Comparison
Laranode vs aaPanel
Updated October 2026. Written by the Laranode maintainer; product comparisons are intentionally explicit about where another panel is the better fit.
Choose Laranode if…
- ✓ You want a small, transparent Laravel + React codebase
- ✓ You host PHP websites on Ubuntu and use external email and DNS
- ✓ You need per-site PHP, SSL, MySQL, UFW and S3/SFTP backups
- ✓ You prefer a focused panel with no paid feature tier
Choose aaPanel if…
- ✓ You want Nginx, Apache or OpenLiteSpeed choices
- ✓ You need Docker, Compose, FTP, mail or DNS tools
- ✓ You want an app store and broad software catalogue
- ✓ You support Debian, AlmaLinux, Rocky Linux or other distributions
Feature comparison
| Laranode | aaPanel | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free, MIT licence | Free plan; Pro from $198/year |
| Web servers | Apache + PHP-FPM | Nginx, Apache, OpenLiteSpeed and multi-webserver modes |
| Operating systems | Ubuntu 24.04+ | Ubuntu, Debian, CentOS Stream, AlmaLinux and Rocky Linux |
| PHP versions | 7.4–8.5 per site | Multiple PHP versions |
| No | Mail-server plug-in | |
| DNS management | No | DNS tools and plug-ins |
| FTP | No; SFTP over SSH | Pure-FTPd management |
| Docker | No dedicated Docker UI | Docker and Compose management |
| Databases | MySQL | MySQL/MariaDB plus optional PostgreSQL and MongoDB tools |
| Backups | Local, S3 or SFTP; schedules and retention | Local backup/restore plus storage plug-ins |
| Security | UFW rules; focused stack | Firewall, Fail2ban, WAF and Pro security options |
| Extensibility | Open-source Laravel codebase | Large app store and plug-in ecosystem |
aaPanel features, supported systems and pricing were checked against official aaPanel documentation and pricing in October 2026. Check aaPanel pricing for current details.
The deciding factor: flexibility or a deliberate stack
aaPanel gives administrators far more choices. It can install Nginx, Apache or OpenLiteSpeed, manage Docker and Compose, add mail and DNS tools, and extend the server through a large app store. Its free plan covers the core tasks, while Pro adds advanced security, analytics, team features and premium extensions.
Laranode standardises the stack: Ubuntu, Apache, PHP-FPM and MySQL. That is a limitation if you need to mix runtimes, but an advantage if you want a smaller system with fewer combinations to debug and an application codebase written in Laravel and React.
Moving from aaPanel to Laranode
There is no automatic migration path. Re-create the sites and databases, transfer files over SFTP and translate any Nginx or OpenLiteSpeed rules to Apache. Move email and DNS to external providers before switching production traffic.
Frequently asked questions
Is Laranode an aaPanel alternative?
Are Laranode and aaPanel free?
Which web servers does aaPanel support?
Does Laranode have an app store?
Which panel is easier to understand and modify?
Try Laranode on your VPS
Explore the limited live demo, or install Laranode on a fresh Ubuntu 24.04+ server as root:
curl -sSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/crivion/laranode/refs/heads/main/laranode-scripts/bin/laranode-installer.sh | bashYou can also deploy it in one click on DigitalOcean.