A control panel determines everything from how smoothly you (or your clients) manage servers and websites to how profitable your hosting business is. In this comparison, we evaluate if ispmanager makes a good Plesk alternative in 2025, focusing on:
Different panels suit different types of hosting businesses. Let’s see which panel — Plesk or ispmanager — fits your goals best.
Ispmanager vs Plesk: Feature Overview
Supported OS
- AlmaLinux
- Debian
- Ubuntu
- Rocky Linux
- CloudLinux
- Windows
- AlmaLinux
- Debian
- Ubuntu
- Rocky Linux
- CloudLinux
- Windows
Minimum hardware requirements
- 2GB RAM
- 20 GB disk (for Linux)
- 32 GB disk (for Windows)
- 1 GB RAM (2 for AlmaLinux)
- 20 GB disk
Reliability
Security features
- Cloudflare
- Fail2Ban
- KernelCare
- (D)DoS Deflate Interface
- WebTotem Security
- Atomicorp ModSecurity
- Rules
- BitNinja
- ModSecurity (WAF)
- Firewall
- Blackwall
- Cloudflare
- Fail2Ban
- KernelCare
- (D)DoS Deflate Interface
- WebTotem Security
- Atomicorp ModSecurity
- Rules
- BitNinja
- ModSecurity (WAF)
- Firewall
- Blackwall
Antivirus
- ClamAV
- ImunifyAV
- Imunify360
- WebTotem Security
- ClamAV
- ImunifyAV
- Imunify360
- WebTotem Security
Spam protection
- SpamAssassin
- Greylisting
- SpamExperts
- SpamAssassin
- Greylisting
- SpamExperts
Backups
- Built-in backup system
- Acronis Backup
- Acronis Backup
- Built-in backup system with scheduling and remote storage support
- Acronis Backup
- Acronis Backup
Resource limits for server environments (RAM, disk, file system isolation)
- CloudLinux LVE Manager
- CloudLinux CageFS
- Disk Quotas
- CloudLinux LVE Manager
- CloudLinux CageFS
- Disk Quotas
Web server
- nginx + Apache
- nginx + PHP-FPM
- Apache
- OpenLiteSpeed
- LiteSpeed
- nginx + Apache
- nginx + PHP-FPM
- Apache
- OpenLiteSpeed
- LiteSpeed
Programming languages/frameworks
- PHP
- Python
- Node.js
- Perl
- PHP
- Python
- Node.js
- Perl
Email management
- Email account management
- Webmail interface
- Email forwarders
- Auto-reply
- Email filters
- Mailbox import
- Email account management
- Webmail interface
- Email forwarders
- Auto-reply
- Email filters
- Mailbox import
DBMS
- MySQL
- MariaDB
- Percona
- PostgeSQL
- MySQL
- MariaDB
- Percona
- PostgeSQL
CMS
- WordPress Toolkit
- Drupal
- Joomla Toolkit
- Softaculous Installations
- Laravel toolkit
- WordPress
- Drupal
- Joomla
- Softaculous
- Laravel toolkit
Website builder
- Site.pro
- Sitejet
- Site.pro
- Sitejet
Automated certificate management for Let's Encrypt SSL certificates
Max recommended accounts per panel
- unknown
- Some ispmanager setups run with more than 2,000 accounts
Scalability
- By installing a new Plesk on a new server
- By installing a new ispmanager on a new server
Billing system integration
- WHMCS
- Blesta
- HostBill
- BILLmanager
- WHMCS
- Blesta
- HostBill
- BILLmanager
White label
API
- Limited functions available
- All functions are available via API
Hosting plan setup
- Traffic
- Disk space
- Number of domains, databases, mailboxes, etc.
- Customizable PHP settings
- Logs & statistics
- Dedicated IP address
- Access to PHP, Node.js, Python modes, and shell
- Resource limits: number of database queries, CPU load time, memory usage, etc
- Traffic
- Disk space
- Number of domains, databases, mailboxes, etc.
