Bare host or hosted RP server: what actually changes
FiveM RP hosting is more than a machine. A bare host rents you the hardware and leaves the rest to you: the roleplay base, installing it, configuring it and keeping it updated. Nova Studio hosts the server and the city running on it, a QBox base we keep up to date and you set up from inside the game.
01Bare host and hosted RP server are two different jobs
A bare host is a general game host. It rents you a machine or a container, a panel to start and stop the server, file access, often a MySQL database and a one-click FXServer install. What makes a roleplay server, it does not provide: framework, inventory, phone, jobs, police, economy.
A hosted RP server starts from the other end: the city comes with the machine. At Nova, that is a FiveM RP server base built on QBox, with 67 modules shipped together, installed automatically when you subscribe.
02What a bare host leaves to you
- Finding a base, free or paid, and checking what it really contains.
- Installing it: importing the SQL, filling in server.cfg, sorting out the resource start order.
- Tuning every script in its config files, then restarting to see the result.
- Keeping up with FiveM, framework and script updates, and merging them without breaking your own changes.
- Watching for crashes, organising backups, and paying for game anti-DDoS when it is an add-on.
03What Nova's FiveM RP hosting includes
- The machine: OVH Game dedicated servers, NVMe drives and OneSync Infinity, from 64 to 1,024 players depending on the plan.
- The protection: OVH Game anti-DDoS, tuned for FiveM, included in every plan.
- The city: the Nova base on QBox, installed within minutes when you subscribe, with no setup fee.
- The updates: published by Nova Studio and applied at the next restart, database migrations included.
- The extras: a Discord bot connected to the server and a Tebex store linked to your city.
To create the server, you paste your cfx.re key and a Steam key, and link your Discord account, which identifies you in game as the owner. Getting started walks through it, from subscribing to the first connected player.
04Bare host or Nova, item by item
| Bare host | Nova | |
|---|---|---|
| Machine and game anti-DDoS | machine included, anti-DDoS often an add-on | included |
| Roleplay base | bring your own | included, on QBox |
| Installation | do it yourself | automatic, within minutes |
| Updates | apply them yourself | at the next restart |
| Game settings | in files | in game, with /admin |
| Backups | depends on the host | on demand, automatic from NOVA+ |
| Outage alerts | depends on the host | by email |
| Access to the whole machine | often | no, only to your scripts |
The last row is what you give up: control over the whole machine. That is what lets updates apply without you, because nobody can merge a new version into a framework every server has edited. Settings go through the in-game admin panel instead.
05What stays in your hands
- Your scripts, uploaded to the resources/[client] folder with the file manager, as files or as an archive (adding your own scripts).
- Your databases and a table editor: one database with NOVA, two with NOVA+, three with NOVA INFINITY, up to ten with extras.
- The live console, to read what the server is doing and see why a resource will not start.
- Startup settings, from the Configuration screen: slots, name in the FiveM server list, language, voice and inventory.
- A team to run the server with you: one member with NOVA+, as many as you like with NOVA INFINITY, each with their own role.
06Backups, restarts and alerts
A backup saves the server's files and all its databases at the same moment, and restores from your account area. Each plan keeps a set number of them: 3, 5 or 10. From NOVA+, they also run on their own, on the days and at the time you choose (backups).
A scheduled restart waits until no player is connected: it never cuts a game short. If the server crashes, stops responding, loses its database or runs out of space, you get an email that tells you what to do (restarts and updates).
07When a bare host is still the right choice
If you have a developer, want to write your own framework or stay on ESX, or need control over the whole machine, a bare host is the right tool. Nova does not cover that case: the framework is provided and maintained by us. To compare the frameworks themselves, read ESX, QBCore or QBox.
If you want to open a city without spending your evenings in config files, it is the other way round: a managed FiveM server gives you that time back, to spend with your players.
08The price of hosting, base included
One subscription per server covers the machine, anti-DDoS, the base, updates and support: NOVA at €99 a month for 64 players, NOVA+ at €149 for 128 players, NOVA INFINITY at €229 for 256 players. On NOVA INFINITY, each extra slot costs €0.20 a month, up to 1,024 players. Yearly billing charges ten months for twelve, and setup is free.
Before the first stable version, only the plans that include beta channel access can be bought. Compare the plans and launch your server. As with any host, the cfx.re key stays in your name: Nova does not sell it.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between a FiveM host and a hosted RP server?
A bare host rents a machine and a control panel; the roleplay base, its installation, its settings and its updates are up to you. A hosted RP server such as Nova delivers the machine with the city already installed, and keeps it up to date.
Can I install ESX or another base on Nova hosting?
No. The framework is Nova, built on QBox, and that is what we keep updated. Your own scripts go into resources/[client]; those written for ESX need to be adapted.
Do I get access to the files and the database?
Yes, to what is yours: your scripts folder through the file manager, your databases through a table editor, and the live console to follow the server. The framework files are managed by Nova.
Is my data backed up?
Every plan backs up files and databases on demand, and keeps 3, 5 or 10 backups depending on the plan. Automatic backups, on the days and at the time you choose, are included from NOVA+.
How many players can a Nova server hold?
64 with NOVA, 128 with NOVA+, 256 with NOVA INFINITY, and up to 1,024 by adding slots on NOVA INFINITY. The server runs OneSync Infinity.
Do I need a Cfx key to be hosted by Nova?
Yes, as for any FiveM server. You create it on the Cfx.re portal, paste it when you create the server, and it stays between you and Cfx: Nova does not sell it or bill for it.