For many IT users, platform is a matter of preference. The same is true of hosting control panels. There are fans of different packages, and some people always argue about the pros and cons of each.
Often, your choice will come down to your own personal needs.
If you just want straight answers about the features of Plesk and cPanel, it can be difficult to sort out fact from opinion. The simple truth is this: the two applications are very similar. They have most of the same features. Both are perfectly capable of getting the job done, and both will cover the basics well. So let’s take a closer look at the two.
Cpanel
The cPanel control panel is very popular and is organized so that most functionality is available via icons on the cPanel home page. For many people, this arrangement makes it easy to locate what they want to do, since almost everything is on one page.
cPanel is available on all our Linux hosting plans, including Shared Hosting, Reseller Hosting, VPS and Linux Dedicated Servers.
WHM is the control panel for administrating a server, and allows you to create and manage cPanels, and set certain global settings that apply to all the accounts, or the server.
WHM is included on all Linux hosting plans except Shared Hosting. WHM allows resellers to create and configure accounts for new customers, and allows VPS and dedicated servers to change server settings.
Note: Dedicated and VPS users will have more options in WHM, since those plans include root access.
Plesk
Plesk from Parallels is another control panel we offer on select accounts. Unlike cPanel, Plesk is organized into sections with different functions on different pages.
Plesk is available on VPS, Windows Dedicated Servers, and Windows Shared Hosting.
So Which Should I Pick?
Unless you have a VPS where you can chose, it is better to decide what type of hosting you need, rather than which control panel. And that should be decided based on the needs of your website. For example, cPanel only runs on CentOS, RedHat and CloudLinux. It doesn’t run on Windows. Plesk, on the other hand, adds a host of other Linux distributions to the list, in addition to Windows support
Plesk and cPanel are both fast, stable and secure. In the past, when one has advanced, the other has often caught up fairly quickly.
