Best GTA Multiplayer Mods to Host a Server (FiveM, RAGE MP, MTA)

The best GTA multiplayer mods to host a server for are FiveM and RAGE Multiplayer for GTA V, open.mp and Multi Theft Auto for GTA: San Andreas, and GTA Connected for GTA III, Vice City, San Andreas and IV. FiveM is the biggest by far and the usual choice for roleplay. RAGE MP suits developers who prefer JavaScript or C#, and the San Andreas mods are cheap, light and still busy. RageCOOP is the odd one out: it adds co-op to GTA V's story mode rather than running a custom city.

None of these are GTA Online. Each one is a separate platform that connects players to community servers with their own scripts, cars, maps and rules. Every player needs their own legal copy of the GTA game the mod runs on, plus the mod's client.

Every GTA server platform compared

1. FiveM

FiveM, made by Cfx.re and now part of Rockstar Games, is where GTA V roleplay lives. Servers run frameworks like QBCore, Qbox or ESX, and txAdmin, the web panel built into FiveM, deploys a whole roleplay setup from a recipe and handles restarts, bans and whitelists. Every server needs a free license key from the Cfx.re portal, and that key allows up to 48 players.

• Best for: roleplay cities, police and EMS communities, drift and freeroam servers.
• RAM: 4 GB for freeroam or a test server, 8 GB for QBCore, Qbox or ESX with up to 32 players, 12 to 16 GB once you add many custom cars, MLO maps and scripts.
• Read next: QBCore vs Qbox vs ESX, best free FiveM scripts and FiveM for GTA V Enhanced.

2. RAGE Multiplayer

RAGE MP is an independent GTA V multiplayer platform. Gamemodes are written server side in JavaScript (Node.js) or C#, which many developers find cleaner than stitching together Lua resources. Since 2025 the client supports both GTA V Legacy and Enhanced, so players can stay on whichever edition they own.

• Best for: teams building a custom gamemode from scratch, racing leagues, roleplay servers with their own codebase.
• RAM: 4 GB for a freeroam or development server, 8 GB for roleplay with a steady crowd, 12 GB for a heavy C# gamemode near 100 players.

3. RageCOOP

RageCOOP is an open source mod that adds co-op to GTA V's single player story mode. Instead of a custom city, friends share the story world: run missions together, cruise across the state or play with other single player mods. Every player needs ScriptHookV, ScriptHookVDotNet and the RageCOOP client. The last numbered release came out in late 2023 with nightly builds since, so it suits groups happy to tinker.

• Best for: a few friends who want to mess around in story mode together.
• RAM: 1 GB for story co-op with a few friends.

4. open.mp

open.mp is a drop in replacement for the SA-MP server that keeps backwards compatibility with Pawn gamemodes and filterscripts while fixing old bugs and getting regular releases. If you are starting a San Andreas server today, this is the server to run. Players can join with the open.mp launcher or the old SA-MP client.

• Best for: new San Andreas roleplay, stunt, drift or deathmatch servers.
• RAM: 2 GB for freeroam or deathmatch, 4 GB for a roleplay city with a database, 8 GB for large roleplay with heavy mapping.

5. SA-MP

The original San Andreas Multiplayer, around since 2006. Version 0.3.7 supports up to 1000 players per server. Many old communities still run their gamemode on it unchanged, and it remains the lightest server on this list.

• Best for: existing SA-MP communities that do not want to touch a working setup.
• RAM: 1 GB for freeroam, 2 GB for a roleplay city with plugins.

6. Multi Theft Auto

MTA is the other big San Andreas platform, built by volunteers and free to download. Its strength is Lua scripting: game modes, maps and scripts are resources, and players download the client side parts automatically on join. Race servers in particular are an MTA tradition, and the official resource pack ships race, freeroam and play modes out of the box.

• Best for: race communities, deathmatch arenas and roleplay servers with Lua developers.
• RAM: 2 GB for race, deathmatch or freeroam, 4 GB for roleplay with many scripts and a database.

7. GTA Connected

GTA Connected covers the classic games: GTA III, Vice City, San Andreas, GTA IV and Episodes from Liberty City. Resources are written in Lua, JavaScript or Squirrel, and the mod syncs peds, traffic and even missions. If your group wants Vice City or Liberty City multiplayer, this is the way.

• Best for: nostalgia servers on the older games.
• RAM: 2 GB for freeroam with friends, 8 GB for roleplay with saved player data.

Which GTA mod should you pick

1. You want a GTA V roleplay city: FiveM. The scripts, frameworks and players are all there.
2. You are building your own GTA V gamemode in C# or JavaScript: RAGE MP.
3. You want to play GTA V's story with friends: RageCOOP.
4. You want San Andreas with Pawn: open.mp, or SA-MP if your gamemode already runs there.
5. You want San Andreas with Lua and races: Multi Theft Auto.
6. You want Vice City or GTA IV: GTA Connected.

Hosting a GTA server

Every one of these is a server program you can run at home, but a roleplay city needs to stay online when the owner is asleep, needs a database next to the scripts and attracts DDoS attempts from banned players. A GamezServers server gives you your own address, always on DDoS protection, SFTP and a file manager for resources, a live console and one click backups before you deploy that new script. FiveM servers come with their own MariaDB database inside the server. Start with a FiveM roleplay server or pick any platform from the table above.

FAQ

Is FiveM or RAGE MP better?

FiveM has far more players, scripts and frameworks, so it is the better choice for most roleplay servers. RAGE MP suits developers who want to write their own gamemode in JavaScript or C#.

Do players need to own GTA to join these servers?

Yes. Every player needs their own legal copy of the GTA game the mod runs on, plus the mod's free client.

Can more than 48 players join a FiveM server?

Not with a free Cfx.re license key, which allows up to 48. Higher slot counts need a paid Cfx.re subscription tied to your own account.

Is SA-MP still alive?

Yes. SA-MP servers still run, and open.mp keeps the scene going with a modern server that runs old SA-MP gamemodes unchanged.