3 Best alternatives for VestaCP (2021 Edition) Open Source

Are you looking for Vestacp alternatives? If yes, you are in the right article. VestaCP is one of the best open-source (free) control panels around. But, it does not come with some essential features like no inbuilt file manager out of the box, no easy ways to install multiple PHP versions, etc…

Here is the list of VestaCP alternatives for your next VPS or Dedicated server.

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1. CyberPanel with OpenLightSpeed

CyberPanel is a next-generation hosting control panel powered by OpenLiteSpeed ↱. Built for speed, security, and reliability. Cyberpanel is my favorite free control panel without a doubt. Slick UI design is always welcome for anyone looking for a free alternative to VestaCP.

Operating system support: Centos 7.x, Centos 8.x, Ubuntu 18.04, Ubuntu 20.04

OneClick Installation: DigitalOcean

Website: https://cyberpanel.net/

Cyberpanel Advantages (props)

• Comes with OpenLightSpeed server
• DNS management
• Email management
• Auto-installers for WordPress, Joomla, and Prestashop
• Inbuilt Light Speed cache module (Grate for WordPress hosting)
• Lightweight but powerfull
• Inbuilt Command Line Interface
• Multiple PHP versions
• Support Git integrations
• Cron job editor interface
• Easy Let’s Encrypt SSL installer
• Docker manager
• Cloud Linux integration support
• User management with user limits & restriction support

Cyberpanel Disadvantages (cons)

• Do not support Nginx or Apache (OpenLightSpeed perform similar to Nginx)
• Not all Apache mod_rewrite rules supported in the free version (but more than enough to run most of the applications like WordPress, Joomla, and Prestashop)
• Can’t change the control panel port

2. aaPanel – Free and Open source Hosting Control Panel

aaPanel is a simple but powerful control panel for Linux server. one-click install LNMP/LAMP/OpenLiteSpeed developing environment and software. aaPanel is relatively a new alternative to the VestaCP but they are gaining popularity much faster than other free and open-source control panels.

Operating system support: CentOS 7.1+, Ubuntu 16.04+., Debian9.0+

Tested on:  Vultr VPS, VpsDime

Website: https://www.aapanel.com/

aaPanel Advantages (props)

• Support all major server software: Nginx, Apache, and OpenLightSpeed
• Better security extensions (plugins)
• Inbuilt code editor and Command Line Interface
• OneClick installer for all modules including PHP versions, Mysql versions, Server stacks
• Support all major caching mechanisms like Redis, Memcached
• Docker manager
• Tomcat & MongoDB support
• Mail Server
• Easy Let’s Encrypt SSL install
• Storage plugins: S3, Google Drive, and Google cloud
• Cron job editor interface
• Manager plugins: Python, PostgreSQL. DNS and more
• Lightweight & no bloatware

aaPanel Disadvantages (cons)

• Community support is still gaining
• Lack of user and hosting package management
• Need some configurations when deploying websites (this is not a disadvantage for people who know how to Google ?)

When updating aaPanel, make sure to update using SSH. There is a update option in the Web Ui but I do not recommend to update through it.

3. Ajenti Server Admin Panel

Ajenti is a free VestaCP alternative that is ideal for medium to small projects. If you are a developer that often runs projects, then Ajenti is the perfect platform for you. It is completely open-source and supports a number of Linux distributions and most importantly it’s reliable.

Ajenti has two versions (v1.x and v2.x) We recommend you go for the lightweight v2.x version.

Operating system support: CentOS 8+, Ubuntu 16.04+, Debian9.0+, RHEL 8+

Tested on:  Vultr VPS, VpsDime

Website: https://ajenti.org/

Ajenti Advantages (pros)

• Very lightweight – less resource use
• AngularJS user interface
• DNS management
• Nginx and apache support
• OpenVPN support out of the box
• User management
• GUI package manager
• Integrated Command Line Interface
• High-performance control panel
• Easy Let’s Encrypt integration
• Python API for advanced users
• Better security layers with inbuilt firewall

Ajenti Disadvantages (cons)

• Not beginner-friendly
• The inbuilt file manager is very basic but better than nothing ?
• UI is a little bit outdated
• Lack of features due to simplicity

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Conclusion

So, what you think about all of these options? If you are going to host lots of CMS websites like WordPress, I recommend you to go with CyberPanel. If you are building a server for general use, go with aaPanel. Keep in mind aaPanel can have some small bugs (same as Cyberpanel) but there are always workarounds. Last but not least, if you working on small projects, go for Ajenti. Also, Ajenti is suitable for small servers and you must have prior Linux experience.