Input Enormous price increases yet again for 2025

[Bitpalast]

Reading all of this saddens me as I just started using this platform.
Now I wonder if I made a mistake. lol
I mean, what is another alternative? Open source or otherwise?

No, there are just some individuals who have complained about Plesk pricing for years on this forum and other places. Plesk is the Porsche 911 among control panels. If you want to drive a Lada Riva or a Dacia 1310 instead of the Porsche 911 then Plesk is not for you. But if you want to be on a top notch panel, stay with Plesk. The problem with pricing is that it started out too low many years ago when Plesk upgraded from the 11.x and 12.x versions to Plesk Onyx and then Obsidian. That was a major technology advancement, but many users want to pay the Lada or Dacia price still as they had many years ago for the Porsche that they get these days.

 

[manni]

Reading all of this saddens me as I just started using this platform.

Now I wonder if I made a mistake. lol

I mean, what is another alternative? Open source or otherwise?

Hi fvs047, as you can see there are different voices here. I partly agree with the comment from @Bitpalast but I really think the question depends on what your needs are. So I want to give you some insights in the experience that I've made in the last years and how I see the things. And yes, this is a personal experience, I don't want to talk negative or positive but super neutral.

Plesk is a Hosting Management Panel, making System Administrator's live easier. This means, that Plesk is a piece of software that will generate configuration for other tools. This means, that it can help saving your time, but it will not replace a system administrator. You will need knowledge about system administration, especially about hardening as Plesk won't take care about it. E.g. is firewalling: Plesk gives you an interface to manage your iptables rules, but it is your job to maintain/activate/understand the rules.

Now coming to Plesk and/or it's competitors, independent whether they are Open Source, cheaper, more expensive, whatever. I personally think, that a monthly license fee of ~ € 40,- for a unlimited license is fair for a server. If you have plenty of servers, like we have, this might drive the price up, right? So suddenly cost saving thoughts might come up to the table. E.g. a 10% increase is not much, but if you e.g. have license costs for € 4.000,- the € 400,- might hurt you. But this is not a problem only to Plesk, it's the same with e.g. Microsoft. We have a lot of customers migrating out of Microsoft 365, because the total license fees are not payable by them anymore.

Now, I want to give you a very personal insight, why for example I was complaining here:

1. Hosting is not our main business, but we host a few thousand domains. Most customers use old technology, because they are not willing to adopt solutions because they work. This leads us into the situation, that 50-70% of our customers use PHP 5.3 (or older!)
   
   Is it a bad situation? Yes!
   Can we force the customer to change? No!
   So what should we do, if we see no light to migrate? We can't do anything except closing down the business.
   
   
2. 3% of our customers use the self service platform = login to plesk and maintain it. Most of them are not interested.
   It is the same with WordPress: Out of 700 WordPress installations, only 3 (!) people used their login in the last 2 years.
   
   
3. We do not sell anything like subdomains etc; it is always 1 domain = 1 hosting package = 1 account!

So for us, everything that Plesk does, is creating Apache/Nginx configuration, creating mailserver configuration and MySQL configuration. Honestly said, for generating 3-4 configuration files, the solution is just an overshoot. We ignored it, because it was a nice-to-have that was effordable; but we are not willing to pay e.g. € 500,- per server to do so, as we can also handle it easily via Bash Scripts.

In regards to Support I can tell you, that the Support Team as well as the community admins always did a great job and there is nothing I can complain. In case you get a little bit bigger, the situation becomes strange. We tried several times to achieve an partner status, at least to discuss the situation without any luck. The only feedback we got is, that no new partners are accepted, and that new license changes will come soon.

The big bad point is, that it is simply not possible anymore to plan the future with Plesk. We are required to make contracts with our customers over 3-4 years. Yes, some guys might now say, that this is stupid, but we have for example also "officials" (e.g. schools) as customers and the government requires them to do a long-term contract with best price guarantee. Now for domains this is easy, we just immediatly add the years to it. But how should we handle Plesk inceases? And yes, we had strange topics here: We consume our licenses through 4-5 different partners, some of them are smaller, some of them are most likely some of the biggest ones. And the situation is crazy: E.g. one kicked all licenses simply out, referring to Plesks changes. Another partner just started to increase the license. And then the strange things come: Out of 10 licenses we have in total 7 different prices.

But again, this is not complaining. Plesk is a great tool, until you use it. We don't use the features because our customers are simply not interested. And the mass hosting market is down: We don't want to, and honestly we are not able to go into a competition where 400GB HA-webspace, 8GB dedicated RAM and 6 dedicated vCUPs including unlimited domains and Plesk cost you € 15,- total a month.

