28 Oct 2026 · @Dave Geoghegan
The short version
cPanel, the control panel behind many of our hosting plans, is raising its licence prices again. It is the eighth year in a row. From December 16, 2026 every cPanel licence tier costs roughly 8% to 10% more, and the charge for each extra account on a busy server goes up by over 12%.
We have absorbed most of these increases over the years, but we can no longer do that. From 1 November 2026 our cPanel hosting prices will go up.
There is a better option. Our DirectAdmin hosting runs on the same Dublin servers, gives you more storage, and costs less than cPanel. We will move you across for free, and we now recommend it for all our customers.
Who owns cPanel, and why prices keep rising
In August 2018 cPanel was bought by WebPros, a company backed by private equity firm Oakley Capital. WebPros already owned Plesk, the other big hosting control panel, and went on to buy WHMCS, the billing software most hosting companies use. In late 2019 a majority stake in WebPros was sold to CVC Capital Partners.
Within a year of the takeover, cPanel scrapped its simple per-server pricing and started charging by the number of hosted accounts. Since then prices have gone up every single year.
If that sounds familiar, it is the same playbook Broadcom used after buying VMware in November 2023. European cloud providers’ group CISPE reported VMware licence costs rising by 800% to 1,500% for many of its members. cPanel’s increases are nowhere near that bad, but the direction is the same: buy the software everyone depends on, then raise the price every year.
How cPanel prices have changed since 2019
These are cPanel’s own list prices per server, per month, in US dollars.
| Effective | Solo (1 account) | Admin (5 accounts) | Pro (30 accounts) | Premier (100 accounts) | Each account over 100 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Before mid 2019 | $15 | VPS: $20, unlimited accounts | Dedicated: $45, unlimited accounts | Free | |
| Sept 2019 | $15 | $20 | $30 | $45 | $0.20 |
| Jan 2021 | $15 | $22 | $32.25 | $48.50 | $0.30 |
| Jan 2022 | $15.99 | $24.99 | $35.99 | $53.99 | $0.34 |
| Jan 2023 | $15.99 | $27.99 | $39.99 | $59.99 | $0.39 |
| Jan 2024 | $17.49 | $29.99 | $42.99 | $60.99 | $0.40 |
| Jan 2025 | $26.99 | $32.99 | $46.99 | $65.99 | $0.45 |
| Jan 2026 | $29.99 | $35.99 | $53.99 | $69.99 | $0.49 |
| Dec 16, 2026 | $32.99 | $38.99 | $58.99 | $76.99 | $0.55 |
Since 2019 the Solo licence has more than doubled (up 120%), Admin and Pro have nearly doubled, Premier is up 71%, and the cost of each account over 100 has almost tripled (up 175%).
To put that in real terms: a server hosting 300 websites cost $45 a month to license in early 2019. From December it costs $186.99. That is more than four times as much for exactly the same software doing exactly the same job.
It is not just the licence
WebPros has also added new charges alongside the headline licence price:
- Older operating system fees. Servers still running CentOS 7 or CloudLinux 7 now pay a monthly Extended Lifecycle Support fee on top of the licence, extended through the end of 2027.
- Add-on increases. The security and performance tools we run on every cPanel server, such as CloudLinux, Imunify360 and KernelCare, are also going up from December 16.
- WHMCS and Plesk. Our billing platform (WHMCS) and the Plesk control panel, both owned by the same group, rise by up to 20% in 2027.
Where prices are likely heading
Nobody outside WebPros knows future prices for certain. But the pattern since 2019 is steady: an increase every year, averaging roughly 9% to 10% on the main tiers and well over 10% on the per-account charge. If that continues, this is roughly where list prices will land:
| Year (estimate) | Solo | Admin | Pro | Premier | Each account over 100 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2027 (confirmed) | $32.99 | $38.99 | $58.99 | $76.99 | $0.55 |
| 2028 | ~$36 | ~$42.50 | ~$64 | ~$84 | ~$0.61 |
| 2029 | ~$39 | ~$46 | ~$70 | ~$91 | ~$0.68 |
| 2030 | ~$43 | ~$50 | ~$76 | ~$100 | ~$0.75 |
Estimates assume 9% a year on licence tiers and 11% a year on the per-account charge. They are our projection, not cPanel’s.
