Nowadays, cPanel is the most widely used control panel and the most popular solution for server and website management. It’s been in existence for more than two decades, meaning almost everyone in the hosting industry has either worked with or has experience with the cPanel as their web host’s control panel by now.
But what if I tell you that cPanel is not the only available option and that there are other free alternatives on the market? While some people are well-aware of this fact, others got so “fixed” on the cPanel, continually overseeing other options. After all, some of these free alternatives are even better than cPanel hosting for specific companies, business goals, and objectives.
In this post, you will be able to find out in detail about the best free cPanel alternatives and get the answers to all related questions that you might have.
Top 7 cPanel Alternatives
As mentioned, the market offers a bunch of cPanel alternatives. However, selecting a quality one sure requires some skills and possibly extensive experience. Here are the top seven suggestions to facilitate your choice.
Alternative #1: SPanel
SPanel is a cPanel replacement that allows you to manage your cloud VPS services. With this option, you can save the cPanel license fee but also get a lot of additional benefits in the process. Fast forward, SPanel doesn’t imply any software limitations. It’s also pretty lightweight, thus faster than the cPanel itself.
The best part is, if you go for SPanel, you will get a comprehensive all-in-one solution, not just the regular control panel you might be used to seeing. Furthermore, the fully managed SPanel cloud VPS has better security, faster websites, and 100% email deliverability.
Pros:
- A separate admin interface and user interfaces
- Supports Apache, Nginx, LiteSpeed Enterprise, OpenLiteSpeed, and others
- No software limitations (host unlimited websites, emails, databases)
- A free SSL certificate is automatically installed and renewed on each site
- It helps you manage emails with ease
- Allows you to migrate unlimited websites without hassle
- You can choose PHP version easy and quickly
- It comes fully managed and with a free demo version
Cons:
- Offered exclusively by ScalaHosting
Alternative #2: Ajenti
Ajenti is a free service that allows you to administer your server remotely using a clean and straightforward interface. It’s designed to be light and flexible, allowing non-technical website owners to avoid arduous searches for copy-paste code solutions. Its development staff is also constantly iterating and enjoys receiving customer feedback.
Ajenti offers a safe way to handle Linux using file managers, web terminals, and text editors, among other things. Furthermore, It has a firewall that can be configured via the control panel.
The Ajenti UI is also mobile-friendly. It can run on a wide range of devices because of its minimal resource usage. There’s the fact that, unlike cPanel, it’s free, open-source, and can be found on GitHub.
Pros:
- User-friendly even with users with fewer needs
- Access everywhere with responsive remote terminal
- Install once and never google for PuTTY downloads again
- The Ajenti software is safe to use
- Fully extensible with Python and JavaScript
- Efficient for users with no advanced knowledge of Linux distributions
- Embedded web-hosted server
Cons:
- It only works with Linux servers
- The technical support is not free
- You must reset Ajenti after each fundamental change
Alternative #3: Froxlor
Froxlor is maybe the closest alternative to being “lightweight” as almost every service is attempting to compete with cPanel. This open-source platform results from a dedicated group of “Froxies” working to create a free panel for the entire internet, has an easy-to-use customizable interface, and quick performance that will not slow won your systems.
Froxlor includes features such as PHP configuration, SQL database management, Let’s Encrypt, and security through SSL. Its ticketing mechanism makes it ideal for web developers who work for clients, as it’s simple to access the server and make modifications in response to customers’ problems.
Pros:
- User-friendly lightweight server management software
- Open-source (GPL) panel – free for personal and commercial use
- Specific PHP configuration for each domain
- True Multistack, Advanced SSL, Let’s Encrypt, Themeable interface, Trafficcalculation, and so on
Cons:
- Pretty difficult to install and setup
- It doesn’t have a file manager
- Only works on Debian servers
Alternative #4: Webdock
is a semi-managed VPS provider with a unique and handy control panel, the Webdock Control Panel. You can perform some basic actions with it, such as adding a site, domains, setting up SSL certificates, and adding shell users. However, if, for instance, you want to change the PHP version or perform a similar, not standardized activity, you will have to enter the command line and work from there. In other words, you will have to have at least some technical knowledge to get the most out of the Webdock Control Panel.
On the good side, Webdock is excellent for WordPress. You can easily install the CMS, provision a server of your choice, connect your domain, or even update the server’s domains from Webdock itself.
Pros:
- Best for developers or administrators looking for serious performance
- Free inclusion of transactional emailing
- Easily run cron jobs, manage databases, files, SSLs, backups, scripts, and so on
- Optimized and secure LEMP stack on the VPS that runs many applications
- Supports Ubuntu, AlmaLinux, CentOS, and Debian
Cons:
- Not suitable for shared hosting (multiple websites on a single VPS)
- No staging environments
- Linux support only
Alternative #5: Vesta
Vesta is a Linux server control panel that is free and open-source. It includes a well-designed UI with easy-to-read graphics, making server monitoring simple. Vesta added a built-in firewall and controlled backups to its security capabilities. It also includes a command-line option for managing the server.
The Vesta control panel is recommended for small server administration because it is ideal for first-time users who want a simple interface. Its free version includes all of the essential server management features, while SFTP chroot and commercial plugin support are available in the premium edition.