- Customizable PHP settings
- Logs & statistics
- Dedicated IP address
- Access to PHP, Node.js, Python modes, and shell
- Resource limits: number of database queries, CPU load time, memory usage, etc
Roles and access permissions
- Administrator
- Reseller
- User
- +custom roles
- Administrator
- Reseller
- User
- Granular access control (fine-tuned per user or task)
Updates
- a stable release approximately every 6 weeks
- a stable release once a month
Interface
- robust, feature-rich, resembles WordPress interface
- simple, modern, and neat
Language support
- 32 languages
- 17 languages
Support
- Support Free 24/7 support
- Support Free 24/7 support
Choosing a Control Panel for Shared Hosting and VPS/VDS
Let’s start with what matters most to hosting providers when choosing a control panel, whether it’s for shared hosting or bundling with VPS/VDS offerings.
Picking a Control Panel for Shared Hosting
Shared hosting is all about efficiency at scale. A control panel must help reduce support load, enable easy onboarding, and keep servers stable.
Ease of Use
The control panel should be intuitive for beginners, support multiple languages, and offer a clean layout.
Plesk resembles WordPress, which some users find familiar and attractive. However, language availability depends on the license tier.
Ispmanager has a modern, minimal interface that simplifies onboarding. All 17 supported languages are available on all licenses at no extra cost.
Security & Automation
Key priorities include timely updates, integrated firewalls, antivirus support, backup automation, and resource limits.
Both panels offer comparable security features: firewall, Fail2Ban, ModSecurity, antivirus tools, and backup systems. Ispmanager also supports resource limits like CPU load, memory usage, and number of DB queries. It helps to isolate heavy users and protect server stability.
Hosting Stack & CMS Support
Both panels cover PHP, Python, Node.js, email, Let’s Encrypt, and popular CMSs. Ispmanager supports OpenLiteSpeed (not available in Plesk) and includes Site.Pro — a simple, drag-and-drop site builder.
Ispmanager lets you install as many CMS-based sites as you need, deploy forums, CRM, and e-commerce platforms via built-in templates. You can connect custom repositories to offer additional scripts in APS format.
Plesk, in turn, certainly shines with powerful toolkits for WordPress, Joomla, and Laravel.
Plesk includes Sitejet Builder, a visual editor with templates for creating websites from scratch. It’s free and enabled by default.
Scalability & Performance
In shared hosting, a panel must remain responsive even with hundreds or thousands of accounts and scale across multiple servers.
Both Plesk and ispmanager scale horizontally by adding new servers. Real-world benchmarks show ispmanager running reliably with over 2,000 hosting accounts on a single instance.
Billing Integration & Customization
Seamless integration with billing platforms and deep API support are key to automating account management and upselling services.
Both panels integrate with WHMCS, BILLmanager, Blesta, and HostBill. Ispmanager also exposes all functionality via API, which enables full automation and custom workflows.
Flexible Plan Configuration
Fine-grained control over resource allocation and user roles helps tailor offers and minimize abuse. Ispmanager and Plesk allow the setup of custom hosting plans, limits on traffic, disk, mailboxes, and the like.
Ispmanager also includes controls like DB query limits, shell access, and granular permissions by task, which should be useful for advanced users and resellers.
Picking a Control Panel for VPS/VDS Bundles
When bundling a control panel with VPS plans, priorities shift slightly. Besides ease of use, functionality, and CMS support, there are resource efficiency and broad compatibility that come to the forefront.
OS Compatibility & Stability
A good panel for VDS/VPS must work reliably across different Linux distributions and be fully localized. Both panels support AlmaLinux, Ubuntu, Debian, and Rocky Linux. Ispmanager is designed to remain resilient during web and database server failures, which gives it an edge in high-uptime environments.
