Plesk-or-CPanel-Which-is-the-Best-Control-Panel

Comparison Between Plesk and cPanel.We’ll compare both applications so that if you are given a choice over which one to choose,you can make a more informed decision

One of the most important features of your web hosting service is your control panel – thetool that enables you to administer your website. Whilst there are many control panelsavailable, including a range of own-brand panels developed by web hosts, the two mostpopular ones are Plesk and cPanel. They are, essentially, the Android and Apple of thecontrol panel market. In this post, we’ll compare both applications so that if you are given achoice over which one to choose, you can make a more informed decision.Originally introduced back in 1996, cPanel is a much-loved platform used on millions ofwebsites and is frequently included in many Linux shared hosting packages as well as beingused for dedicated servers and cloud hosting. For those who have access to their server,cPanel often comes with WHM (Web Host Manager) a sister program that acts as a serveradministration interface.Plesk was launched in 2001 and, like cPanel, has come to be a dominant force in the controlpanel market. The most recent version, Plesk Onyx, which has over 100 extensions, isavailable in three versions, Web Admin, Web Pro and a special version for web hosts.OS CompatibilitycPanel was developed to work on Linux servers and is currently incompatible with Windows.It is, however, compatible with CentOS, CloudLinux and RedHat Linux distribution basedoperating systems.Originally developed for Windows, for which it is the world leader, Plesk can also be used ona wider range of Linux OS, including Debian, Ubuntu, CentOS, Red Hat Linux and CloudLinux.In many cases, the control panel you use may be dictated by the operating system you (oryour host, in the case of shared hosting) run on the server.

User InterfacesWhilst both offer very easy to navigate control panels, the Plesk interface is more in linewith the standard software layout that most people are accustomed to. Very similar to theWordPress admin panel, it has its main menu down the left-hand side and when an item isselected, its contents appear in the main panel. A further set of feature boxes are located onthe right side of the screen. For ease of use, icons are used for each of the main features.The cPanel interface is laid out differently. The left-hand menu is missing and, instead, thefeatures are grouped into sections which you access by scrolling down. Like Plesk, eachfeature has an icon to help you identify it. The cPanel interface also has some customisationoptions to make things easier to find.

With regards to how the panels are organised, cPanel groups its functions under theheadings of preferences, mail, files, logs, security, domains, databases and software serviceswhereas Plesk divided its functions into areas such as statistical and resource usage, users,mail, websites and domains, applications and statistics. Surprisingly, the WHM controlpanel, which is separate to cPanel, has the standard interface with the left-hand menu. Inthis sense, it is more like Plesk, than cPanel.Plesk and cPanel both enable users to have command line access. cPanel provides commandline and API-based access, the latter enabling interaction with third-party apps. Commandline access from Plesk comes via its not so succinctly named ‘Panel Action Log CommandLine Access Tool’.PerformancecPanel developers have worked hard on raising its performance over the years, and it’s isgenerally accepted that it is the fastest loading out of the control two panels. This has beenachieved by reducing the amount of RAM that cPanel needs, meaning that it performsquicker page loading, account creation and other operations.Features and ToolsThere are a standard set of server and account management tasks that every user needsand you will find that both Plesk and cPanel enable users to carry these out. For example,both can be used for:

 App installation  Scheduling backups  Database management  Running FTP  Configuring DNS settings  Managing email accounts  Server logs  Resource reports (e.g. availability, storage and bandwidth)  Maintaining user accounts  Traffic data and analytics  File managementOut of the box, Plesk comes with build in support for a wider range of apps and extensions,however, cPanel also enables lots of apps to be added, too.Web Security FeaturesWeb security is essential today and both cPanel and Plesk provide a wide range of securitytools to protect users. cPanel, for example, includes tools such as IP address denials, autoinstallation of SSL certificates and password-protected directories whilst Plesk’s securitysuite includes tools like active directory integration, in and outbound spam filtering foremail and fail2ban intrusion prevention.Management On the GoBoth cPanel and Plesk have developed smartphone apps that enable you to connect withand manage your server and website while you are on the go. There are also a variety ofthird-party apps you can use.ConclusioncPanel and Plesk are both exceptional control panels that make it easy to run your serverand website. In many cases, your choice may be restricted by the operating system orhosting package you choose. However, if you have a choice, such as with the VPS, cloud anddedicated hosting packages we offer at eUKhost, then hopefully, this post will have givenyou a better understanding of each.If you are looking for great hosting using either cPanel or Plesk control panels, check out ourhomepage to see our range of hosting packages.