Mac vs. PC. IPhone vs. Android. Firefox vs. Chrome. Plesk vs. CPanel All are great examples of debates that send the geekier among us either into rampant fanboyism or into a flame war depending on who is having the conversation.

However, if you are just looking to host your site, don’t care about the cult of personality and just want some straight answers about the relative benefits and features of each, it can be very frustrating.

The simple truth is that the two applications are very similar and have most of the same features. Either is perfectly capable of getting the job done and for automating most common hosting tasks. On the whole, one’s preference of one over the other usually comes down to some element of personal choice.

As a long-time CPanel user myself, I’ve only started dabbling link Plesk. However, there are some tangible differences between the two that are worth nothing and being aware of, especially if you are trying to decide which of the two to use on a new server or VPS you are setting up.

1: User Interface

Though UI might not seem to be important, it is the first difference most people notice between the two control panels and one of the biggest sources of heartburn when moving between the two.

Plesk is generally regarded as having the clearner and more attractive UI of the two and, after trying both side by side, I personally agree. However, CPanel, as the much more popular control system and the one that the majority of users are already familiar and comfortable with.

As such, even though Plesk may look better, most people are familiar with CPanel and will better understand how to use it. In short, Plesk is likely a slightly better choice for those new to hosting control panels but CPanel will likely be the choice for those with even a modest amount of experience, as even most “proprietary” control panels are actually skins or themes of CPanel.

2: Cost

For most customers, CPanel is going to be cheaper than Plesk. For an unlimited bundle, which is the only option CPanel has, CPanel is $425 per year, which breaks down to $35 per month. Plesk, for a similar plan, is $70 per month. However, Plesk also offers smaller plans, including one that allows for 100 domains, for $40 per month.

Both also offer solutions targeted at VPS users. Plesk’s option, called “Small Business Panel” is also $70 per month for an unlimited account but has 1 and 5 user packs for $40 and $55 respectively. CPanel’s VPS solution, simply called “VPS Optimized2″ is currently offered at an introductory price of $200 per year or about $17 per month.

However, since Plesk or CPanel licenses are usually bought by the host for use by the customers, how this cost is passed along, if it is at all, will vary and determine the final actual price.

3: Windows Support

This distinction is fairly simple, Plesk supports Windows, CPanel does not.

However, it goes a bit beyond that even. CPanel only supports two major linux and one BSD distros, CentOS, RedHat and FreeBSD. Plesk, on the other hand, adds OpenSUSE, Debian and Ubuntu in addition to Windows support.

In short, Plesk will work on far more platforms than CPanel but, whether this matters to you or not will depend on the flavor of Linux you wish to install or if you wish to use Windows. If you’re going outside CentOS, RedHat and FreeBSD, you pretty much have to use Plesk.

4: Logging In

CPanel/WHM, as the name indicates, has two separate applications. The first, CPanel, is for domain owners and the latter, WHM, is for administrators of the server. Each has a separate login point and leads to a completely different backend.

Plesk, on the other hand, has a single login point for administrators and users, the only real difference between the two is the features they have available to them as, obviously, administrators will have tools and features not available to clients.

This might appear to be a minor difference but it changes the way one uses the system in a manner than can be confusing, especially to people making the switch.

5: Migration

Perhaps the biggest and ugliest difference between the two is migration from one server to another. Both are similar in that they make it easy to migrate from one server with the same control panel to another, but their systems are different enough to make moving between them very difficult.

Many hosts will offer free migration services if moving from control panels of the same kind, Plesk to Plesk or CPanel to Cpanel, but transferring between the two usually requires either the purchase of an advance migration or doing it by hand.

Though there are migration tools, including Plesk’s own migration system, the process is still nowhere near as neat or as pretty transferring between the same control panel as compatibility issues are common.

In short, once you pick a control panel, it’s best to stick with it if at all possible.

Bottom Line

In the end, these are all pretty much just minor differences. Plesk and CPanel will both provide fast, stable and secure control panels for your servers with features that largely match. In places where one has historically gotten ahead, the other has usually caught up.

The biggest issue, most likely, is the migration one. If you’re on a CPanel or Plesk system now, most likely you want to avoid changing unless it is absolutely necessary. Not only will you be forced to learn a new control panel, but migration issues can be legion during such transfers.

No matter which you choose though, expect to hear from the other side about why your decision was wrong/horrible and why you’re a moron for going with that control panel. Though the reality is that it probably doesn’t make a huge difference, many people are very dedicated to one “team” or another.

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Tags:   cPanel • cpanel whm • linux hosting • plesk • whm • windows