Open-source cPanel alternative for Debian 13 and Ubuntu 24.04

If you run hosting on cPanel today and you want to move to a panel you can run yourself, this post is for you. Jabali Panel is a free, AGPL-3.0 hosting control panel for Debian 13 and Ubuntu 24.04. It covers the day-to-day work of a hosting panel: websites, PHP versions, email, DNS, databases, SSL and one-click WordPress. It is a separate panel with its own interface, and it needs a fresh server.

This post explains why people leave cPanel, what a fresh Jabali install gives you, how it compares with the other free panels, what it does not do, and how a cPanel migration works. We have kept the comparison table in line with the open-source panel roundup, and we re-checked every fact about another product on 2026-10-29.

Why people look for a cPanel alternative

cPanel is a paid product. Its pricing page lists monthly plans [12], and the cPanel pricing post sets out each plan’s account limit and price. Some operators want a panel whose licence they can read in full. Others want to run their own servers without paying a licence fee for the panel.

Whatever your reason, the move is a server project, not a settings change. You need a new server with a supported operating system, a plan for mail and DNS, and a migration you have tested on a second machine.

What you get on a fresh install

Jabali Panel runs on a fresh Debian 13 or Ubuntu 24.04 server. The installer is one shell command, and it sets up:

• nginx as the reverse proxy and TLS terminator, with Let’s Encrypt certificates through certbot;
• PHP-FPM from 8.1 to 8.5, with a PHP-FPM pool for each hosted user, so each user’s sites run under that user’s own system account;
• MariaDB 11.x for tenant databases;
• PowerDNS for hosted zones, with optional DNSSEC signing per domain;
• Stalwart 0.16.24 for SMTP, IMAP and JMAP mail, with Bulwark webmail, and DKIM, SPF, DMARC and MTA-STS managed per domain;
• one-click WordPress through WP-CLI, with a single-use login link into wp-admin, plus 16 PHP apps and 43 Docker apps in the catalogue;
• backups with restic to local storage, SFTP or S3, with one-click restore.

The panel’s API and host agent are written in Go. The web interface is a React application. A root-privileged agent carries out host changes, so the web panel itself never runs as root.

How it compares with other free panels

The table compares Jabali Panel with five other free or open-source panels that install on a Linux server you control. The rows and cells match the open-source panel roundup. Each cell has one source. The sources are listed at the end of this post. Every cell was re-checked on 2026-10-29.

Three things stand out when you read the table against a cPanel server.

The licence column matters if you plan to change the code. The free editions of Jabali Panel, HestiaCP, CyberPanel, Virtualmin and ISPConfig publish their source under open-source licences. CloudPanel’s licence restricts modification, so it is free to use but not open source.

The operating-system column decides whether you can install at all. If your current servers run AlmaLinux or Rocky Linux, Jabali Panel is not the right choice today. HestiaCP, CloudPanel and ISPConfig list Debian 13, and so does Jabali Panel. CyberPanel’s README says Debian “may work” and does not list it.

The cost column covers the software, not the server. A free panel still needs a server, backups, mail and DNS, and someone to run them.

The table does not compare features, release cadence or support. Two panels can both list Debian 13 and still differ on mail, backups or Docker support. Read each panel’s documentation for the features you use, and test the one you pick on a server that matches your production setup. The open-source panel roundup covers the same table with more detail on each vendor.

Choose Jabali Panel if

• You run Debian 13 or Ubuntu 24.04 and you want to keep the server.
• You want mail, DNS and web hosting on one server, with DKIM, SPF, DMARC and MTA-STS handled for you.
• You want a licence you can read in one file, under AGPL-3.0.
• You want to migrate from cPanel with a tool that restores accounts, databases, mailboxes and DNS zones, and reports what it could not move.

Choose another panel if

• You need AlmaLinux, Rocky Linux or RHEL. Look at CyberPanel, Virtualmin or ISPConfig, and check each one’s list before you install.
• You already run Webmin and want the panel built on it. Virtualmin is built on Webmin and imports cPanel, Plesk and DirectAdmin backups [8][9].
• You want OpenLiteSpeed as the web server. CyberPanel is built around it [5].
• You need configuration mirroring across several servers. ISPConfig lists “configuration mirroring and clusters” as a feature [10].