Lightweight Performance
VPS customers often choose minimal configurations, so a control panel shouldn’t eat up precious resources. Ispmanager runs on as little as 1 GB RAM (2 GB for AlmaLinux), while Plesk requires at least 2 GB RAM.
ispmanager vs Plesk: Partner Terms
When selecting a control panel as a hosting provider, it's not just technical features you are considering. Most likely, you’re also looking for a licensing model that scales with your business, supports reselling, and protects your margins. So, how do Plesk and ispmanager stack up in this regard?
How Much Does Plesk Cost vs ispmanager?
How much does Plesk cost as opposed to ispmanager?
Plesk
Ispmanager
As you see below, ispmanager licenses are generally around 50% cheaper than Plesk. This makes ispmanager a good fit for budget-friendly shared hosting plans as well as low-cost VPS/VDS offers.
Partner Pricing and Discounts
Ispmanager has a transparent and partner-friendly partner program:
- You need a low turnover of just €100 to start enjoying your discount;
- The maximum discount is 60%;
- You can get extra discounts by reselling modules and more.
With Plesk, you need to contact their sales team to get partner terms. From what they publicly share, the maximum discount you can get is 45%.
Marketing Support
Plesk lets you access its marketing resources through the partner portal. The resources include brochures, graphics, branding guidelines, logos, and the like.
With ispmanager, each partner gets: partnership announcement posts, product articles (how-to articles, guides, etc.), newsletters, social media content, and more. The marketing team analyzes each partner’s marketing infrastructure to provide custom solutions for earning more with ispmanager. This can be anything from special deals to creative promotions.
Additionally, ispmanager offers a ready-made landing page designed specifically for selling the panel. You receive the full codebase, which you can use as-is or request the ispmanager team to customize based on your brand and target audience. In this manner, you are equipped to start promoting immediately.
Help Resources
Plesk offers a broad, well-structured ecosystem of learning resources and support:
- Detailed documentation;
- Video tutorials;
- Knowledge Base;
- Plesk University;
- Forums and social media.
Ispmanager, meanwhile, offers standard documentation, a knowledge base, and a user wiki. Plus, it provides direct assistance from technical specialists: you get human interaction rather than automated responses or redirection to articles.
Migration to ispmanager vs Migration to Plesk
With Plesk, you get free migration assistance for commercial license holders, covering migrations from older Plesk versions as well as other supported panels.
Ispmanager, in turn, offers a compelling incentive: if you're migrating from any other panel, you can get ispmanager for free:
- for three months (if coming from a free panel);
- for a whole year (if switching from a paid one).
There’s also a particularly fast migration path from cPanel using rsync. This is direct migration with minimal storage requirements. The rsync-based migration is now being developed for migrating from Plesk.
Final Verdict: Is ispmanager A Safe Plesk Alternative in 2025?
Both Plesk and ispmanager offer the core capabilities needed for modern hosting, from CMS deployment to built-in security. Plesk stands out with its rich extension library, toolkits (like WordPress Toolkit), and broad billing system compatibility. Ispmanager, in turn, offers advantages such as
- Easier deployment and lower system requirements compared to Plesk — should be a plus for both shared hosting and managing VPS/VDS
- Clean interface with full multilingual support at no extra cost — makes onboarding easier for end users
- Ideal for budget-friendly shared hosting as well as affordable VPS offers
- Perfect fit for providers focused on the high-volume small-VPS segment.
From a business standpoint, ispmanager also offers:
- Transparent, partner-friendly licensing with discounts of up to 60%
- Ready-made marketing materials and custom promo support
- A free, customizable landing page for panel promotion
In 2025, ispmanager presents a strong, practical alternative to Plesk. It’s a solid choice for providers targeting budget-friendly shared hosting plans, small and medium businesses, and individual users who value simplicity and affordability. In the VPS/VDS segment, it’s especially well-suited for providers working with small and medium-sized businesses that deal with large volumes of lightweight VPS.