cPanel vs. Plesk

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
cPanel
Score 10.0 out of 10
N/A
cPanel headquartered in Houston provides website hosting providers with workload and server automation, as well as a management console for creating and launching websites, managing email and web files, and other administrative tasks.
$15.99
per month for 1 account
Plesk
Score 9.0 out of 10
N/A
Plesk is a server control panel, providing a solution that enables usres to build and manage multiple sites from a single dashboard. Users can also run updates, monitor performance and onboard new prospects all from the same place. Plesk also boasts a robust toolkit for Wordpress management, and supports other CMS. It is available on the public cloud of the user's choice.
$12
per month
Pricing
cPanelPlesk
Editions & Modules
cPanel Solo
$15.99
per month for 1 account
Admin
$24.99
per month up to 5 accounts
Pro
$35.99
per month up to 30 accounts
Premier (on cloud)
$53.99
per month up to 100 accounts
Premier (on metal)
$53.99
per month up to 100 accounts
Web Admin Edition - Dedicated
$12
per month
Web Admin Edition - VPS
$12
per month
Web Pro Edition - VPS
$18.50
per month
Web Pro Edition - Dedicated
$18.50
per month
Web Host Edition - VPS
$30.50
per month
Web Host Edition - Dedicated
$54.50
per month
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
cPanelPlesk
Free Trial
NoYes
Free/Freemium Version
NoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional DetailsDiscounts available for an annual subscription.
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
cPanelPlesk
Considered Both Products
cPanel
Really there aren't many options. There is a free one that I haven't used but from what I hear is that it is very limited on functionality. I also have tried Plesk, never bought but tried it. It seemed easier in a few things but also seemed more simplistic and I like my …
Chose cPanel
I have used cPanel for a long time along with a few other hosting management platforms. cPanel from a feature and speed standpoint outranks the competition.
Chose cPanel
cPanel interface is not as appealing and straightforward as other hosting solutions, but it offers more features and is certainly more flexible in that regard.
Chose cPanel
cPanel is my least favorite option compared to others like Plesk and custom solutions developed by other companies such as Kinsta. However, my preference is towards serverless website builds but when a traditional server is required I prefer to directly manage it or use …
Chose cPanel
cPanel offers a more friendly to beginners experience compared to Ajenti. The latter is feature rich but you will need more technical know how to navigate. cPanel is more accessible and universal and for those reasons a great solution for my business needs. cPanel works best …
Chose cPanel
The direct server management tool access provided by cPanel hosting accounts is far superior to any shared or "standard" web site hosting packaged offered by any of the numerous web host providers I have used and or evaluated over the 20+ years of my experience working in the …
Chose cPanel
cPanel ease of use has by far surpassed other control panels such as Plesk and Webmin. It’s easy to understand. Easy to implement. And always functions correctly. Software support is great and they are always prompt in acknowledging and issues. Also online documentation is …
Chose cPanel
A long time ago we used HSphere, but development stopped when they were acquired. We had to find something else. We tried Plesk, but it was a nightmare. When we looked we wanted something kind of fault tolerant. cPanel is so easy to move and backup, if a server does go down, we …
Chose cPanel
cPanel is more user-friendly than many third-party website hosting interfaces, including Godaddy, Bluehost, and 1&1 Host. cPanel is the industry standard, and integrates well with common website software and third-party modules. Managing your website is effortless in cPanel, …
Chose cPanel
The typical alternative to cPanel when purchasing a hosting control panel option is Plesk. I have very little experience with Plesk, but there are different versions of it available depending on the features you need. The Webhost Edition, which seems to be most comparable to …
Chose cPanel
cPanel has a better interface than Webmin in my opinion, better themes, and better out-of-the-box support for other systems/platforms for hosting and integrations. It is also easier to create and control Apache configurations, and there is a wider selection of 3rd-party …
Plesk
Chose Plesk
I've found cPanel to be much more intuitive than Plesk over the years. Both have had very clunky interfaces, however a great deal of development by both Plesk and cPanel has been done in this area. I feel that cPanel at the moment has an easier interface to work in (however it …
Chose Plesk
Plesk has a much more intuitive platform that allows for customization and scalability within an organization. It has the advantage when it comes to the ability to adapt to the current state of the company and grow with it organically. There are a few limitations that would …
Chose Plesk
The good user interface and many more
Chose Plesk
Both cPanel and Plesk are similar, however Plesk was choosen because it of it's ease of use and available extensions. The administrator can create client and site templates, which essentially is allocating resources for domains and/or clients. Also, Plesk is designed to …
Chose Plesk
I've only ever really used cPanel-type web host control panels. CPanels are very cumbersome and clunky. They don't allow one to update all their hosted website's CMS, templates, and plugins, from within their system. This is a SERIOUS time- and headache-saver, in my opinion! I …
Best Alternatives
cPanelPlesk
Small Businesses
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Medium-sized Companies
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Enterprises
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Score 8.7 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
cPanelPlesk
Likelihood to Recommend
9.2
(0 ratings)
9.0
(0 ratings)
Usability
7.0
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Support Rating
8.3
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
cPanelPlesk
Likelihood to Recommend
I would recommend cPanel as it is a good tool for a medium-sized business. The licensing costs can be a bit high but you mostly get what you pay for. If you have a bit more of a large or complex web site/structure, there is a bit of a learning curve for administrators. Once you know what you're doing, it does what it does very well.
