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Vanta Panel vs HestiaCP

HestiaCP is a free, open-source (GPLv3) hosting panel with mail, DNS and customer logins. Vanta Panel costs $0 to $10 per server and adds a first-party WHMCS module and managed Node.js, Python, Java and Kafka apps, and it imports cPanel accounts from a vWHM screen where HestiaCP uses a command-line tool. Pick HestiaCP if $0 and open source matter more than those.

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HestiaCP facts from hestiacp.com, its docs and forum, and the WHMCS Marketplace, read on . Sources

At a glance

How do Vanta Panel and HestiaCP compare?

They are the closest pair among hosting panels: both are self-hosted, both run a mail server and authoritative DNS with private nameservers, and both give every customer a login. Vanta Panel and HestiaCP differ on price, licence, WHMCS, the apps they run and how cPanel accounts come in.

Vanta Panel and HestiaCP at a glance. Every cell links to its source; a dash means we could not verify it. Every HestiaCP cell was read on the vendor’s own site or docs on . Licence prices are per server per month and exclude the VPS and tax.
Vanta PanelHestiaCP
Pricing modelFlat per server: Free, $5 or $10 a month; never per accountDetailsFree; the project relies on donationsSource
Licence at 200 accounts$10/mo (Unlimited)Details$0Source
Mail server and webmailYes: Postfix and Dovecot, with Roundcube webmailDocsYes: Exim 4 and Dovecot, with Roundcube webmailSource
Author­i­ta­tive DNS serverYes: PowerDNS on your server, with a zone editorDocsYes: its own DNS server (BIND), with DNS clusters and DNSSECSource
Customer loginsYes: vPanel, a login for every hosting accountDocsYes: each user has their own control panel loginSource
WHMCS moduleYes: first-party and free, on every tierDetailsNo HestiaCP module of its own: a forum admin points to the legacy VestaCP module, and users share community modules1Source
Import cPanel accountsYes: Import from cPanel, a screen in vWHMDocsYes, from the command line: v-import-cpanel restores a cPanel backup as a new userSource
Licence and sourceCommercial licence; the panel is PHP source on your own server, not OSI open sourceDetailsOpen source (GPLv3)Source

Notes

  1. HestiaCP: Hestia’s REST API docs say the API is used “to integrate the WHMCS billing system”. WHMCS’s own server-module list has no HestiaCP entry. Third-party modules exist, for example PUQ’s HestiaCP provisioning module on the WHMCS Marketplace, sold under a commercial licence. Back to the table

When to pick which

Should you choose HestiaCP or Vanta Panel?

Choose HestiaCP when the licence must cost nothing or must be open source; it is a capable hosting panel and the honest recommendation in those cases. Choose Vanta Panel when a first-party WHMCS module, managed app runtimes or a point-and-click cPanel import are worth $10 a server to you.

Choose HestiaCP if…

  • The licence must cost $0, at any number of accounts
  • You want GPLv3 open source you can read, fork and change
  • Your sites are PHP, and a third-party WHMCS module, or none, is fine
  • You are happy importing cPanel backups from the command line
  • You want DNS clusters and DNSSEC, which HestiaCP lists as features

Choose Vanta Panel if…

  • You bill with WHMCS and want a first-party module, free
  • Customers run Node.js, Python or Java apps, or need Kafka, next to PHP sites
  • You are moving accounts off cPanel and want an importer in the admin panel
  • You want to start free on one account and pay $10 a server for unlimited accounts

Vanta Panel pricing

Price

How do the prices compare?

HestiaCP costs nothing at any size; the project relies on donations. Vanta Panel is free for one account, $5 a month per server for five accounts and $10 for unlimited accounts, so a server with 200 accounts costs $120 a year on Vanta Panel and $0 on HestiaCP. Both need a VPS you pay for separately.

