5 Free cPanel Alternatives in 2023

CPanel is an online Linux-based graphical interface (GUI) used as a control panel to simplify website and server management. CPanel allows you to publish websites, manage domains, organize web files, create email accounts, and more. With a rich feature set and customer-first support, cPanel’s automated and configurable platform enables customers to focus on growing their businesses. It is one of the most popular control panels in the Market.

However, cPanel is not free. Actually, cPanel cost higher than its other competitors in the market. It is competent but for people with small-scale businesses, they will find it hard to spend so much.

Therefore, in this article, we have listed several free alternatives to cPanel, giving more choices for businesses with tight budget.

ISPConfig is a widely used open source hosting control panel for Linux, licensed under BSD license. It allows users to manage websites, email addresses, MySQL and MariaDB databases, FTP accounts, Shell accounts and DNS records through a web-based interface.

The ISPConfig can perform multiple tasks to manage your hosting server. It is available in 22 languages with a web interface to manage multiple servers. Just like the WHM/cPanel, it can be installed on the most secure servers such as Ubuntu, CentOS, Fedora, Debian, OpenSuSE based on physical servers and virtual machines. It offers different access level environments, including Admin, Reseller, and Client Cpanel.

The ISPconfig open-source web hosting control panel, written in PHP language, supports both Apache and Nginx web servers installed on your managed VPS servers.

Single and Multiserver Management capabilities are both there, which help to manage one or more servers from a single control panel. The Add-ons available for the ISPconfig are ISPConfig 3 Billing Module, ISPProtect Malware Scanner, and ISPConfig 3 Migration Toolkit. Extensions/Plugins: ISPConfig 3 mail user interface for Roundcube & SquirrelMail; a module for Exchange servers and hosted VPS management.

Download ISPconfig: Link and online demo.

Features

fiber_manual_record IPv4 and IPv6 support
fiber_manual_record Name-based and IP-based virtual hosts
fiber_manual_record SSL websites and SNI support allow more than one SSL vhost per IP address
fiber_manual_record CGI, PHP (available PHP modes for Apache: mod_php, FCGI, CGI, HHVM, and SuPHP; for Nginx: FCGI (PHP-FPM) and HHVM)
fiber_manual_record Individual PHP settings per website
fiber_manual_record Ruby and Python (Apache only)
fiber_manual_record Rewrites/redirects
fiber_manual_record Custom Apache/Nginx directives
fiber_manual_record Subdomains and Alias domains
fiber_manual_record Password-protected folders (basic HTTP authentication)
fiber_manual_record WebDAV (Apache only), FTP users
fiber_manual_record Shell users (jailed and non-jailed), SFTP, SCP; password- and key-based logins
fiber_manual_record Email: SMTP, POP3, IMAP, POP3S, IMAPS, Email accounts, Email aliases, Spamfilter, Postgry greylisting, DKIM Mail signing
fiber_manual_record Virus filter and Firewall
fiber_manual_record Whitelists and Blacklists
fiber_manual_record Virtualization (through OpenVZ)
fiber_manual_record Quota/Traffic Limits
fiber_manual_record XMPP Chat Server
fiber_manual_record DNS wizard for creating zones easily
fiber_manual_record HTTP: Apache2 and Nginx
fiber_manual_record Master and slave DNS servers
fiber_manual_record Webalizer & AWStats statistics
fiber_manual_record Traffic limits and statistics

Pros

fiber_manual_record Works with a wide range of Linux server configurations
fiber_manual_record Control multiple servers from one panel
fiber_manual_record Competitive range of control features
fiber_manual_record Low server resource needs：ISPConfig is very lenient on server resources, and unneeded service can be disabled to conserve resources (email, DNS, FTP, etc), allowing it to run on very low-RAM servers.
fiber_manual_record Virtualization support：ISPConfig is one of the open-source control panels that support virtualization technology natively. It allows you to create OpenVZ containers (virtual servers) and set up a virtualized environment.

Cons

fiber_manual_record Potentially too complex for new users
fiber_manual_record No tech support：Finding technical help can be difficult. Although you can buy an official user manual, no other official means of help is available. You’re forced to ask (or beg) for help in the forum, and the answers may or may not ever come.
fiber_manual_record Difficult to setup: Getting ISPConfig installed and configured on your server can be a difficult task. It does not come with a one-click auto-installer and is semi-manual. (semi-automatic). Although guides are available, most are user-submitted and may be outdated or incomplete. Some hosting provider can offer installation assistance on demand. If you buy a hosting from Database Mart and would like to install ISPConfig in your hosting environment, simply leave a note or submit the request through a ticket and they would love to help.

