Looking for a Shockbyte alternative?
Zeros Host is a UK-based game server host focused on Garry's Mod (especially DarkRP), Minecraft, and Discord bots. This page compares the two side-by-side: where Zeros Host wins, where Shockbyte wins, and how to decide which fits your setup. No fluff, no fake benchmarks, no claiming Shockbyte is broken — they are a large well-regarded host and this page treats them like one.
| Feature | Zeros Host | Shockbyte |
|---|---|---|
| Backdoor Scanner (Lua malicious-pattern detection) | Yes | No |
| Mod Manager (install addons from GitHub URL) | Yes | No |
| DarkRP Config Builder (jobs / server.cfg / ULX) | Yes | No |
| Browser IDE (VS Code-style Lua editor in panel) | Yes | No |
| MCP surface (point your own AI at your server) | Read-only live | No |
| Free trial (no credit card required) | 24-hour | No |
| Pricing currency | GBP | USD |
| GMod plans starting at | £5/mo | From $2.50/mo (USD) |
| Game catalogue size | 8 core games | 60+ games |
| Minecraft modpack library | GitHub URL install | 3,000+ one-click packs |
| Server regions | Germany (EU) | US · EU · APAC |
| Company HQ | UK | Australia |
Shockbyte facts pulled from their public product pages at the time of writing (September 2026); if any of the above is out of date on Shockbyte's side, this table is out of date too. Zeros Host figures come from the pricing page and the features page.
Where Zeros Host wins for GMod / DarkRP
A Backdoor Scanner Shockbyte does not have.
Free addon packs regularly ship with hidden remote-access code — obfuscated RunString / loadstring calls, http.Fetch fetch-and-run chains, calls out to known malicious domains. Our Backdoor Scanner is an AST-aware analyser that scans your addon files against known malicious patterns and flags the exact file and line. Included on every plan; no upsell. Shockbyte does not publish anything equivalent as of writing.
DarkRP tooling built by people who run DarkRP.
Job Creator, Shipment Creator, Entity Creator, CustomCheck Builder — all in the panel, no Lua editing required unless you want it. Shockbyte can host DarkRP but does not ship dedicated tooling for it. If you already know DarkRP configuration by heart, this changes nothing. If you spend hours in jobs.lua, it changes a lot.
Point your own AI at your server, in read-only, today.
We ship the Model Context Protocol surface: you paste one command into Claude Code (or any MCP-compatible AI assistant), and the AI can inspect your server files, read your console logs, and search for issues. Writes and power actions are landing next. No other host in this bracket has this. It is not a chatbot in a panel — it is your existing AI, connected to your server, with per-capability keys you control.
GBP pricing, no exchange-rate drift.
Shockbyte prices in USD. If you are a UK or EU customer, your monthly bill drifts with the exchange rate every month — and 2026 has been a rough year for that. Zeros Host prices in GBP. From £5/mo for GMod. What you see is what your card is charged, regardless of what the pound does that week.
Where Shockbyte wins
Zeros Host is not the right answer for everyone. Shockbyte legitimately beats us on four things worth naming:
- ·Game catalogue. Shockbyte supports 60+ games. If you host something we do not — Ark, Palworld, Valheim modded, Space Engineers, Team Fortress 2, Squad, and dozens more — that gap matters and Shockbyte is the better fit.
- ·Minecraft modpack catalogue. Their one-click library covers 3,000+ modpacks from CurseForge, FTB, Technic and ATLauncher. If you want to run a specific existing modpack tonight, they have the shortest path. We install Minecraft mods too, but you point at a repo or upload the jars yourself.
- ·Server regions. Shockbyte has multiple US, EU and APAC nodes. We are Germany (EU) — good for the UK and Europe, bad for anyone whose players live in Sydney or Los Angeles.
- ·Track record + review count. Shockbyte has been running since 2013 and has thousands of Trustpilot reviews. We are newer and we have a small number of reviews. Ratings alone can lie; sample size cannot. If the sample-size gap is what you weight most, that is a fair reason to pick them.
Try Zeros Host in parallel with your Shockbyte server
24-hour free, no credit card, full panel access. Spin up the same gamemode and addon stack you run on Shockbyte and see which one feels right. GMod plans from £5/mo after the trial; keep whichever you prefer.
Start free GMod trial →Frequently asked questions
Why would someone switch from Shockbyte to Zeros Host?
Two main reasons. First: Shockbyte prices in USD, and if you're a UK or EU customer that means the price you pay drifts with the exchange rate every month. Zeros Host prices in GBP, from £5/mo. Second: Zeros Host includes a Backdoor Scanner and DarkRP-specific tooling that Shockbyte does not — if you run Garry's Mod specifically (especially DarkRP), those tools save real time and real incidents.
Is Shockbyte a bad host?
No. Shockbyte is a large, well-regarded host with a huge modpack catalog, dozens of supported games, and a decade of track record. If you need Minecraft with a specific modpack, or you run a game we do not host, Shockbyte remains a reasonable choice. This page is not about Shockbyte being bad — it is about whether Zeros Host is a better fit for your specific stack.
What does Zeros Host support that Shockbyte does not?
Backdoor Scanner (AST-aware Lua analysis for known malicious patterns, included on every GMod plan), Mod Manager that installs addons from a GitHub URL in one click, DarkRP Config Builder for editing jobs / server.cfg / ULX groups visually, and a Browser IDE (VS Code-style editor in the panel). We also ship MCP — you can point your own AI assistant at your server to inspect files and logs.
What does Shockbyte support that Zeros Host does not?
A much larger game catalog (60+ games vs our 8), a 3,000+ Minecraft modpack library with one-click install from CurseForge / FTB / Technic / ATLauncher, servers across multiple US and EU regions, and an official Facepunch partnership for Rust hosting. If any of those matter to your setup, Shockbyte is the honest recommendation.
Can I try Zeros Host before switching?
Yes. Every game type has a 24-hour free trial with full panel access. No credit card required, no phone number, just an account. If you already have a Shockbyte server, run both in parallel for a day — spin up the same gamemode and addon set on each, see which one feels right.
How does migration work if I move from Shockbyte?
Download your server files from Shockbyte (SFTP is easiest), then upload them to your Zeros Host server via the panel File Manager or SFTP. For DarkRP specifically, your addons folder + DarkRP modification + server.cfg cover most setups. If you get stuck, message us on Discord or open a support ticket — we run DarkRP ourselves, we have done this migration.