What is a game server tick rate?

Tick rate is how many times per second the game server updates and simulates the world state. A 64 Hz server runs 64 ticks per second, each tick lasting ~15.6 ms. Higher tick rates produce more responsive gameplay but consume more CPU and bandwidth.

What tick rate do popular games use?

Counter-Strike 2 and Valorant use 128 Hz on competitive servers. Fortnite uses 30 Hz. Call of Duty and most battle royales use 20 Hz. Most FPS games use 64 Hz as a balance between quality and server cost.

How does tick rate affect bandwidth?

Bandwidth scales linearly with tick rate and player count. Doubling the tick rate doubles bandwidth. A 128 Hz server with 64 B packets uses ~65 KB/s per player — roughly double a 64 Hz server.

What packet size should I use?

Typical game update packets are 40–128 bytes for position/state deltas. 64 bytes is a safe default for most shooters. Large open-world games may send 200–500 bytes per tick. Your game engine's network profiler is the best source.

What is tick duration?

Tick duration is 1000 ÷ tick rate (in milliseconds). A 64 Hz server has a 15.625 ms tick duration — meaning no event can be registered faster than that interval. Lower tick durations enable more accurate hit detection.

Tick Rate Calculator

Name: Tick Rate Calculator
Availability: InStock
Author: Nham Vu

Enter your server tick rate and player count to calculate tick duration, per-player bandwidth, and maximum server capacity.

Server Configuration

Tick Rate (ticks/sec)

Packet Size per Tick (bytes)

Typical shooters: 40–128 B. Open world: 200–500 B.

Number of Players

Server Bandwidth Cap (Mbps) — for max player calc

Results

Tick Duration

—

milliseconds

Bandwidth / Player

—

KB/s

Total Bandwidth

—

KB/s

Max Players

—

within BW cap

Tick Rate Comparison

Bandwidth per player at your current packet size

Tick Rate	Tick Duration	BW / Player	Max Players
Enter values above to compare

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Summary

Enter your server tick rate and player count to calculate tick duration, per-player bandwidth, and maximum server capacity.

How it works

Enter your desired tick rate (ticks per second) in the Tick Rate field.
Set the packet size per tick in bytes (default 64 bytes is typical for most games).
Enter the number of players you want to support.
Review the calculated tick duration, bandwidth per player, and total server bandwidth.
Adjust inputs to find the optimal balance between tick rate quality and bandwidth cost.
Use the Max Players field to discover the player limit under a given bandwidth cap.

Use cases

Plan bandwidth budgets for dedicated game servers.
Compare tick rates (20, 64, 128 Hz) to understand quality vs. cost trade-offs.
Estimate hosting costs based on bandwidth per tick and player count.
Verify that your server hardware and network can sustain the chosen tick rate.
Design fair matchmaking pools by knowing the maximum lobby size per server.
Benchmark tick-rate changes during game development and server optimization.
Communicate server specs clearly to hosting providers or infrastructure teams.

Frequently Asked Questions

Last updated: 2026-07-01 · Reviewed by Nham Vu