Panelica vs cPanel
A side-by-side comparison using each vendor's official 2026 pricing and documentation. No vague claims, every cell is verifiable on the source publisher's own pages.
What you actually pay each month
Vendor pricing as published on each company's official 2026 price page.
Where Panelica wins, where cPanel 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 | cPanel |
|---|---|---|
| Built-in AI co-pilot | OpsAI · 15 experts | , |
| Native iOS & Android apps | ✓ in App Store / Google Play | , |
| One-click migration in | ✓ 7-step pipeline | , |
| Per-account licensing fee | None (flat) | Yes (tiered) |
| Free personal tier | Forever, 1 domain | , |
| WHM equivalent (reseller) | ✓ Built-in reseller mode | ✓ WHM |
| WordPress Toolkit | ✓ Install + harden + Benchmark + Redis Boost | ✓ WP Toolkit |
| Docker manager | ✓ 160+ templates | Partial (add-on) |
| 5-layer kernel isolation | ✓ cgroups + ns + chroot + FPM + perms | Partial (2 layers) |
| Live SSE / WebSocket UI | ✓ No reloads | , |
| 42-color white-label | ✓ Per-plan or per-tenant | Partial (add-on) |
| 2026 pricing trend | Stable | +5–17% across tiers |
When each one is the right choice
We are not pretending cPanel is bad, it isn't. It is a different product, optimized for different teams.
Choose Panelica when…
- You want a flat license without per-account fees as you grow past 100 customers.
- Your team will use native mobile apps for on-call, alerts and quick fixes.
- You want a built-in AI co-pilot that already knows the panel.
- You are migrating from cPanel and want zero customer password resets.
- You want the panel UI to feel like 2026, not 2005.
Stay with cPanel when…
- You are deeply invested in cPanel-specific scripts, add-ons or hooks.
- Your hosting plan inherently includes a cPanel license at no extra cost.
- Your customer base specifically asks for the cPanel interface.
- You only need WHM reseller and do not benefit from a modern feature set.
Move from cPanel in one click
The Panelica importer connects to your existing cPanel server, discovers every site, then copies files, databases, mailboxes and SSL certificates, 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 cPanel
Is Panelica a true cPanel alternative?
Yes. Panelica replaces both cPanel and WHM with a single panel, domain management, mail, DNS, MySQL, SSL, WordPress Toolkit, plan-based hosting accounts, reseller mode, at a flat license without per-account fees.
How much will I save switching from cPanel?
cPanel 2026 pricing starts at $18/month for a single account and climbs to $49.50 for 100 accounts plus $0.35 per extra account. Panelica Starter is $0 and the highest plan is $24.99/month. For a 500-account hosting provider, that is the difference between roughly $190/month on cPanel Premier and $25/month on Panelica Enterprise.
Can I migrate my entire cPanel customer base to Panelica?
Yes. The Panelica importer connects to your cPanel server, discovers every site, then copies files, databases, mailboxes and SSL certificates while preserving SHA512-CRYPT email and MySQL password hashes byte-for-byte. End users never reset a password. Tested up to 100 GB per account.
What does cPanel do better than Panelica?
cPanel still has the largest third-party plug-in ecosystem and the longest support history. If your business depends on niche cPanel-specific extensions, the ecosystem advantage matters. Panelica focuses on first-class built-in features instead of plug-in marketplaces.
Is Panelica really free?
Yes. The Starter plan is $0 forever. You get full feature access for 14 days, then one domain stays free, with no credit card, no expiry, no degraded functionality. Move up to Professional ($4.99/month) only when you outgrow it.