PlusPanel vs cPanel
cPanel & WHM is a server and website management panel licensed per server; a cPanel license includes both the WHM (root administrator) and cPanel (account) interfaces.1 PlusPanel charges per server, with unlimited accounts, and founding customers lock €9/month for life.
The 3 structural differences
Architecture
cPanel: Installed on each server by running the installer as root on that server2 · cPanel 2082/2083, WHM 2086/2087, Webmail 2095/2096 (per cPanel firewall docs)3
PlusPanel: A control plane in our EU cloud commands a minimal agent on each server. The server exposes no management port: the agent connects outbound over mTLS inside WireGuard and runs only typed, signed, expiring commands.
Licensing
cPanel: Per server, priced by the number of cPanel accounts on it (Solo/Admin/Pro/Premier tiers)1 · From USD 29.99/month (Solo, 1 account, Cloud/VPS), excl. VAT, as of 2026-10-104
PlusPanel: Per server, with unlimited accounts and domains: Free for one server, Pro €19/server/month, founding customers €9 locked for life.
Jurisdiction & security model
cPanel: WebPros International L.L.C., Houston, Texas, USA (per imprint)5 · ImunifyAV installed free; ImunifyAV+ and Imunify360 are paid licenses6
PlusPanel: 2Lines Sistem, Romania (EU). The OS is a signed image we maintain, with atomic rollback; WAF, firewall, country blocking and 2FA are included at GA, with no add-on licences.
Side by side
| Axis | PlusPanel | cPanel |
|---|---|---|
| Licensing model | Per server; unlimited accounts and domains | Per server, priced by the number of cPanel accounts on it (Solo/Admin/Pro/Premier tiers)1 |
| Architecture | EU SaaS control plane + minimal agent on each server | Installed on each server by running the installer as root on that server2 |
| Inbound management ports | None: the agent connects outbound (mTLS inside WireGuard) | cPanel 2082/2083, WHM 2086/2087, Webmail 2095/2096 (per cPanel firewall docs)3 |
| OS model | PlusPanel OS: immutable signed image, atomic updates with rollback, maintained by us | Customer-installed AlmaLinux, CloudLinux, Rocky Linux or Ubuntu; fresh OS install required7 |
| Account isolation | Rootless containers per account, user namespaces, SELinux MCS, kernel quotas | CageFS is a CloudLinux feature; CloudLinux is a separately purchased license8 |
| Email deliverability | Managed relay with IP pools over WireGuard (at GA) | Local Exim MTA included; smarthost relay configurable in Exim Configuration Manager9 |
| Security included | WAF, firewall, country blocking, 2FA included (at GA); no add-on licences | ImunifyAV installed free; ImunifyAV+ and Imunify360 are paid licenses6 |
| Company jurisdiction | 2Lines Sistem, Romania (EU) | WebPros International L.L.C., Houston, Texas, USA (per imprint)5 |
| Migration tooling | Migration Center from cPanel/WHM, free in every edition (at GA) | Built-in Transfer Tool; free migration service from Plesk and DirectAdmin10 |
| Entry price | Free (1 server) · Pro €19/server/month · founding €9 locked for life | From USD 29.99/month (Solo, 1 account, Cloud/VPS), excl. VAT, as of 2026-10-104 |
PlusPanel cells marked “at GA” describe v1.0; everything else runs today.
The price ratchet
cPanel's own published prices at every point we could source, for one server with 100 and with 250 accounts, against PlusPanel's flat per-server price.
cPanel's 2027 Pricing FAQ states new pricing takes effect for all new orders and for existing accounts, subscriptions and services beginning December 16, 2026; the official page carries no announcement date.16
What it costs you
Your numbers, cPanel's published tiers. Everything runs in your browser; nothing is sent anywhere.
Founding vs cPanel 2027 over the period:
cPanel amounts are its published retail prices in USD (excl. VAT), converted to EUR with the rate above; change it to yours, nothing is fetched. PlusPanel prices in EUR, excl. VAT. One price per server; cPanel's tier follows the accounts on each server.
