DirectAdmin hosting in India from ₹99 a month, the cPanel alternative.
Searching for cPanel hosting in India? We do not sell cPanel. Every HostKarle plan runs on DirectAdmin, a lighter panel that does the same jobs, costs far less to licence, and lets us hold the price at renewal. Free SSL, one-click WordPress, business email and backups on every plan, paid by UPI.
DirectAdmin hosting plans
Three shared plans, all on pure SSD with DirectAdmin, free SSL, business email and backup tools. Yearly billing is shown by default because that is what most customers pick; switch to monthly or three years if you prefer.
- 1 website
- 70 GB pure SSD storage
- Unlimited bandwidth
- 2 MySQL databases · 10 subdomains
- 10 business email accounts
- DirectAdmin · free SSL · WordPress Manager
- 10 websites
- 150 GB pure SSD storage
- Unlimited bandwidth
- 20 MySQL databases · 100 subdomains
- 20 business email accounts
- DirectAdmin · free SSL · WordPress Manager
- Unlimited websites
- 300 GB pure SSD storage
- Unlimited bandwidth
- Unlimited databases and subdomains
- Unlimited business email accounts
- DirectAdmin · free SSL · WordPress Manager
No GST or extra fees; an invoice is issued for every payment. Compare all plans in detail → · Only need the cheapest plan? Read about hosting at ₹99 →
What is DirectAdmin?
DirectAdmin is a web hosting control panel, the same category of software as cPanel and Plesk. It is the page you log in to after buying hosting, where you upload files, create email addresses, install WordPress and set up SSL.
Same jobs, lighter panel
Everything you would do in cPanel has a direct equivalent in DirectAdmin: a file manager, MySQL databases with phpMyAdmin, email accounts with webmail and forwarders, domains and subdomains, DNS records, Let's Encrypt SSL, backups, cron jobs, a PHP version selector and the one-click WordPress Manager. The difference is under the bonnet. DirectAdmin is a small, compiled program that uses very little memory on the server, so the panel itself opens quickly and none of your account's resources are spent running it.
The standard Evolution skin puts every tool on one page in four groups: Account Manager (domains, files, databases, SSL), E-mail Manager (mailboxes, forwarders, spam filters), Advanced Features (backups, cron, error logs) and Extra Features (WordPress Manager, PHP settings). There are no upsell banners and no hunting through menus.
Why we chose it
HostKarle has run shared hosting since 2016 and moved to DirectAdmin because the licence is a fraction of what cPanel now charges per account. That saving is what makes a ₹99-a-month plan possible without an introductory price that doubles later. It also runs on CloudLinux, which keeps each account's CPU and memory separate from its neighbours, and pairs with a LiteSpeed-compatible web server for fast PHP.
Student, freelancer or shop moving off a costly cPanel plan, the panel will not get in your way. See our shared hosting overview for how the plans compare.
DirectAdmin vs cPanel
A factual comparison of the two panels as a shared hosting customer sees them. cPanel is good software; the case against it is mostly about what it costs you and how much of it you actually use.
| DirectAdmin (HostKarle) | cPanel | |
|---|---|---|
| Licence cost passed to you | Low and stable. Our plans renew at the same price. | cPanel switched to per-account licensing in 2019 and has raised prices several times since. Hosts pass this on, usually as a higher renewal price. |
| Speed of the panel | Fast. Small compiled program, low memory use, pages open almost instantly. | Heavier. More services run in the background, so the panel takes more server memory and loads more slowly. |
| File manager | Upload, extract, edit, set permissions, all in the browser. FTP and SFTP also available. | Similar browser file manager, FTP and SFTP. |
| Mailboxes, forwarders, autoresponders, spam filters, webmail, IMAP and POP3. | Same feature set; webmail and filtering tools differ in name only. | |
| SSL | Let's Encrypt built in. Auto-issued and auto-renewed for every domain and subdomain. | AutoSSL does the same job. Some hosts still charge for it as an add-on. |
| Backups | Full or partial backup of files, databases and email from the panel, downloadable any time. | Backup Wizard offers the same. Automated backups are often a paid extra. |
| One-click WordPress | WordPress Manager included. One-click WordPress install and login. | An installer, depending on the host. Often the same installer. |
| Learning curve | One page of grouped links. Most people are productive in the first session. | More icons and menus. Familiar if you have used it before; busier if you have not. |
Feature descriptions reflect the standard DirectAdmin Evolution skin and current cPanel & WHM. Both panels change over time; this is a guide, not a specification.
Coming from cPanel? We move you for free
Leaving a cPanel host because the renewal went up is the most common reason people arrive here. We move your account at no charge, and you do not need to understand either panel to get it done.
1. Send your cPanel login
Order a plan, then open a ticket with your current host's cPanel URL, username and password. That is all we need from you.
2. We copy everything
Website files, MySQL databases, email accounts with their mail, and your SSL settings are copied into your DirectAdmin account. WordPress sites are checked so they load correctly on the new server.
3. Switch when you are ready
Your old site stays live until you change the nameservers to ns1.fastnsdns.com and ns2.fastnsdns.com. Test the copy first, then switch, so there is no downtime.