On that path, a 100-account cPanel server will cost around $100 a month to license by 2030, more than double what it cost in 2019.
What this means for WebWorld customers
We buy cPanel licences in US dollars for every server we run, then pay again for the add-ons that keep your sites fast and secure. When those costs rise every year, we eventually have to adjust our prices.
From 1 November 2026, our cPanel hosting plans will be priced as follows (excluding VAT):
| Plan | Current monthly | New monthly | Current yearly | New yearly |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Europa | €9.95 | €10.95 | €109.45 | €120.45 |
| Callisto | €14.95 | €15.95 | €164.45 | €175.45 |
| Ganymede | €19.95 | €21.95 | €219.45 | €241.45 |
| Titan | €24.95 | €27.95 | €274.45 | €307.45 |
If you are on an annual plan, your current price stays in place until your next renewal.
For VPS and dedicated servers where you pay for a cPanel licence directly, the licence charge will move in line with cPanel’s new list price from your next invoice after December 16, 2026.
Even after this change, our plans remain competitive with other Irish hosts, and you still get your site hosted in our own Dublin data centres, on our own network, with support from people in Dublin.
Our recommendation: move to DirectAdmin
DirectAdmin is a control panel that does the same everyday jobs as cPanel: email accounts, file manager, databases, SSL certificates and one-click WordPress installs through Softaculous. It runs in the same Dublin data centres, on the same network, with the same support team. Its licence costs a fraction of cPanel’s, and we pass that saving on to you.
Every cPanel plan has a DirectAdmin equivalent that hosts the same number of websites, with more storage, for less money:
| Your cPanel plan | New cPanel price | DirectAdmin plan | DirectAdmin price | You save | Storage | Monthly transfer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Europa (5 sites) | €10.95 | Atlas (5 sites) | €4.95 | €6.00 a month | 10GB → 25GB | 100GB → 100GB |
| Callisto (50 sites) | €15.95 | Prometheus (50 sites) | €9.95 | €6.00 a month | 25GB → 50GB | 500GB → 200GB |
| Ganymede (100 sites) | €21.95 | Phoebe (100 sites) | €15.95 | €6.00 a month | 35GB → 100GB | 750GB → 500GB |
| Titan (150 sites) | €27.95 | Triton (150 sites) | €19.95 | €8.00 a month | 50GB → 200GB | 1TB → 1TB |
Monthly prices, excluding VAT. Even at today’s cPanel prices, DirectAdmin works out €4 to €5 a month cheaper on every plan.
How the free move works
- Open a support ticket or reply to our email asking to move to DirectAdmin.
- Our Dublin team copies your website, databases and email accounts to your new DirectAdmin plan.
- You check everything on the new server before anything changes.
- We switch your DNS only when you are happy. Your website address and email addresses stay the same.
- Your bill drops to the DirectAdmin price from your next invoice. Unused credit from your cPanel plan will be deducted from your first DirectAdmin invoice.
Most moves are done within 24 hours, with no downtime.
Prefer to stay on cPanel?
That is fine. Your plan carries on as normal at the new price from 1 November 2026, and you do not need to do anything.
If you have a VPS or dedicated server with its own cPanel licence, talk to us. A DirectAdmin or Plesk licence can work out considerably cheaper, especially on servers with many accounts.
Questions?
Ready to move, or not sure which plan is right for you? Open a support ticket or call us on +353 1 495 1112. We will look at your account and recommend the right DirectAdmin plan.
Sources: cPanel pricing announcements and industry coverage of the 2019 to 2027 price changes. Prices in US dollars are cPanel list prices excluding tax.
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