CyberPanel is an easy to set up open-source control panel. It uses LiteSpeed Web Server instead of the more popular Apache or Nginx web servers. A lot of people like CyberPanel because LiteSpeed Web Server offers excellent performance. Basically, it takes most of the technical complexity out of creating, configuring, and managing your own hosting server.

Features

In terms of features, CyberPanel offers everything that you’d expect from a server control panel including the following:

fiber_manual_record Automatic software installer for WordPress, Drupal, and some other software.
fiber_manual_record ModSecurity to protect your server/sites.
fiber_manual_record One-click Let’s Encrypt installer for SSL certificates, along with automatic renewals.
fiber_manual_record FTP server management.
fiber_manual_record Database management, including phpMyAdmin.
fiber_manual_record DNS management, including a Cloudflare integration.
fiber_manual_record Email support, including webmail powered by Rainloop.
fiber_manual_record Automatic backups, including real-time incremental backups.
fiber_manual_record Staging/clone site functionality for WordPress.
fiber_manual_record Git deployment to your CyberPanel sites.
fiber_manual_record Containerization, including support for Docker containers.

Pros

fiber_manual_record It uses LiteSpeed Web Server, which is rare in a server control panel. Most other panels are only for Apache or Nginx and/or don’t offer native LiteSpeed support.
fiber_manual_record It’s free and open source. If you’re ok with OpenLiteSpeed you get unlimited usage at no cost.
fiber_manual_record It gives you all of the core features that you need to manage sites/servers, along with useful features such as WordPress staging sites and site cloning.

Cons

fiber_manual_record The interface/user experience is not as nice as some other popular tools, especially SaaS server control panels.
fiber_manual_record It can have issues with bugs, especially with newer releases. It’s generally a good idea to wait before applying updates.

The Control Web Panel (CWP) is a powerful, community-driven web control panel designed to manage the dedicated servers and VPS. The Linux operating systems it supports are CentOS/RHEL 6. x and CloudLinux distribution. It has different licensing options:

fiber_manual_record A free version.
fiber_manual_record A Pro version — with or without support.
fiber_manual_record A special Pro version for partners.

The installation of the CentOS is very easy but make sure you opt for it only for your fresh server. It also comes with the Softaculous Auto app Installer that can install hundreds of different applications on the server with just one click. The inbuilt firewall of the CentOS web which is the CSF firewall is also one of the best in class; it can lock out the whole filesystem to increase the security level. Furthermore, the Varnish cache server is there too.

Download CWP: Link and online demo.

Features

fiber_manual_record Apache Web Server
fiber_manual_record Nginx Reverse Proxy
fiber_manual_record Varnish Cache server
fiber_manual_record MySQL/MariaDB + phpMyAdmin
fiber_manual_record Postfix + Dovecot + RoundCube webmail (Antivirus, Spamassassin optional), SPF & DKIM Integration, Mail Routing, and more.
fiber_manual_record Backups
fiber_manual_record AutoFixer for server configuration
fiber_manual_record Softaculous
fiber_manual_record CSF Firewall
fiber_manual_record User Monitoring
fiber_manual_record CloudLinux + CageFS management
fiber_manual_record DNS Management: FreeDNS, DNS zone template editor, DNS Zone Manager, and more…
fiber_manual_record Live Server Monitoring
fiber_manual_record CSF Firewall, SSL generator, SSL Certificate Manager, AutoSSL DoS protection, SFTP Security, and more.
fiber_manual_record Auto-update, Backup manager, File Manager, cPanel Account Migration.

Pros

fiber_manual_record Access to the freedom of a private server through the widely supported easily learned CentOS environment
fiber_manual_record A fine level of control over the core system
fiber_manual_record Easy to learn.

Cons

fiber_manual_record Only available for the limited number of servers running CentOS
fiber_manual_record Less friendly interface
fiber_manual_record No multi-server support.

The Virtualmin is an open source website and domain hosting control panel, based on Webmin. There are two versions of this control panel:

fiber_manual_record Virtualmin GPL, a free, open-source version.
fiber_manual_record Virtualmin Professional, a premium version available for a monthly or annual fee.

Virtualmin is one of the trustable web hosting control panels because of the flexibility and better productive environment provided by it. The Virtualmin is written in Perl language and available in both open source and professional versions. Virtualmin is developed for Linux and BSD systems. Of course, the professional version has extra features to control the server than the open-source GPL version. It also supports the two-way authentication system and the user can use the Google Authenticator app.

