CPANEL

cPanel is the most widely deployed hosting control panel: a web-based dashboard that lets a non-technical user manage email accounts, databases, files, DNS, SSL certificates, backups and one-click installs of WordPress and other software. It runs on the server and is what almost every shared and reseller hosting plan exposes to customers. cPanel's 2019 move to per-account tier pricing pushed many hosts and resellers to evaluate alternatives (Plesk, CyberPanel, CloudPanel, HestiaCP, aaPanel), but it remains the de-facto standard on Linux shared hosting in 2026.

How it works

cPanel itself is the customer-facing dashboard; WHM (WebHost Manager) is the administrator-facing companion that handles server-wide settings, package definitions and reseller account creation. Both run together on the host's server and are licensed per account or per server.

Why it matters

For shared and reseller hosting, cPanel familiarity is a real value: anyone who has used one cPanel host can use any other. For hosts and resellers, the per-account pricing has become the main reason to look at alternatives. For end users on a managed plan, the control panel may be hidden entirely.

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Frequently Asked Questions