21 Open Source/Commercial Control Panels to Manage Linux Servers

As an owner of the website, it is very difficult to manage multiple websites without a control panel. However, to suit the needs, we need a custom hosting plan.

A Web hosting control panel is a totally web-based interface that has the capability to manage your web services under a single location. These web-based control panels can manage email accounts, FTP accounts, file management functions, creation of subdomains, disk space monitoring, bandwidth monitoring, create backups, and many more.

The web hosting control panels provide an elegant solution to Linux newbies to host multiple websites on VPS (Virtual Private Servers) and Dedicated Servers. This kind of hosting panel offers easy to use management software’s to simplify the process of handling servers without the need for expert knowledge of server administration.

The most famous and powerful control panels are cPanel and Plesk. These two popular panels are paid software’s and the hosting provider will charge a monthly fee for installing it on the server. Fortunately, there are few more alternate open source control panels available to download at no cost with similar features.

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Now, let’s move further to explore the 21 most preferred open-source/paid control panels one-by-one. For your reference, I’ve included the screen grabs along with relevant links to each portal.

1. cPanel

cPanel is a Unix based hosting control panel. The Graphical interface helps you to manage your Website and web hosting accounts very easily and quickly. The automation tools are designed to simplify the process of a website.

cPanel gives you complete control over the various aspects of website and administration through a standard web browser and also streamlines the process such as Creating database, setting up an email account, and autoresponder and managing website files.

cPanel

cPanel Homepage

2. Plesk

Plesk is a hosting control panel similar to cPanel which allows you to manage your hosting account through a web-based interface. You can use this panel with VPS, Shared, and Dedicated server. Plesk also enables you to control thousands of virtual hosts under a single machine. The control panel allows you to automate many tasks which in turn reduces the cost and resources. It also increases profitability, efficiency, and customer satisfaction.

Features

1. Create an FTP account for users.
2. Manage and create an email account and databases like MySQL and PostgreSQL.
3. Add domains and subdomains.
4. Restore and take back up of files.
5. Manage DNS and other resources.

Plesk Control Panel

Plesk Homepage

3. Vepp

Vepp is a commercial web panel made especially for managing the WordPress website on VPS, dedicated servers, or in clouds. With Vepp managing WP websites on a server is available to anyone and not only professional admins. Doesn’t matter whether it’s a website owner, an eCommerce administrator, or a marketer.

The panel helps to get a WordPress server deployed and ready-to-go in minutes. No need to spend hours configuring domains, mailboxes, and SSL certificates. You just log-in, get your simple and friendly interface, and tune everything in just a few clicks.

After the website is launched, Vepp keeps websites safe and secure. It makes auto-backups to protecting content, scans the website for malware, and encrypts traffic with trusted SSL certificate from Let’s Encrypt.

Vepp – Web Panel 4. ISPConfig

ISPconfig is an open-source multilingual control panel that enables you to manage multiple servers under one control panel. ISPConfig is licensed under the BSD license. This open-source control panel is also capable of managing FTP, SQL, BIND DNS, Database, and Virtual servers.

Features

1. Manage more than one server from one control panel.
2. Easy to use web interface for administrator, reseller, and client login.
3. Manage web servers like Apache and Nginx.
4. Configuration mirroring and clusters.
5. Manage email and FTP servers.
6. And many more

ISPConfig

ISPConfig Homepage

5. Ajenti

Ajenti, the only open source feature-rich, powerful and lightweight control panel that provides a responsive web interface for managing small server set-ups and also best suitable for Dedicated and VPS hosting. It comes with many built-in pre-made plugins for configuring and managing server software and services such as Apache, Nginx, MySQL, FTP, Firewall, File System, Cron, Munin, Samba, Squid and many other programs like File Manager, Code Editor for developers and Terminal access.

Ajenti Control Panel

1. Ajenti Homepage
2. Ajenti Installation

6. Kloxo

Kloxo is one of the advanced and free web control panels for Redhat and CentOS distribution. It is featured with leading control panels like FTP, spam filter, PHP, Perl, CGI, and much more. Features like messaging, back up restore and ticketing system modules are inbuilt in Kloxo. It helps end-users to manage/run a combination of Apache with BIND and switch the interface between these programs without losing your data.

Kloxo Panel

1. Kloxo Homepage
2. Kloxo Installation

7. OpenPanel

OpenPanel is an open-source web-based control panel licensed under GNU General Public. It has an attractive and easy to use interface. It can manage Apache, AWStats, Bind DNS, PureFTPD, Postfix, MySQL databases, IPTables firewall and Courier-IMAP e-mails, and more.

OpenPanel

OpenPanel Homepage

8. ZPanel

Zpanel is a free to download and easy to use enterprise-class web hosting control panel for Linux, UNIX, macOS, and Microsoft Windows.

Zpanel is written in purely PHP language and runs on Apache, PHP, and MySQL. It comes with a core set of essential features to run your web hosting service. The core features include Apache Web Server, hMailServer, FileZilla Server, MySQL, PHP, Webalizer, RoundCube, phpMyAdmin, phpSysInfo, FTP Jailing, and many more.

