Input Enormous price increases yet again for 2025

[cptplastic]

For me, the real question is, what is an alternative.
I have tried ISPmanager: API etc. is not supporting functionalities I need. I have checked CloudPanel, which is not supporting Alma/Rocky/CentOS (our whole environment is CentOS based).

I'm not sure about your size but we have been in serious talks with AMAZON LightSail. Its a lift and shift but it would put us in a position to avoid vendor lock-in as you can move things around to other places. Give it a look VPS, web hosting pricing—Amazon Lightsail—Amazon Web Services

 

[trialotto]

AGREE
If they removed the domain limit I think that would be better, not a gamechanger just a nice cost savings. I don't understand the "old-school" license model much these days. I agree that CloudPanel is looking real nice about now. Was cPanel and Plesk owned by the same company at one point?

To be honest, the whole "licensing model" is a bit odd.

It is not about the domain limit - at least, it should not be about that.

In essence, the Plesk Panel that you are paying for should be something like a "full-price-for-a-full-package".

But it is not - the licensing model is a mirror of what has happened with Plesk over the years : crucial services and functionalities have been added in the form of extensions, both free and (mostly) paid for.

It has become a myriad of components and prices and extensions that all add up to a hefty sum to be paid for licenses.

I do not mind the prices, not at all.

I do mind the licensing model, if that licensing model makes you pay (top dollar) for the most basic functionalities (that should be included by default) and (top dollar or a small fee) for those functionalities that are actually obsolete in most circumstances.

Obviously, there are better ways to structure a licensing model that

a - allows Plesk sufficient budget for future development, (and)
b - ascertains that Plesk Panel remains affordable.

As a final remark, the current complexity of Plesk requires price increases in order to sustain future development - so, price stabilization can be realized when certain components are not developed anymore as a "crucial component".

There is a role for the community here - we should not ask for all kinds of services and functionality that most of us do not use : in the long run, we all end up paying for that service/functionality, if and when Plesk decides to introduce it and maintain it actively.

In my humble opinion, that role should also be a (small) part of the discussion concerning "massive" price increases.

We should not ask for Ferrari's, Porsche's, Lamborghini's etc if we cannot afford them ..... and complain afterwards that we cannot afford them.

Long story short : AGREE !

Anyhow, what I really wanted to post. Recently we had a bunch of servers on ubuntu 18.04 and we wanted to go from 18 to 20.04 or the next LTS version. Its a huge pain in the butt to do this, I'm sure all of you know if you ever done this before. We did a couple and got through it - just OK but I made the choice to use professional services and pay to have the rest done cause its a huge time suck and why not just let the PLESK masters do what they do, or so we thought. Well that was a few months ago and let me tell you its been a nightmare.

This is a valid point, to a high degree.

There are some scripts, functionalities and services taking care of the migration processes.

However, it is mind-boggling that there is no (automated) way provided by default with Plesk to simply clone a Plesk instance AND ALL OF ITS SETTINGS AND CONFIGURATION FILES to a new fresh server.

Sure, there is some automation to some extent, but it often fails miserably.

On the other hand, one always has to take into account that the installation of a new fresh server is a time-consuming process ..... the migration of Plesk to the new server is the least of one's worries.

Long story short : it would be nice if cloning of Plesk instances would be seamless and without issues or errors - AGREE !!!!!

PS A small note though - it is fairly easy to create a "small script" to "clone" Plesk instances, but that is also an "accident going to happen" : the script requires constant maintenance and updates in order to allow for cloning with upwards and backwards compatability and/or compatability with other OSes. It is not a huge surprise that such a script is not included by default with Plesk ........ but still, it should be included.

 

[Gary W.]

For me, the real question is, what is an alternative.
I have tried ISPmanager: API etc. is not supporting functionalities I need. I have checked CloudPanel, which is not supporting Alma/Rocky/CentOS (our whole environment is CentOS based).

I don’t think there’s a 100% equivalent alternative to Plesk. Some "sacrifices" and custom modifications will definitely be necessary. For those managing multiple servers, it’s certainly a costly investment upfront, but in the long term, it pays off, including in terms of control over your server and billing.

When I migrated my servers, it took me one night to align with the functionalities I was using with Plesk. I relied heavily on AI to speed up the entire process. So, it’s challenging but definitely doable.

 

[manni]

Alright, thanks for this information. So you go forward with ISPmanager, right?