So, long story short: Give it a try, make use of all the features & benefits and enjoy Plesk. It's for sure the best solution if you compare it in regards it to features.

 

[Gary W.]

No, there are just some individuals who have complained about Plesk pricing for years on this forum and other places. Plesk is the Porsche 911 among control panels. If you want to drive a Lada Riva or a Dacia 1310 instead of the Porsche 911 then Plesk is not for you. But if you want to be on a top notch panel, stay with Plesk. The problem with pricing is that it started out too low many years ago when Plesk upgraded from the 11.x and 12.x versions to Plesk Onyx and then Obsidian. That was a major technology advancement, but many users want to pay the Lada or Dacia price still as they had many years ago for the Porsche that they get these days.

Just take a look at Reddit or other forums where people are complaining about Plesk and cPanel for their incomprehensible price hikes. I agree with you on the Porsche 911 example. Plesk is the most advanced system for managing a website today. But now it no longer makes sense to pay $500 a year to remain tied to a platform that already worked well when it cost less than half that.

To revisit your analogy, I took the chassis of a 911 with CloudPanel (for free) and then added the seats, steering wheel, and wheels using Claude and DeepSeek, also learning how to manage a server in the process. And many hosting providers are also thinking of doing the same, as they are tired of their customers' complaints, as if the providers themselves were responsible for the price increases.

Plesk is slowly eroding the trust of its customers, and you'll see it over time.

 

[HHawk]

Just take a look at Reddit or other forums where people are complaining about Plesk and cPanel for their incomprehensible price hikes. I agree with you on the Porsche 911 example. Plesk is the most advanced system for managing a website today. But now it no longer makes sense to pay $500 a year to remain tied to a platform that already worked well when it cost less than half that.

To revisit your analogy, I took the chassis of a 911 with CloudPanel (for free) and then added the seats, steering wheel, and wheels using Claude and DeepSeek, also learning how to manage a server in the process. And many hosting providers are also thinking of doing the same, as they are tired of their customers' complaints, as if the providers themselves were responsible for the price increases.

Plesk is slowly eroding the trust of its customers, and you'll see it over time.

Excellent reply Gary W. (again)!

 

[Kroptokin]

Yes. Hopefully I'm done with this. Just paid a bill to my ISP: £134.40 for a VPS. £119.88 for Obsidian Web Host edition.

I'm going to try ISP Manager.

 

[Kroptokin]

No, there are just some individuals who have complained about Plesk pricing for years on this forum and other places. Plesk is the Porsche 911 among control panels. If you want to drive a Lada Riva or a Dacia 1310 instead of the Porsche 911 then Plesk is not for you. But if you want to be on a top notch panel, stay with Plesk. The problem with pricing is that it started out too low many years ago when Plesk upgraded from the 11.x and 12.x versions to Plesk Onyx and then Obsidian. That was a major technology advancement, but many users want to pay the Lada or Dacia price still as they had many years ago for the Porsche that they get these days.

The backup system is a Porsche 911? If so - I certainly wouldn't buy a Porsche 911. It is clunky - doesn't actually display the scheduled back ups (until you reset one) and mixes up domain backups with each other and the whole system. A total mess. if the reason it is so expensive is because of "investment" it certainly hasn't reached this part of Plesk.

 

[Bitpalast]

I don't see anything wrong with the backup system. I also cannot understand your statement, that something is mixed up. Backups are super easy to use and highly reliable. If you have issues with using backups, why not post the specific question in a thread on the forum? There probably will be experts who can assist you. Plesk support is also a great option to get help.

 

[HHawk]

Yes. Hopefully I'm done with this. Just paid a bill to my ISP: £134.40 for a VPS. £119.88 for Obsidian Web Host edition.

I'm going to try ISP Manager.

Will become worse and worse. Just wait for the next price hike for January 2026.

The pricing is really absurd. Server owners are are paying more and more for a Plesk license instead of the server. It's a no brainer to look for alternatives for most. Which we have now. Haha.

 

[hschramm]

Yes. Hopefully I'm done with this. Just paid a bill to my ISP: £134.40 for a VPS. £119.88 for Obsidian Web Host edition.

I'm going to try ISP Manager.

if it is really a vps your provider makes a big buck on the license. in the open market you get licenses for vps starting at 39 usd (without sales tax)

 

[Kroptokin]

if it is really a vps your provider makes a big buck on the license. in the open market you get licenses for vps starting at 39 usd (without sales tax)

Really? Plesk License Pricing Plans & Options. Plesk Discounts. my edition costs 38 Euros pcm if bought from Plesk - my ISP charges GBP 119. per year ( = 140 Euros per year or 12 Euros pcm) - so my ISP is getting (and passing on to me) a huge discount on this over-priced product,

 

[Kroptokin]

I don't see anything wrong with the backup system. I also cannot understand your statement, that something is mixed up. Backups are super easy to use and highly reliable. If you have issues with using backups, why not post the specific question in a thread on the forum? There probably will be experts who can assist you. Plesk support is also a great option to get help.

