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Web Panels – cPanel vs. Plesk vs. Webmin vs. Others

Many folks who need web hosting these days want the simplest method of managing their servers. To many, it is expected that graphical-user-interfaces (GUIs) are provided along with hosting. Much like those in OSX or Windows.


Hosting control panels are web-based interfaces allowing administrators and/or users to manage various server services from the comfort of a web browser.
Below we take a quick look at some of the most popular options that are available and actively maintained. Ten of these projects are open source and five are proprietary software.

Common Control Panel Features

In general, most control panels implement a common set of features. While most will implement some subset of these, there are a few that include them all.
Web hosting control panel software may provide access to:
  • Domain name system management (web domains, mail domains, etc.)
  • Email system management (email addresses, email quotas, spam prevention, etc.)
  • FTP management (user accounts, password management, file system quotas)
  • Web-based file system access
  • SSH user/key management
  • Database management (MySQL, PostgreQSL and sometimes other database systems)
  • Backup management
  • Logfile access and reporting
  • A plugin system for configuring additional services and installing applications (i.e., a blogging application like WordPress)

Enterprise Control Panel Features

Some projects also have enterprise features like:
  • Manage multiple servers from one control panel interface
  • For hosting providers: allow multiple customers to run the control panel software in parallel on a server
  • Service monitoring and alerting
  • A ticketing system for customers
  • IPv6 support

Control Panel Features Matrix

We all know it is easier to see things visually, so we put together a nice table for you to see all of the control panels and their features quickly.
Below the table, we provide some commentary on each piece of software and have some links to their sites if you would like to investigate more.
Control Panel ReviewsBackend LanguageOpen SourceLinuxWindowsDNSEmailFTPDatabasesipv6Multi-Server
cPanelPerl, PHP
x
xxxxxx
PleskPHP
xxxxxxxx
DirectAdminPHP
x
xxxxx
Core-AdminPHP
x
xxx

x
InterWorxPHP
x
xxxx x x
iMSCPPHP, Perlxx
xx
xxx
FroxlorPHPxx
xxx
x
VestaPHPxx
xxxx

ZPanelPHPxxxxxxxx
SentoraPHPxx
xxxxx
WebminPerlxx
xxxxxx
ISPConfigPHPxx
xxxxxx
AjentiPythonxx
xxxx

BlueOnyxJaxa, Perlxx
xxxxx
CentOS Web PanelPHPxx
xxxxx
VirtualminPHPxx
xxxxxx

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