Thx
Manuel

 

[trialotto]

@bootted and especially @manni

This statement

I don’t think there’s a 100% equivalent alternative to Plesk.

is about right, but not entirely.


In fact, the most cost effective solution and hence alternative is to (re-)create your own hosting solution with Apache, Nginx, some necessary services and scripts and a GUI for the hosting customers.

Cost effective (and very performant), but not very practical in real life.


The best thing about Plesk is that it is really easy.

This comes at a price, but also with a gain - the gain of not having to maintain all of the packages that you need to install and/or the maintenance of the GUI.

For some sysadmins, there is also the gain of having (a lot of) flexibility, without being bound to the default packages and config provided with Plesk.


In essence, the gain seems to be immaterial by nature, but it is actually also material.

Every day, every Plesk admin saves time by simply using Plesk ....... this is a considerable amount of savings on personnel costs.

One Plesk license per YEAR of - let's say - 1000 euro is the equivalent of one IT staff member working for only 1 or 2 DAYS.

That is a considerable material gain......... and finance matters.


Sure, there are (not so similar) alternatives to Plesk out there.

Nevertheless, the material gain is often not as considerable as it will be with Plesk.

There are two simple reasons for that.

One reason is quite simple - one has to invest time and hence a lot of money into migration to a new panel that might not be so compatible.

The second reason is less straightforward - the hidden higher costs of more maintenance that were not mentioned when they marketed a lower license fee.

Another (third) reason is also present - the best alternatives to Plesk tend to be bought by investors wanting to enter the market or investors already present in the market : in both cases, the investors attempt to consolidate the market ..... and you will probably end up paying Plesk prices.

In general, the cost of a good alternative to Plesk is AT LEAST the price of migration ..... and often much more than that.

I hate to say it, but history has learned us that "alternatives" are a temporary solution, for many reasons.

Needless to say that many people have migrated to other panels, in order to return to Plesk briefly afterwards.


In my humble opinion, it should not be about "migration to other panels" or about "massive price increases".

It should be - amongst others - about how one implements Plesk in a specific infrastructure.

With the right infrastructure, a lot of monetary gains can be realized that can offset the price increases, whilst at the same time increasing performance.


Naturally, IF there is a valid alternative to Plesk, then please let me know - I tend to test these alternatives, just for the sake of fun.


Kind regards.....

 

[manni]

Hello Triallotto,

to add to your statement here I would give Windows & alternative OS as an example. For a standard user, there is simply no alternative solution. People use Offcie/Outlook/Word since years, at least our customers would NEVER go away from it. The question what I have is, why WebPros just cancelled all partner contracts and why they do not look for discussion with the communication to resolve the situation.

cheers
Manuel

 

[Gary W.]

Just an update, two months after transitioning to a platform with no limits on the number of sites and, most importantly, free of charge. On one of the servers, I went from the 10 sites allowed under the Plesk Web Admin plan to an impressive 18 sites on CloudPanel.

This led me to a conclusion: Plesk's pricing system is a significant barrier to creativity. Especially if you're highly prolific with ideas and want to bring them to life. It doesn't matter if 99% of the projects fail—you've expressed your creativity. I'm happy with the change I made, and I would never go back.

Don't put a price on creativity.

 

[seqoi]

Just an update, two months after transitioning to a platform with no limits on the number of sites and, most importantly, free of charge. On one of the servers, I went from the 10 sites allowed under the Plesk Web Admin plan to an impressive 18 sites on CloudPanel.

This led me to a conclusion: Plesk's pricing system is a significant barrier to creativity. Especially if you're highly prolific with ideas and want to bring them to life. It doesn't matter if 99% of the projects fail—you've expressed your creativity. I'm happy with the change I made, and I would never go back.

Don't put a price on creativity.

I don't see your point on the "price of creativity". Before you jump at me look in my history. I am far from a Plesk fanboy. When I say I don't see your point I think of the fact that I don't see how they limit your creativity.

I am saying from my experience. Example: I have Plesk and let us assume 60% of "sites" slots are used. Nothing is stopping me from having my domain on that Plesk with 50 staging sites on that domain each with its flavor of creativity. And then managing them to the public.

Don't tell me you need 19 domains (or any number except 1) to express your creativity.

Therefore I don't see your point. And I am all for Plesk stopping price increase btw.

 

[manni]

i am with @seqoi here. Unsere what is the Diskussion Basis: is the Hosting Panel needed for some fun topics or for real business. I don’t think that a free Open Source Tool can be the Basis for critical Infrastructure.