Nonetheless everything I say is true - the main list of backups, accessed from the main Tools and Settings page just lists all the backups mixed up together. The only way to see which is which is to hover over the filename and read it in the browser toolbar! And it is also the case that there is no display of the currently scheduled time (in the domain backup panel). I accept this may work for some people. For me it is the actual most basic implementation of a backup system (MVP) that could be imagined. I have sent feedback to Plesk every time that annoying 'Do you like Plesk' smiley face / sad face pop up appears in the control panel. I haven't posted about it in the support forum because I don't need help with it. It is just lacking in UI/UX work.

 

[hschramm]

Really? Plesk License Pricing Plans & Options. Plesk Discounts. my edition costs 38 Euros pcm if bought from Plesk - my ISP charges GBP 119. per year ( = 140 Euros per year or 12 Euros pcm) - so my ISP is getting (and passing on to me) a huge discount on this over-priced product,

12 bucks / month is overpriced? ok we have different understanding from overpriced. never mind.

 

[Kroptokin]

AS the OP poinrs out 39 USD pcm if bought direct. But they can still make a profit selling it for 12 USD pcm! That looks like over-priced to me.

Even at the 12 USD multiply that by the number of installations worldwide and consider what it is - a bunch of scripts, most of which are not new, and one can see that most likely they are making a very handsome return on it. Like other posters here I'm struck by how something which used to add a small amount to a hosting plan now nearly doubles the cost. I don't think that hosting prices for VPS have come down that much.

 

[Gary W.]

I don't see anything wrong with the backup system. I also cannot understand your statement, that something is mixed up. Backups are super easy to use and highly reliable. If you have issues with using backups, why not post the specific question in a thread on the forum? There probably will be experts who can assist you. Plesk support is also a great option to get help.

Thank you for your advice. As you can see, we’re all already in the trenches here. It’s no longer just a matter of money but a principle; no longer wanting to be puppets of Plesk. We don’t know what Plesk’s price will be six months or a year from now, and that uncertainty keeps everyone on edge.

 

[HHawk]

Thank you for your advice. As you can see, we’re all already in the trenches here. It’s no longer just a matter of money but a principle; no longer wanting to be puppets of Plesk. We don’t know what Plesk’s price will be six months or a year from now, and that uncertainty keeps everyone on edge.

Well. Almost true. You know for certain the prices will increase once again. Probably another 20%.

 

[manni]

Fyi, we have (had) some Servers at an hosting provider where we still pay 4.99 per month for a license… this about potential discounts…

 

[Hangover2]

Does anyone know a reseller that offers Plesk licenses for external dedicated servers at a reasonable price?

At the moment, we pay $46.09 per month for a Plesk Web Host Unlimited for Dedicated Server license (2 languages). Our dealer recently raised the prices by 34%. Even though it is still cheaper than buying directly from Plesk, we are looking for alternatives, as we expect another 30% increase in January 2026 + 2027 + 2028 + [...].

For about 50% of our servers, we have already switched or are planning to switch to other hosting panels. But for some servers, we have no choice but to let Plesk squeeze us like an orange until nothing is left—because migrating all clients to a new panel is, at the moment, simply too expensive.

Honestly, raising prices by 30% every single year is just greedy, nothing else. It has become a big trend among so-called “investors”—I’d rather call them destroyers—who kill one brand after another. In the past 12 months, we’ve had to say goodbye to many free and paid services that went in the same direction. Don’t get me wrong: you get what you pay for. But annual price increases of 30% or more are no foundation to build a sustainable business on. Luckily, the open-source community is strong enough to provide a fallback for nearly every use case. And alternative paid web hosting control panel providers are also watching the situation closely, ready to capture their share of frustrated Plesk users. In the end, the free market will take care of Plesk’s greed in its own way.

 

[HHawk]

Does anyone know a reseller that offers Plesk licenses for external dedicated servers at a reasonable price?

At the moment, we pay $46.09 per month for a Plesk Web Host Unlimited for Dedicated Server license (2 languages). Our dealer recently raised the prices by 34%. Even though it is still cheaper than buying directly from Plesk, we are looking for alternatives, as we expect another 30% increase in January 2026 + 2027 + 2028 + [...].

For about 50% of our servers, we have already switched or are planning to switch to other hosting panels. But for some servers, we have no choice but to let Plesk squeeze us like an orange until nothing is left—because migrating all clients to a new panel is, at the moment, simply too expensive.

