Quick comparison
| # | App | Pricing | Verified price | Open source | Platforms | Verified facts | Score |
|---|
| 1 |  Webmin | Open source | — | Yes | Linux, Self-hosted, Web | 5 of 5 | 68.8 |
| 2 |  Cockpit | Open source | — | Yes | Linux, Self-hosted, Web | 5 of 5 | 61.8 |
| 3 |  Coolify | Open source | From $5/month | Yes | Self-hosted, Web | 3 of 3 | 52.6 |
| 4 |  froxlor | Open source | — | Yes | Self-hosted, Linux | 5 of 5 | 42.3 |
1Best for: Admins of self-managed Linux servers who want a free GUI for nearly every system setting.
Open sourceSelf-hostableLinux, Self-hosted, Web
Why switch from Hestia Control Panel
Covers the whole Linux system through modules, for admins who need more than site, mail and DNS hosting.
Pros
- Free and BSD-licensed, with no paid tier needed for the core panel
- Modules cover a huge range of services, from DNS to mail to databases
- Edits the normal config files, so it coexists with manual changes
- Actively maintained with frequent releases
Cons
- Interface is dense and option-heavy, with a learning curve
- Not a hosting panel on its own; multi-site hosting needs Virtualmin
- Exposing a root-level web panel needs careful security setup
How this score is calculated
Editorial fit ×0.3100
Reviews ×0.363
Clicks (90 days) ×0.150
Freshness ×0.15100
Votes ×0.150
0 counted reviews, 0 up and 0 down votes. Full formula
Verified facts
5 of 5 verified- License
- BSD-3-Clause
- Checked Oct 29, 2026github.com(opens source in a new tab)
- Yearly installations
- About 1,000,000
- Checked Nov 8, 2026webmin.com(opens source in a new tab)
- Supported systems
- RHEL, Alma, Rocky, Fedora, Debian, Ubuntu and more
- Checked Nov 8, 2026webmin.com(opens source in a new tab)
- Free SSL certificates
- Let's Encrypt built in
- Checked Nov 8, 2026webmin.com(opens source in a new tab)
2Best for: Linux admins who want a clean browser view of a server's logs, storage, network and containers.
Open sourceSelf-hostableLinux, Self-hosted, Web
Why switch from Hestia Control Panel
Red Hat-backed web console for managing services, storage and containers rather than hosting sites.
Pros
- Uses the normal system login and tooling, so it never fights the CLI
- Uses no resources when idle thanks to socket activation
- Handles VMs, containers and storage in one modern UI
- Preinstalled on Fedora Server and packaged for major distros
Cons
- No web hosting features such as sites, mail accounts or DNS zones
- Fewer service-specific modules than Webmin
- Some browsers and Apple devices need workarounds
How this score is calculated
Editorial fit ×0.377
Reviews ×0.363
Clicks (90 days) ×0.150
Freshness ×0.15100
Votes ×0.150
0 counted reviews, 0 up and 0 down votes. Full formula
3Best for: Indie developers who want a Vercel or Heroku workflow on cheap servers they control
Open sourceSelf-hostableSelf-hosted, Web
Why switch from Hestia Control Panel
Modern self-hosted PaaS for deploying apps and databases from Git, rather than classic PHP hosting.
Pros
- Free and open source with no feature limits
- Preview deployments and automatic HTTPS
- Hundreds of one-click self-hosted services
Cons
- You manage server security, updates and uptime
- Small core team
- Multi-server setups take more care than a managed PaaS
How this score is calculated
Editorial fit ×0.346
Reviews ×0.363
Clicks (90 days) ×0.150
Freshness ×0.15100
Votes ×0.150
0 counted reviews, 0 up and 0 down votes. Full formula
4Best for: Admins and small hosts who want a free, lightweight panel for Debian or Ubuntu servers
Open sourceSelf-hostableSelf-hosted, Linux
Why switch from Hestia Control Panel
Another free open-source hosting panel, with reseller support and its own package repos.
Pros
- Free and open source with no paid tiers for the panel
- Covers domains, email, databases, FTP, SSL and resellers in one place
- API and CLI installer make automated deployments practical
- Official Debian and Ubuntu package repositories
Cons
- Officially targets Debian and Ubuntu; other distributions need manual work
- Much smaller plugin and app-installer ecosystem than cPanel or Plesk
- Expects solid Linux administration knowledge to install and maintain
How this score is calculated
Editorial fit ×0.312
Reviews ×0.363
Clicks (90 days) ×0.150
Freshness ×0.15100
Votes ×0.150
0 counted reviews, 0 up and 0 down votes. Full formula