Panel Comparison

Panelica vs cPanel
The Modern Alternative

cPanel has been the industry standard for over two decades. But the hosting industry has changed. See how a modern, purpose-built platform compares.

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Feature Comparison

A detailed look at how Panelica and cPanel compare across key features

Feature Panelica cPanel
Architecture Go + React (Modern) Perl + PHP (Legacy)
Resource Isolation 5 Layers (Cgroups v2, Namespaces, Chroot, PHP-FPM, Unix) 1 Layer (CloudLinux LVE, separate license required)
Docker Management Built-in with 160+ app templates Not included
WordPress Toolkit Built-in Panelica WP Boost (Object + Full-Page Cache) WP Toolkit requires separate Plesk license
API 246 REST endpoints + WebSocket WHM/cPanel API (XML-based)
Theme System 42 presets with dark/light mode Limited customization
Built-in Languages 30 languages ~25 languages (community)
Migration Tool Automated from cPanel, Plesk, DirectAdmin Basic transfer tool
SSL Certificates Auto Let's Encrypt + custom certificates AutoSSL
Email Server Postfix + Dovecot + DKIM/SPF/DMARC + Roundcube Exim + Dovecot + Roundcube
Server Monitoring Prometheus + Grafana built-in Basic metrics (needs plugins)
Pricing From $0/server/month From $15/server/month
Firewall nftables + ModSecurity + Fail2ban CSF (community plugin)
DNS Management BIND9 + native Cloudflare integration BIND/PowerDNS + Cloudflare plugin
Backup System Incremental + scheduled + snapshots JetBackup (paid add-on)
Malware Scanner ClamAV built-in ImunifyAV (paid add-on)
Database Support PostgreSQL + MySQL MySQL/MariaDB only
Cloudflare Integration Native multi-account support Basic plugin
OS Support Ubuntu 22.04, 24.04, Debian 12, 13 AlmaLinux, Rocky Linux, Ubuntu (limited)
Market Maturity New platform (2025) Established since 1996
THE SHIFT

Why Hosting Providers Are Looking Beyond cPanel

Rising Costs

After WebPros acquired cPanel in 2018, pricing changed dramatically. What was once a fixed-cost license shifted to per-account pricing, significantly increasing costs for hosting providers with many accounts. Panelica offers a transparent pricing model starting from $0/month with no per-account fees.

Legacy Architecture

cPanel was built in the late 1990s primarily in Perl. While it has been updated over the years, its core architecture reflects an era before containers, modern APIs, and single-page applications. Panelica was designed from scratch in 2024 with Go and React, offering a fundamentally different approach to server management.

Security Model

cPanel relies on CloudLinux LVE for resource isolation -- a separate product requiring its own license. Without it, accounts on a shared server have minimal isolation. Panelica includes 5 layers of isolation in every installation: Cgroups v2 for resources, kernel namespaces for process separation, SSH chroot for shell access, per-user PHP-FPM pools, and Unix permission isolation.

Add-on Dependency

Many features that modern hosting requires -- like advanced backups (JetBackup), malware scanning (ImunifyAV), WordPress management (WP Toolkit), and firewall protection (CSF) -- are third-party add-ons in cPanel, each with its own license cost. Panelica includes all of these capabilities out of the box.

KEY ADVANTAGES

Where Panelica Stands Out

Docker Management

Deploy containerized applications directly from the panel with 160+ pre-built templates. OpenVPN, WordPress, databases, development tools, and more. cPanel has no Docker support.

WordPress Acceleration

Custom Panelica WP Boost acceleration with both Object Cache and Full-Page Cache. Serve cached pages in approximately 2ms with Panelica WP Boost. Built into the panel, no plugins needed.

Built-in Monitoring

Prometheus and Grafana are included in every Panelica installation. Real-time server metrics, resource usage dashboards, and alerting without installing third-party tools.

MIGRATION

Migrate from cPanel with Confidence

Panelica includes a purpose-built migration engine that understands cPanel's structure. It transfers your accounts, domains, databases, email, files, and SSL certificates automatically.

  • ✓ Automated account discovery -- detects all cPanel accounts on the source server
  • ✓ Database hash preservation -- MySQL user passwords transfer without reset
  • ✓ Config preservation -- .env, wp-config.php, and application configs remain unchanged
  • ✓ Real-time progress -- watch the migration in real-time with per-file progress tracking
  • ✓ Automatic rollback -- if anything fails, the migration reverses cleanly
Migration Pipeline
1. Connect to source cPanel server
2. Health check & compatibility scan
3. Discover accounts & domains
4. Create users on Panelica
5. Transfer files (rsync, progress tracking)
6. Import databases (hash-preserving)
7. Import email accounts & forwarders
8. Configure SSL certificates
9. Verify & finalize
FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions

Yes. Panelica is a complete server management platform that can replace cPanel for hosting providers and server administrators. It handles domain management, email, databases, DNS, SSL, backups, security, and more. It is built with modern technology (Go + React) and includes features like Docker management, WordPress acceleration, and 5-layer account isolation that cPanel does not offer natively.

Yes. Panelica includes a built-in migration engine specifically designed to transfer accounts from cPanel servers. It automatically discovers accounts, transfers files via rsync with real-time progress, imports databases while preserving MySQL user password hashes, migrates email accounts, and configures SSL certificates. The entire process is automated with progress tracking and automatic rollback if any step fails.

Yes. Panelica includes a full Docker management interface with over 60 pre-built application templates. You can deploy containers like OpenVPN, development databases, monitoring tools, and custom applications directly from the panel. Each container is integrated with the RBAC system, so users only see their own containers. Docker resource usage is tracked per-user through Cgroups v2 integration.

Panelica includes 5 layers of account isolation (Cgroups v2, kernel namespaces, SSH chroot, per-user PHP-FPM, Unix permissions), a web application firewall (ModSecurity with OWASP CRS), malware scanning (ClamAV), brute-force protection (Fail2ban), automatic SSL certificates (Let's Encrypt), two-factor authentication, nftables firewall management, and IP blocking. All security features are included in every license tier.

Panelica offers a free tier that includes core server management features for a single server. Paid plans with additional features, higher limits, and priority support start at competitive prices. Unlike cPanel, there are no per-account fees. Visit the pricing page for current plan details and feature comparisons.

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