DirectAdmin and cPanel: Hosting is a vital part of your success and when it comes to your hosting account, you need to know the best choice between DirectAdmin vs. cPanel. Both of these are control panels used for hosting and provide the administrative options for managing all the parts of your hosting account. One is certainly better than the other, but before we get to that, it’s necessary to understand what both offers.
Difference between DirectAdmin and cPanel
As a paid control panel, which requires a license, DirectAdmin is one of the best choices you will find. You need a paid control panel (most hosting companies provide one) because free control panels simply don’t give you the security and features necessary for most projects.
This is one of the easiest control panels to use and provides access to webmail, admin options, your file manager and so much more. When you login, you will notice, everything is laid out for you on one screen. This makes it easy to find what you’re looking for within the administrative area.
The best control panel on the market is cPanel. Hands down, cPanel wins in the battle of DirectAdmin vs. cPanel. It’s another paid control panel and most of the best hosting companies provide cPanel with your account. The features and ease of use make this one of the best choices on the internet for beginners and advanced users.
Beginners will find cPanel easy to navigate and unlike DirectAdmin, cPanel splits the features into categories, which makes them easier to find. CPanel also provides more features and plugins than DirectAdmin does.
Major Differences Between DirectAdmin and cPanel
DirectAdmin and cPanel are very similar, yet very different. They both provide a server configuration framework and UI, but DirectAdmin leaves quite a bit of the work to be done in the root shell. CPanel, on the other hand, provides nearly all the configuration and functionality within the UI. This makes it far easier to use and a better fit for just about all user levels.
Why is cPanel Free with Your Hosting Account?
When you sign up for a hosting account, you will most likely get cPanel as your control panel option. This is given to you as a feature of your package because the best hosting companies understand how powerful cPanel is compared to DirectAdmin and the other control panel options. DirectAdmin may fit with a small percentage of users, whereas cPanel fits with just about every type of user.
The popularity of cPanel drives it with the major hosting companies and it’s very inexpensive. The reputation cPanel has gained helps keep their marketing budget down, making it a very good choice for the budget conscious user.
Along with all the features and the low cost, cPanel provides plenty of online tutorials, how-to guides, forum discussions and more. Since it’s such a popular choice, helpful resources are found all over the internet whenever you have questions.
Expandability of DirectAdmin vs. cPanel
DirectAdmin is expandable, but the cost of adding additional functionality is very high. With cPanel, you can add plugins and modules very easily without much or any added cost. Along with the expandability through modules and plugins, advanced users can custom code options directly into the system.
Access and Overall Usability of Both
DirectAdmin gives you multiple menu options and it’s less overwhelming than cPanel, when you first login. However, cPanel makes it easier to find the things you need and you gain a massive amount of direct access when you login. It may seem overwhelming to a new users, but everything is split into categories, including:
Logs
Files
Domains
Security
Preferences
All the categories are collapsible and expandable, making it easy to customize the look of your front page. Along with the categories, you can use the search function to help you find an option within cPanel. On the other hand, DirectAdmin only uses three main sections, which are: Email Management, Advanced Features and Your Account. This may seem like it’s easier, at first, but it becomes difficult if you don’t know what you’re looking for within the admin area.
The Final Verdict – DirectAdmin vs cPanel
When looking at DirectAdmin vs. cPanel, there’s a clear winner: cPanel. This battle is one many have discussed and while both cPanel and DirectAdmin are great choices, cPanel is better for beginners and provides more customization for advanced users.
