Top cPanel Alternatives worth trying in 2023

Software such as Plesk or cPanel provides a graphical interface and automation tools designed to make website hosting easy even for non-experts. It provides functionality for administrators, resellers, and end-users to control various aspects of a website and server administration through a browser.

cPanel is the most popular, most widely used, and probably a powerful software for managing websites or email accounts. However, it is not free, which is why many webmasters look for free cPanel alternatives.

The world of (web) server configuration tools may seem complicated the first few times, so I thought it was time to take a full look at the best free alternatives to cPanel.

Most of the software that I list in this guide are open source, which means that you can examine their code. You can even make changes you need to. They are all free, but some have limitations for commercial use.

cPanel

We often look for a user-friendly panels that can make the hosting management super easy. CPanel is exactly what makes that happen for you. No matter if you want to manage your files, database, emails ot DNS, having a cPanel for your web hosting account accessibility is everything. For those who are using it, you know what relief it provides to the users.

Do check out: the best cloud hosting providers

Top Alternatives & Competitors to cPanel

First up we have CyberPanel which is like one of the best web hosting control panels out there. It is a simple yet a strong manager that comes with some exciting features to make things simply for you. Besides, if you think it is just for WordPress, you might be loosing the gest here. This one pretty much works wonders for systems like PrestaShop, Joomla, and Magento where you can host PHP applications more seamlessly.

cyberpanel dashboard

Here’s a peak to what happens when you go with CyberPanel. You build swcurity into the panel, it installs FirewallD by default, and all necessary ports are opened. Once it happens, you can easily manage the security and do your needful additions without much effort.

webmin

Here’s the one that fits perfectly as one feature-rich cPanel alternative you can ever find. No matter what your needs are, you can totally rely on this one without any doubt.

Now, here is a fabulous thing, Webmin is pretty much known for the same things that you can find on cPanel without any payment. Yes, this is for free. There are configuring Apache web server, configuring fail2ban, administering users, configuration files, built-in modules, and much more. All these work wonderfully and make every function a lot simpler. However, you may find it disappointing in terms of graphics but don’t judge a book by its cover.

Webmin follows a very precise and straightforward installation procedure. This works even while you are using Ubuntu, CentOS, or Debian. But, if you want to go the extra mile, you can surely use code source via GitHub.

ajenti cpanel alternatives

“An administration tool for a more civilized age…”?Ajenti truly stands by its words like a fast, secure, and highly recommended manager of a Linux system that you can use as a text editor. file manager, a terminal or something else. In fact, there’s more you can do. You can install packages, manage users, and even monitor resources with the ease you are expecting.

Once you add a bunch of plugins to Ajenti, you can upgrade its compatibility and functionality, which make things a lot smoother. Besides, if you know how to use Python, it can totally change the game for you.

In a nutshell, this one is for someone who has some services already running on their server. But how does it happen? Where other panels often delete these existing configurations, Ajenti can easily inherit these settings without any changes. Moreover, these changes are pretty thoughtful because they are non-destructive and not so overwritten files.

ISPconfig cpanel alternatives

Looking for another free cPanel alternative? ISPConfig is an addition to the list, which is one of the most popular ones out there. With over 40,000 downloads, this truly stands as one amazing server with configured Apache2/Nginx, mirroring, DNS, and much more.

Let’s focus on ISPConfig features. It is known to manage multiple servers at once. In case you work with more than one, you can trust ISPConfig, which gives you continuous experience without any extra control panel. This one even works perfectly with CentOS, Ubuntu, and Debian with code via GitHub in an open-source BSD license. Besides, ISPConfig 3 is one free cPanel that has pretty good features that you need from an open-source Linux hosting cPanel.

ISPConfig has the administrator level that helps you configure the server for all users. However, the cPanel for user-level allows you to access only the specified administrative functions.

While we are on server levels, the reseller level enables resellers to resell their assigned resources by the administrator, even if they are based on their created packages. Also, there is a client-level server that has resources allocated to them by resellers, and they have the right to use everything as allowed by the administrator. However, all these rules come with their pros and cons for all.

Froxlor cpanel alternatives

The next one we have is Froxlor which usually describes itself as the light alternative to Webmin. This one is known for its user-friendly interface with amazing features like Let’s Encrypt, MySQL management, PHP configuration and whatnot.

