want the CPU named before you buy, or a 7-day refund window: Apex.
- Want a modded-only host with restore-tested backups and the owner on the other end: join our launch list and compare when we publish the hardware.
- Not sure how much RAM to buy anywhere? Our RAM calculator works it out from your pack and player count, and our server location guide shows how to check ping before you pick a region.
RAM for popular modpacks, at any host
Whichever host you pick, size the plan for the pack. This is what our setup guides recommend for a small group; each guide also has the Java version and the server files.
| Modpack | RAM for a small group |
|---|---|
| All the Mods 10 | 12 GB |
| All the Mods 9 | 12 GB |
| GregTech: New Horizons | 12 GB |
| Prominence II | 12 GB |
| Better MC (BMC4) | 12 GB |
| FTB StoneBlock 4 | 12 GB |
| Vault Hunters 3rd Edition | 12 GB |
| RLCraft | 8 GB |
| DawnCraft | 8 GB |
| The Pixelmon Modpack | 8 GB |
| Create: Above and Beyond | 8 GB |
| Cobblemon (Fabric) | 4 GB |
More in our modpack server guides, the Cobblemon server guide and the NeoForge server guide. Server crashing on whichever host you chose? Paste the log into our free crash log analyzer, and check the Java version chart.
DSN Servers is relaunching.
Ordering is closed while we move to new hardware. Modded Minecraft only, with planned plans of 4, 8 and 12 GB from $16/month. We’ll publish the CPU, storage and location before ordering opens, so you can compare them with the table above. Join the launch list and we’ll email you when servers open.
Competitor prices, hardware, panels, backups, locations, support and refund terms were checked on 12 October 2026 on each host’s own website, linked in each row. We haven’t bought or benchmarked these services. Apex Hosting, BisectHosting and Shockbyte are trademarks of their respective owners; we’re not affiliated with any of them. Spotted something out of date? Tell us and we’ll fix it.