ZPanel

ZPanel Homepage

9. EHCP

EHCP (Easy Hosting Control Panel) is a free web hosting software for maintaining a web-based hosting server. With the use of EHCP, you can manage MySQL databases, email accounts, domain accounts, FTP accounts, and much more.

It is the only control panel that has built-in support for Nginx and PHP-FPM with completely throw out Apache and provides good performance for low-end servers.

EHCP Panel

1. EHCP Homepage
2. EHCP Installation

10. ispCP

ispCp is a free/open-source project founded to build a multi-server control and admin panel without any limitations. It is a Linux/Unix based web hosting server that is featured with all functions you might expect from a professional hosting tool. ispCP allows you to manage all the servers like domains, email accounts, FTP accounts, databases on its own.

ispCP Panel

ispCP Homepage

11. VHCS

VHCS is also an open-source web-based interface control panel for Linux especially designed for IT professionals and hosting service providers. VHCS is written in PHP, Perl, and C, which gives you full control over resellers, end-user. Within a minute you can configure your servers, create a user with domain. You can also manage emails, FTP, Apache vhost, statistic, and much more.

VHCS Control Panel

VHCS Homepage

12. RavenCore

Ravencore is a simple hosting panel for Linux which aims to get rigid from expensive commercial software like Cpanel and Plesk. The GUI is coded in PHP and the backend in Perl and Bash. It also includes projects like MySQL, Apache, phpMyAdmin, Postfix, and Awstats.

RavenCore Panel

RavenCore Homepage

13. Virtualmin

Virtualmin is one of the most popular web-based hosting control panels for Linux and Unix. The system is specially designed to manage Apache virtual hosts, MySQL databases, BIND DNS Domains, Mail Boxes with Sendmail or Postfix, and the entire Server from one friendly interface.

Virtualmin

Virtualmin Homepage

14. Webmin

WebMin a super functional and powerful web hosting control panel. The software tool is designed to manage Unix and Linux platform in a simple way. WebMin is capable enough to manage various components of the web-based environment from setting a webserver to maintaining FTP and email server.

Features

1. Configure and create a virtual server on Apache.
2. Manage, install, or delete a software package (RPM format).
3. For security, you can set up a firewall.
4. Modify DNS settings, IP address, routing configuration.
5. Manage database, tables, and fields on MySQL.

Webmin

1. Webmin Homepage
2. Webmin Installation

15. DTC

Domain Technologie Control (DTC) is a GPL web hosting control panel, especially for admin and accounting hosting services. With the help of this web GUI control panel DTC can delegate tasks like creating emails, FTP accounts, subdomains, databases, and many more. It manages a MySQL database that contains all hosting information.

DTC Control Panel

DTC Homepage

16. DirectAdmin

DirectAdmin is an open-source web hosting control panel that provides a graphical admin interface to manage unlimited websites, email accounts, etc. the tasks are automated means DirectAdmin can manage your task automatically to set up and manage websites easily and quickly.

Features

1. Manage and create an email account and manage the database.
2. Create an FTP account for users.
3. Manage frontpage extension, DNS, and view statistics.
4. Built-in File Manager to manage uploads
5. Set up error pages and directory password protection.

DirectAdmin

DirectAdmin Homepage

17. InterWorx

InterWorx is a Linux server management system and web hosting control panel. InterWorx has a set of tools that provides admin user to command their own servers and the end-users can overview the operation of their website. This Control panel is basically divided into two operating modes.

1. Nodeworx: Nodeworx is an administrator mode that helps managing servers.
2. SiteWorx: SiteWorx is a website owner view that helps end-users to manage their hosting account and features.

Nodeworx Screenshot NodeWorx Panel Siteworx Screenshot Siteworx Panel

InterWorx Homepage

18. Froxlor

Froxlor is an open-source lightweight server management control panel that can be used to manage personal VPS, Dedicated or shared hosting platforms. It’s an alternative to a very famous software called cPanel or Webmin, which offers the same features to make server administrations easy.

Froxlor Panel

Froxlor Homepage

19. BlueOnyx

BlueOnyx is an open-source Linux distribution based on CentOS 5.8, CentOS 6.3, and/or Scientific Linux 6.3. It aims to deliver a turnkey server appliance for Webhosting.

This web-based hosting comes with a GUI interface that allows you to manage your emails FTP and web hosting clients. BlueOnyx is released under Sun modified BSD license.

BlueOnyx

BlueOnyx Homepage

20. Vesta CP

Vesta CP is another open-source web control panel that comes with a bunch of features to manage and configure your Linux systems from a simple and clear interface.

VestaCP is currently supported by RHEL/CentOS 7/6/5, Ubuntu 15.10-12.04, and Debian 8//7/6.

VestaCP Control Panel

VestaCP Homepage

21. aaPanel

aaPanel is a simple, but most powerful control panel for managing web server through a web-based GUI (Graphical User Interface). It offers the one-click installation of LNMP/LAMP developing environment and software on Linux systems. Its main objective is helping system administrators to save the time of deploying and focus on own projects.

aaPanel Control Panel

That’s it for now, these are the best 20 Open Source/Commercial control panels, which I’ve gathered from the web according to their popularity. From the list, you can choose the best, that suits your requirements and also do tell us which control panel you’re using to manage your Linux Servers and also tell us if you know any other tool that is not listed in this list via comment section.