In the web hosting industry, frustration over cPanel’s constant price increases is growing. Since 2019, cPanel has been raising its prices regularly, sometimes to the point where the cost of the license is higher than the cost of the server hardware. Does this mean users should start looking for alternatives?
The chart above shows how cPanel prices changed from 2019 to 2024. Prices for different subscriptions, such as Solo, Admin, Pro, and Premier, have steadily increased, affecting the profitability of many smaller hosting providers. One user on the cPanel community forum even shared a breakdown of their costs over the years, showing how sharply cPanel fees have risen.
In January 2024, the subscription costs were:
- Solo: $17.49 per month (1 account)
- Admin: $29.99 per month (5 accounts)
- Pro: $42.99 per month (30 accounts)
- Premier: $60.99 per month (100 accounts)
- Extra accounts: $0.40 per month each
A year later, in January 2025, the prices increased to:
- Solo: $26.99 per month (+54.3%)
- Admin: $32.99 per month (+10%)
- Pro: $46.99 per month (+9.3%)
- Premier: $65.99 per month (+8.2%)
- Extra accounts: $0.45 per month each (+12.5%)
It’s important to remember that the pricing of WebPros products can vary greatly depending on the number of licenses, level of partnership and staff certification, licensing methods, and internal agreements. As usual, cPanel has released an official document each year with a detailed price list, which also explains the licensing and discount methods.
Hosting community: “Time for a Change!”
Many users in the hosting industry are sharing their frustration on discussion forums like WebHostingTalk and the official cPanel forum. A user named Keith007 on WebHostingTalk expressed his anger:
Another user, ThickYesterday977, shared a similar view:
User furf and Cameron Worts from the official cPanel forum was also upset:
Is it worth changing your control panel?
As cPanel raises prices, many hosting providers are considering alternatives like DirectAdmin or Webuzo, which offer lower costs and simpler licensing. A year ago, there were already talks about moving to DirectAdmin, but users felt it was less intuitive, not as advanced, and less developed compared to cPanel and WHM. MechanicWeb-shoss on WebHostingTalk pointed out that none of the alternatives fully match cPanel’s functionality:
Additionally, as Tim_Wakeling pointed out on the Plesk community forum, where price increases are also happening, migration is not always easy to do. Hosting companies would have to deal with customer habits, service interruptions, and changes in configuration. This is why many people will choose to pay the fees anyway;
Effects of price increases on hosting providers
The price increases for cPanel have a significant impact on smaller hosting companies and end users. Higher license costs force hosting providers to pass the costs on to their customers, affecting price competitiveness. Some users, like KMyers, have decided to stop using cPanel, showing the growing resistance from the community towards the company’s pricing policy.
The ongoing cPanel and Plesk Panel price hikes are a challenge for hosting providers around the world. Many are thinking about moving to other control panels, but the lack of a full alternative keeps them strong in the market. As long as shareholders want to see profits, I don’t think prices will go down. Companies owned by investment firms often raise prices to meet financial goals and provide returns to investors.
Will there be a panel in the future that can compete with cPanel or Plesk panel in both price and quality? For now, we can only watch how the market reacts to these changes and how providers handle passing the costs on to their customers.
