Homerun Desktop runs the server on your Windows PC and gives your friends one address to paste into Join Multiplayer Game. No port forwarding, no ini files. $1.99 a month, or every game with Premium.
Open the Homerun Desktop installer from your downloads.
If Windows says "Windows protected your PC", check the publisher is Ethereal Network Sciences PBC, then choose More info and Run anyway.
Pick Palworld, press Start, and send your friends the address.
Who can join: friends with Palworld on Steam. Xbox, PlayStation and Game Pass players can't join yet.
ONLINE
PlayStop
Pal IslandPalworld · on This device
1:12:405 of 16 playing
lamball.gethomerun.app:24711Share invite
MEMORY6.4 of 8 GB
CPU38% of this PC
GATEWAY PING31 ms · us-east
Your friends paste one line
No router settings on their side and nothing to install from us. Just their own copy of Palworld.
What you send
lamball.gethomerun.app:24711
Copy it from Homerun Desktop. The number after the colon is part of the address, so paste the whole line.
Where they paste it
In Palworld: Join Multiplayer Game, then paste the whole line into the box under the server list and press Connect.
Friends on Steam can press Play in your invite instead, and Palworld opens for them.
Invite code, rented server, or your own PC
Palworld's own co-op is free and fine for a quick session. Renting sites will tell you hosting yourself means a PC on all day and updates by hand. Here's how that holds up.
Swipe to see the rest
Feature
On your PC
Co-op invite codeBuilt into Palworld
Rented serverPalworld hosts
Players
Up to 32
Up to 4
Up to 32
When the host quits the game
The world stays up
Everyone is sent back to the menu
The world stays up
Your PC
On while the world is online, running in the tray as you play
On, with the host in the game
Can be off
Memory
Your PC's, checked before you create the server. Pocketpair recommends 16 GB
Shared with the host's game
Set by the plan you pay for
After a Palworld patch
Updates itself when it starts
Updates with the game
The host updates it
Where the world lives
On your PC
On the host's PC
On the host company's machine
Cost
$1.99 a month
Free
About $15 to $32 a month
Rented prices for 10 to 32 players at G-Portal and Indifferent Broccoli, checked October 20, 2026.
Palworld is $1.99 a month, or every game with Premium for $7.99 a month or $79.99 a year. Minecraft stays free. Plans are bought inside Homerun Desktop, with no free trial, so nothing charges you later.
No. Homerun Desktop gives your server a public address through its gateway, so nothing changes on your router, and it works on internet where forwarding doesn't, like CGNAT. The UDP 8211 in most guides is for servers set up by hand.
Can Xbox, PlayStation or Game Pass players join?
Friends with Palworld on Steam can join today. Players on Xbox, PlayStation and the Game Pass version on PC can't yet. Pocketpair only lets those versions join dedicated servers listed publicly as community servers, and Homerun Desktop keeps your server private to the people you send the address.
How do my friends join a Palworld dedicated server?
From the title screen, Join Multiplayer Game. They paste the whole address, number after the colon included, into the box at the bottom and press Connect, then type the password if you set one. Friends on Steam can also press Play in the invite you send, and Palworld opens for them.
How much RAM does a Palworld server need?
Pocketpair recommends 16 GB of memory and 4 CPU cores, and says 8 GB runs but crashes more often. If you play on the same PC, the game needs its own memory on top. Homerun Desktop compares the server's needs with your PC before you create it and tells you if it's short.
What's the difference between a dedicated server and an invite code?
An invite code opens your own co-op world to up to 4 players, and it closes for everyone when you quit. A dedicated server runs on its own, takes up to 32, and stays up whether or not you're playing.
Does my PC have to stay on?
While you want the world online, yes. Closing Homerun Desktop leaves the server running in the tray, so you can keep playing on the same PC. Co-hosts you add can start and stop it too.
Friends get "connection timed out" or a version mismatch. What now?
A version mismatch means Palworld patched. Friends update the game on Steam, and you restart the server so it updates too. For a timeout, check they pasted the whole address including the number after the colon, and that the server shows Online in Homerun Desktop.
Can I use Palworld mods?
Not yet. Palworld servers run Pocketpair's server as it ships. If your group wants mods now, Minecraft servers on Homerun Desktop run any Modrinth modpack, and Minecraft is free.
Can I move my existing co-op world to the server?
Not yet. A new server starts a new world, so pick it before your group gets far.
How much does it cost compared with renting a Palworld server?
Palworld is $1.99 a month in Homerun Desktop, against about $15 to $32 a month for 10 to 32 players at the hosts we checked, because the server runs on hardware you already own. Premium is $7.99 a month and adds Valheim, Terraria and Hytale servers.
