Host & Play vs dedicated server: the comparison
| Host & Play | Dedicated server | |
|---|---|---|
| Who must stay online | The host. "Host & Play games are started via the regular Terraria application", the world "is saved to and runs entirely from their device", and "The world shuts down when the player that hosted the world leaves the world" (Multiplayer). | Nobody's client. TerrariaServer.exe "Can be run stand-alone" (Server), "Servers now save the world when the last player leaves", and "When no players are online the server hibernates" (Server). |
| Port forwarding | Not for the Steam route: these methods "use Steam's servers to broadcast your world" and reach Steam friends only (Steam multiplayer guide). Joining by IP from the internet still needs the port forwarded. | "The server runs on TCP port 7777 by default", and behind NAT "the port used must be port-forwarded in order for other players to be able to join" (Server). A VPN tool is the workaround below. |
| Can mobile join | No. The Steam multiplayer guide carries the banner "This information applies only to the Desktop version of Terraria" (Steam multiplayer guide). | Yes. Mobile's Online menu joins "a server by entering its IP and port", and desktop-mobile play shares dedicated servers "due to the perfect parity" between the two (Multiplayer). |
| Cost | Included with the game — it is a mode of the regular client (Multiplayer). | The server program is a free download (Server); what costs is a machine that stays on and a connection players can reach — yours, or a rented server. |
What Host & Play actually does
"Host & Play games are started via the regular Terraria application" — one player picks a world, becomes the host, and from then on "the world is saved to and runs entirely from their device" (Multiplayer). The wiki adds that "This option is normally used for smaller LAN games or for small online games", which is the honest size of it: fine for an evening, wrong for anything that should outlast the evening.
The limit is stated in one sentence, and it is the whole case for a dedicated server: "The world shuts down when the player that hosted the world leaves the world" (Multiplayer). The host's game closing, crashing or going to bed is the server going away.
Who can get in is also narrower than a server. Players join "by choosing 'Join via IP' from the multiplayer menu or 'Join via Steam' if they are friends on Steam" (Multiplayer) — so the Steam route is limited to Steam friends. The Steam guide walks the host side: from the title screen, "Multiplayer" then "Host & Play", then choose "Friends Only" "if you want friends to be able to freely join" or "Invite Only" "if you only want select friends to join". On the joining side, "Join via Steam" "will open the Steam overlay to the 'Friends' dialog" where a friend clicks Join Game beside the host's name (Steam multiplayer guide). Two caveats from the same page: "These methods will not allow you to set up a dedicated or LAN server but rather use Steam's servers to broadcast your world", and "Steam Multiplayer for Terraria was introduced in 1.3.0.1, and will not work for older versions."
Playing without port forwarding
Two routes avoid opening a port on your router. The first is the Steam route above: friends join through Steam's servers, no forwarding on your end, but only Steam friends and only on the desktop version of the game (Steam multiplayer guide).
The second is the wiki's own workaround, and it works for both hosting styles: "If one cannot forward a port, one may choose to use a VPN service like Hamachi or Radmin VPN instead", "although in those cases, every player needs to install the VPN software" (Server). The tools put every player on one virtual network, so the game talks as if you were on the same LAN. The wiki's summary of the trade is fair: "This removes the need of having to port-forward, but relies on a third party program" (Server). Radmin VPN and Hamachi each have a free tier for small networks; every player installing one is the price.
The third option is not to avoid the port but to host where it is already open: on a cloud machine the instruction is to "ensure port 7777 on TCP and UDP is open to allow connections to the server" (Server). Our port forwarding for game servers guide covers the home-router side, and Terraria server not connecting covers the join that never finishes.
Making a Terraria server that stays on 24/7
"How do I make a Terraria server 24/7" is really a question about the program and the machine. The program is the dedicated server download from the wiki's Server page — currently "Terraria Server 1.4.5.8" — whose main file TerrariaServer.exe "Can be run stand-alone" (Server). No player, no client, no host: since 1.4.5.0 "Servers now save the world when the last player leaves", so the world is there the next time someone connects (Server).
The machine side is what actually decides whether the server is there tomorrow. The server needs a computer that stays on, with "TCP port 7777" reachable — forwarded on a home router, or already open on a hosted machine (Server). The bundled start-server.bat "Also contains a loopback to restart the server if it should crash", which is the wiki's own answer to staying up through the night (Server). Capacity is not the constraint it was: "The default max number of players is 16 (8 pre-1.4.0.1)" (Server). Our Terraria dedicated server setup guide walks the install; the crossplay rules for who can join it are in the Terraria crossplay guide.
Renting a server or hosting it yourself
Both columns in the table above are free to stand up: Host & Play ships with the game, and the dedicated server program is a free download. What you are ever paying for is a machine that stays on and a connection players can reach without you doing anything — first your own hardware and router, then, if you would rather not, someone else's.
If you would rather have a server that stays online without running it yourself, ForgeWorld Gaming’s Terraria plan is Terraria Standard, 4 player slots, CA$8.99/month; the availability page shows whether orders are currently open. Other sizes and tiers are not available yet. Your server is set up automatically after payment. Current plans and prices are on the Terraria availability page.