Plesk or Webuzo on your VPS: the differences that matter

VPS & Servers·· 48 views· 4 min read

The short answer: both are paid and both do sites, e-mail, DNS and reselling. Choose Plesk if you want the full WP Toolkit, official extensions for Node.js and Python, or Debian 12, which Webuzo does not support. Choose Webuzo if you want a panel that asks for less memory, Softaculous to install applications, and an importer that brings in accounts from cPanel, DirectAdmin and Plesk itself.

Side by side

What to compare Plesk Webuzo
Licence Paid. Web Admin (up to 10 domains), Web Pro (up to 30) or Web Host (no limit), when you order. Paid (the vendor gives a 15-day trial). Requested through a support ticket; not chosen when you order.
Systems you can order AlmaLinux 8 and 9, Rocky Linux 8, Debian 12, Ubuntu 22.04. Not advised: Ubuntu 20.04, Debian 10 and 11, CentOS 7. AlmaLinux 8 and 9, Rocky Linux 8, CloudLinux 8, Ubuntu 20.04 and 22.04. Ubuntu 24.04 through a support ticket. Not Debian. SELinux off.
Web server nginx and Apache 2.4, both shipped with Plesk. Apache, Nginx, LiteSpeed or OpenLiteSpeed, or Nginx in front of Apache; switchable after install.
E-mail included Yes: Postfix and Dovecot, with webmail. Yes: Exim and Dovecot (POP and IMAP), with SpamAssassin.
DNS Yes: BIND. Yes: BIND, with DNS clustering.
Several accounts and reselling Customer accounts on Web Pro and Web Host; resellers on Web Host only. Web Admin is for your own sites. Yes: administrator, resellers and users, with plans and privileges.
WordPress WP Toolkit: limited (SE) on Web Admin, full on Web Pro and Web Host. WordPress Manager (install, update, staging, cloning) and Softaculous, with more than 350 applications.
Node.js and Python apps Through extensions: Node.js, and Python (WSGI apps, through Phusion Passenger). Application Manager: Node.js, Python and Java, also through Passenger.
Backups Backup Manager: full or incremental, scheduled, on the server or over FTP; scheduled backups to the cloud (S3, Google Drive, OneDrive) are a separate paid feature. Scheduled and incremental, on the server or to S3, Google Drive, FTP and SFTP.
Minimum memory and disk 1 GB plus 1 GB of swap. Disk: 20 GB. 1 GB (2 GB recommended). Disk: 5 GB (10 GB recommended).
Learning curve A single interface for the server and the sites, which grows with extensions. Two interfaces, as with cPanel: an admin panel and a user panel.
First login https://IP:8443 (according to the Plesk documentation, the address without a port may also open the panel). Admin at https://IP:2005 (2004 without SSL), user panel at :2003 (2002 without SSL).

Which to choose

Choose Plesk if you will work mostly with WordPress and want the full WP Toolkit (Web Pro or Web Host editions), or if the system has to be Debian. Mind the domain count: the Web Admin edition stops at 10.
Choose Webuzo if the VPS is small (the vendor asks for 1 GB, 2 GB recommended), if you want to install applications with Softaculous, or if you are coming from another panel and want to bring the accounts over with the importer.

The licence, and what stays with you

The Plesk licence (Web Admin, Web Pro or Web Host) is chosen when you order, or requested through a support ticket if the server already exists; the Webuzo licence is always requested through a support ticket. For a licence bought from us, first-line help is ours, through a support ticket, and we escalate to the vendor. The VPS is unmanaged: installing, updating and securing the panel is up to you. The steps are in installing Plesk and installing Webuzo.

The road is only easy one way. Webuzo has an importer for Plesk accounts; Plesk Migrator does not list Webuzo among its sources, so going the other way the sites move one by one. And you cannot install one on top of the other: Webuzo asks for a server with no PHP, Apache or MySQL installed, which means reinstalling a clean system (support ticket) or using a second server. After importing, Webuzo itself tells you to test e-mail and scheduled tasks before you change the DNS.

Not sure which Plesk edition to choose, or want the Webuzo licence? Ask us.

Open a support ticket

SEE ALSO

Installing Plesk on your VPS, step by step

Installing Webuzo on your VPS, step by step

Which control panel to install on your VPS: cPanel, Plesk, Webuzo, HestiaCP or CloudPanel

Free or paid control panel on your VPS: what the licence buys you

cPanel, DirectAdmin or Plesk: what actually differs between control panels

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