Panelica vs aaPanel
A side-by-side comparison using each vendor's official 2026 pricing and documentation. aaPanel has the largest free install base (3.6M+) in the market; Panelica is the modern EU-built alternative with native multi-tenant isolation and 31-language UI.
What you actually pay each month
Vendor pricing as published on each project's official 2026 page.
Where Panelica wins, where aaPanel wins
Feature presence on each platform without third-party add-ons. Partial means the feature exists but is limited or requires a paid extension.
| Feature | Panelica | aaPanel |
|---|---|---|
| Built-in AI co-pilot | OpsAI · 15 experts · 1,263 endpoints | , |
| Native iOS & Android apps | ✓ in App Store / Google Play | , |
| 5-layer kernel isolation | ✓ cgroups + ns + chroot + FPM + perms | FPM + perms |
| Multi-user / multi-tenant | ✓ Free in all tiers | Pro tier only |
| Multi-language UI | 31 languages, native | English + Chinese, partial other |
| One-click migration in | ✓ 7-step pipeline + hash preservation | Manual / limited importer |
| WordPress Toolkit | ✓ Install + harden + Benchmark + Redis Boost | WordPress installer only |
| Docker manager | ✓ 160+ templates, all tiers | Full Docker in Pro only |
| REST API surface | 246 documented endpoints | ✓ API present |
| Project provenance | EU-built, source visible | China-origin, code partially obfuscated |
| Public security history | No known unpatched RCE | Multiple RCE CVEs 2023–2024 |
| 42-color white-label | ✓ Per-tenant or per-plan | , |
| 2026 pricing trend | Stable | Stable |
When each one is the right choice
aaPanel is the largest free panel by adoption (3.6M+ installs). Panelica is the modern EU alternative with deeper isolation and native multi-tenant.
Choose Panelica when…
- You want an EU-built, audit-able panel with no telemetry concerns and full source transparency.
- You need native multi-tenant isolation (5 kernel layers) for shared customers, not bolted on.
- You serve customers in 31 languages and need a true native i18n UI, not partial localization.
- You want full Docker, full file protection and full traffic analytics without paying Pro.
- You want a built-in AI co-pilot and native mobile apps.
Stay with aaPanel when…
- You are comfortable with the China-origin codebase and have audited it yourself.
- You only need a single-tenant LAMP/LEMP control panel and won't use multi-user features.
- Your team prefers the aaPanel CLI and existing automation scripts.
- You are happy with the 400+ one-click app library for personal/dev use.
Move from aaPanel in one click
The Panelica importer connects to your existing aaPanel server, discovers every site, then copies files, MariaDB/MySQL databases, mailboxes, DNS zones and SSL certificates while preserving every password hash byte-for-byte. End users never reset a password.
Free forever. Really.
Use the full feature set for 14 days. After that, you keep one domain forever, free, with no credit card, no expiry, no degraded functionality. Move up to Professional ($4.99/mo) only when you outgrow it.
Real prices, verifiable on our pricing page. No hidden upgrades, no add-on fees, no account-based tiering.
About switching from aaPanel
Is aaPanel really free?
Yes, the core aaPanel is free with most basic features. aaPanel Pro adds multi-user, full Docker management, file protection, detailed traffic analytics and full resource monitoring at $14.50/month (or $330 lifetime).
What are the security concerns with aaPanel?
aaPanel has had several publicly disclosed RCE and privilege escalation issues across 2023–2024, and parts of the codebase are obfuscated/minified which makes independent auditing harder. The project is also China-origin, which raises supply-chain trust questions for EU/US regulated workloads. Panelica is EU-built with fully readable source.
Can I migrate from aaPanel to Panelica?
Yes. Panelica's importer connects to your aaPanel server, copies files, MariaDB/MySQL databases, mailboxes, DNS zones and SSL certificates while preserving SHA512-CRYPT email and MySQL password hashes byte-for-byte. End users never reset a password.
What does aaPanel do better than Panelica?
aaPanel has a larger one-click app library (400+ entries) and a much bigger free install base (3.6M+ servers), so community Q&A for individual apps is easier to find. For pure personal/dev use on a single server, the app catalog is genuinely deep.
Does Panelica have the same multi-language coverage as aaPanel?
Panelica ships 31 languages as a first-class feature in all tiers (each translation is in the panel database, not bolted on). aaPanel ships English + Chinese natively with partial community translations for other locales.