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The Plesk web hosting management platform is well suited for both novice web admins through to experienced technicians. While it allows experienced users to "get under the hood", those that are new to web hosting admin will quickly become comfortable with performing administration processes
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Pros
  • cPanel nicely organizes functions into categories on its main first screen for easy location.
  • cPanel works nativity with WHM (Web Host Manager) to easily create new web hosting accounts.
  • cPanel integrates well with common website technologies like WordPress, Joomla, or Magento.
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  • Automatically update the CMS, plugins, and templates of all your websites, depending on your CMS, all at the same time, with just a few strokes of your keyboard.
  • Enables one to set up a schedule to back up your websites, automatically, and easily download/save the backup files off-site, for safety.
  • Makes it easy for users to use a backup file to reinstall a website, with just a few strokes of the keyboard. Excellent service!
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Cons
  • The costs can be a limiting factor for some businesses if you are not using a web hosting company that uses it. I have been experimenting with Cloud hosting, which can be very daunting for the novice. There is an option to install it on the cloud but it is expensive.
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  • Better integration with independent WAF tools like Wordfence
  • Create a simple function for staging sites and to push from staging to live
  • Provide function to back-up DNS settings before making changes
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Usability
Although it can be a little bit bloated with a lot of options and configurations, it's very straightforward to use and maintain. So it's a great option even if you don't have large experience in hosting configuration. The WHM tool is more suited to heavy users since it requires more expertise, so it has a steep learning curve to better understand how to use it.
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No answers on this topic
Support Rating
The documentation available for all cPanel features and functionality is vast, comprehensive, and covers all the basics required to manage the web site hosting environment. User support forums are very helpful, and are packed with years of content and comments answering any questions or answers I have ever had. When needed, direct customer support has been quick and efficient.
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No answers on this topic
Alternatives Considered
Really there aren't many options. There is a free one that I haven't used but from what I hear is that it is very limited on functionality. I also have tried Plesk, never bought but tried it. It seemed easier in a few things but also seemed more simplistic and I like my workflow with cPanel better and it works well with litespeed server.
Read full review
I've only ever really used cPanel-type web host control panels. CPanels are very cumbersome and clunky. They don't allow one to update all their hosted website's CMS, templates, and plugins, from within their system. This is a SERIOUS time- and headache-saver, in my opinion! I no longer have to log in to every single website and waste time updating the site. Also, backing up a database is pretty basic, but reinstalling a broken website with that backup doesn't always work. To date, I've never had a problem with reinstalling a website that I backed up, using the Plesk system.
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Return on Investment
  • Saved hundreds of hours of labor and expense due to the excellent backups of each site. Sites crash so backups are a must and this platform delivers.
  • Streamlined domain management allows me to quickly put up sites and profit.
  • Eliminated the cost of outsourcing monitoring websites with the tools inside the panel.
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  • Time savings and eliminating redundancies.
  • Reducing the need for multiple systems and spending on each.
  • Creating more visibility into what teams are working on and getting projects done faster.
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ScreenShots