 

[Hangover2]

i am with @seqoi here. Unsere what is the Diskussion Basis: is the Hosting Panel needed for some fun topics or for real business. I don’t think that a free Open Source Tool can be the Basis for critical Infrastructure.

That’s an interesting perspective! Linux and many hosting panels are open source, their use in critical infrastructure is widespread and proven. Linux itself powers a significant portion of global servers, cloud services, and even supercomputers, largely due to its stability, flexibility, and security.

Open-source hosting panels, like others, can indeed be used for real business when implemented correctly. The key lies in choosing a well-maintained tool and combining it with professional support, regular updates, and robust security measures. Some businesses prefer proprietary solutions for specific needs, but open-source tools are at the core of some of the most critical and resilient systems worldwide.

 

[Gary W.]

Guys, I'm not here to sell you my ideas but to share the feelings I experienced after making a change that once felt impossible.

I don't see your point on the "price of creativity".

Let’s start by saying that I’ve been managing and owning websites for many years, and during this time, I’ve spent a lot of money on Plesk. It never really bothered me, of course, because these projects generated a respectable EBITDA, so the expenses for hosting and Plesk were negligible compared to the income.

Over the past couple of years, with the rise of AI, I realized that my €50/month server was oversized for my traffic, as was paying a fee for Plesk. This shift was made possible because, with AI, I’ve been able to directly apply changes to the server — with some hiccups and server crashes along the way. However, thanks to Hetzner snapshots as a safety net, everything has always worked out in the end.

Now, why do I say that paying an ever-increasing fee impacts creativity? Well, because today, there are many more cost-effective and efficient alternatives. Plus, the time and knowledge that were previously out of reach before AI are now accessible to everyone.

So, paying more today feels like a lack of optimization. If you optimize down to the bone, you can save a lot in the process. Money and optimization go hand in hand.

i am with @seqoi here. Unsere what is the Diskussion Basis: is the Hosting Panel needed for some fun topics or for real business. I don’t think that a free Open Source Tool can be the Basis for critical Infrastructure.

If you're on this forum, I assume you have at least some knowledge of servers. The open-source tool I’m referring to (CloudPanel) offers the exact same functionalities as any other panel, and the majority of these are open-source as well. What CloudPanel—and even Plesk—do is package them into a single product.

So, the claim that you can’t have a critical infrastructure using open-source tools doesn’t hold true in reality.

That’s an interesting perspective! Linux and many hosting panels are open source, their use in critical infrastructure is widespread and proven. Linux itself powers a significant portion of global servers, cloud services, and even supercomputers, largely due to its stability, flexibility, and security.

Open-source hosting panels, like others, can indeed be used for real business when implemented correctly. The key lies in choosing a well-maintained tool and combining it with professional support, regular updates, and robust security measures. Some businesses prefer proprietary solutions for specific needs, but open-source tools are at the core of some of the most critical and resilient systems worldwide.

Exactly, I agree with you @Hangover2 . It’s thanks to open-source projects like Linux that the web as we know it today is possible. A world of servers dominated by Microsoft licenses would never have existed. And it’s not about money. It’s about optimization and the desire to learn and experiment (I’ll admit, with the help of AI nowadays).

 

[scsa20]

So I've been holding off on providing my 2 cents since I wanted to think and mull it over for a bit and ultimately yes I think the price hike sucks balls (especially since I've been been using Plesk for many many years, at one point I did stopped using Plesk to use something else just to go back to it a few months later) but I think I'll still stick with it.

I've tried a few control panels in the past including cPanel (I honestly do not like cPanel because of how they do everything that I find it annoying to navigate and use). But the features that Plesk has I, and a few friends that I host on there, actually use. On a few of the sites I have hosted through Plesk uses Sitejet Builder (for example), the WP- Toolkit (the free version, homie ain't gonna pay for no other subscription for a few WordPress sites) is useful for making sure I keep those small handful of instances up to date, etc. So to me the pros completely outweighs the cost (for me) for the the time being. And I'm just a nobody who is hosting a handful of sites for myself and a few friends who has their own accounts so they can do whatever they want with their hosting instance.

I think the extra costs is coming from a few factors that Plesk added over the last few years such as Sitejet Builder (you know how they say that it's free? Ye it isn't, it's now included in the base cost and just not mention it was ) and new sites now has the ability of using a temporary page on plesk.page (to just name a few items).

