How to install Plesk on a VPS, and when it beats cPanel

To install Plesk on a VPS you need a clean server and one command. The reasons to pick Plesk over cPanel are worth five minutes before you run it.

Supported systems

On Linux, Plesk supports current releases of Ubuntu LTS, Debian, AlmaLinux and Rocky Linux; check Plesk's own list for the version you plan to use. On Windows, it supports current Windows Server releases. The server should be fresh, with no other web server, mail server or panel installed, and a hostname that resolves.

Memory: Plesk itself needs about 2 GB. With a few WordPress sites, 8 GB is comfortable; agencies managing many sites should start at 16 GB.

How to install Plesk on a VPS running Linux

As root:

hostnamectl set-hostname panel.yourdomain.com
sh <(curl https://autoinstall.plesk.com/one-click-installer || wget -O - https://autoinstall.plesk.com/one-click-installer)

The one-click installer pulls the recommended components and takes fifteen to thirty minutes. When it finishes it prints a login link. Plesk is then at https://your.server.ip:8443.

Install Plesk on a Windows VPS

Download the Plesk installer for Windows from Plesk's site onto the server, run it as administrator, choose the recommended set of components, and let it finish. The same port, 8443, serves the panel.

First login

1. Set the administrator password and contact email.
2. Enter or confirm the licence key. On our VPS it is already applied.
3. Set the server's hostname and default IP.
4. Turn on Let's Encrypt for automatic certificates.
5. Open Tools & Settings, Firewall, and enable the built-in firewall rules.
6. If you host WordPress, open the WordPress Toolkit and run a security check on each site.
7. Set backups: schedule, retention, and a remote destination.

When Plesk beats cPanel

You run Windows sites. Plesk manages IIS, ASP.NET and MSSQL; cPanel does not run on Windows at all.

You manage many WordPress sites. The WordPress Toolkit does staging, cloning, bulk updates and security hardening from one screen.

You want to pay less. ₹1,699 a month against ₹2,999 on our plans.

You like Docker or Git deploys from the panel. Plesk has extensions for both.

cPanel is still the better choice when your team or your clients already know WHM, or when you resell cPanel accounts and the brand matters. Our cPanel install guide covers that path.

Moving to Plesk from another panel

Plesk Migrator transfers sites, databases and mail from cPanel, another Plesk server or a plain Linux server. We run it for you, free, when you move to a URLStart VPS, and you check each site on a temporary address before DNS changes.

Questions we get asked

Can I install Plesk on a server that already has sites? No; use a fresh server and migrate the sites in.

Which Linux for Plesk? Ubuntu LTS or AlmaLinux. Both are well supported.

Is there a free Plesk? Plesk offers a trial licence; for production you need a paid licence, which on our VPS is the ₹1,699 add-on.

Does Plesk include email? Yes: mail server, webmail and spam filtering.

Can I run Plesk on a 4 GB VPS? For one or two light sites, yes. For anything more, 8 GB.