Licence cost for one server. HestiaCP from its own site, checked . Excludes the VPS and tax.
AccountsHestiaCP per monthVanta Panel per monthVanta Panel per year
1$0$0Free$0
30$0$10Unlimited$120
200$0$10Unlimited$120

  • What the $10 pays for

    A first-party WHMCS module, managed Node.js, Python, Java and Kafka, and cPanel import from the vWHM screen. If you need none of those, HestiaCP is the cheaper choice.

  • Never per account

    Vanta Panel’s price is per server and never grows with your customer list, like HestiaCP’s $0 and unlike cPanel’s per-account tiers.

  • Vanta Panel pricing What cPanel would cost instead

Billing

Does HestiaCP work with WHMCS?

Not with a module of its own. HestiaCP’s REST API docs say the API is used to integrate the WHMCS billing system, but WHMCS’s own server-module list has no HestiaCP entry, so hosts use third-party modules. Vanta Panel’s WHMCS module is first-party and free.

HestiaCP and WHMCS

  • No module from the HestiaCP project; on its forum an admin points to the legacy VestaCP module
  • Third-party modules, such as PUQ’s HestiaCP provisioning module on the WHMCS Marketplace, sold under a commercial licence
  • A REST API that can create users, domains and databases

Vanta Panel and WHMCS

  • A first-party module, a free download with no separate licence
  • Creates, suspends, unsuspends, terminates and changes plans for accounts
  • Talks to vWHM over a scoped API token; works with every tier, and the tier’s account limit applies

The WHMCS module

Feature by feature

What does each panel include, area by area?

On the hosting stack Vanta Panel and HestiaCP match row for row. The gaps are in runtimes, where HestiaCP’s feature list stops at PHP apps, and in platform: HestiaCP is GPLv3 open source, Vanta Panel is commercial PHP source on your own server.

Vanta Panel and HestiaCP, area by area. Every cell links to its source; a dash means we could not verify it. Every HestiaCP cell was read on the vendor’s own site or docs on .
Vanta PanelHestiaCP
Hosting stack
Mail server and webmailYes: Postfix and Dovecot, with Roundcube webmailDocsYes: Exim 4 and Dovecot, with Roundcube webmailSource
Author­i­ta­tive DNS serverYes: PowerDNS on your server, with a zone editorDocsYes: its own DNS server (BIND), with DNS clusters and DNSSECSource
Private name­serversYes: ns1 and ns2 on your own brand, answering from your VPSDocsYes: “Create your own nameservers” (child-ns zone template)Source
Free SSLYes: Let’s Encrypt on every domain, renewed automaticallyDocsYes: Let’s Encrypt for web and mail domainsSource
Customers and business
Customer loginsYes: vPanel, a login for every hosting accountDocsYes: each user has their own control panel loginSource
WHMCS moduleYes: first-party and free, on every tierDetailsNo HestiaCP module of its own: a forum admin points to the legacy VestaCP module, and users share community modules1Source
Import cPanel accountsYes: Import from cPanel, a screen in vWHMDocsYes, from the command line: v-import-cpanel restores a cPanel backup as a new userSource
Runtimes
Node.js appsYes: managed Node.js appsDocsNot in HestiaCP’s feature listSource
Python appsYes: managed Python appsDocsNot in HestiaCP’s feature listSource
Java appsYes: an executable JAR as a managed service (OpenJDK 17)DocsNot in HestiaCP’s feature listSource
Apache KafkaYes: one shared broker, with per-account SCRAM logins and ACLsDocsNot in HestiaCP’s feature listSource
Platform
Operating systemsFresh Ubuntu 22.04+ or Debian 12+. x86_64 or arm64.DocsDebian 12 or 13; Ubuntu 22.04, 24.04 or 26.04 LTS. x86_64 or ARM64.Source
Where it runsSelf-hosted on your own VPS; sites, mail and DNS keep serving if a licence lapsesDetailsSelf-hosted: an install script on a fresh serverSource
Licence and sourceCommercial licence; the panel is PHP source on your own server, not OSI open sourceDetailsOpen source (GPLv3)Source

Notes

  1. HestiaCP: Hestia’s REST API docs say the API is used “to integrate the WHMCS billing system”. WHMCS’s own server-module list has no HestiaCP entry. Third-party modules exist, for example PUQ’s HestiaCP provisioning module on the WHMCS Marketplace, sold under a commercial licence. Back to the table

Every Vanta Panel feature Compare five panels

Migration

Can you move from HestiaCP to Vanta Panel?

