Question Massive price increase for reseller licenses?

[HHawk]

One of the Large Partners from whom we consume licenses (the few we still have) informed us about rumors in regards to extra high price increases and that they are now looking into commercial alternatives to Plesk, however from what I understood they do this through a daughter company due to contractual situatuon. Pretty interesting that the „Big Ones“ now also start thinking into new direction.

Very true. We have been a Plesk Partner for a very long time — going all the way back to the SWsoft days. Back then, being a Plesk Partner actually meant something. There was real collaboration, innovation, and pride in the product. Sadly, over the past 7–9 years, things have taken a very different turn. Not only for Plesk, but for the entire WebPros portfolio: cPanel, WHMCS, SolusVM, Comet Backup — all are clearly suffering from the same underlying issues.

Despite what some may say, this is not a matter of opinion anymore; it’s a pattern. No meaningful innovation, unstable releases, rushed patches (just look at the recent Dovecot incident), and a complete disconnect from the communities that once built these platforms up. The focus has shifted entirely to revenue extraction.

We used to maintain a very large volume of Plesk licenses. Today, we have dropped most of them. Not because we wanted to — but because our customers simply refuse to pay license fees that now exceed the cost of the server itself. And honestly, I can’t blame them. We had no choice but to migrate clients to alternative solutions and, eventually, we developed our own internal control panel (which we will never commercialize). It was a major investment, but it’s already paying off — especially now that yet another price hike is looming in 2026 and years to come after that. This has gone far beyond “inflation adjustments.” It’s unsustainable.

For context: I once posted our Partner statistics in another thread — that discussion was closed shortly after. We were among the largest Plesk partners in our region, but even at that scale, the relationship deteriorated. The turning point was clear: Plesk was sold to Oakley Capital, then bundled into WebPros, and later moved to Fund IV. From that moment onward, product leadership was replaced by financial engineering.

Just look at WHMCS — it followed the exact same path: community destoyed, key contributors gone (e.g. brian!, bear, kian), prices up, quality down, forum practically dead; WHMCS is now in terminal decline, and nobody can honestly deny it.

And this will happen to the rest of the WebPros stack if things continue like this. You cannot keep increasing prices every single year while offering nothing substantial in return. Even large providers like Hetzner are openly moving away. The “big ones” are quietly exploring alternatives through subsidiary entities to avoid contractual penalties — that alone says everything.

The irony? These aggressive price strategies are actually accelerating competition. Alternative platforms — while not perfect — are rapidly evolving, fueled by frustration with WebPros’ approach. It’s only a matter of time before a mature, credible alternative emerges. And when that happens, the exodus will be irreversible. At that point, the investment firm will simply dismantle or sell off what remains.

It’s deeply disappointing to witness the decline of platforms that once shaped our industry. But one thing is certain: greed has never built great software — and it never will. If this trend does not reverse, the future is predictable: Plesk, cPanel and WHMCS won’t be abandoned by customers — they will be replaced.

Let's just someone at Plesk will wake up and decide this is not the road to follow, before it's too late... But that is wishful thinking I guess.

 

[HHawk]

Well, there it is. The grand finale we've all been waiting for — the 2026 Plesk pricing. Another 26% increase, proudly delivered without a single trace of irony. That brings the total price inflation since 2017 to roughly 285%. Bravo. At this point, it's no longer “pricing strategy”; it’s performance art.

Oh look.

New prices are out today for 2026, and behold, a FURTHER 26% is being chucked on top.

This year: £659.81 including VAT (which Plesk also deliberately conceals)
Next year: £831.47

That's the biggest increase since 2018 and means the cumulative increase since 2017 has been 285%.

How can that possibly be justified?

Source 1: Plesk Price Adjustment 2024-2025 - FAQ Online Customers
Source 2: https://cdn1.plesk.com/wp-content/uploads/pdf/b2a5u/Plesk_Customer_Licensing_Guide_2026.pdf

Plesk must genuinely believe they’ve invented something no one else has. Yet here we are, facing enterprise pricing for software that now delivers less innovation, less stability, and less community than ever before. But don’t worry — I’m sure there will be a shiny new marketing slogan to explain it all.

