Webuzo or HestiaCP on your VPS: the differences that matter

VPS & Servers·· 25 views· 4 min read

The short answer: both give you sites, e-mail and DNS on the same server. Choose Webuzo if you need resellers, Node.js or Python apps managed in the panel, or you are coming from cPanel: it is paid. Choose HestiaCP if you want a free, open source panel for PHP sites and e-mail, and the server runs Debian or Ubuntu.

Side by side

What to compare Webuzo HestiaCP
Licence Paid (the vendor gives a 15-day trial). Requested through a support ticket; not chosen when you order. Free (open source, GPLv3). There is no licence.
Systems you can order AlmaLinux 8 and 9, Rocky Linux 8, CloudLinux 8, Ubuntu 20.04 and 22.04. Ubuntu 24.04 through a support ticket. Not Debian. SELinux off. Debian 12 and Ubuntu 22.04. Ubuntu 24.04 and Debian 13 through a support ticket. LTS releases only; no AlmaLinux, Rocky or CloudLinux.
Web server Apache, Nginx, LiteSpeed or OpenLiteSpeed, or Nginx in front of Apache; switchable after install. Nginx with PHP-FPM, or Nginx in front of Apache; several PHP versions.
E-mail included Yes: Exim and Dovecot (POP and IMAP), with SpamAssassin. Yes: Exim and Dovecot, Roundcube webmail; SpamAssassin and ClamAV optional.
DNS Yes: BIND, with DNS clustering. Yes: BIND, your own nameservers, DNS cluster and DNSSEC.
Several accounts and reselling Yes: administrator, resellers and users, with plans and privileges. Users with limit packages. The documentation has no resellers.
WordPress WordPress Manager (install, update, staging, cloning) and Softaculous, with more than 350 applications. Quick install of WordPress and other applications.
Node.js and Python apps Application Manager: Node.js, Python and Java, also through Passenger. No app manager in the documentation: a Node.js app sits behind an Nginx proxy template, set up by hand.
Backups Scheduled and incremental, on the server or to S3, Google Drive, FTP and SFTP. Automatic, on the server or to FTP, SFTP and Rclone; incremental with restic.
Minimum memory and disk 1 GB (2 GB recommended). Disk: 5 GB (10 GB recommended). 1 GB without SpamAssassin and ClamAV (4 GB recommended). Disk: 10 GB (40 GB recommended).
Learning curve Two interfaces, as with cPanel: an admin panel and a user panel. A simple panel; what it does not show is done with the v- commands on the command line.
First login Admin at https://IP:2005 (2004 without SSL), user panel at :2003 (2002 without SSL). https://IP:8083

Choose Webuzo if

1 You will have resellers, each with their own clients and limits.
2 You run Node.js or Python apps and want to create and stop them in the panel.
3 You want to pick the web server, OpenLiteSpeed for example, and switch it later.
4 You are coming from cPanel or DirectAdmin. Webuzo has importers for both.
5 You need AlmaLinux, Rocky Linux or CloudLinux. HestiaCP only runs on Debian and Ubuntu.

Choose HestiaCP if

1 You do not want to pay for a licence and your sites are mostly PHP and WordPress.
2 You want full e-mail on the server, with webmail, antivirus and spam filtering.
3 You prefer Debian, or you want DNSSEC and your own nameservers on the server.
4 You are coming from VestaCP. HestiaCP restores VestaCP backups.
Switching from one to the other means rebuilding the server. Both want a freshly installed system, so they cannot live side by side: copy everything out and ask for the reinstall through a support ticket. HestiaCP only restores HestiaCP and VestaCP backups, and Webuzo documents no HestiaCP importer. Sites, databases, mailboxes and DNS zones move by hand. And if the server runs Debian, Webuzo forces a change of system.
Your VPS is unmanaged: you install and look after the panel yourself. The steps are in installing Webuzo and installing HestiaCP. The Webuzo licence is not chosen when you order: it is requested through a support ticket. For a licence bought from us, first-line help is ours, through a support ticket, and we escalate to the vendor. To compare with the other three, see which panel to install and what the licence buys you.

Not sure which of the two fits? Tell us how many accounts and what sites you will have.

Open a support ticket

SEE ALSO

Installing Webuzo on your VPS, step by step

Installing HestiaCP on your VPS, step by step: a free panel with e-mail

Which control panel to install on your VPS: cPanel, Plesk, Webuzo, HestiaCP or CloudPanel

Free or paid control panel on your VPS: what the licence buys you

HestiaCP and VestaCP on a VPS: what the panel gives you and what stays your job

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