But ye, it sucks but to me, since the cost isn't too far off for me still at the moment, I'll stay with it. But I do have my max point and if they go past that point then at that point in time I would have no choice but to look for alternatives which I really really really do not want to do.

Again, just my 2 cents.

 

[manni]

That’s an interesting perspective! Linux and many hosting panels are open source, their use in critical infrastructure is widespread and proven. Linux itself powers a significant portion of global servers, cloud services, and even supercomputers, largely due to its stability, flexibility, and security.

Open-source hosting panels, like others, can indeed be used for real business when implemented correctly. The key lies in choosing a well-maintained tool and combining it with professional support, regular updates, and robust security measures. Some businesses prefer proprietary solutions for specific needs, but open-source tools are at the core of some of the most critical and resilient systems worldwide.

You are absolutly right, maybe the way I communicate things is wrong. I am a big fan of open source solution, I am supporting the crowd in it's initiatives. What I want to say is, that Linux has a huge community in regards to support & development.

We typically host 100-150 domains per Plesk server, most of this sites are pretty critical. We need easy to use, multi-language control panels, individual flexible configurations in regards to Anti Spam, Mail configurations, DB configurations, etc.

If I would not need this service for the customers, the easiest way anyway would be Webmin or something like this - or not?

So I've been holding off on providing my 2 cents since I wanted to think and mull it over for a bit and ultimately yes I think the price hike sucks balls (especially since I've been been using Plesk for many many years, at one point I did stopped using Plesk to use something else just to go back to it a few months later) but I think I'll still stick with it.

I've tried a few control panels in the past including cPanel (I honestly do not like cPanel because of how they do everything that I find it annoying to navigate and use). But the features that Plesk has I, and a few friends that I host on there, actually use. On a few of the sites I have hosted through Plesk uses Sitejet Builder (for example), the WP- Toolkit (the free version, homie ain't gonna pay for no other subscription for a few WordPress sites) is useful for making sure I keep those small handful of instances up to date, etc. So to me the pros completely outweighs the cost (for me) for the the time being. And I'm just a nobody who is hosting a handful of sites for myself and a few friends who has their own accounts so they can do whatever they want with their hosting instance.

I think the extra costs is coming from a few factors that Plesk added over the last few years such as Sitejet Builder (you know how they say that it's free? Ye it isn't, it's now included in the base cost and just not mention it was ) and new sites now has the ability of using a temporary page on plesk.page (to just name a few items).

But ye, it sucks but to me, since the cost isn't too far off for me still at the moment, I'll stay with it. But I do have my max point and if they go past that point then at that point in time I would have no choice but to look for alternatives which I really really really do not want to do.

Again, just my 2 cents.

Totally what I mean. We also tried in the past to go away, but if your customers like what they have, they are unhappy when going away.
Easiest topic is MagicSpam: It's one of the most loved products that we currently offer to them. cPanel is - for my understanding - far more expensive. Also, especially in the EU, we have to find partners where GDPR is not a problem. E.g. we here in our country are not allowed, to buy/use some products, e.g. if they are delivered by Russian companies. For ME I don't care, because the political situation is always a separate one, but if you use it for BUSINESS then we have to comply with regulations.

Same BTW for US products, maybe a legal topic but something that you can simply not ignore.

Or am I wrong here?

 

[Gary W.]

Guys, you're all right. I'm the first to love Plesk—it’s been an efficient panel that saved me from manual configurations and saved me time. What I don’t like about Plesk is the monthly formula. And it’s not even about the money itself but the fact that it’s perpetual—I’m forced to pay a subscription until I no longer have a website or until I die. And that doesn’t sit well with me in a society where the average American pays around $1,000 a year on subscriptions.

So I say no, but that’s just my opinion, and I don’t expect everyone to agree with it.

 

[manni]

Hello 8

Guys, you're all right. I'm the first to love Plesk—it’s been an efficient panel that saved me from manual configurations and saved me time. What I don’t like about Plesk is the monthly formula. And it’s not even about the money itself but the fact that it’s perpetual—I’m forced to pay a subscription until I no longer have a website or until I die. And that doesn’t sit well with me in a society where the average American pays around $1,000 a year on subscriptions.

So I say no, but that’s just my opinion, and I don’t expect everyone to agree with it.

Interesting view. i Like this approach.

But how do you deal eg with Office? This is much more extensive, and our customers force us to provide Outlook & Exchange.