Pros:
- User-friendly interface available in 26 languages
- Includes the Softaculous auto-installer with over 439 apps
- Extremely fast web interface
- Requires low resources and uses the latest and greatest versions for optimized configuration
- Built-in firewall, monitoring & logging, included backups
- All core functionalities are free
- It works with CentOS, Ubuntu, and Debian
- Available CLI interface to work in terminal
Cons:
- Unsatisfactory security levels
- Complicated PHP
- Customer support is not free
Alternative #6: ISPConfig
The number of people using ISPConfig is increasing. The main reason for this is that it allows you to administer several servers from a single control panel. It can set up Apache2, Nginx, mail server, DNS, mirroring, and more.
Better yet, the ISPConfing web panels work with various Linux distributions, including Debian, Ubuntu, and CentOS. It also has many integrations, including a malware scanner. Also, ISPConfig offers four levels: user, client, reseller, and administrator, which makes it ideal for domain sales.
Pros:
- Open Source, transparent, and free
- A team dedicated to continuous development
- You can control multiple servers from one panel
- Works with a wide range of Linux server configurations
- Stable, secure, and ultra-fast solution
- A competitive range of control features
- Enterprise support, huge documentation, and a big community with a support forum
Cons:
- It does not have tech support
- It can be a bit too complex for new users
- Requires manual installation
Alternative #7:
Last but not least, Aapanel is yet another free webserver management control panel. It has a GUI-driven interface and superior security features. It’s simple to use and closely resembles the Plesk environment. Simply put, it’s a small program that can run on almost any server.
The best part is that Aapanel is simple to set up. It contains a single script that can be executed on a freshly built server—the script changes depending on the operating system. It is built as a LAMP stack, which means it is modular. Only 512MB of RAM and 100MB of storage space are required as a minimum.
Pros:
- One-click function ( one-click install LNMP/LAMP developing environment and software)
- Quickly deployable web environment with Apache, Nginx, and OpenLiteSpeed
- Abundant panel expansion, resource monitoring, free security extension
- A powerful online editor that’s easy to use, customize and install
- Manage Python projects using an Aapanel editor
- You can create and manage Website, FTP, Docker, and Database
- Constantly added free features
Cons:
- It has no tech support and no Reverse Proxy
But the question at this point is, what grants the cPanel immense fame among users worldwide? Why are we looking for alternatives similar to cPanel in the first place?
What Makes cPanel So Popular Among Users?
When discussing web hosting management software, the most commonly used by approximately 90% of the web companies is cPanel. And here’s why:
- It is user-friendly: easy to master for newbies with a simple interface design. It is straightforward, and you can accomplish anything you want with a single click.
- Anyone can install the cPanel Control Panel without any special knowledge, skill, or tech experience. There’s also an explanation and documentation available for each operation to help you quickly fix your mistakes and get back on the right track.
- cPanel is incredibly safe and prevents users from doing something risky by which they can cause damage to themselves. The “Backup Wizard” is also included.
However, as shown, the cPanel control panel is not the exclusive provider of these things, meaning you can easily find these benefits elsewhere.
What Features Should a cPanel Alternative Have?
The list is non-exclusive, meaning you can analyze the market and find another solution for your business. Still, you must determine what features are essential and needed before you go and spend your money on a cPanel alternative. At this point, you need to answer what you are looking for?
- Determine whether you are going for Self-Hosted and SaaS cPanel Alternative: Self-hosted control panels are frequently free or require a low-cost license, suitable for those with more server maintenance experience. The increasingly popular “software as a service” (SaaS) alternatives, on the other hand, are convenient if you want to run with specific software, such as WordPress. Most of the top SaaS cPanel options also provide fantastic assistance for individuals new to VPS hosting. These Installations are often painless, requiring just the execution of a simple script to link your VPS to their hosted server management panel.
Important Important: Self-hosting means you own the software and are responsible for operating it (together with your IT team). It is an attractive solution for large enterprises that want increased security and stability and smaller businesses with significant IT skills. The SaaS cPanel alternatives are exceptionally user-friendly because updates, maintenance, and security are placed in the hands of actual, full-time dedicated specialists. - Check whether your control panel is compatible with your server’s operating system: If you opt for a self-hosted cPanel alternative, you must ensure that you can install the control panel on your server; if you opt for a hosted (SaaS) alternative, you must ensure that the install script is compatible with your server’s specifications and Linux distribution.
- Ease of use, customer support, and pricing: consider convenience, customer support, and pricing. The support and ease-of-use choices like RunCLoud are well worth the extra money. They will help you troubleshoot advanced issues with your content management systems and help you if your backups start failing. If you’re using a self-hosted server management panel, you will have to deal with this.
- Features and the functionality you are used to (if you are a cPanel user): if you have used cPanel to date and you want to switch to an alternative, you will look towards the option that will provide you with the functionality you are used to—functionalities such as databases, backups, FTP, email, and easy deployment of web applications. But while this will come in handy if you are already a cPanel user, we don’t encourage relying on your server management panel for everything. Some of the hosted cPanel options, in particular, will not have email capability.
Conclusion
Sure, finding the appropriate cPanel alternative is not easy, but it can get easier if you know what you are looking for. Today, we went over the most critical elements of the most refined free control panels. Importantly, each of the panels listed above has made its footprint. However, in the end, the most outstanding panel is the one that meets your needs.
All of these free cPanel alternatives have one thing in common, and that is that they make your server management faster and easier. So, even though it’s up to you to choose – essentially, you cannot go wrong!
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