web-cp.net
web-cp is an Open Source solution taking up the torch where web://cp stopped and is a direct continuation of that project. Like the original this is written in php and so should put little additional stress on a server. This might be good for you if your server is a little lacking in the power needed to run piles of additional software.
Unlike Cpanel it operates a four layer model allowing resellers and a more granular user system with a CP per user for email access, a CP for domain control, a CP for resellers and a server CP. All this information is available on the website and I have not tested it out myself.
However, the last release was made at the very end of 2005 and although "nightly builds" take place nothing more has been released. This could be because the last release was very good and development takes it's time or it could be that there is a lack of activity of any significant nature. The bug tracker is as active as ever so I'm guessing that new releases are not a priority for the team. If anyone has more information about the status of the project please let us know.
FlexCP
FlexCP is an Open Source solution and so is likely to improve in proportion to the number of users. It can be obtained under the
GNU GPL version 2 from sourceforge.net. It is a redevelopment of "web://cp" and as of writing had not released any file packages.
For you
PHP geeks (like me) the UI is written in php. This seems quite logical given that the server is likely to need to be running php anyway. In theory this should reduce the number of extra "services" (or Daemons) running in memory at any given point.
The project aims to be a commercially viable alternative to Cpanel or Plesk. How long this will take depends on how much time is invested and if any cash is donated to the cause. New web-hosts with a good wedge of venture capital might like to think about that.
Cube Panel Lite
This is the stripped down version of the non-free Cube Panel. Being closed source there is a lot less that can be easily researched on the subject. I can however tell you that you will be limited to one server and 30 domains. After that yo will be looking for an upgrade or another free alternative.
Additional limits include not being able to customise, not mail filter under linux, no SSL support and lack of support for installing modules.
VHCS
VHCS is an open source solution released under the Mozilla Public License 1.1 (MPL 1.1) and it appears to be a live and ready to go open source solution. For mission critical servers this might be the choice of system for this reason only. It is a sourceforge.net project so downloading should be simple even if installation is not.
It is the combined collection of compiled and interpreted languages that give it both the edge and the common bloat. A modern server would be able to cope with these requirements with ease. However, a
VPS with a low memory count might have difficulties.
Like Cpanel it combines PHP, Perl and C as needed. Also like Cpanel VHCS has reseller support as standard. It runs on a
good many systems and while not every set up you might desire is supported the most common ones are. All in all the website does seem to promise a free product able to compete with Cpanel.
UDATE: I have found a non free version of this software.
webmin.com
Webmin is a free and impressive looking suit of control panel packages. It is free and open source solution licensed under the
BSD License according to sourceforge.net. Much like the Fedora and Red Hat relationship there is a non-free version too. The GNU GPL is also used which is a bit confusing for the fussy.
As you would expect it runs under linux (as a hack you can get it to work on windows too) in most flavours needing PERL (although this is not as clear as it could be and I am guessing somewhat). It bundles apache, spamassassin and all the stuff you would expect from a good rival to CPanel.
Additionally Webmin has some little brothers - Usermin and Virtualmin. Usermin lets your users manage stuff (funny that) and virtualmin (GNU GPL) allows you to set up those resellers. It is virtualmin that has a pay for edition.
Non-Free CPanel Alternatives
There are more I could have added but each of these were recommended by actual users in actual discussions in actual forums (so that I noticed) over the past few years. I have used nofollow on a few links because I was unsure of the nature of what I was linking to. For you, the reader, this means that these potential CPanel alternatives are just as clickable as ever but the search engines will not follow the link (in theory). Such links use the text "more info".
Plesk
After CPanel this is possibly the next biggest system used. My experience has been all bad finding it too sluggish to be much fun to use. However the system I used it on may have had other problems so don't let me colour you against it.
On price Plesk is not-at-all competitive from what I have been looking at. They seem to be more focused on telling you how great they are than on getting you to a sales point. Plesk does have not one but four anti virus solutions (CPanel has none that I know of) and in that regard seems to have a better idea of user needs.
When you buy hosting CPanel always pushes the price up so I am guessing that Plesk scales better and costs less per user on larger deployments. This might make it good for you but with the range of free packages and less expensive non-free there is no reason to purchase Plesk.
Cube Panel
While "not at all" playing off the CPanel naming this is a commercially viable package. Like CPanel there are three levels of management allowing for reseller accounts but also like CPanel you are going to pay for this. The key advantage here is that you an get a free 20 day trail version to test out prior to purchase. You may also find that the "lite" version has everything you need.
Prices start at quite reasonable but can start to stack up with added modules and support that can be added to the bundle. If anyone has used the non-free version and has experienced the support I would love to hear from you. (Hint: comments are enabled).
ensim pro
I am not clear at all if this is a software house or a host with a very well written custom CP. But I am clear that they offer a control panel with reseller support (common theme that) for Windows and Linux. I am also clear on just how much this package costs. This is possibly more expensive than Cpanel.
I could find nothing of special note about this product offering aside fromt he overly glossy corperate looking webpage. If someone has had some expirence with these people please enlighten us as to thier strengths and weakenesses as an offering.
Direct Admin
While "not a free offering" the lifetime unlimted license is a mear US$299 which, right now, is arround UK£147 (give or take a bit). This comes with 90 days of support which should be enough to get you up and running. Alternativly you can pay by the month for ongoing support.
The feature se is exactly what you would expect (yes, resellers too), leaving nothing that was obviouse out. I was quite impressed that they support your userswitht he ste-helper program. They also have a forum which seems to be a reasonable community - I've seen worse but very few open source projects would be able to claim they do better support forum wise.
As ease of use goes you need only the operating system and a copy of the software on your server and the setup does the rest. This might be good for those that do not fancy getting into the nuts and bolts of the system. The install is handled by the vendour remotly (for free).
They support most flavours of Linux but obviousely not windows. In terms of apparent value for money these guys beat CPanel hands down. If that were not enough they maintain a site to hold slick looking end user guides so your users don't need to keep asking you. It's all very impressive.
Virtualmin Pro
The pay for, super "pro" version of webmin's vertualmin for those that want all the power. The webmin site says "Both the Pro and GPL versions are built from the same codebase, so all bugfixes and some new features go into both of them."
Carrying on the quote-fest: "Virtualmin offers four methods for managing your server: Web, mobile device, command line, and remote API. Virtualmin is always available, no matter where you are or how you want to work." - this si the only one so far to make anything like this sort of claim.
Price wise this pro version comes in a number of options witht he unlimited domains option (what else would you want) still being less expensive than CPanel and WHM. However the CPanel alternative part is free (see webmin up the page a tad) with just the multiple vertual hosts manager (the work horse of hosting) carrying the price tag.
This mix looks good resulting in a well maintained website and an active looking community. worth considering but if you don't like the price there is still the free version which while lacking some of the msot sexy modules is a fully featured thing and not a crippled package.
VHCS Pro
I know nothing about this product but it seems to be a the same as VHSC but with added dedicated support. If anyone can enlighten me please feel free. Thanks.
These are some other alternatives
