Greetings to everyone.
I currently have my own websites and also manage a few websites for my friends. They are all hosted on CentOS 7 with ISPmanager 6, using a perpetual license. However, I recently had to migrate to a new server, and ISPmanager 6 is no longer supported. The only option now is to upgrade to version 7, which requires a subscription. I don't want to pay indefinitely for it.

So, my question is: what should I choose for hosting now? I'm open to even free open source solutions. I have looked into VestaCP and Fastpanel, both have been used for testing purposes, but I have heard mixed opinions about them. There is always something that needs improvement.

I can provide you with some information about two popular open source hosting control panels that you mentioned: VestaCP and FastPanel.

VestaCP is a widely used hosting control panel known for its simplicity and ease of use. It offers features such as DNS, mail, database management, and more. While it has a user-friendly interface, some users have reported security concerns in the past. It's always a good idea to keep up with the latest security updates and patches.

FastPanel is another open source hosting control panel that aims to provide simplicity, speed, and performance. It offers features like domain management, web server configuration, SSL certificates, and more. FastPanel is relatively new compared to VestaCP and may have fewer user reviews available. As with any new solution, it's important to thoroughly test it before relying on it for production websites.

Apart from these options, there are other open source hosting control panels available, such as Webmin, Ajenti, and Virtualmin. These panels offer various features and functionalities, so it's worth exploring them and finding the one that best suits your requirements.

It's also worth considering alternatives like cloud-based solutions or managed WordPress hosting, depending on the nature of your websites and your specific needs. These options often come with a cost, but they provide additional benefits like scalability, automatic updates, and dedicated support.

Here are a few more open source hosting control panels that you can consider:

  CentOS Web Panel (CWP): This control panel is specifically designed for CentOS-based servers. It includes features like Apache and Nginx web server management, DNS management, email configuration, firewall management, and more.

  Froxlor: Froxlor is an open source server management platform that offers a range of features, including domain management, email management, FTP management, and more. It supports Apache and Nginx web servers and provides a clean and intuitive interface.

  CyberPanel: CyberPanel is a lightweight and user-friendly hosting control panel specifically designed for managing websites on the LiteSpeed web server. It offers features like domain management, email management, DNS management, and automatic SSL installation.

  ISPConfig: ISPConfig is a popular open source hosting control panel that supports both Linux and Windows servers. It provides features such as website management, email management, DNS management, FTP management, and more. It also offers a multi-server setup for managing multiple servers from a single panel.

  Sentora: Sentora is a powerful, open-source web hosting control panel that supports Linux, BSD, and Windows platforms. It offers features like domain management, email management, FTP management, website statistics, database management, and more.

  Webmin: Webmin is a popular open source control panel for Unix-like systems. It provides a comprehensive web-based interface for managing system administration tasks, including setting up Apache, MySQL, FTP, DNS, and other server-related configurations.

  Ajenti: Ajenti is a light-weight and user-friendly open source control panel written in Python. It supports Linux and BSD systems and provides a modern and responsive web interface for managing services like Apache, Nginx, MySQL, FTP, and more. It also has an extensible plugin system for additional functionality.

  Virtualmin: Virtualmin is based on Webmin and is specifically designed for managing virtual private servers (VPS) and hosting multiple domains. It offers domain management, email management, DNS configuration, database management, and more. Virtualmin also includes features for reseller accounts and customer management.

  Kloxo-MR: Kloxo-MR is a powerful and feature-rich open source control panel that supports CentOS and Red Hat Enterprise Linux. It offers features like domain management, website statistics, email management, FTP management, and more. It also supports multiple web servers like Apache and Nginx.

  Hestia Control Panel: Hestia Control Panel (formerly known as VestaCP fork) is a lightweight and easy-to-use open source control panel. It provides features like website and domain management, email management, database management, DNS management, and more. Hestia Control Panel focuses on simplicity and security.

  ServerPilot: ServerPilot is a cloud-based hosting control panel that simplifies the process of managing and deploying websites on cloud servers. It supports popular cloud hosting providers like DigitalOcean, Linode, Vultr, and others. ServerPilot offers features like automatic server setup, SSL certificate management, PHP version control, and more.

  Froxlor: Froxlor is an open source server management platform that offers a range of features, including domain management, email management, FTP management, and more. It supports Apache and Nginx web servers and provides a clean and intuitive interface.

  ISPConfig: ISPConfig is a popular open source hosting control panel that supports both Linux and Windows servers. It provides features such as website management, email management, DNS management, FTP management, and more. It also offers a multi-server setup for managing multiple servers from a single panel.

  Webuzo: Webuzo is a simple and lightweight control panel that enables you to deploy web applications, manage domains, databases, email, and more. It supports a wide range of applications, including WordPress, Joomla, Magento, and many others. Webuzo also has a user-friendly interface with one-click installations and backups.

  OpenPanel: OpenPanel is an open source control panel designed to simplify web hosting management. It provides features like website and domain management, email management, FTP management, and more. OpenPanel supports Apache and Nginx web servers and has an easy-to-use interface.

  CentOS Web Panel (CWP): CentOS Web Panel is specifically designed for CentOS-based servers. It offers features such as Apache and Nginx web server management, DNS management, email configuration, firewall management, and more. CWP has a clean and intuitive interface with many features aimed at simplifying server management.

  CyberPanel: CyberPanel is a lightweight and user-friendly control panel specifically designed for managing websites on the LiteSpeed web server. It offers features like domain management, email management, DNS management, automatic SSL installation, and more. CyberPanel also provides an intuitive interface and focuses on performance.

  Froxlor: Froxlor is an open source server management platform that offers a range of features, including domain management, email management, FTP management, database management, and more. It supports Apache and Nginx web servers and provides a clean and intuitive interface.

