Plesk Web Hosting Comparison

What is Plesk Web Hosting and how is it used?

Plesk is one of the most well-known and comprehensive web hosting control panels for web servers, domains, web space, homepages, and email accounts. It offers the significant advantage of having a sophisticated rights distribution system. This allows customers and operators to access the settings they need at different levels of hierarchy, with all options presented under a unified interface. This universal approach is one of the distinguishing features of Plesk, which unlike conventional software for web server administration, caters to all types of users from owners to resellers to homepage owners and their customers. Technically, Plesk is a graphical interface that allows configurations to be made that would otherwise be much more complex or require written commands. It serves as a clear and convenient front-end, integrating numerous functions such as an integrated editor and graphical file manager with direct upload and download capabilities.

How has Plesk evolved?

Plesk Server Administration or PSA was already one of the most popular software solutions for web hosting and automation of configurations on web and DNS servers during the turn of the millennium. Originally programmed in Novosibirsk, Russia, on behalf of Plesk, Inc., it was developed and updated from there. In 2003, the company SWsoft made a remarkable move by simultaneously acquiring the two largest companies for commercial server control software, Plesk and the Bremen-based Yippi-Yeah! E-Business, GmbH. That same year, Plesk 6.0 was released, a completely revamped version introducing a host of new features and setting standards in server administration. Significant changes have since been made, including in version 9 with support for different mail servers and version 12 with additional IT security features such as blocking individual IP ranges after a certain number of failed logins. In 2008, SWsoft was renamed Parallels, Inc., having been part of the development group and primarily focused on virtualization solutions. Unlike other software packages, Plesk has always been and continues to be distributed as a commercial interface under a proprietary license.

How much does the installation of Plesk cost?

Plesk is offered as a complete package for server operators and its costs are calculated based on factors such as the number of domains used. In addition to web hosting, license fees for the software apply, which are divided into different packages. Since Plesk is used by many web hosting providers, its use for their end customers - i.e. website operators or lessees of web space - is often free or included in the monthly fee. For administrators, three different plan models are offered, which include restrictions on the number of domains and functions. In all three tiers, support for the software is included, although it is limited in scope for external issues such as integrating additional programs. Many web hosting providers offer this technical support for issues outside of Plesk additionally or it is already included in some servers.

What are the advantages and disadvantages of Plesk?

Advantages:

- Modular system with extensive rights management
- Intuitive, graphical interface simplifies complex tasks
- Very stable and secure
- Fast updates for immediate patching of security vulnerabilities
- Hierarchical rights assignment with five levels
- Suitable for server operators, resellers, and domain owners alike
- No in-depth knowledge of the operating system required
- Compatible with Windows Server, Unix, and Linux
- Tools for setting up CMS like Joomla or Wordpress
- Easy backup creation
- Convenient data migration between different servers possible
- Add-ons for additional functionality

Disadvantages:

- Tiered pricing system with domain limitations
- Access to official repositories is restricted
- Parts of the operating system depend on its own packages
- Not all distributions of Linux are supported
- Custom rights assignment sometimes complicates installation of third-party software
- Plesk interface additionally consumes resources on minimal servers

What are the server requirements for Plesk?

First and foremost, Plesk can only be set up by the administrator for a complete server or VPS hosting. Therefore, it is not possible to install Plesk, for example, within a web hosting package afterwards. Plesk is a very complex software package that makes deep changes to the operating system and supplements it with specially modified programs. Therefore, only selected operating systems are supported such as Microsoft Windows, Unix, or selected distributions of Linux like Debian and Ubuntu, Red Hat Linux, CloudLinux, and CentOS. Current versions no longer support Fedora, FreeBSD, and OpenSuse. In addition, Plesk has certain requirements for the software used to enable operation via its own GUI. For example, only the Apache2 web server is supported, not other popular alternatives like Nginx. Although Plesk is primarily of interest to server operators, many customers appreciate the user-friendly interface for tasks such as setting up their own website. In this case, it must be clarified early on with the web space provider whether they use Plesk and offer it to their end customers.

What alternatives to Plesk are available?

Today, there are both proprietary and open-source solutions that can perform parts of the tasks of an admin tool as a Plesk alternative. One of the most popular among them is the also commercial DirectAdmin, which has been optimised for high user-friendliness, speed, and low resource consumption. Despite a high number of features, it does not match the variety of Plesk. In contrast to these two, WebMin is available under an open-source license and is therefore free to install. A notable feature of this solution is its modular approach, which allows the use of numerous official and even more unofficial plugins. WebMin can therefore be very flexible in adapting to the operating system and can be easily extended with custom functions with the appropriate programming knowledge. For a long time, WebMin was limited to Linux, but in the latest versions, it also supports installation with limited functionality on Microsoft Windows.

Also, find out how the control panel compares in the cPanel vs Plesk comparison against its direct competitor.

Web hosting with Plesk is not the right option?

Then you can also explore alternatives such as Plesk Dedicated Server, Plesk Cloud Server or Plesk VPS hosting.