Both seem pretty good, which ones best though?

Your basically comparing a paid and free control panel. The paid panel will 99.5% be better then the free control panel due to the funds and development of the project.

Yes, thats what I thought but after a bit more reading I saw that alot of people were moving away from cPanel to it.

I'm not really sure if more people are moving to Lxadmin, but it would make since due to the economic times.

Definitely cPanel.

Definitely cPanel.

I have tried both before, but i think Lxadmin is much more better than Cpanel.

Cpanel is my choice.

I second blessen. But as I read somewhere in their forums, their aim to make lxadmin's user interface to match with cPanel and admin interface with Plesk. And they did succeed in that a lot.

You're not comparing apples to apples. So price aside, cpanel is best. It will also have better security, stability, and functionality than any free control panel.

our Vote are also going to Cpanel

For full functionality HyperVM/LXAdmin are not free. Though they are cheap that is not the primary reason the HyperVM/LXAdmin solution is much better. Virtual and expandable is taking over the shared hosing market and HyperVM/LXAdmin is leading the way. Shared hosting in most any flavor has proven to be unreliable and it is starting to pay the consequence.

It is quite sad how cPanel has failed to implement any kind of real multi server/environment clustering even though requests have been pouring in on their forums for at least 4 years. I think they have failed to implement a real solution because their primary focus is on the novice user. HyperVM/LXAdmin is more focused on ease of usability for the seasoned user/administrator while still staying functional for the end user.

Even though the seasoned admin should be able to go outside the control panel, which you have to quite often with cPanel, it is hard to go outside the HyperVM/LXAdmin control panels because you simply don't have to. Everything is completely built in. There's even a shell client in there! Also HyperVM/LXAdmin both offer a master/slave clustering solution so you are not stuck with the everyday cPanel hassle of having to repeat your changes on every server. On top of the fact it provides a central management solution so you don't have to log in and out of a bunch of servers all of the time.

I would rather have a panel where the only major security issues are with the distributors site while the panel to this day has not had a "large scale" exploit. You can't say the same for cPanel which I have seen many times. The funny thing is I used to be a hardcore cPanel fan simply because of the market. Once I got my hands on a fairly large HyperVM/LXAdmin clustered deployment I have to say I will never go back. I would rather put in the extra work it takes to get the clients that are willing to move on and use HyperVM/LXAdmin.

Cpanel is definitely better because, as guys have said - It is not 'free'. You can promote LxAdmin as free solution to your clients, while cPanel will be paid.

cPanel for hosting multiple users e.g. in a webhosting company environment. For a few single basic sites then LxAdmin is just fine.

CPANEL is definitely a better solution .....

Come on, have you guys ever really worked with LxAdmin?

It is not free but it is affordable enough to be able to absorb or build in the costs and provide it for free to your clients.

After my big long explanation about clustering capabilities you still want to stick to the statement that cPanel is better for multiple users?

Come on guys provide some reasons why cPanel is better. Don't just say it is without proper explanation. Have you ever even used HyperVM/LXAdmin? Don't just stick with the general consensus that cPanel is better then all and theres no need for a different control panel.

Heck if I was looking for a control panel for the everyday web novice. Which is what cPanel was meant for in the first place. I still wouldn't pick cPanel. DirectAdmin has them beat in every since of intuitiveness and ease of usability. But even DirectAdmin fails when it comes to expandability, reliability, and clustering.

Lxlabs has even made the panel easier for the web novice with their minimal view feather theme. But they only made it available for the end user for a reason. Admins, Resellers, and Webmasters should know what they are doing.

You just can't beat the migrating virtual environment. Especially when even the virtual environments can be clustered.

Personally I think that cPanel is more user-friendly to end user, but once again it s only my opinion.

Also there is some handy features line create SPF record, for example, which is lxadmin is missing.

I think good hosting company needs to offer both of these panels to the end user and explain it's differences, so user can pick up one.

I would rather have a panel where the only major security issues are with the distributors site while the panel to this day has not had a "large scale" exploit. You can't say the same for cPanel which I have seen many times.

Basing the level of security of one piece of software solely by comparing it with the history of another is a metric that may one day leave you very surprised. Just sayin..

Personally I think that cPanel is more user-friendly to end user, but once again it s only my opinion.

Also there is some handy features line create SPF record, for example, which is lxadmin is missing.

I think good hosting company needs to offer both of these panels to the end user and explain it's differences, so user can pick up one.

Domain Adm > Manage DNS > Add TXT

As said before this panel in not really meant for the novice. If you search the lxlabs forums you will find out everything you need to know to use this system and become a real web pro in no time.

Basing the level of security of one piece of software solely by comparing it with the history of another is a metric that may one day leave you very surprised. Just sayin..