Yes, but by hand. Vanta Panel has no HestiaCP importer: its Import from cPanel tool reads cPanel archives only. Moving a HestiaCP account means creating it in vWHM, copying files and databases with rsync and mysqldump, recreating the mailboxes, testing, then pointing DNS.

There is no HestiaCP importer

Only cPanel account backups import automatically. For HestiaCP, follow the manual route in the migration guide: inventory, lower DNS TTLs, install on a fresh VPS, create the accounts, move files, databases and mail, test with your hosts file, then switch DNS and issue SSL.

How to migrate to Vanta Panel, step by step Coming from cPanel instead?

Questions

Questions about Vanta Panel and HestiaCP

Something else? Ask support or read the docs.

Is Vanta Panel better than HestiaCP?

Neither is better for everyone. HestiaCP is free and GPLv3 open source, and like Vanta Panel it runs a mail server, authoritative DNS with private nameservers and a login for every customer. Vanta Panel costs $0 to $10 per server per month and adds a first-party WHMCS module, managed Node.js, Python, Java and Kafka apps, and a cPanel importer in the vWHM interface. If a $0 licence or an open-source licence decides it, choose HestiaCP; if those additions save you work, choose Vanta Panel.

Is HestiaCP really free, and what does Vanta Panel cost?

Yes, HestiaCP has no licence fee at any size and relies on donations. Vanta Panel is free for 1 account, 1 mailbox and 1 database; Basic is $5 per server per month for 5 accounts, 5 mailboxes and 5 databases, and Unlimited is $10 per server per month for unlimited accounts, mailboxes and databases. Every Vanta Panel tier includes every feature, and both panels need a VPS you pay for separately.

Do HestiaCP and Vanta Panel work with WHMCS?

Vanta Panel has a first-party WHMCS module: the WHMCS module is a free download with no separate licence. It works with every tier, and the tier's account limit applies, so hosting companies run it on Unlimited. HestiaCP has no WHMCS module of its own. Its REST API docs say the API is used to integrate the WHMCS billing system, and third-party modules exist, such as PUQ's HestiaCP provisioning module on the WHMCS Marketplace, which is sold under a commercial licence.

Can HestiaCP and Vanta Panel import cPanel accounts?

Both can. HestiaCP's v-import-cpanel command restores a cPanel backup as a new HestiaCP user from the command line. Vanta Panel's Import from cPanel is a screen in vWHM: give it a cPanel account backup and it recreates the Linux user, home directory, primary domain, databases and mailboxes. Vanta Panel has no HestiaCP importer, so moving from HestiaCP to Vanta Panel is a manual migration.

Which runs Node.js, Python and Java apps: HestiaCP or Vanta Panel?

Vanta Panel runs Node.js and Python apps as managed processes, Java apps as managed services on OpenJDK 17, and a shared Apache Kafka broker with per-account SCRAM logins. HestiaCP's feature list does not include Node.js, Python, Java or Kafka management; its one-click installers are PHP applications such as WordPress, Laravel and Nextcloud.

Sources

Where do these HestiaCP facts come from?

From HestiaCP’s own website and documentation, its community forum and the WHMCS Marketplace, each read on 26 Sep 2026. Vanta Panel facts link to its own documentation. Every table cell above links to the page behind it.

HestiaCP

Tell us if a cell is wrong

Competitors change their products and prices. If a cell here is out of date, email support@vantapanel.com with a link to the vendor’s page and we will correct it, dated. Or use the contact page.

cPanel®, WHM®, WHMCS®, HestiaCP, CloudPanel and RunCloud are trademarks of their respective owners. Vanta Panel is an independent product and is not affiliated with, endorsed by or sponsored by any of them.

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