Honestly, raising prices by 30% every single year is just greedy, nothing else. It has become a big trend among so-called “investors”—I’d rather call them destroyers—who kill one brand after another. In the past 12 months, we’ve had to say goodbye to many free and paid services that went in the same direction. Don’t get me wrong: you get what you pay for. But annual price increases of 30% or more are no foundation to build a sustainable business on. Luckily, the open-source community is strong enough to provide a fallback for nearly every use case. And alternative paid web hosting control panel providers are also watching the situation closely, ready to capture their share of frustrated Plesk users. In the end, the free market will take care of Plesk’s greed in its own way.

As you said yourself:

A number of services have increased by more than 40% for us in just one year—for instance, our Adobe or Codeium licenses. I view this in a positive light: new players will enter the market, driving innovation, and it also prompts us to ask whether there might be better, more cost-effective solutions. We apply the same logic with our own products: if a competitor raises prices too much and we spot an opportunity to capture a share of their market, we step in.

And never forget: in 100 years, there’s a greater than 99% chance that Plesk won’t exist anymore—and neither will I. So don’t take things too seriously, and enjoy our ever-changing world!

;-)

 

[trialotto]

@Hangover2

I am not specifically responding to your (last) post, but that post contains some valuable comments and also some notes that should be nuanced.


First of all, your statement

Honestly, raising prices by 30% every single year is just greedy, nothing else. It has become a big trend among so-called “investors”—I’d rather call them destroyers—who kill one brand after another.

is spot on : it happens a lot (and it should not happen) ....... with all kinds of negative consequences.

Please note that I dislike the "greedy investor", but also note that - in my experience - that kind of investment is never of the long-lived type.

Essentially, most of these "greedy investors" have FOMO - they give lots of money to people that are 100% certain to spend that money and more than that.

The term "greedy investor" is in brackets, since they often lose money and are aware that they will lose money, but they still invest due to FOMO.

I have never understood that kind of behavior, but let's not think about that.


This statement

Luckily, the open-source community is strong enough to provide a fallback for nearly every use case.

might not be true.

The open source community is not aligned in terms of objectives and certainly lacks funding.

The simple fact is that big companies like Oracle, Microsoft etc. and smaller companies like Plesk step into the market that opens up if the open source community has developed something good, but fails to continue development and/or fails to have appropriate funding for development.

There simple is a trade-off to be made .... and it is related to both sides of the same medal.

That trade-off is often not won by the open source community.

I really wish it would be different.


This statement

At the moment, we pay $46.09 per month for a Plesk Web Host Unlimited for Dedicated Server license (2 languages). Our dealer recently raised the prices by 34%. Even though it is still cheaper than buying directly from Plesk, we are looking for alternatives, as we expect another 30% increase in January 2026 + 2027 + 2028 + [...].

is - in essence - a correct description of the pattern of price development of Plesk.

I am only quoting your statement for the sake of convenience and due to the fact that is more correct than statements like "we pay more than 100 GBP".

There is always a way to talk about prices of Plesk licenses and/or about price development, certainly when including the topic "greedy investors".

To some extent, it is a discussion that is valuable.

Nevertheless, it is also a very lopsided discussion.

Consider a Plesk Web Host license for 57 euro per month for a dedicated server.

That price can be lower, if one knows where and how to purchase.

That dedicated server can - for instance - host 100 domains, an almost too low number of domains to justify a dedicated server.

Those 100 domains cost 0.57 euro per month per domain, which is a very reasonable costprice per domain.

This example is not real life, it is an example - in real life, the cost (of a license) per month per domain will be much lower : 20 eurocents or less per month.

That is not worth the discussion, I suppose.

Now, consider the alternative : a dedicated server with all open source packages that are also included as a modified package with Plesk.

That alternative will save 57 euro per month on license fees, but will also increase your maintenance fees with several hundreds of euros per month.

Personnel is not cheap, man hours are not cheap ....... so that alternative is not really an alternative.

It could only become a good alternative if and only if the open source community is strong enough and willing to share for free.


In summary, my personal view on this topic matter is quite simple : a simple cost-benefit analysis will lead to the conclusion that Plesk licenses are viable.

Viable in every sense, certainly in the economical sense.

In theory, price increases should not matter as long as Plesk remains (economically) viable.

In practice, price increases will matter in the far away future, since in that future Plesk can become unviable.

Stated differently, the discussion about price increases might be too soon, but it should be starting already.

On the other hand, one should also be harsh and realistic : time spent on complaining is time lost that can be spent on building the open source community that can consequently share (partial) solutions for free.


Kind regards...