What is the Difference between cPanel and WHM

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Difference between cPanel and WHM

Disclosure: We’re reader-supported. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission at no extra cost to you. For more information, see our Disclosure page. Thanks.

cPanel and WHM (WebHost Manager) are both popular web hosting control panels, but they serve different purposes and are designed for different types of users. Here’s a breakdown of their differences:

1. Target Users:

• cPanel: cPanel is designed for website owners and users who manage individual websites. It’s a user-friendly interface for managing all aspects of a single website, including email accounts, databases, domains, files, and more.
• WHM: WHM is aimed at web hosting providers or server administrators. It is used to manage multiple cPanel accounts and server-wide settings. WHM allows the creation, management, and maintenance of hosting accounts for clients.

2. Functionality:

• cPanel:
  • Manages individual websites, such as creating and managing emails, databases, file uploads, backups, and more.
  • It is focused on the operations of a single website or domain.
  • Offers tools for website management like WordPress installations, FTP accounts, domain management, SSL certificates, etc.
• WHM:
  • Manages the entire server and multiple cPanel accounts.
  • Allows the creation, suspension, and deletion of cPanel accounts.
  • Manages server-wide settings, including resource allocation, security settings, server configuration, and server-wide updates.
  • Provides tools for monitoring server usage, performance, and logs.

3. Access Levels:

• cPanel: Access is granted to the end-user (typically the website owner). They only have access to their specific hosting account and can’t manage server-wide settings or other users.
• WHM: Access is granted to system administrators or resellers. It allows them to control multiple cPanel accounts, manage the server, and allocate resources across different users.

4. Features:

• cPanel:
  • File Manager for website files.
  • MySQL database management.
  • Email management tools (e.g., email accounts, forwarders, autoresponders).
  • Backup and restore options.
  • Softaculous for one-click app installations (e.g., WordPress, Joomla).
  • Domain management (adding/removing domains, subdomains).
• WHM:
  • Account management (creating, suspending, deleting, and modifying cPanel accounts).
  • Server-wide settings and configurations (DNS, Apache settings, PHP configuration).
  • Reseller management (creating and managing reseller accounts).
  • Security features for the server (firewall, SSL settings, password protection).
  • Resource management for cPanel accounts (disk space, bandwidth limits).
  • Server monitoring tools and logs.

5. Access Control:

• cPanel: Only the user with the specific login credentials can access the cPanel account for managing their website.
• WHM: Access is often restricted to administrative users or resellers, who can manage and oversee multiple cPanel accounts.

6. Usage Context:

• cPanel: Primarily used by end users (website owners) to manage individual websites.
• WHM: Used by web hosting providers, administrators, or resellers who manage multiple cPanel accounts, typically on a shared hosting server.

In Summary:

• cPanel is for website owners to manage their individual website’s resources and services.
• WHM is for server administrators or resellers who need to manage multiple cPanel accounts on a single server, configure server settings, and allocate resources.