About this census — October 23, 2026
This census is a point-in-time snapshot of every realm tracked by this site, compiled on the most recent tracker check date, October 23, 2026, from src/_data/servers.js. The tracker holds 255 entries on this date, each classified by popTier and byEra via src/_data/vocab.js. Population tiers are not raw headcounts but editorial bands used to sort discoverability and queue expectations. Large means a persistent high population with active peak queues and guild recruitment. Medium means comfortably populated with regular dungeon and raid formation. Small means niche but viable, often with 50 to 300 concurrent and an active Discord. Tiny means experimental, fresh, or very low concurrency, sometimes 0 to 50 online and maintained by a solo developer. Unknown means no verifiable concurrency, typically in-development, shuttered, or unreported projects. Because popTier is curated from Discord presence, site claims, and update recency rather than live census addons, the bands describe community health more than exact numbers. Era grouping follows vocab.js ERA mapping, which collapses tags into playable eras for navigation. Vanilla covers pure Vanilla, Vanilla+ and Classless so that custom Vanilla worlds remain findable beside blizzlike 1.12. WotLK, TBC, Cataclysm, MoP, Legion and TWW map directly to their client, while Multi and Other collect cross-expansion and experimental tags. The tables below are built live from the same dataset that powers the homepage and expansion pages, so counts update when servers.js changes. Use the popTier table to filter by expected activity and the era table to jump to the expansion you actually want to play, then open individual server cards for status, last-checked date, and related history. This page contains no external links; every link stays on-site.
Category guides below explain how to apply each band and era without guessing. Large suits players who want instant dungeon pops and a bustling auction house but can handle spawn competition and economy inflation. Medium balances activity with community recognition, ideal if you prefer a guild where names matter yet raids still fill. Small trades convenience for tight-knit guilds and often more authentic rates, best for scheduled play. Tiny is for testing, contributing early, or helping a new project grow when you accept empty zones and volunteer staffing. Unknown is a watchlist, not a recommendation, covering in-development realms, shuttered archives, and projects without verifiable concurrency; check updated dates before waiting for a launch. For eras, Vanilla is a broad umbrella, WotLK is the most script-complete and varied ecosystem, and the remaining eras from TBC through TWW split the rest, allowing you to stay within a preferred client while switching playstyle. The census carries the tracker's most recent check date; site.reviewed (September 23, 2026) tracks the last full content audit, so future audits can diff this snapshot against live tracker counts at any time.
Population tier distribution — live from servers.js
| Tier | Count | Share | Visual |
|---|---|---|---|
| large | 11 | 4.3% | |
| medium | 8 | 3.1% | |
| small | 33 | 12.9% | |
| tiny | 67 | 26.3% | |
| unknown | 136 | 53.3% |
By-era grouping — via vocab.js ERA
Category guides — how to read tiers
Large (11)
Persistent high concurrency, frequent queues, stable auction house. Best for instant groups. Expect competition. Example filter: tracker → Pop Large.
Medium (8)
Healthy population without megaserver pressure. Raids fill, world feels alive, names still recognizable.
Small (33)
Niche and often blizzlike. 50 to 300 concurrent, Discord-driven scheduling. Choose for authentic rates and tight guilds.
Tiny (67)
Early, experimental, or solo-dev realms. 0 to 50 online. Good for testing or seeding a community, not for immediate endgame.
Unknown (136)
No verifiable number — in-development, archived dead, or silent projects. Always check updated and release on the server card before planning.
Using both tables
Cross-reference tier with era. A small Vanilla realm behaves differently from a small WotLK realm due to core maturity. Start with era, then tier.
Category guides — how to read eras
- Vanilla (59): includes Vanilla, Vanilla+, Classless via
ERA. Largest umbrella. See guides for OctoWoW setup and per-server pages like Elysium Project, Kronos V, Stonetavern, SoloCraft, Project Legacy, Ravencraft, GrimfallWoW. See vanilla. - TBC (19): 2.4.3 realms. See tbc.
- WotLK (124): 3.3.5a, most varied and script-complete. Picks include Warmane, Chromiecraft, Sunwell.pl, Dalaran-WoW, TrueWoW, WoW-Mania, Elwynnkeep, Maelstrom, Warstorm, Freedom WoW. See wotlk.
- Cataclysm (14): 4.3.4 realms. See cataclysm.
- MoP (8): 5.4.x realms. See mop.
- Legion (9): 7.3.5 realms. See legion.
- TWW (3): TWW / Dragonflight-era. See tww.
- Multi (11): cross-expansion networks. See multi.
- Other (8): unmapped tags like MOBA. See other.
Expansion pages — internal navigation
Jump to any era page. Each page lists its servers and includes the expansion intro guide dated 2026-09-02 where available.
Vanilla TBC WotLK Cataclysm MoP Legion TWW Multi All servers