We have tried one week Rolling out Thunderbird: 80+ customers immediatly cancelled the contract :-(

 

[Gary W.]

Interesting view. i Like this approach.

But how do you deal eg with Office? This is much more extensive, and our customers force us to provide Outlook & Exchange.

We have tried one week Rolling out Thunderbird: 80+ customers immediatly cancelled the contract :-(

I have an Office license because it costs me $3.50 per month (I purchased a few years in advance). But I pay it only because the plan includes 1TB of storage for server backups and so on. Fun fact: I don’t use Outlook anyway because, after they introduced ads, I switched to Thunderbird.

So, as you can see, it’s easy to stick to familiar tools, but Outlook has proven over the years to perform quite poorly. I was in the corporate world for six years. Many people didn’t use Outlook due to the numerous bugs, and a significant minority would read and write emails directly in the browser.

It’s clear that your clients are very diverse, so it wouldn’t make sense for you to remove Outlook, as it would result in a loss of revenue. However, when it comes to startups or small businesses, like in my case, an approach like MX Route + Thunderbird is both more cost-effective and less plagued by bugs.

 

[manni]

Hello Gary, so may i ask you from where you are? Here in the CET area ALL our customers use Outlook. We have NOT one Single Customer - and we have 1500+ - that use something different. Private people sometimes use Thunderbird but Not one Single Business Customer. Maybe because of the Region?

 

[Polli]

For my part, I also see a problem in the pricing of Plesk. I have to pay for extensions that include OpenSource software such as ClamAV or CalDAV and CardDAV. Just to name a few examples, not to mention other things. The monthly costs for the basic version (I use WebPro) are still acceptable and fine and I am willing to pay them. I have been using Plesk for many years now. But the fact that they are reaching into my pocket again for OpenSource is a bit brazen. In addition, standards have often been integrated into Plesk late, such as DANE. Which still does not work correctly. Protocols are missing here and the configuration of the server for the use of DANE is not yet well implemented. There is still a lot of work to be done by the developers. In particular, the ever-changing conditions of the mail providers are not implemented promptly by Plesk and repeatedly lead to mails not being delivered correctly. Here it is always necessary to intervene in Plesk myself or to configure it at OS level, which I don't really want, which is why I pay for an all-in-one solution. Most extensions are also simply far too expensive and should always be part of the overall package. Just my2cent.

 

[Gary W.]

Hello Gary, so may i ask you from where you are? Here in the CET area ALL our customers use Outlook. We have NOT one Single Customer - and we have 1500+ - that use something different. Private people sometimes use Thunderbird but Not one Single Business Customer. Maybe because of the Region?

The examples I was giving you were in the same area as yours, a tech company (maybe that's why the discrepancies). I notice that the more tech-savvy the audience becomes, the less they are willing to pay for solutions that can be found elsewhere at a lower cost.

For my part, I also see a problem in the pricing of Plesk. I have to pay for extensions that include OpenSource software such as ClamAV or CalDAV and CardDAV. Just to name a few examples, not to mention other things. The monthly costs for the basic version (I use WebPro) are still acceptable and fine and I am willing to pay them. I have been using Plesk for many years now. But the fact that they are reaching into my pocket again for OpenSource is a bit brazen. In addition, standards have often been integrated into Plesk late, such as DANE. Which still does not work correctly. Protocols are missing here and the configuration of the server for the use of DANE is not yet well implemented. There is still a lot of work to be done by the developers. In particular, the ever-changing conditions of the mail providers are not implemented promptly by Plesk and repeatedly lead to mails not being delivered correctly. Here it is always necessary to intervene in Plesk myself or to configure it at OS level, which I don't really want, which is why I pay for an all-in-one solution. Most extensions are also simply far too expensive and should always be part of the overall package. Just my2cent.

Those monthly microtransactions for add-ons, even at €0.99 per month, which seem like small change, are the real downfall of Plesk. The current ecosystem is designed to squeeze as much money as possible out of a product that was solid even 10 years ago but has now become unnecessarily complex.

For instance, I would have been fine with a $5/month subscription for 30 sites, using the version from 10 years ago with updated PHP versions and a few tweaks. Instead, we now pay dozens of dollars a month for essentially the same tool as before, just with a better-packaged interface.

 

[mdde]

(I will also switch a bunch of "WebHost" Servers. This is so annoying! Resellers can't believe the Price Increase and I always have to make sure that they know, it's not my fault. Really annoying ....)