Panelica vs RunCloud
RunCloud is a SaaS that manages your cloud server from the outside; you pay monthly per server. Panelica is self-hosted: you install it once and it runs forever. Same hardware target, opposite business model.
What you actually pay each month
Vendor pricing as published on each project's official 2026 page.
Where Panelica wins, where RunCloud 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 | RunCloud |
|---|---|---|
| Self-hosted (no recurring SaaS fee) | ✓ Installed once, free Starter | SaaS-only |
| Built-in mail server | ✓ Postfix + Dovecot + DKIM + spam | Add-on / external |
| Built-in DNS server | ✓ BIND zone manager | External |
| Reseller / multi-tenant | ✓ Built-in with quotas | Business tier only, limited |
| Built-in AI co-pilot | OpsAI · 15 experts | , |
| Native iOS & Android apps | ✓ in App Store / Google Play | , |
| 5-layer kernel isolation | ✓ cgroups + ns + chroot + FPM + perms | User + chroot only |
| Free tier | ✓ Starter $0 forever | Removed in 2024 |
| Atomic deployment | ✓ Git module + rollback | ✓ Atomic deploys |
| WordPress Toolkit | ✓ Install + harden + Benchmark + Redis Boost | ✓ WordPress installer |
| Multi-language UI | 31 languages, native | English primary |
| Vendor lock-in risk | ✓ Self-hosted, no lock-in | SaaS dependency on uptime |
| 2026 pricing trend | Stable | Increased + removed free tier 2024 |
When each one is the right choice
RunCloud bets you want SaaS managing your servers from the outside. Panelica bets you want a self-hosted panel you own.
Choose Panelica when…
- You want a panel installed on the server you own, not a SaaS dependency.
- You want a $0 free tier (RunCloud removed theirs in 2024).
- You need built-in mail server and DNS server, not separate add-ons.
- You need reseller / multi-tenant in every tier, not gated to Business.
- You want native AI, mobile apps and 31-language coverage.
Stay with RunCloud when…
- You explicitly want a SaaS managing your servers from outside and the redundancy that brings.
- You only host your own PHP/Laravel/WordPress sites and use external mail + DNS.
- Your team is deeply familiar with the RunCloud UI and its atomic deploy workflow.
- You are happy paying a recurring per-server subscription indefinitely.
Move from RunCloud in one click
Panelica installs directly on your existing cloud servers (DigitalOcean, Vultr, Hetzner, AWS). Its importer copies sites, MySQL databases and SSL certificates while preserving every password hash byte-for-byte. End users never reset a password. After migration, you stop paying RunCloud's monthly fee.
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 RunCloud
Is RunCloud free?
No. RunCloud discontinued its free tier in 2024 and now starts at $6.67/month (billed yearly) for the Basic plan, with limits on servers. Pro is $15/month and Business is $45/month. Panelica Starter is $0 forever.
What is the difference between SaaS and self-hosted?
SaaS (RunCloud, Ploi, ServerAvatar) means a third-party platform connects to your servers and manages them remotely. You pay monthly forever and depend on their uptime. Self-hosted (Panelica) installs on your server and runs locally; if the vendor disappears, your panel keeps working.
Does RunCloud include mail and DNS?
No, not natively. RunCloud expects external mail providers and external DNS (typically Cloudflare). Panelica includes Postfix + Dovecot + DKIM mail and BIND DNS as first-class modules in every tier.
Can I migrate from RunCloud to Panelica?
Yes. Panelica installs directly on your RunCloud-managed servers; the importer copies files, MySQL databases, mailboxes (when you set them up) and SSL certificates while preserving SHA512-CRYPT email and MySQL password hashes byte-for-byte. After migration, you can disconnect the server from RunCloud.
What does RunCloud do better than Panelica?
External SaaS redundancy: if your server reboots, RunCloud's web UI still works and can re-provision the agent. Some teams value that. Panelica is self-hosted, so a server reboot means the panel reboots with it (which is what most operators actually want).