If you are associated with web hosting services, then you might know that there are several control panels available. But among them the major players in this field are Plesk and cPanel. Through this article you will come to know about these two control panels deeply. You will find the pros and cons of these two control panels which will make your selection process a bit easier.

cPanel

cPanel was introduced in the year 1996 and it is the most popular hosting control panel especially among the shared hosting users. This software was actually designed by J. Nicholas Koston but now this software is handled by cPanel Inc. located in Houston, Texas. This software performs well with Unix based operating system including FreeBSD, Red Hat Linux and CentOS.

Plesk

Plesk was introduced back in the year 2003, long after the launch of cPanel. Initially, this was the product of SWsoft but later it was purchased by Plesk Inc. However, this product is now available under the brand name of Parallels Inc. and its name is also changed to Parallels Plesk Panel. Plesk supports both Unix and Windows based OS. Plesk for Unix support Red Hat Linux, SUSE, Ubuntu, FreeBSD and Debain, while Plesk for Windows support Windows Server 2008 and 2003.

Comparing cPanel and Plesk

Positive Points about cPanel

cPanel is the most popular and accepted web hosting control panel. Almost every person using web hosting services prefer to use cPanel because the GUI is very simple to use in comparison to other hosting control panel.

Among all other hosting control panels, cPanel is very easy to learn and the interface is also user friendly, therefore making the process easier than ever before. There are many end users those who are satisfied with the services offered by cPanel because it is very easy to operate.

Positive Points about Plesk

As already mentioned, that Plesk supports both Unix and Windows based operating system, therefore offering ample opportunities to the web hosting providers because they can use the same control panel software on both Unix and Windows hosting package.

Parallels Plesk Panel comprises loads of advance features that you will not find in the other control panel software. For instance, Plesk boasts perfect clustering support and also offers excellent built-in SiteBuilder. Because of its advanced features people find it difficult to use, therefore it is not accepted by most of users especially by the beginners.

Interface

Both cPanel and Plesk have intuitive, easy and fast interfaces. But the interface of cPanel is much easier to understand and all the features can be accessed easily from the front page. Therefore, the end users don’t have to learn the new routines to use cPanel for web hosting.

Functionality

In terms of functionality, both Plesk and cPanel are quite similar. Unfortunately, both these control panels are not compatible with each other. This means, if you create backup account with cPanel then restoring the files in Plesk is not possible.

Wrapping Up…

Overall, it is quite difficult to find out the best control panel among these two. It is a matter of personal choice, but the users of cPanel are quite higher in comparison to Plesk. Most of the hosting servers use cPanel so as to enhance the experience of end users. But, it doesn’t mean that the importance of Plesk should be overlooked. It also offers same services but there are few differences that make it less popular among the end users.