Web Hosting Talk : Web Hosting Main Forums : Hosting Software and Control Panels : Practical, business view: cPanel vs Webmin

[NuCode]

I am wondering how far has Webmin come practically compared to cPanel?

How it compares to cPanel in serious business environment as end-user control panel & server management solution?

I'm guessing still quite poorly, but is it usable? Does it's low-cost justify it's usage? or is the TCO practically way higher than cPanel?

Ty

[SwellJoe]

Webmin doesn't compare to cPanel at all. They aren't even for the same target audience. Webmin is a general purpose web-based system administration tool and platform for building systems management tools (it's also the most popular in the world in that category). It's like asking whether Linux or Microsoft Word is the better word processor.

If you want to compare virtual hosting control panels, Virtualmin is the product you need to put up against cPanel. They are designed for the same audience and provide many of the same features. Virtualmin happens to be built on the platform Webmin provides, and is written by the same developers (I'm one of them). We think it holds up very well to comparison with cPanel, and we have several thousand users who've migrated from cPanel who agree. But, cPanel is a very fine product built by nice folks. If you prefer it, you should use it.

But, if you're not sure, we'd encourage you to give Virtualmin a try. It's available in an Open Source version for free, and a proprietary version that is cost-competitive with cPanel (and bulk discounts are also available for hosting providers who want to resell Virtualmin products).

There is an old comparison chart on our website here: http://www.virtualmin.com/compare.html

I haven't updated it since our CMS migration a few months ago, so it's missing a few new features in Virtualmin (installable script count is low, number of website builder templates is probably wrong, etc.). I'm not sure if cPanel has had a new version since then, but the cPanel folks, or one of our mutual customers (we do have many customers that offer both cPanel and Virtualmin; some customers want familiar, others want power and flexibility), usually tell me if the chart is missing anything important.

It doesn't cost you anything more than a few minutes of your time to try out Virtualmin GPL. And all of our commercial products have a 45 day money back guarantee. So, drop it on a box, and see how you like it. You might find it can save you some time and enable you to provide some additional services to your customers.

[NuCode]

I've seen Webmin offered as the solution for end-users instead of cPanel, therefore i ask. But then again if something built on top of it can do it

I'm actually personally very critical of attempting anything else than cPanel anymore, i tried both LXAdmin and HyperVM. LXAdmins only good things are it's fast UI and Lighttpd support, but it's VERY VERY unreliable, lots of damage control, making it way more expensive than cPanel.

Maybe i give Virtualmin a chance on somekind of toybox.

[stebaker]

I've been a big fan of Cpanel for years now. I would never try another panel.

[NuCode]

Yes, cPanel is excellent, however it's cost is way too compared to other costs. Paying 150$ for server and then 25$ a month for single software license?

25$ is after all 1/6 addition to per server cost, which does add up quite a bit. Nevermind if you have only a 80$/Mo server ...

[Gary4gar]

Cpanel is way ahead of webmin. but yeah for personnel use webmin/virtualmin-gpl are just fine.

[NuCode]

So virtualmin isn't anywhere near usable instead of cPanel?

[wjtech]

I am in the process of moving from Plesk to Virtualmin, and so far, I am well pleased.

The only way you are going to find out if Virtualmin if for you is to give it a try. The GPL version will give you a true representation of hosting with the Pro version. Put it on a test box and see for yourself.

The biggest plus for Virtualmin is the support you receive from the developers, and this is for both the Pro and GPL versions; they do not differentiate. Really first rate.

Giving VM a test run will be time well invested.

John

[SwellJoe]

Originally Posted by Gary4gar

Cpanel is way ahead of webmin. but yeah for personnel use webmin/virtualmin-gpl are just fine.

Have you tried Virtualmin in the past couple of years? Virtualmin Professional actually has a number of features that cPanel doesn't...and I'm unaware of any features that cPanel has that Virtualmin does not.

Of course, you may simply prefer the way cPanel does things, and that's fine. We aren't going to argue with taste.

But, saying cPanel is "way ahead of" makes it sound like there's some feature or features you believe cPanel has that Virtualmin does not. We'd be curious to know what those features are, so that we can make sure our documentation and marketing materials cover those features (since I'm confident said features already exist in Virtualmin). ;-)

[blessen]

Cpanel is a great product and I do not think you can compare it with Webmin. Cpanel has a very user-friendly admin,reseller and end user panels. Its Scripts folder and other options in the admin panel makes management easy.