Facts worth knowing
- SELinux
- cPanel & WHM system requirements state that SELinux must be disabled to make the system compatible with cPanel & WHM.17
- Removal
- WebPros does not provide an uninstaller; removing the software requires reformatting the server, and cPanel & WHM must be installed on a freshly installed OS.2
- Account reporting
- Servers report the number of cPanel accounts when they update their license; check-ins typically occur every 8-48 hours.16
- Metal licenses
- Solo, Admin and Pro are available on Cloud/VPS only; Metal (dedicated) licenses are available only on the Premier tier.4
- Legacy OS fee 2027
- Servers on CentOS 7 or CloudLinux 7 with cPanel v110 enrolled in the Extended Lifecycle Support program pay an additional USD 9.90-23.10 per server per month from Jan 1 to Dec 31, 2027.15
- WP Squared
- WP Squared (managed WordPress) is priced at USD 84.99/month for 10 WordPress sites, then USD 0.40 per additional site, excl. VAT, as of 2026-10-10.4
Questions
Is PlusPanel a drop-in cPanel replacement?
No. It is a different architecture: there is no WHM on the server, and your servers run PlusPanel OS instead of a general-purpose OS you maintain. What carries over is your customers' data: Migration Center (at GA) moves accounts, sites, databases, email with password hashes kept, and DNS from cPanel/WHM.
Can I keep my cPanel servers while I try PlusPanel?
Yes. PlusPanel runs on its own servers, and you move accounts when you are ready. Migration is free in every edition, Free included.
What does a server with 300 accounts cost on PlusPanel?
The same as one with 3: €19 per month on Pro, or €9 for founding customers. Use the calculator above for your own numbers.
cPanel, WebHost Manager and WHM are registered trademarks of WebPros International L.L.C.18 PlusPanel is not affiliated with, endorsed by or sponsored by cPanel's owner. Names are used nominatively, for comparison only.
Sources
Every cPanel fact on this page is quoted from an official cPanel page or document, verified on the date shown in its footnote. Prices change: check the source before you decide. We re-verify these pages every quarter.
- https://www.cpanel.net/customer-licensing-guide/ · verified 2026-10-10
- https://docs.cpanel.net/installation-guide/install/ · verified 2026-10-10
- https://docs.cpanel.net/knowledge-base/general-systems-administration/how-to-configure-your-firewall-for-cpanel-services/ · verified 2026-10-10
- https://cpanel.net/pricing/ · verified 2026-10-10
- https://www.cpanel.net/imprint/ · verified 2026-10-10
- https://docs.cpanel.net/knowledge-base/third-party/how-to-install-imunifyav/ · verified 2026-10-10
- https://docs.cpanel.net/installation-guide/system-requirements/ · verified 2026-10-10
- https://docs.cpanel.net/installation-guide/system-requirements-cloudlinux/ · verified 2026-10-10
- https://docs.cpanel.net/whm/service-configuration/exim-configuration-manager/ · verified 2026-10-10
- https://docs.cpanel.net/knowledge-base/technical-support-services/cpanel-migration-services-and-guides/ · verified 2026-10-10
- https://web.archive.org/web/20191101211417/https://cpanel.net/pricing/ · verified 2026-10-10
- https://web.archive.org/web/20240203081128/https://cpanel.net/pricing/ · verified 2026-10-10
- https://web.archive.org/web/20250212005320/https://cpanel.net/pricing/ · verified 2026-10-10
- https://web.archive.org/web/20260204121006/https://cpanel.net/pricing/ · verified 2026-10-10
- https://www.cpanel.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/cPanel_Store_Licensing_Guide_2027.pdf · verified 2026-10-10
- https://www.cpanel.net/cpanel-price-adjustment/ · verified 2026-10-10
- https://docs.cpanel.net/installation-guide/system-requirements-almalinux/ · verified 2026-10-10
- https://www.cpanel.net/legal-notices/ · verified 2026-10-10