Let’s be honest: this isn’t about development costs, security investment, or inflation. It’s the final stage of an exit strategy — extract, extract, extract… until the very last partner gives up. And judging by the reactions here, we’re getting very close to that finish line. Even the “big players” (the ones Plesk assumed would never leave) are quietly migrating under subsidiary brands to escape contractual penalties. That alone tells the whole story.

No company can survive this level of contempt for its user base.
Clients are not customers anymore — they’re revenue units strapped to an annual price escalator.

We are no longer asking if people will leave Plesk. We are now asking who will switch first, and who will be forced to follow. And it won’t be because the alternatives are perfect… it will be because Plesk made staying impossible.

Congratulations, WebPros — you’ve turned one of the most trusted control panels in hosting history into a cautionary tale in corporate greed. This isn’t evolution. It’s the endgame.

 

[KirkM]

The grand finale we've all been waiting for — the 2026 Plesk pricing. Another 26% increase, proudly delivered without a single trace of irony. That brings the total price inflation since 2017 to roughly 285%.

Read the second paragraph in this section from the 2026 document you listed as Source 2: https://cdn1.plesk.com/wp-content/uploads/pdf/b2a5u/Plesk_Customer_Licensing_Guide_2026.pdf:

If nothing else, they got balls to gaslight like that right to our faces. Either balls or raging contempt for their customers. "Well, we stopped just short of TRIPLING the price (for a short time), so you should be grateful. " How do you print that kind of straight-up B.S. and think it is good business strategy

 

[Hangover2]

At least they are not lying^^.

In Business / Project Contexts​

In professional or planning discussions, “near future” usually means:

• 1–3 months ahead for operational or short-term planning.
• Sometimes up to 6 months for larger organizations with long planning cycles.

[irony_on]So actually, we can be happy that price increases aren’t happening every six months — only once a year.[/irony_off]

 

[trialotto]

@manni,

This

Pretty interesting that the „Big Ones“ now also start thinking into new direction.

is not a "new direction" - it is not new.

Most license providers - back in the old days - were forced to be "big" : the traditional humbug of "silver", "gold" and "platinum" (or whatever label was attached) plans, with a (false) signal that "the more VIP a provider is, the better the deal".

Well, that deal was not that good : in order to make it a bit viable, (large) bundles had to be taken ......

....... and, as a result, smaller license providers started to combine efforts and strategies and funds.

In the long run, the smaller license providers merged into the "Big Ones" ..... if that is a label that we can assign.

At this moment, the wheel is re-invented : again, (large) bundles have to be used in order to make it viable ....... but the root cause of the problem is more and more related to price increases of individual licenses AND a desire of the (merged) "Big Ones" to make considerable profits (as they were able to realize, during many many years - these larger providers are essentially the same, owned by investors that let ROI prevail).

The thing is that this is a continuous cycle ...... the gain of one is the loss of others, so either the investors, the licensees or the licensors will lose the battle during periods of time (read: years), before the other parties are having a turn at getting their fair share in the loss.

The other thing is that this continuous cycle can only exist when alternatives are not present ...... but in the dynamic market of today, a viable alternative simply means "convergence" : a new party will enter, take some losses at first, then gain some (at the expense of other parties in the market) and then one or more of those other parties will be take over the new party or will be taken over by the new party ......... and again, with new alternatives being absent, the whole continuous cycle will reoccur again, over and over.

It is just life.

Kind regards .......

 

[HHawk]

At least they are not lying^^.

In Business / Project Contexts​

In professional or planning discussions, “near future” usually means:

• 1–3 months ahead for operational or short-term planning.
• Sometimes up to 6 months for larger organizations with long planning cycles.

[irony_on]So actually, we can be happy that price increases aren’t happening every six months — only once a year.[/irony_off]

Haha. Very true @Hangeover2

 

[trialotto]

Oh oh.... I saw this: https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/cvc-in...edit-funds-to-refinance-webpros-debt/90128337.

To summarize; CVC Capital Partners is pursuing a major refinancing of WebPros through private credit funds, including a substantial new debt facility reportedly exceeding USD 1 billion. Officially, this move is framed as a restructuring of financial obligations — but it strongly suggests a shift toward shareholder extraction rather than long-term product investment.

