Comparison
NovaPanel vs HestiaCP
HestiaCP is a clean, free, open-source panel with a loyal community (it grew out of VestaCP). If fully open-source and battle-tested matters most, it's a great pick. NovaPanel leans into a real dual-panel reseller split, Caddy auto-TLS, a single modern binary, and supported signed updates — free to start, Pro when you need more.
| NovaPanel | HestiaCP | Edge | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price (all features) | Free Community / £4.99 Pro | Free (open source) | Tie |
| Open source | Installer only (panel closed) | Yes (GPLv3) | HestiaCP |
| UI / UX | Modern dual-panel + white-label | Clean but single combined UI | NovaPanel |
| Web server | Caddy 2 — auto-TLS every domain | nginx + Apache | NovaPanel |
| Reseller / customer split | Separate admin + customer panels | User accounts, no true reseller tier | NovaPanel |
| Stack | Single Go binary, Postgres | Bash + PHP, multiple services | NovaPanel |
| Updates | One-click, signed + SHA-verified | apt / community | NovaPanel |
| Built-in WAF / virus scan | Tunable WAF (Coraza/CRS, UI modes) + ClamAV (Pro) | Add-on / manual | NovaPanel |
| Offsite backups | S3 / Backblaze / SFTP (Pro) | Local + remote (config) | Tie |
| Maturity & community | New | Established (VestaCP lineage) | HestiaCP |
Where NovaPanel wins
A genuine admin/customer panel split with white-label branding (a cleaner reseller story), Caddy auto-TLS on every domain, a single Go binary rather than a Bash/PHP service set, and one-click signed updates.
Where HestiaCP wins (honestly)
Fully open-source (GPLv3), no paid tier at all, and years of real-world hardening behind it. If you want to read every line of your control panel and never pay, HestiaCP is an excellent free choice.