Just look at the security features of LXA and find out.
http://lxlabs.com/software/lxadmin/security/

It isn't just history, though the history is very telling, it is the logic behind the software to begin with. BTW that page hasn't been updated in a while. There has been more features added check their forums.

And yes there are still plenty of linux system exploits out there but that it an administrators job to make sure they close any holes in the system. Why use a CP that has a proven history of being swiss cheese?

Besides what's more secure and ready for DR than having your entire environment in a virtual container?

Domain Adm > Manage DNS > Add TXT

As said before this panel in not really meant for the novice.


Definitely, this is one more reason why people choose cPanel - it is simpler for customers. :)

What makes a paid solution better than a free one just based on the price letting the features alone?

I use cpanel on one server and its good and very complexx - but only because it is expensive i would not say that makes it auto secure for example.
just installes a hypervm server some days ago and thus giving lxadmin a try.
Besides it looks a bit 1999ish the features seem to be pretty nice. There prolly is some more time to go until its perfect - but with cpanel you had some problems in the past as well.

i must admit i really dont like their website - usually i loose lots of trust in websites that look and feel like theirs - but in the other hand i have seen some shiny crap already as well :)

As said before this panel in not really meant for the novice. If you search the lxlabs forums you will find out everything you need to know to use this system and become a real web pro in no time.


(To preface my comments below, I actively host clients on cPanel, Ensim, and Lxadmin. So I think each panel has their place depending on needs, easy of use to the end user, etc. However, each also has their share of problems and perceptions)

Interesting... I guess a free/low cost panel (lxadmin) makes their forums the primary source for documentation on how to use their panel? I got tired of having to hunt down how to do certain things with lxadmin in their forums. What I also find interesting is the cavalier attitude on their forums to mocking other commercial panels by their staff. Sure some of it is warrantied, but overall very unprofessional.

For me the biggest seller for cPanel is their easyapache. Sure it took a few iterations for them to get it usable, but I can now custom build a apache+php environment with my client specific requirements as easy as pie. Unlike lxadmin which I am at their mercy with their rpm/yum outdated versions. Or having to hunt down numerous posts in their forums on how to add in custom repositories to someone else's rpms. Ok, sure I can build manually straight from source, but really who has time for that these days?

The bonus part for me are posts in the lxadmin forums about users asking about the possibility of adding options like using suhosin for extra PHP security. The feedback from the lxadmin staff/dev was so indifferent no wonder their panel is practically free. Also when someone asks if they plan to update their PHP versions in their repository the attitude is about the same. Concerns like this are much more realistic and valid to address first by cPanel then targeting heavy resources for something like clustering that a minority of "users" have a need for.

Many of my users run heavy PHP sites, cPanel has an advantage in being able to deploy the latest versions and with the ability to include/enable extra security options with minimal effort.

Users who don't know too much - cpanel
Users who can get around - lxadmin

Users who don't know too much - cpanel
Users who can get around - lxadmin

sounds as stupid as:
cpanel -> paid -> excellent
lxadmin -> free -> crap

sounds as stupid as:
cpanel -> paid -> excellent
lxadmin -> free -> crap

lxadmin isn't free

http://lxlabs.com/

You have to pay for lxadmin if you dont use hypervm..

A more advance user would find lxadmin more beneficial because the amount of memory it doesn't use compared to cpanel. A more advance user would want the most of the machine they are running on, to ensure optimal settings.

And in a true production environment, both are not even used.. you would use shell, ftp/sftp/, remote database management probably through a ssh tunnel, one website per server for a 100% production environment.

Hate to say it but control panels are for people who can't get around, and those who can get around, would most likely chose lxadmin because it barely uses any memory, and can get the job done.

You wo

My Vote is for lxadmin. Not many control panel support more than one web server :D.

But then again, our users love cpanel :D

lxadmin based on my personal use and a client of me is a good panel. it have much more options that give you flexibility to configure the accounts, however this became a downside if your client is not so knowledgeable on IT especially hosting control panel as they will get confused on where or how to configure it correctly.

i was hoping that they can make a better UI design, but lxlabs answers on their forum about lxadmin UI interface shows that they wouldn't make any changes yet. also they don't have a 64-bit version of lxadmin which is too bad. I've been request about 64-bit version for months and still no sign that they'll release it any soon :(

My vote goes to lxadmin,

Its good, Cheap and most of all easy to use and install,

LXAdmin is really meant to be deployed in virtual containers. The point of this is to allow you to keep users in separate virtual environments so that abusers don't cause as big of a disruption of the entire hardware node.

LXAdmin allows you to remotely backup the entire environment not just the user accounts so in any real DA situation you just restore the entire environment on any hardware node in your cluster and it is back online in minutes. If you just run the environment off the backup server you can be back online in seconds then just do a transparent migration until it has been completely restored to a hardware node.

