{"id":851,"date":"2026-08-12T23:29:40","date_gmt":"2026-08-12T23:29:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bestdedicatedwebhostingserver.com\/blog\/?p=851"},"modified":"2026-08-12T23:29:40","modified_gmt":"2026-08-12T23:29:40","slug":"game-server-tick-rate-explained","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bestdedicatedwebhostingserver.com\/blog\/game-server-tick-rate-explained\/","title":{"rendered":"Game Server Tick Rate Explained: 20 vs 30 vs 64 vs 128 Ticks"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

If you have ever rented a game server and wondered why one host charges more for “128 tick,” this is the setting behind that price difference. The tick rate controls how often the server thinks, and it decides everything from whether your shots register to how much CPU and bandwidth the machine burns. Here is what tick rate actually means, what different games use, and how to tune it without breaking anything.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What a “tick” actually is<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

A tick is one complete pass of the server’s simulation loop: read player inputs, run physics and AI, resolve hits, and send the resulting world state to every connected client. The tick rate is how many times per second that loop runs. A 20-tick server does 20 full simulation passes per second; a 128-tick server does 128. Everything players see \u2014 hit registration, movement, even loot timers \u2014 is sampled at this rate, which is why the number matters so much in competitive games.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Common tick rates by game<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Different games make different trade-offs between simulation fidelity and hardware cost. These are the typical values you will see in 2026:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Game<\/th>Typical tick rate<\/th>Notes<\/th><\/tr><\/thead>
Minecraft<\/td>20 TPS<\/td>Fixed; modpacks drop below 20 when the CPU falls behind<\/td><\/tr>
Counter-Strike 2<\/td>64 (official) \/ 128 (community)<\/td>128 is the competitive standard<\/td><\/tr>
Valorant<\/td>128<\/td>Riot runs 128 on official servers<\/td><\/tr>
Fortnite<\/td>30<\/td>Deliberate trade-off for large lobbies<\/td><\/tr>
Apex Legends<\/td>20\u201330<\/td>Optimized for 60-player matches<\/td><\/tr>
Rust<\/td>30<\/td>Server FPS is tied to tick rate<\/td><\/tr>
Valheim<\/td>20<\/td>Fixed by the engine<\/td><\/tr>
Factorio<\/td>60 UPS<\/td>The factory must grow at 60 updates per second<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Some of these values are fixed by the engine and some are configurable. Always check the game’s documentation before changing the tick rate \u2014 forcing a higher rate than the engine expects can break physics and save files.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why higher tick rates cost more CPU and bandwidth<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Each tick is a full simulation pass, so doubling the tick rate from 64 to 128 roughly doubles the CPU work per second for the same player count. It also increases outgoing bandwidth, because the server sends a world-state update every tick. For a 10-slot shooter at 128 tick, plan on roughly 1.5\u20133 Mbps of upload just for game traffic; at 64 tick, about half that. On the CPU side, a 64-tick 10-slot server runs comfortably on one modern core, while 128 tick on a full server wants a dedicated core at 4 GHz+ that is not shared with anything else \u2014 which is why tick rate is the first thing to check when comparing hosting plans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How to check your server’s tick rate<\/h2>\n\n\n\n