Migrating from cPanel

Jabali Panel accepts the standard cpmove-<user>.tar.gz archive that cPanel’s Backup Wizard or pkgacct creates. Upload one archive per account, or feed a WHM-level dump through the WHM pipeline for a whole server. The restore runs per account, and the Migrations section shows progress for each step.

The restore recreates the Linux user, the domains, the DNS zones in PowerDNS, the mailboxes in Stalwart, the MySQL databases, the cron jobs that pass the allowlist, and the website files. Each database gets its own new user and password, and WordPress and other app configs are pointed at it, so those sites keep working. Mailboxes get new random passwords unless Carry over source passwords can keep a source hash, and the migration report lists the mailboxes that need a new password. SSL certificates are reissued from Let’s Encrypt once DNS points at the new server.

Keep the cPanel account online until DNS is switched. The cPanel migration guide walks through the cutover step by step, and the reference page lists every asset and what happens to it.

What Jabali Panel does not do

We would rather you hear these from us than find them after a move.

• It supports Debian 13 and Ubuntu 24.04 only. The installation guide lists these two as the supported releases.
• It is not a cPanel clone. Scripts or tools written for cPanel need changes to run here.
• Mailbox passwords reset on migration. Users get a new password in the report, or you can require a password change at first login.
• The interface is multi-language, with right-to-left support for Arabic and Hebrew. Translation coverage varies by language, and any missing string falls back to English.
• We sell paid support and pre-configured VPS instances. Paid support is a separate, optional service. The software itself is free.

Questions people ask

Do I need a new server?

Yes. Jabali Panel installs on a fresh Debian 13 or Ubuntu 24.04 server. Migrate accounts to it, then move DNS. Keep the old cPanel server running until the new one serves your sites and mail.

Will my SSL certificates move?

No. The panel reissues certificates from Let’s Encrypt once DNS points at the new server, so the certificate step happens during the cutover.

How long does a migration take?

The migration docs estimate 2 to 10 minutes per account for a small site with one database and one domain. Large accounts take longer, and the progress view shows each step. You can migrate several accounts at once.

Can I keep cPanel running while I test?

Yes. Restore on a second server, check the sites, mail and databases, and only then freeze writes on the source and repoint DNS. The source account stays online until you switch.

Try it

On a clean Debian 13 or Ubuntu 24.04 server, run the installer as root:

curl -fsSL https://get.jabali-panel.com | sudo bash

The install page builds the same command with the modules you choose. The installer is idempotent, so you can run it again if it stops. A fresh install takes about 8 to 15 minutes. To see the interface first, use the demo panel, which is read-only.

For longer documentation, the installation guide and quickstart cover DNS preparation, panel-hostname certificates and your first hosted user.

Read next

• Open-source hosting control panels compared (2026): the full roundup of free and open-source panels.
• cPanel migration guide: the step-by-step move, with the cutover playbook.
• Migrate off Plesk: if you run Plesk instead of cPanel.
• CyberPanel and CloudPanel alternative: how the two free panels compare in more detail.
• Self-hosted mail server: how mail works on a Jabali server.

Sources and check dates

All sources were re-fetched on 2026-10-29.

1. HestiaCP licence, GPL-3.0: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/hestiacp/hestiacp/main/LICENSE
2. HestiaCP README, supported platforms: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/hestiacp/hestiacp/main/README.md
3. CyberPanel licence, GPL-3.0 (stable branch): https://raw.githubusercontent.com/usmannasir/cyberpanel/stable/LICENSE
4. CyberPanel README, supported operating systems: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/usmannasir/cyberpanel/stable/README.md
5. CyberPanel homepage, free and open source: https://cyberpanel.net/
6. CloudPanel CE README, free and supported systems: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/cloudpanel-io/cloudpanel-ce/master/README.md
7. CloudPanel licence terms (MGT-COMMERCE GmbH): https://www.cloudpanel.io/license-terms/
8. Virtualmin homepage, GPL edition, Pro and installer support: https://www.virtualmin.com/
9. Virtualmin GPL README, import of cPanel, Plesk and DirectAdmin backups: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/virtualmin/virtualmin-gpl/master/README.md
10. ISPConfig, open source (BSD), system requirements and features: https://www.ispconfig.org/ispconfig/
11. Jabali Panel licence, AGPL-3.0: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/shukiv/jabali-panel/main/LICENSE
12. cPanel pricing page, paid plans: https://www.cpanel.net/pricing/