Features

fiber_manual_record Domain management: flexible domain accounts, managing mail domain, DNS, databases, web applications, and more.
fiber_manual_record Email: Manage mailboxes, forwarders, autoresponders, alias, spam and antivirus scanning, RoundCube, and Squirrelmail.
fiber_manual_record User and Reseller Accounts and ACLs
fiber_manual_record Access Control List is configurable using Account Plans and Server Templates.
fiber_manual_record Security: Two-factor authentication, certificate logins, brute force protection, and many other security features.
fiber_manual_record Disk Quota, File system Backup, Log File retention, MIME Type program, PAM Authentication, Schedule commands & Cron jobs, Users, and Groups.
fiber_manual_record Bandwidth Monitoring
fiber_manual_record Script Installer, account plans, Plugins
fiber_manual_record Alerts, Graphs, and Logs
fiber_manual_record Backups And Cloud Integration: Amazon S3 bucket, Backup Encryption keys, Backup logs, Backup virtual servers, Cloud Storage providers, Restore backups, Running backups, Schedule backups
fiber_manual_record Databases: Adding, removing, exporting, and importing database dumps, PHPMyAdmin and PHPPgAdmin Install Scripts, MySQL, PostgreSQL, and a lot more.
fiber_manual_record Install Scripts: It provides 100 web applications such as CMS, CRM, forums, commerce, issue tracking, community, webmail, database management, mailing list management, and more.

Pros

fiber_manual_record Cost-Effective: The “GPL” version is available free of cost, and the “Professional” version (which comes with support) is priced competitively with the other payware panels.
fiber_manual_record Linux knowledge not required: Unlike most of the other GUIs, which still require command-line for some functions, Virtualmin contains almost everything you need, so you rarely need to SSH into the server.
fiber_manual_record Android and iOS support: Unlike most of the panels, Virtualmin is mobile-ready. You just need a smartphone with internet access to manage your server.
fiber_manual_record Easy Setup: Virtualmin piggybacks on Webmin, which is itself simple to install. Virtualmin installs as a Webmin module, and automatically configures itself like cPanel.
fiber_manual_record Built-in website builder: While most panels require third-party (often payware) plugins for site building, Virtualmin has developed their own built-in tool. It’s comprehensive, and can create almost any type of site.

Cons

fiber_manual_record UI isn’t user friendly: Compared to its rivals, Virtualmin has a convoluted and dated user interface. It can be difficult to find what you’re looking for.
fiber_manual_record Steep learning curve: Virtualmin is indeed powerful, and lets you avoid SSH. But it doesn’t always use standard terminology.
fiber_manual_record Limited support: Virtualmin GPL users are only able to use the community support. And sadly, it’s very limited, as it has a small user base compared to the commercial panels.

VestaCP is another open-source web control panel with a one-touch app installer is called Softaculous. Because of it, the user can install more than 439 apps with one click such as WordPress, Joomla, and more. It comes with firewall iPTables or fail2ban. For the webserver, it supports NGINX, Apache, PHP-fpm, and PHP. It also comes with monitoring tools such as Monit, Webalizer, AWStats, and RRDtool.

You can install the control panel on Debian, Ubuntu, and Centos/RHEL. The user interface of the VestaCP is a little bit different than traditional but simple, clean, and intuitive. The user surf through the interface using the Keyboard shortcuts that increase the speed of accessing the server. The inbuilt firewall can ban the IP address those are trying to access the server with too many bad login attempts.

Download vestcp: Link and online demo.

Features

fiber_manual_record Supports 26 languages and regions around the world.
fiber_manual_record Monitors server including server stats, logs, and analytics, etc.
fiber_manual_record Written in PHP/JavaScript
fiber_manual_record Softculous
fiber_manual_record CLI interface support
fiber_manual_record Backup and Cron jobs supported
fiber_manual_record Mail solution it provides: SpamAssasin (antispam solution), ClamAV (antivirus engine), Dovecot (IMAP/POP3 server), Exim + RoundCube (mail server).
fiber_manual_record DNS management
fiber_manual_record Vesta core is written in bash
fiber_manual_record Database it supports MySQL + phpMyAdmin and PostgreSQL + phpPgAdmin
fiber_manual_record Web File Manager: To browse, copy, edit, view, and retrieve all of your web domain files
fiber_manual_record FTP manager: VsFTPD, ProFTPD

Pros

fiber_manual_record Great-looking user interface and analytics
fiber_manual_record Simple auto-installer
fiber_manual_record Works with CentOS, Debian, and Ubuntu.

Cons

fiber_manual_record Abandoned by developer
fiber_manual_record Customer support is fee-based
fiber_manual_record Some security vulnerabilities.

Although cPanel is considered as the best web control panel, it isn’t free. To help you pick a free control panel, we have listed some of the best free and open source web hosting control panels.

If you’re a technical neophyte, or you’ve never run a server before, try VestaCP. More advanced users should choose one based on their server configuration. If you’re running CentOS, get Control Web Panel. Ubuntu and Debian users will like VirtualMin best. If you’re a reseller or ISP looking to manage multiple servers from the same interface, get ISPConfig. Pick one of the open source control panels and host your site on DatabaseMart VPS effortlessly.