  VestaCP: Although you mentioned having heard mixed opinions about VestaCP, it is still worth considering. VestaCP is known for its simplicity and ease of use, offering features such as DNS management, mail management, database management, and more. It has a user-friendly interface, but it's essential to keep up with security updates and patches.

  Virtualmin: Virtualmin is a comprehensive control panel based on Webmin that specializes in managing virtual private servers (VPS) and hosting multiple domains. It offers domain management, email management, DNS configuration, database management, and more. Virtualmin also includes features for reseller accounts and customer management.

  CentOS Web Panel (CWP): CentOS Web Panel is a feature-rich control panel designed for CentOS-based servers. It offers features such as web server management (Apache/Nginx), MySQL and PostgreSQL database management, email management, DNS management, and more. CWP provides an intuitive interface with extensive dоcumentation and community support.

  Froxlor: Froxlor is a lightweight and flexible open-source hosting control panel. It offers features like domain management, email management, FTP management, database management, and more. Froxlor supports Apache and Nginx web servers and provides a clean and user-friendly interface.

  Ajenti: Ajenti is a popular open-source control panel written in Python. It offers features including website management, email management, database management, FTP management, and more. Ajenti has a modern and responsive web interface and supports various plugins to extend its functionality.

  Webmin: Webmin is a widely used open-source control panel that provides a web-based interface for system administration tasks. It supports various Unix-like systems and offers features such as Apache and Nginx configuration, DNS management, file management, and more. Webmin also has a large community and plenty of add-on modules available.

I have tested various panels and had different experiences and impressions with each.

Cyberpanel has poor web design, but in terms of building a panel for a server hosting multiple sites, it stands out among the panels I've tried. It offers features like open_basedir, site differentiation under separate users, and a well-structured storage system. Additionally, it has good backups and the ability to customize things like Lets Encrypt, access restrictions, and a file manager.

However, over the years, this panel has disappointed me. It is extremely overloaded and has often broken, affecting my hobby projects. There are also bugs with updates that completely break the panel, requiring a clean reinstall. Despite reporting these issues, there has been no help available. Furthermore, there are bugs related to OpenLiteSpeed or web server configuration, such as excessive session storage leading to server crashes. The panel also has bugs with caching and backups. While the architecture of CyberPanel is impressive, the presence of these bugs makes it difficult to recommend.

VestaCP was used for a long time, but I strongly dislike their templates and web server configs. The panel frequently broke, both in general and personally. However, visually and in terms of usability, VestaCP is one of the most hassle-free and convenient panels on the market. Unfortunately, it seems to be abandoned since the last progress and updates were completed in 2017-2018.

HestiaCP is based on VestaCP but lacks proper development. The author does not address the numerous problems and bugs in this panel and its community. They are incompetent and do poor testing. However, the admin panel is commendable in terms of security. Other aspects of HestiaCP are poor, including installation issues and incomplete support for non-apache configurations. It also inherits many problems from VestaCP, including regular bugs and problems with LetsEncrypt. Despite its flaws, the panel has a visually appealing appearance. However, under the hood, it lacks organization and suffers from anarchy. While there are worse panels, HestiaCP requires significant improvement and lacks a strong community.

FastPanel is personally confusing to me. It seems to have good principles and architecture, but everything feels unfinished and lacking in substance.

DirectAdmin is barely alive. While it is widely used by hosters, it has major security flaws. In shared hosting, if one site is hacked, it's almost certain that all sites will be compromised since the panel lacks restrictions within one account. The panel comes with absurdities like blocking MySQL ports or other ports via csf, as well as limits on file sizes. In the past, the panel was subpar, but recent changes have improved its interface and features. However, I still wouldn't choose this panel due to my negative operating experience and the mentioned problems.

ispconfig is a heavyweight monster with hidden payments for dоcumentation. It didn't impress me much and had no major bugs, but it is resource-intensive.

centminmod is more of a script than a panel, but the eva2000 developer has done an excellent job with it. The server configs, including nginx, mysql, and php, are polished and well-tuned. It's one of the most stable panels in terms of server configurations. However, it's not user-friendly, especially for managing multiple sites on the same server.

CentOS Web Panel puzzled me as I didn't understand its purpose or popularity.

Froxlor is a lightweight and simple panel that follows basic principles of handling web servers with multiple sites. However, there have been reports of early hacks, which led me to switch to another panel. It's nothing extraordinary, but I have slightly more trust in it compared to VestaCP.

I've also tried other panels, but I don't remember their shortcomings because I didn't use them for long.

Some of the most convenient and simple panels for me were cPanel, Plesk, and ISPmanager, but they are all paid and expensive. Currently, I rely on self-written scripts and my own nginx configs to avoid the need for extensive customization or encountering module bugs in other panels.

At some point, everyone reaches the same conclusion - that all these control panels are meaningless and it is much simpler and more convenient to live without them. Especially as your skills improve, examining the configurations that the panel generates can be hair-raising, considering the potential for panel breaches, which often give direct access to the server and other risky experiences. Not to mention the additional consumption of server resources. In extreme cases, it's preferable to develop your own minimalistic panel for specific tasks.

In most situations, the server is configured once - then everything runs smoothly. If any updates are necessary, they can be implemented through scripts, ensuring automation in the process. It's useful to have your typical configurations readily available for various tasks, including your server configuration script starting from scratch.

ISPmanager dropping v6 support is a slap in the face - greedy devs just want your dough with v7 subs.
Why are you even sweating over trash like VestaCP or Fastpanel? They're sketchy, outdated junk that'll get your server pwned faster than you can say "DDoS." Grow a pair and spin up cPanel's free alternative, CloudPanel - it's open-source, modern, and doesn't suck. Or just go bare-metal with Docker if you've got the chops.