Built by hosting operators who got tired of paying more for less.

OpenPanel is a Docker-native control panel built by hosting operators, for hosting operators - real user isolation, security built in, and pricing that doesn't punish you for growing.

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100%

Self-funded & independent

€14.95

Fixed pricing, from day one

Per-user or per-site fees

Free

Forever free edition

Where we've been.

From a bootstrapped side project to 100,000+ active installations - the short version.

2023

OpenPanel is born

Started as a bootstrapped side project to fix the hosting panels we were stuck using ourselves.

2024

Public beta

First public beta release - Docker-native from day one, not bolted on later.

2025

openpanel.com

Acquired the openpanel.com domain.

Enterprise Edition

Launched OpenPanel Enterprise, with premium features and priority support for hosting providers.

2026

OpenPanel LLC

Formalized the company, incorporating OpenPanel as an LLC.

100,000+ installations

Crossed 100,000 active installations worldwide.

Where we're heading.

What we're building right now, and what's up next.

Backup restore GUI

In progress

Browse existing backups and restore a website, database, or full account with a couple of clicks - no terminal required.

Autoinstallers

In progress

One-click installers for popular apps - we're currently working on Drupal, Joomla, Moodle, and Nextcloud.

ImunifyAV page for end-users

Ubuntu 26 support

PHP 8.6 version

Export OpenAdmin settings

Ongoing improvements in container isolation

Paymenter.org module

See the full roadmap →

Our story.

Containers had changed everything about infrastructure - but hosting control panels were still stuck in the past.

The idea

OpenPanel was born out of frustration with the premium hosting panels we relied on at UNLIMITED.RS to run shared hosting and managed VPS for our own clients. Prices kept climbing every year, but the flexibility never did. During one particularly rough migration, a colleague joked, "Even we could build something better." The comment stuck - and sent our co-founder and CEO, Stefan Pejčić, down the path of actually doing it.

Early days

Work started in 2023 on a basic LAMP-stack panel, built to comfortably run 10 to 500 users on a single server. The first instinct was to isolate every website in its own Docker container - until a single WordPress install alone needed three containers, one per service, and the overhead stopped making sense. We pivoted to one container per user instead, trading a bit of flexibility for a far more stable, predictable environment. Later, we pivoted again - to one container per user service - giving every user real isolation between their web, database, and mail without repeating the overhead that sank the per-website approach.

What we believe.

The principles that shape every decision we make about OpenPanel.

Isolation is a right, not a premium feature

Every user on your server deserves their own environment - their own MySQL, their own PHP version, their own resources - without interference from anyone else. That's not enterprise-tier, that's just how hosting should work.

Security should be built in, not bolted on

WAF protection, malware scanning, two-factor authentication, IP controls - these shouldn't be things you configure after the fact. They're there from the moment you install.

Control panels should give you control

Over your stack, your branding, your pricing, your data. You're running the server - the panel should work for you, not the other way around.

Self-hosted, not SaaS

OpenPanel runs entirely on your own server. Your data, your infrastructure, your rules - nothing routed through us, nothing held hostage if we disappear tomorrow.

Independent by choice.

Over the years we turned down offers from competitors and venture capitalists. Every one came with conditions that would've compromised the product, so we stayed self-funded instead. One promise we stand by: we will never charge per user or per website.

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