> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://blog.onetsolutions.net/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
# Picking a VPS control panel in 2026: Easypanel, Dokploy, Cloudron, cPanel, Plesk, HestiaCP or YunoHost
> Web hosting, app platform or self-hosting suite: seven panels compared on licence, requirements and the kind of work each one is built for.
*Published on September 24, 2026*
Seven panels, three different jobs. Most bad picks are not bad panels. They are panels built for something else: cPanel to ship containers, Dokploy to host customer mailboxes.
So start with the job. The rest follows from it.
Comparison as of September 2026, based on each publisher's official documentation. Reference versions: Easypanel 2.36.0, Dokploy 0.30.7, Cloudron 10, cPanel & WHM 134 and later, Plesk Obsidian 18.0.81, HestiaCP 1.10.5, YunoHost 12.1 (13.0, built on Debian 13, is in beta). Licences and free tiers change quickly: check them with the publisher before you commit.
## Three families, not seven rivals
| Family | Panels | What you manage | Basic unit |
| ---------------------- | ----------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------- | ----------------------------- |
| **Web hosting** | cPanel & WHM, Plesk, HestiaCP | Websites, email, databases, DNS | The domain or hosting account |
| **App platform** | Easypanel, Dokploy | Containerised apps, databases, deployments from Git | The Docker service |
| **Self-hosting suite** | Cloudron, YunoHost | Ready-made apps from a catalogue, users, email | The catalogue app |
A web hosting panel thinks in accounts and domains. An app platform thinks in Git repositories and Docker images. A self-hosting suite thinks in apps installed for people: Nextcloud for the team, a webmail, a wiki.
## The comparison
| Panel | Family | Licence | Free option | Built-in email | System installed at OnetSolutions | Minimum (vCPU / RAM / disk) | Install time |
| ------------ | ------------------ | ------------------------------------------- | ----------------- | -------------- | --------------------------------- | --------------------------- | ------------ |
| Easypanel | App platform | Paid plans per server | Up to 3 projects | No | Ubuntu 26.04 LTS | 1 / 2 GB / 30 GB | 3–5 min |
| Dokploy | App platform | Apache 2.0 (except a proprietary directory) | Yes, open source | No | Ubuntu 26.04 LTS | 2 / 2 GB / 30 GB | 3–5 min |
| Cloudron | Self-hosting suite | Source-available, subscription | 2 apps | Yes | Ubuntu 26.04 LTS | 2 / 2 GB / 30 GB | 15–25 min |
| cPanel & WHM | Web hosting | Proprietary, priced by account count | No (trial period) | Yes | AlmaLinux 10 | 2 / 4 GB / 40 GB | 20–45 min |
| Plesk | Web hosting | Proprietary, priced by domain count | No (trial period) | Yes | Ubuntu 26.04 LTS | 2 / 2 GB / 40 GB | 15–30 min |
| HestiaCP | Web hosting | GPLv3 | Yes, no licence | Yes | Debian 13 | 1 / 2 GB / 20 GB | 10–20 min |
| YunoHost | Self-hosting suite | AGPLv3 | Yes, no licence | Yes | Debian 12 | 1 / 2 GB / 20 GB | 10–20 min |
The last four columns describe the automatic installation offered in the OnetSolutions console, when you order or reinstall a VPS. The minimums are those of that installation, not necessarily the publisher's.
## Pick by what you do
### You deploy your own applications: Easypanel or Dokploy
Both build your apps from a Git repository or a Docker image, run them in containers next to their databases, and issue HTTPS certificates.
* **Pick Dokploy** if you want an open source tool with no licence to pay for. It needs at least 2 vCPU.
* **Pick Easypanel** if its template catalogue saves you time and 3 projects are enough, or if you accept a paid per-server plan beyond that. It runs on 1 vCPU.
Neither hosts email. If your customers expect mailboxes, this is the wrong family.
### You host websites for customers: cPanel, Plesk or HestiaCP
* **Pick cPanel & WHM** if your customers or your team already know cPanel, or if you resell hosting accounts. The licence is priced by account count: Solo (1), Admin (5), Pro (30), Premier (100 and more). It is also the heaviest: 4 GB of RAM minimum and up to 45 minutes to install.
* **Pick Plesk** if you mostly run WordPress sites and prefer Ubuntu. Editions differ by domain count: Web Admin (10), Web Pro (30), Web Host (unlimited). Web Admin ships a reduced WP Toolkit, not the full one.
* **Pick HestiaCP** if you want websites, email, databases and DNS without paying for a licence. It is lightweight, GPLv3, and built on Nginx and/or Apache with PHP-FPM, Exim and Dovecot, and BIND. The trade-off: no commercial publisher behind it, so support comes from the community.
### You self-host services for a team or a non-profit: Cloudron or YunoHost
Both install apps from their catalogue, manage users and run a mail server.
* **Pick YunoHost** if you want free software (AGPLv3) with no licence, backed by a volunteer community. It runs on 1 vCPU.
* **Pick Cloudron** if you want a commercial product with app updates, per-app backups and single sign-on. The free plan is limited to **two apps**; beyond that, a subscription is required.
## Common pitfalls
**Mixing up a panel and a One Click App.** A panel cannot be combined with a One Click App on the same VPS. If all you need is one WordPress or one n8n, a [One Click App](https://help.onetsolutions.net/one-click-apps/overview) may be enough. If you want to manage several sites or apps from one interface, take a panel.
**Leaving the licence out of the budget.** cPanel, Plesk and Cloudron licences (beyond the free plan) are not included in the VPS: you buy them from the publisher once the trial or the free quota runs out.
**Undersizing.** cPanel needs 4 GB of RAM at minimum. The others start at 2 GB, but a mail server with spam and virus filtering eats that margin fast. Size for the real workload, not for the installation alone.
**Leaving the first account open.** Easypanel and Dokploy make the first account created the administrator. Until you create it, anyone who reaches `http://:3000` can do it instead of you. Create it as soon as the installation finishes.
**Showing up to Cloudron without DNS.** Cloudron will not finish its setup without a domain. It needs `my.your-domain` and the wildcard `*.your-domain` pointed at the server. Check before you open the wizard:
```bash theme={null}
# Both must return the VPS IP address
dig +short my.example.com
dig +short test.example.com
```
**Changing your mind later.** Moving from one panel to another means reinstalling the VPS, which erases all its data. Back up first, and plan to move your sites and apps yourself.
## Further reading
* [Control panels overview](https://help.onetsolutions.net/control-panels/overview): ordering, reinstalling and tracking the installation
* Per-panel guides: [Easypanel](https://help.onetsolutions.net/control-panels/easypanel), [Dokploy](https://help.onetsolutions.net/control-panels/dokploy), [Cloudron](https://help.onetsolutions.net/control-panels/cloudron), [cPanel & WHM](https://help.onetsolutions.net/control-panels/cpanel), [Plesk](https://help.onetsolutions.net/control-panels/plesk), [HestiaCP](https://help.onetsolutions.net/control-panels/hestiacp), [YunoHost](https://help.onetsolutions.net/control-panels/yunohost)
* [VPS firewall](https://help.onetsolutions.net/vps/firewall): each panel has its own ports to open
* [Enhanced VPS Linux security](/en/enhanced-vps-linux-security), for the layer under the panel
To install one of these panels, [order a VPS from the console](https://console.onetsolutions.net/checkout/compute) and pick it at the installation step.