North America · Chicago, Illinois

Minecraft & Game Server Hosting in Chicago

Host your Minecraft server, or any of our other games, in Chicago. It is one of the biggest internet hubs in the middle of the country, so players across the Midwest, the Great Lakes and both coasts reach it on a short, even route.

DDoS protection, blazing fast hardware and one control panel for every game.

Create a Chicago server

Live ping test

Test your ping to Chicago

Run a live test from your browser right now. Under 50 ms is great for any game, and most of the central and eastern US sees well under that.

Your ping to Chicago ... ms

Measured live from your browser

Other Nodecraft locations nearbyLatency (ms)
Toronto, Canada 700 km
Atlanta, Georgia 950 km
Washington, D.C. 950 km

Create a Chicago server

Who gets the best ping on Chicago servers?

Ping depends on your internet provider and how your connection is routed, but this is what players typically see on a wired connection to our Chicago location.

Where you play from	Typical ping to Chicago	Good fit?
Chicago, Milwaukee	1 to 8 ms	Ideal
Detroit, Indianapolis	6 to 14 ms	Ideal
Minneapolis, St. Louis	9 to 18 ms	Ideal
Cleveland, Columbus, Pittsburgh	10 to 20 ms	Ideal
Toronto	12 to 22 ms	Great, or use Toronto
New York, Philadelphia	18 to 28 ms	Great, or use Washington, D.C.
Dallas, Atlanta	20 to 32 ms	Great
Denver	22 to 32 ms	Great, or use Denver
Los Angeles, Seattle	45 to 60 ms	Good, or use San Jose or Seattle

Playing from somewhere else? See every Nodecraft server location and test your ping to all of them.

The fair middle for coast to coast groups

Got friends in New York and Denver, or Toronto and Texas? Chicago sits near the center of the country, so nobody on the team ends up with a much worse ping than everyone else.

Move your server anytime

Started on a coast and your group is mostly in the Midwest? Move it to Chicago with the one-click location wizard in your dashboard. Your files come with it.

Same location, any game

Swap your Chicago server between Minecraft, Rust, American Truck Simulator and more at no extra cost. Your saves stay put for when you swap back.

Popular with Midwest players

Every game runs in Chicago, with low ping across the middle of the country.

Minecraft: Java Edition

New Update

Rust

American Truck Sim

ARK: Survival Evolved

Palworld

Project Zomboid

New Update

7 Days to Die

New Update

Valheim

DayZ

Satisfactory

68+ games

Save & Swap anytime!

All Games

Central and eastern locations

Chicago, Toronto or Washington, D.C.?

All three cover the eastern half of North America well. Pick the one closest to the middle of your group.

Choose Chicago

This page

Your ping to Chicago

Players across the Midwest and Great Lakes
Groups spread between the east coast and the Rockies

Choose Toronto

Your ping to Toronto

Players in Ontario, Quebec and the rest of eastern Canada
Groups that are mostly Canadian

Toronto servers

Choose Washington, D.C.

Your ping to Washington

Players on the East Coast from New York to the Carolinas
Groups with friends in Europe

Washington, D.C. servers

Close call? Test your ping above and go with the lowest number for most of your players.

Chicago server hosting FAQ

Where is the Nodecraft Chicago server location?

Our Chicago servers are hosted in a data center in Chicago, Illinois. It is one of 12 Nodecraft locations in North America, alongside Toronto, Washington, D.C., Dallas, Denver and more.
Can I host a Minecraft server in Chicago?

Yes. Java and Bedrock Edition servers can both be hosted in Chicago, with one-click modpacks, plugins and full file access. See our Minecraft server hosting page for plans.
Is Chicago good for players on both coasts?

For mixed groups, yes. Players in New York or Philadelphia usually see around 20 to 30 ms, and the West Coast is closer to 45 to 60 ms. If your whole group is on one coast, a location on that coast will be lower.
Is Chicago a good choice for Canadian players?

For Ontario and the Prairies it works well, usually 12 to 35 ms. If most of your group is in eastern Canada, our Toronto location will be a little lower.
Can I move my existing server to Chicago?

Yes. Open the location wizard from your server in the dashboard, pick Chicago and we move it for you in one click, files and all.
Are Chicago servers protected from DDoS attacks?

Yes. Chicago is on the same protected network as every other Nodecraft location, so attacks are filtered before they reach your server.

Start your Chicago server today

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