For Plesk, this development raises serious strategic concerns.

When private equity owners refinance debt and include mechanisms such as dividend recapitalization and portability clauses, history shows a familiar pattern: increased pressure on subsidiary cash flow, aggressive monetization strategies, and reduced reinvestment in innovation and support. In practice, Plesk may be leveraged not to grow, but to service a mounting debt burden at the parent company.

This could manifest in several key areas:

• Higher licensing costs and stricter commercial terms, driven by financial targets rather than customer value
• Slower product development and reduced investment in engineering, security, and roadmap initiatives
• Increased uncertainty due to the portability clause, which enables an eventual sale of WebPros — potentially subjecting Plesk to yet another ownership or restructuring cycle

Although WebPros will likely maintain a public narrative of continuity and stability, the underlying refinancing strategy prioritizes capital extraction. That inherently risks shifting Plesk’s trajectory from a technology-driven platform to a financially exploited asset.

In short, Plesk may be entering a phase where financial engineering overrides innovation, placing customers, hosting providers, and long-term platform reliability at greater risk. Those who rely heavily on Plesk should be aware that strategic decisions may increasingly serve debt obligations — not the product or its user base.

I think the latter is already happening (for a few years) with those yearly price hikes...

@HHawk,

Some of this is correct, some is not.

There will not be "risk" that exceeds the current level of "risk" - WebPros, Plesk, they are not more exploited than other tech businesses.

Tech industry is always supposed to be that unicorn and people (and investors) really believe that humbug, in the sense that each and every person (and investor) has FOMO.

The remarkable endresult?

FOMO leads to overvaluation, with overvaluation leading to mergers and take overs, with mergers and take overs leading to overpricing and overpayment, with overpayment leading to a necessity to earn the money back - all is about return on investment (ROI).

Essentially a Ponzi Scheme where the last investors has paid so much, that losses are unavoidable for those "last investors".

However, nobody will be inclined to admit they are part of those "last investors" - they still WANT to believe in that unicorn, even though they know already that an unicorn is a mythical creature from fables, not existing in real life.

So, they "dabble" a bit to avoid the unavoidable.

They do some price increases - the fast management types that learn from books (without understanding what they learn) never realize that this will speed up the unavoidable, they are only rewarded by stock options, higher salaries.......... rewarded, but never punished.

It is like putting a child in a candy store and telling them : well, you are in charge, I trust you, I will be back in a couple of days!

They do some refinancing - the fast investors want to have the money before the whole thing collapses.

It is like surrendering the invested amount and then wanting the money back when those fast investors need (not want, but need) the money back.


So yes, you are correct that there is - probably - some panic ........ due to large amounts of capital and debt for all those mergers and take overs.

However, that is life.


I would not consider that as a risk, since sooner or later there is the situation that a new party will take over WebPros.

The term "risk" is not covering the story, it - essentially - is a certainty that there will be a new owner and the same-old-same-old over and over again.


Nobody here, Plesk users and Plesk Team, wants to be a passenger in the bumpy ride caused by those investors.

We are simply passengers and we are too late to simply say : let's not pay the Plesk fees, but contribute an identical amount to a fund that enables us to take over WebPros and become the owner and decision maker.............. and do the right thing and make the right decisions.


I do not object to the term "risk", but it simply is not there.

WebPros and hence Plesk will sooner or later feel the burden of the large overhead of all those investors (wanting dividend and ROI) and of all those fast management types (wanting bonuses and big salaries) .........

...... but there will come a period that WebPros will be confronted with bad financial results (or even losses), which period will only end by a take over.

The latter take over may cause some changes, like lower license fees.

I hope so, but I really doubt it - as long as tech industry is considered to be "the vehicle to become the next billionaire", any tech business will be taken over with the sole intention to take advantage of it.

And yes, there is always the risk that idiotic finance types will make a mess of it - that is a given in life, they simply do.


Kind regards ........

 

[trialotto]

@HHawk

There is no irony in this quote

The irony? These aggressive price strategies are actually accelerating competition. Alternative platforms — while not perfect — are rapidly evolving, fueled by frustration with WebPros’ approach. It’s only a matter of time before a mature, credible alternative emerges. And when that happens, the exodus will be irreversible. At that point, the investment firm will simply dismantle or sell off what remains.

since you are absolutely right.