The point is to keep your environments small enough to be portable and large enough for good performance. You really don't need 64bit unless you want to handle more than 8GB of memory and that just makes the whole point of using virtual environments null. That is why there is no real rush to release 64bit.

LXAdmin can also be clustered for central management of resources. You can deploy separate task specific environments and LXAdmin will transparently cluster them together. For even heaver deployments you can deploy multiple LXAdmin nodes rsync the home directories and config files and use a simple load balancing solution like DNS round robin or even better Apache mod_rewrite & mod_proxy and a good perl script. We have written a script that will help a user do this quite easily and integrated it into our HIB HyperVM template.

LXAdmin can do most things that cPanel can't and then some and like I have said many times it is not a CP for the novice but it sure does make an admins job much easier.

Isn't that the whole point?

No way you can compare the two. I say Cpanel is way better.

Surely Cpanel no question of it.

LXAdmin can do most things that cPanel can't and then some and like I have said many times it is not a CP for the novice but it sure does make an admins job much easier.

Isn't that the whole point?

Not really. Yeah, Control Panels make admin's jobs a lot easier, but these days in the web hosting industry, the control panel is a selling point to clients. A lot of clients are not familiar with LXAdmin, and would rather have a control panel in which they are familiar with, like CPanel. That doesn't necessarily mean CPanel is better than LXAdmin though, or vice versa.

For any server I use for web hosting I'll put CPanel on it by customer demand. I do have several servers from my other business that do not have any control panel on, just for the added security. That is my preferred method. :)

Well it has been renamed to kloxo (pronounced like clocks oh) and there is supposed to be a lot of major changes to make it more end user friendly.

I'm hoping that we can finally get a panel in the industry that will be good on both ends, admin and end user. I'm thinking if cPanel doesn't start working on a multi-server/clustering solution they may loose some footing once lxlabs gets their next version out.

I guess we will just have to wait and see.

If you are looking for a free CP, I would go with webmin

If you are looking for a free CP, I would go with webmin

I don't consider webmin a control panel personally...To me it's easier just to do server management manually than using webmin.

I don't consider webmin a control panel personally...To me it's easier just to do server management manually than using webmin.

Webmin isn't designed for virtual hosting. So, you're quite right. Webmin is great for what it is intended for (general purpose system administration tasks)...there's simply nothing else to compare it to, in fact. But, for virtual hosting, it makes sense to use a tool designed for the purpose.

If you like the Webmin way of doing things (such as respecting OS standard configuration file locations, not overwriting changes you make outside of the UI, etc.) then Virtualmin is maintained by the same folks (I'm one of them), and it is designed for virtual hosting management. It is available in an Open Source version, and is well-supported and under constant and rapid development. Version 3.69 is coming out tomorrow.

Personally I feel that only those who have tried both should be voting, not anybody who just used cPanel and blindly vote cPanel over LxAdmin cause it is "free".

Although I have not really used LxAdmin before, just tried the demo in the past, I only dislike the design of the control panel, it really sucks..

Personally I feel that only those who have tried both should be voting, not anybody who just used cPanel and blindly vote cPanel over LxAdmin cause it is "free".

Although I have not really used LxAdmin before, just tried the demo in the past, I only dislike the design of the control panel, it really sucks..

Quoted the hypocrite.

I prefer cPanel, especially when you factor in 3rd party support and integration.

Also, people who switch hosts will already be familiar with cPanel, a brand advantage and a reduction in support tickets.

LXAdmin is so much more stable and nicer then CPanel imho!

cPanel is better in some ways, for example, it's more user friendly. The layout has had numerous people working on it to make it easy for beginners to create a website quickly.

LXAdmin however, is less user friendly, but I find it to have more features and more helpful.

Just look at the security features of LXA and find out.
http://lxlabs.com/software/lxadmin/security/

I wonder if they'll let me rewrite that page. It really needs updating!

It isn't just history, though the history is very telling,

What about the history of Lxadmin / Kloxo is telling about its security? If you're referring to lack of public information, not only is that not a very useful metric to go by, but it's a dangerous one.

it is the logic behind the software to begin with. BTW that page hasn't been updated in a while. There has been more features added check their forums.

More features typically means more chances for bugs, not the other way around. Anyway I prefer to check the software by using it, vice reading what the vendor wants me to think. I've used it a few times since I last posted, and in multiple ways that even the vendor claims isn't possible.

And yes there are still plenty of linux system exploits out there but that it an administrators job to make sure they close any holes in the system. Why use a CP that has a proven history of being swiss cheese?

All control panels have had issues. DirectAdmin had a trivial local root in it for years that they posted absolutely no information whatsoever about being fixed. It has had other local roots and various other security related problems as well. You're not always going to hear about these things on bugtraq and milw0rm. cPanel arguably has a much larger code base than DA, which would partially explain more public bugs. And because of that, cPanel is a better product than what it used to be. What you have with Lxadmin / Kloxo is a vendor who isn't being told about their bugs, which is resulting in a less safer software overall.

