You may think about comparing Plesk vs cPanel when it comes to web hosting control panels. Additionally to DirectAdmin, ISPConfig, and Webmin, both cPanel and Plesk have long histories on the market of server management tools.

The first version of cPanel appeared in 1996. It facilitates hosting account management from cPanel and its Web Host Manager (WHM) tackles server administration.

The Plesk hosting automation software was originally released by Plesk Inc. as part of their 2001 launch. Plesk was then sold to SWSoft in 2003, which then became Parallels in 2008.

Usability

With the CLI (command line interface) there are options for each of these panels. cPanel, however, has a much more powerful CLI with API for both cPanel and WHM. This is great for server admins and hosting power users alike.

When it comes to the GUI (graphical user interface), most website owners tend to choose cPanel because of its ease of use. Plesk’s method of grouping tools on the left of the screen with more options under each tool is popular with developers and agencies managing multiple websites.

Security

The two solutions provide a number of security features designed to keep servers protected.

cPanel offers a system called cPHulk that blocks login attempts for cPanel, WHM, SSH, FTP, IMAP/POP3 and many other services.

The Plesk system offers a feature called fail2ban. Using Fail2Ban, you can protect your server from brute force attacks by banning IP addresses. Using regular expressions, Fail2Ban monitors log files for patterns that indicate authentication failures, seeking exploits, and other suspicious entries.

Features

Plesk and cPanel both offer nearly identical features for managing accounts and servers. Users can manage email accounts and databases, as well as DNS settings. They can also use FTP (File Transfer Protocol).

Compatibility

Where Plesk truly stands out is compatibility. cPanel runs only on Linux, while Plesk supports both Linux and Windows.

cPanel runs on AlmaLinux OS, CentOS, CloudLinux™, and Ubuntu®. Plesk, on the other hand, is compatible with 14 Linux distributions, including Debian, CentOS, and Ubuntu®. This is in addition to its support for Windows servers.

Decision

Our recommendation is cPanel for server owners and website owners. For developers and agencies managing multiple sites, we recommend Plesk.