How to Install Popular Control Panels on Linux VPS (Free & Paid)
1. cPanel / WHM (Paid)
🔹 About:
cPanel is the industry-standard web hosting control panel, popular for its ease of use and feature-rich interface.
✅ Requirements:
- Clean installation of CentOS 7, CloudLinux, AlmaLinux, or Rocky Linux
- Minimum 1 GB RAM (2 GB+ recommended)
- Static IP address
🛠️ Installation:
cd /home && curl -o latest -L https://securedownloads.cpanel.net/latest && sh latest
🌐 Access After Install:
- WHM:
https://your-server-ip:2087 - Login:
root / your-root-password
💵 License:
- Paid (trial available): https://cpanel.net/pricing/
🔧 2. CyberPanel (Free & Paid)
🔹 About:
CyberPanel is a modern, lightweight control panel powered by OpenLiteSpeed (free) or LiteSpeed Enterprise (paid).
✅ Requirements:
- OS: CentOS 7, AlmaLinux, or Ubuntu 20.04/22.04
- 1 GB RAM minimum
🛠️ Installation:
Run this command:
sh <(curl https://cyberpanel.net/install.sh || wget -O - https://cyberpanel.net/install.sh)
Installation Options:
- Choose OpenLiteSpeed (free) or LiteSpeed Enterprise (paid)
🌐 Access After Install:
- Panel:
https://your-server-ip:8090 - Default login:
Username:admin
Password: set during install or check withadminPass.txt
💵 License:
- Free (OpenLiteSpeed)
- Paid (LiteSpeed Enterprise): https://cyberpanel.net/pricing/
🔧 3. aaPanel (Free)
🔹 About:
aaPanel is a lightweight, free hosting panel from China with a modern UI and good plugin ecosystem.
✅ Requirements:
- OS: CentOS, Debian, or Ubuntu
- At least 512 MB RAM
🛠️ Installation:
For CentOS:
yum install -y wget && wget -O install.sh http://www.aapanel.com/script/install_6.0_en.sh && bash install.sh
For Ubuntu/Debian:
wget -O install.sh http://www.aapanel.com/script/install-ubuntu_6.0_en.sh && bash install.sh
🌐 Access After Install:
- URL provided after installation, typically:
http://your-ip:8888 - Default login credentials shown at the end of install
💵 License:
- Free (paid plugins available)
🔧 4. DirectAdmin (Paid)
🔹 About:
DirectAdmin is a lightweight, reliable, and fast control panel alternative to cPanel.
✅ Requirements:
- Clean OS install: CentOS, AlmaLinux, Debian, or Ubuntu
- At least 1 GB RAM
🛠️ Installation:
Get the latest setup script and run:
wget -O setup.sh https://www.directadmin.com/setup.sh
chmod 755 setup.sh
./setup.sh
🌐 Access After Install:
- DirectAdmin:
https://your-ip:2222 - Login credentials shown after install
💵 License:
- Paid (free trial available): https://www.directadmin.com/pricing.php
🔧 5. CWP (Control Web Panel) – Free & Pro
🔹 About:
CWP is a feature-rich control panel for CentOS/AlmaLinux with both free and Pro versions.
✅ Requirements:
- OS: CentOS 7 or AlmaLinux 8
- Clean OS install
- 1 GB RAM minimum (2 GB+ recommended)
🛠️ Installation:
CentOS 7:
cd /usr/local/src
wget http://centos-webpanel.com/cwp-el7-latest
sh cwp-el7-latest
AlmaLinux 8:
cd /usr/local/src
wget http://centos-webpanel.com/cwp-el8-latest
sh cwp-el8-latest
🌐 Access After Install:
- Admin Panel:
https://your-ip:2031 - User Panel:
http://your-ip:2082
💵 License:
- Free version
- Pro starts at $1.49/month: https://control-webpanel.com/pricing
✅ Quick Comparison Table
| Panel | Free Version | Paid Version | Port | OS Support |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| cPanel | ❌ Trial Only | ✅ Yes | 2087 | CentOS, AlmaLinux |
| CyberPanel | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes | 8090 | CentOS, Ubuntu |
| aaPanel | ✅ Yes | ❌ Plugins | 8888 | CentOS, Ubuntu, Debian |
| DirectAdmin | ❌ Trial Only | ✅ Yes | 2222 | CentOS, Ubuntu, Debian |
| CWP | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes | 2031 | CentOS, AlmaLinux |
⚙️ Final Tips
- Always use a fresh server for installation (no LAMP/LEMP stack pre-installed).
- Update the OS before installation:
sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y # Ubuntu/Debian sudo yum update -y # CentOS/AlmaLinux - Open required firewall ports for each panel.
- Use strong root passwords and enable 2FA if available.