Besides what's more secure and ready for DR than having your entire environment in a virtual container?

If the environment can be controlled by someone else, then it's no longer your environment, which is the only point I'm making.


As someone who has extensively played with cPanel since mid 2005, and has played with Lxadmin for just a few days, it is immediately very clear which one I would use in a production environment, which would be cPanel. The reason is simple: maturity. Maturity of the product, which is a result of more mature and seasoned developers. Lxadmin / Kloxo could be great some day too, but right now it really needs to do some things a bit differently, safer. I'll be reporting some bugs to them soon, and if they're as proactive about security as their forums state, then there will possibly be some hostinabox updates soon.

There is no doubt for it "CPANEL IS THE BEST"..... but lxadmin is catching up because it reduces the hosting plan price and is somewhat similar to Cpanel. But at this point there is no doubt Cpanel is far stable,user friendly and competitive than any other hosting control panel.

Seems like a lot of folks that haven't used Lxadmin are posting for cPanel. Seems to be the way here though with all of the CP debates. Been testing LXadmin for our VPS/Dedicated customers for a viable option. Some love it some hate it just like everything else. It has a lot of potential IMO and I have run some very busy sites on it in the past 6 months.

Biggest complaints is support is almost NIL. You search the forums and Google to get help. 90% of the time you can find a solution.

Their billing department is non-existent if there are issues. We had one server get extra 0s attached on the license and they billed some huge number. Been 6 months trying to get it sorted out with no responses

Overall a good product if you can take it and run with it. If you need support though pick cPanel, DirectAdmin or Plesk. It is also the option your customers are going to like more. If you want a multi-server setup look into Hsphere and Interworx.

I use both panels in production. I like them both for different reasons. My user community is not all that technical, and they are used to working with cPanel to set up email accounts and forwards. I would have to retrain them to use LxAdmin. So, I keep them on a cPanel VPS. My various personal sites (about 10) are running on LxAdmin. I have no complaints about dealing with LxAdmin either.

So far, I have only had a couple of issues that I had to take to the forums. I have answers for everything except for 1 problem (and it's a killer if I want to move my cPanel clients over).

I really do wish there was a good conversion tool also - part of the reason I haven't moved my cPanel clients over to LxAdmin is just that it will take too much time to do the move.

I really like the low overhead that LxAdmin uses. It is not hard to get around either.

Lxadmin has a long way to go before Cpanel users migrate to it. And the change to "Kloxo" seems very strange - odd name!

For cheap / free lxadmin is OK, for paid, cpanel all the way.

I have been a loyal lurker for many years but I had to register to ask this question.

Most of the Cpanel advocates in this thread have used the argument that Cpanel is not free and therefore probably a better product. I have to ask what OS you use on those same systems Cpanel is installed on. Don't most of you use CentOS or some other FREE (or basically free) linux variant by definition?!

I am a mid range user and have used Cpanel for many years, and from a GUI standpoint after only a day or two of playing around with DirectAdmin/LxAdmin I found it much easier to navigate than Cpanel. I had to sort out that some things were in different locations after being so used to cpanel, but once I figured it out I think the navigation actually made more sense.

Some end users barely understand how to manage their website in the first place so it really doesn't matter what panel they start with, once they become familiar they will be reluctant to change, and since most people have been working with cpanel so long they would be lost in kloxo/lxadmin, but if they never used cpanel I think they would like it just as much.

cPanel.the Best

I have been a loyal lurker for many years but I had to register to ask this question.

Most of the Cpanel advocates in this thread have used the argument that Cpanel is not free and therefore probably a better product. I have to ask what OS you use on those same systems Cpanel is installed on. Don't most of you use CentOS or some other FREE (or basically free) linux variant by definition?!

I am a mid range user and have used Cpanel for many years, and from a GUI standpoint after only a day or two of playing around with DirectAdmin/LxAdmin I found it much easier to navigate than Cpanel. I had to sort out that some things were in different locations after being so used to cpanel, but once I figured it out I think the navigation actually made more sense.

Some end users barely understand how to manage their website in the first place so it really doesn't matter what panel they start with, once they become familiar they will be reluctant to change, and since most people have been working with cpanel so long they would be lost in kloxo/lxadmin, but if they never used cpanel I think they would like it just as much.

Used cPanel for years. In my opinion, the GUI of LxAdmin is laughable at best. cPanel is also much easier to administrate from a cPanel/WHM standpoint. Seriously, the fact that cPanel is even being compared to LxAdmin is embarrassing in a way.

cPanel and DirectAdmin are a much more fair comparison. In my opinion, both are great, and one is cheaper (DirectAdmin). :)