Latency determines how your server feels to play on. A 10ms ping means the game responds instantly. A 120ms ping means inputs feel delayed, blocks preview incorrectly before placing, and PvP becomes a guessing game.
Where your server physically sits determines a large part of that number. This is not about hosting marketing. It is physics. Light travels through fiber optic cable at roughly two-thirds the speed of light in a vacuum. Distance adds delay. Routing adds more.
The Netherlands sits at an unusually advantageous position in the global fiber network, and that matters directly for your players.
The AMS-IX Advantage
Amsterdam is home to the Amsterdam Internet Exchange, commonly called AMS-IX. It is one of the largest internet exchange points on earth, processing over 10 terabits of traffic per second.
An internet exchange point is where networks physically interconnect. When a player in London connects to a server in Amsterdam, packets often pass through AMS-IX directly. No unnecessary hops across multiple carriers. No routing through Frankfurt or Paris and back. Direct exchange.
This keeps latency predictable and low. A player in London typically sees 8 to 12ms to a server hosted in Amsterdam or Almelo. A player in Paris sees 10 to 15ms. A player in Berlin sees 12 to 18ms.
Compare that to a server hosted in, say, Dallas, Texas. The same London player now sees 90 to 110ms. Frankfurt gives 12ms, but routes differently and adds more variance during peak hours.
Transatlantic Connections Through Dutch Infrastructure
Multiple transatlantic submarine fiber optic cables land in or route through the Netherlands and connecting North Sea coast infrastructure. These cables carry data between North America and Europe at close to the speed of light.
What this means practically:
- A player on the US East Coast connecting to a Netherlands server sees approximately 80 to 100ms round-trip latency
- A player on the US East Coast connecting to a server in Germany or France often sees the same or worse, because their transatlantic traffic still routes through UK and Netherlands exchanges anyway
- Players anywhere in Western or Central Europe see under 30ms
For a server hosting an international community with players split across Europe and the US East Coast, the Netherlands is genuinely the optimal single location. No other European country achieves the same routing efficiency for both audiences simultaneously.
What 20ms vs 80ms Actually Feels Like
Numbers are abstract. Here is what different latency ranges mean in practice for a Minecraft or FiveM server:
Under 20ms: The game feels local. No perceptible delay. Blocks place instantly. PvP is fair. This is what Dutch, German, Belgian, and UK players get on a Netherlands server.
20 to 50ms: Slightly perceptible delay on fast movements or PvP. Acceptable for most players. This covers most of Western Europe and East Coast US.
50 to 100ms: Noticeably sluggish. Block previews lag before placement confirmations arrive. PvP becomes frustrating. This is what East Coast US players get on a Netherlands server, and what European players get on a US-hosted server.
Above 100ms: The game feels broken for any action-heavy gameplay. This is what West Coast US players or Southeast Asian players experience on a Netherlands server.
If your player base is primarily European with some US East Coast players, Netherlands hosting serves both audiences well. If your player base is primarily West Coast US or Asia-Pacific, a Netherlands server is the wrong choice.
Netherlands vs Germany vs UK: How They Compare
All three are in Western Europe with strong infrastructure. The differences are real but smaller than Europe vs US comparisons.
Netherlands: Best routing due to AMS-IX and submarine cable proximity. Lowest average latency across Western Europe. The Netherlands data center market is projected at USD 12.27 billion in 2026, reflecting consistent investment in fiber density and cooling infrastructure.
Germany: Frankfurt (DE-CIX) is the other top-tier European exchange. Slightly higher average latency for UK and French players. Excellent for Central and Eastern European player bases.
United Kingdom: Post-Brexit, cross-channel routing adds minor overhead for EU-based players. Good for UK-heavy communities. Less optimal as a single location for mixed EU audiences.
For a general European game server, the Netherlands is the strongest single choice.
Regional Hosting in Overijssel and Almelo
Not all Netherlands hosting is in Amsterdam. Data centres in Overijssel, including Almelo, connect to the same national fiber backbone with high-capacity links to Amsterdam exchanges.
For players within the Netherlands, a server in Almelo is marginally faster than one in Amsterdam. The difference is under 5ms and irrelevant for most use cases. What matters is that the provider's upstream connectivity is high-quality, with redundant paths to AMS-IX and direct peering where possible.
Regional data centres in Overijssel also benefit from lower real estate costs compared to Amsterdam, which translates to more competitive pricing without compromising network quality.
How to Verify Latency Before You Buy
Test before committing to a host. Most reputable providers offer a looking glass or a test IP you can ping directly.
From Linux or macOS:
ping test.space-node.net
From Windows:
ping test.space-node.net
Run 50 or more pings and look at the average and the standard deviation. A stable 12ms average with low deviation is better than a 10ms average with constant spikes to 80ms.
Traceroute shows you the exact path packets take:
traceroute test.space-node.net
Count the number of hops and look for any that add significant delay. More than 8 to 10 hops between you and the server, or any single hop adding more than 30ms, indicates poor routing.
The Bottom Line
Buying a server in the Netherlands is not a marketing angle. The fiber density, AMS-IX peering, and transatlantic cable proximity make it the most geographically logical choice for European game server hosting and international communities with European and US East Coast players.
Your players notice latency. They do not read spec sheets. They notice when the game feels instant versus when it feels like it is fighting them.
Space-Node operates from the Netherlands with direct upstream connections to high-capacity European exchanges. All plans include enterprise-grade DDoS protection and NVMe storage.