In addition, parties wanting to enter the market (as investor or new business) get invested in (by investors) to speed up the process that will or should result in the new party being able to compete with existing parties (WebPros or other parties).

Yes, the investment firm will devalue its own investment.

No irony there, it is a simple fact.

However, the nonsense of those investors will continue ........ with the other parties that they have financed, including alternatives for Plesk.

No problem here, a good old credit crunch - or worse, a stock market crash - will work ;-)


By the way, I like this one :

Clients are not customers anymore — they’re revenue units strapped to an annual price escalator.

Kudos.


Kind regards....

 

[Doost]

If nothing else, they got balls to gaslight like that right to our faces. Either balls or raging contempt for their customers. "Well, we stopped just short of TRIPLING the price (for a short time), so you should be grateful. " How do you print that kind of straight-up B.S. and think it is good business strategy

Also, with all the price increases due to developer costs, one wonders how massive bugs like the recent Dovecot incident, and the Imunify360 data leak incident get through.
If there was any truth to increased costs from development leading to higher prices, I'd expect Plesk to be a thoroughly tested, tried and true product.

But as increasingly common across the tech landscape, I guess even higher costs don't get you out of being an unwilling beta tester these days.

 

[manni]

one of our licensing partners announced to cancel ALL Plesk licenses effective latest on July 1st 2026 because pricing of Plesk GmbH is not planable and due to the fact that some lawyers reached out to them after last Price Increase announcement…

 

[Hangover2]

I’m not surprised that the first lawsuits are already emerging. Depending on the country and legal framework, this development was to be expected.
All major hosting forums are currently full of discussions, as large providers are now being forced to raise their prices sharply. Even players like IONOS, which many believed could negotiate better terms, seem to be giving in - although their prices are still lower than those of most resellers. Customers, however, often have only 30 days to either migrate or accept the new pricing.

Some customers are now taking a very close look at their contracts to see whether they can challenge them legally.

The circumstances described - strong, repeated price increases by Plesk (WebPros), combined with high switching barriers - may in some jurisdictions raise questions about potential price abuse or even “usury.” In Germany, for example, §138 of the Civil Code (BGB) defines usury when one party exploits another’s constrained situation or inexperience to obtain a consideration that is in a striking disproportion to their own performance.

The Plesk price increases show similar warning signs: steep annual hikes, lock-in effects, market dominance, and little added value to justify the higher price. Although no leading German court ruling has yet classified software license increases as usury, price adjustment clauses in general terms (AGB) or abuse of market dominance under the GWB (competition law) could be legally challenged.

As @manni mentioned, the first resellers affected will likely be those based in countries where such price increases can be fought legally, or those whose customer contracts do not permit such adjustments. Hetzner clearly saw this coming and exited early. I fear that more resellers will follow to avoid getting caught in the crossfire.

(Disclaimer: This is not legal advice. It reflects personal observation and public discussion.)

 

[trialotto]

@Hangover2

It is good to read that you have taken the effort to write down this part

Some customers are now taking a very close look at their contracts to see whether they can challenge them legally.

The circumstances described - strong, repeated price increases by Plesk (WebPros), combined with high switching barriers - may in some jurisdictions raise questions about potential price abuse or even “usury.” In Germany, for example, §138 of the Civil Code (BGB) defines usury when one party exploits another’s constrained situation or inexperience to obtain a consideration that is in a striking disproportion to their own performance.

The Plesk price increases show similar warning signs: steep annual hikes, lock-in effects, market dominance, and little added value to justify the higher price. Although no leading German court ruling has yet classified software license increases as usury, price adjustment clauses in general terms (AGB) or abuse of market dominance under the GWB (competition law) could be legally challenged.

since that essentially provides a good explanation (in rough outlines) of which kind of legal issue might be present.


Nevertheless, there is a notable difference between a legal issue and a legal case.

A legal issue is to be defined (loosely) as "something" that allegedly or factually is not in line with applicable law.