At Froxlor store, you will find Debian packages and a .tar.gz to help you with installation production. It sounds like it works with only Debian, but if you put in a little effort, you can also work with Ubuntu pretty well.

You’ll love the GPL 2.0 license with GitHub coding. If you find anything that fits, you can even edit and distribute software with ease, but there are a few things to keep in mind. For instance, you would want to make changes to the available source.

What’s more? This perfect cPanel alternative is good for management as there are types available to the users – customer, administrator, and reseller. Even if there is no file manager, you can still create an FTP account quickly.

sentora panel

Who wants to spend the money when there are some awesome things available on the internet? Free cPanel? Find Sentora. It’s an easy, simple, and highly intuitive cPanel that controls your web hosting on a cloud VPS server easily. Besides, new VPS server may deploy if you use providers like SkySilk for one-click  Sentora installation.

Let’s have a look at the Sentora features. This one allows you to manage services on your web server including PHP, caching, and MySQL. Not just this, if you want to manage multiple accounts and offers at once, this is the way to go. Not to mention, Sentora can also be your FREE WHM alternative.

Yunohost

Next up, we have YunoHost which is pretty much a self-hosting accessible server operating system. It may not be fully accurate like cPanel or Webmin because its entire focus is only to install self-hosted applications. that’s why there are firewall and reserve proxy managers.

With YunoHost, you can only install applications that officially support the installation of different programs like Nextcloud, WordPress, Baikal and a few others. You can manage a VPS using the YunoHost web interface or the command line. YunoHost officially supports Debian 8 and is primarily written in Python under the GNU General Public License. The code can be found on GitHub.

Vesta

While we are talking about cPanel alternatives, it would be wrong to leave behind Vesta CP. This beautiful control panel will be the true love for Linux users. Wondering why? It is all because of the beautiful features it has. Things like iptables, fail2ban management, top-notch security, email solutions, backups, and much more are what make Vesta one great cPanel to have.

Vesta CP is actually known for its simplicity, effectiveness, and elegance that blends perfectly with servers like Ubuntu, Debian, and CentOS. Managing high-traffic websites is not a big issue too. In fact, if you work with Nginx and have cache plus hosting, it would be pretty easier.

With VestaCP, you won’t have to worry much about updates, viruses, managers, and spam because it takes care of all that automatically. I used both great cPanel alternatives, Vesta CP and Ajenti, with one-click installation on SkySilk. Figure out what was the final outcome when that happened on different servers.

Here’s a thing to notice about VestaCP – since the summer of 2018, Vesta CP went through more automatic attacks through unknown vulnerabilities. However, its standard solutions and protection against SSH connections via private keys can reach the roots of the problems. Therefore, no wonder why many people love it for its such hard security and user safety.

centOS

Webmin is good and all, but it doesn’t work for everyone so unexpectedly. Therefore, we have a CentOS Web Panel that absolutely fills in the shoes of Webmin especially when you have VPS, the private virtual server. CentOS is good at distribution and administrating Apache Web Servers, Firewalls, Nginx reverse proxy, and much more. All the great features about this one are what make it a suitable control panel to go with.

Talking about features, there’s Auto Fixer is totally a game-changer that comes with CentOS. It is great at analyzing all configuration files and does its best to filter any mistakes out automatically.

All you need to install the CentOS system is a working LAMP stack and at least 1GB of free space in RAM. Even though it is supported by CentOS, you can still use Debian and Ubuntu to examine many other options. However, its code is not open-source but is free to use.

kloxo

Last but not the least, we have Kloxo, which is a fine product of LXCenter. Why is it a perfect replacement for cPanel? The credit goes to its design, interface, and almost similar features that cPanel has. Not to mention, it absolutely integrates with Web Hosting Billing and Automation Platform (aka WHMCS), Hostbill, and AWBS. You know how valuable these are for your control panel requirements.

Wrapping up

Having a perfect cPanel is a pretty difficult job especially when your needs are specific. Not everyone has to go with the obvious choice. Therefore, these cPanel alternatives are here to give you more options to try. Most of them are even free ones. So, try them out and find your perfect cPanel.

Vashishtha Kapoor

Myself Vashishtha Kapoor and I am a freelance technical writer & digital marketer for hire. I help clients grow their web visibility by writing in-detail content about digital marketing and WordPress. Connect with me on LinkedIn and discuss how to grow your business.