A legal case is to be defined (more exactly) as a legal issue that will hold up in court or legal proceedings.


In addition, the distinction between legal issues and legal cases (or the distance between the definitions thereof) is not predefined and fixed.

For instance, German law is quite strict and the "distance" between legal issues and legal cases is relatively "small" - this is good!

For instance, US law is quite "flexible" and depending on many factors - this is not so good!


The aformentioned "distinction" or "distance" determines the probability of success when going to court or when starting legal proceedings of any kind.

A "small" distance is often intended to prevent that "wrongfully accused do not get convicted".

This is - more or less - the European model, where hard (legal) evidence must be provided until alleged facts are deemed to be proven facts.

As a result, there is a smaller probability of success in European courts when starting legal proceedings.

On the other hand, if hard (legal) evidence is present, then conviction is unavoidable in the European model.


In Germany law is very strict, so one would expect that the presence of hard (legal) evidence would help establish "abuse" or "usury".

That is not automatically the case, since there are two other factors determining the success rate :

1 - costs of legal proceedings : German law is quite formal, so the costs of legal proceedings are relatively high (read: too high)

2 - applicable law : specific national law might not apply, if superseded by international or other national law


The complicating factors here can be described with the following questions :

3 - what is Plesk and where is the statutory residence of Plesk?

4 - where are the customers, what is the legal form of their company and what is their statutory residence?

5 - if statutory residence of Plesk and her customer do not coincide, which (national) law applies?

6 - if statutory residence of Plesk and her customer do not coincide, which court is competent?

For instance, for a German Plesk customer, it can be the case that Swiss court is competent, but that the competent Swiss court has to rule with German law.

Although the aforementiond complicating factors can make any kind of legal proceedings quite complex, they are barely relevant, since a good and often very expensive legal team should be able to resolve the issues arising from those complicating factors.


However, the even more important complicating factors described by the following questions

7 - is Plesk accountable for the lack of alternatives?

8 - is there a clausule in the agreements that Plesk cannot raise prices?

9 - is there national or international law that Plesk cannot raise prices?

can NOT be resolved a good and very expensive legal team, since the formal answer to all of the latter questions is simply "NO".

That is not my personal answer, it is the answer that you can expect from all (or most) lawyers and judges.


In summary and stated very bluntly, there might be a legal issue, but not a legal case : one can take Plesk to court and spend lots of money to lose the case.

The Civil Code will often not work in practice ......... and, in some cases, is not even applicable to these kinds of legal issues.


The last paragraph is bad news that should be followed by good news, right?

The good news is that we live in the European Union.

In essence, we have supranational law (EU law) that is allowing the EU to recommend binding actions to and even impose fines upon companies.

Some of the legal grounds to recommend binding actions or to impose fines is ........ exactly, abuse of market power or market dominance.

Consider the fines imposed upon Facebook and Google and then you know exactly what I am talking about.


In summary, it can never do harm to have a good legal team search for caveats in the agreements with Plesk, but it is highly recommend to have that legal team compose a "legal complaint of market abuse" that can be submitted to the European Union.

In essence, if you do want to achieve a specific goal, do not become a Don Quichote, but take the appropriate action.

Yes, I am pretty sure that small battles can be won with legal proceedings that are not based upon "abuse" or "usury", but one will not win the war.

Why does one not win the war? All kinds of overhead costs, including legal costs, will be translated to higher fees ..... so, to combat higher fees, one should be expecting high costs for all parties involved, with only Plesk being able to translate to costs into higher license fees.

No, I am not sure that the European Union will take action, but I am sure that the war will be won if and when the European Union will take action.

Why does one win the war if the European Union imposes fines or takes other kinds of action? One does not have the legal costs and the simple fact that the European Union takes action also implies the fact that Plesk cannot easily or cannot (not at all) raise the prices in the near future.


All of the above is just some food for thought, it is not a statement of facts or a personal opinion.

The factual reality is too complex for Plesk forum.

My personal opinion is simply that I would rather see that price increases are only present if the evolution of Plesk is in line with those price increases.

My personal reason to give some food for thougth is simply related to the fact that many lawyers give false hope, so they can charge you a lot of money.

That is it .......... nothing more or less.


Kind regards....