Migrating from a host without cPanel? That works too. Send whatever login you have and we will tell you what we can copy.
Everything included
These eight things come with Basic, Professional and Unlimited alike. Nothing here is a paid add-on, and nothing is removed after the first year.
DirectAdmin panel
The full Evolution skin with every tool unlocked: files, databases, email, DNS, SSL, cron, logs and PHP settings.
Pure SSD on CloudLinux
Solid-state storage on servers we do not oversell, with CloudLinux keeping each account's resources separate.
Free SSL, forever
Let's Encrypt certificates issued and renewed automatically for every domain and subdomain on the account.
WordPress Manager
One-click WordPress install and one-click login to wp-admin from the panel.
Business email
Mailboxes on your own domain with webmail, IMAP, POP3, forwarders, autoresponders and spam filtering.
Backup tools
Take a full backup of files, databases and email whenever you like and download it to keep.
Unlimited bandwidth
No traffic meter and no overage bill if a post or a festival sale brings a crowd.
PHP version selector
Choose your PHP version and toggle extensions, so old scripts and new frameworks can live on one account.
Common tasks in DirectAdmin
The six things almost everyone does in their first week, as they appear in the standard Evolution skin. Log in at the panel link in your welcome email, then follow the clicks.
Install WordPress
DirectAdmin → WordPress Manager → Install WordPress. Pick the domain, set your admin username and password, click Install. Your site is ready in about a minute.
Issue an SSL certificate
Account Manager → SSL Certificates → choose "Get automatic certificate from ACME Provider" (Let's Encrypt), tick the domain and www, click Save. Then in Domain Setup tick "Force SSL with https redirect".
Create an email account
E-mail Manager → E-mail Accounts → Create Account. Enter the name before the @, a password and a quota, click Create. Read mail at the Webmail link or add the shown IMAP settings to your phone.
Change the PHP version
Account Manager → Domain Setup → click the domain → PHP Version Selector, choose the version, click Save. To switch extensions on or off, use Extra Features → Select PHP Version.
Take a backup
Advanced Features → Create/Restore Backups → tick Website Data, E-mail and Databases → Create Backup. The .tar.gz file appears in the backups folder of your home directory; download it from the File Manager.
Add a domain
Account Manager → Domain Setup → Add New. Type the domain, click Create. Point its nameservers to ns1.fastnsdns.com and ns2.fastnsdns.com and upload files to domains/yourdomain/public_html.
Frequently asked questions
Still unsure? Open a ticket for technical help. For sales and billing, message us on WhatsApp at +91 94343 44325.
Is DirectAdmin as good as cPanel?
For a shared hosting account, yes. Both panels do the same jobs: files, databases, email, domains, SSL, backups and PHP versions. DirectAdmin has fewer screens and loads faster, and its licence costs far less, which is why we can sell hosting at ₹99 a month with no price rise at renewal. cPanel has a larger ecosystem of third-party plugins, which matters to server administrators more than to someone running a website.
Can I migrate from cPanel to DirectAdmin?
Yes, and we do it for free. Send us your cPanel login by ticket after you order, and we copy the website files, MySQL databases and email accounts into your new DirectAdmin account. Your old site stays live at your old host until you change the nameservers, so nothing goes offline in between.
Is DirectAdmin hard to learn?
No. The panel is a single page of clearly named links grouped as Account Manager, E-mail Manager, Advanced Features and Extra Features. If you have used cPanel, you will find each tool in about the place you expect. Most customers install WordPress and set up email in their first session without asking us anything.
Does DirectAdmin support WordPress?
Yes. WordPress Manager is on every account in DirectAdmin. It installs WordPress in one click and gives you a one-click login to wp-admin. Add WooCommerce from the WordPress dashboard. Other PHP apps are uploaded by hand.
Is SSL free on DirectAdmin?
Yes. DirectAdmin has Let's Encrypt built in. A certificate is issued for every domain and subdomain on the account automatically, usually within half an hour of the domain pointing to us, and it renews itself. You never buy or upload a certificate.
Can I create email accounts on my domain?
Yes. Basic includes 10 mailboxes, Professional 20 and Unlimited as many as you need, all on your own domain. Each mailbox has webmail, IMAP and POP3, so it works in Gmail, Outlook and your phone's mail app, with spam filtering, forwarders and autoresponders in the panel.
How do backups work?
Advanced Features → Create/Restore Backups lets you take a full backup of files, databases and email at any time and download it from your home directory. Any copies we keep on the server are a courtesy, not a guarantee, so keep your own recent backup somewhere safe.
What is the refund policy?
Ask within 2 days (48 hours) of your first hosting purchase and we refund the hosting fee in full, no questions asked. After that, refunds are only given for a prolonged outage on our side. Domain registrations are never refundable. Read the full refund policy.
Can I pay with UPI?
Yes. Checkout runs through Razorpay and Cashfree, so you can pay with Google Pay, PhonePe, Paytm, BHIM or any other UPI app, as well as Visa, Mastercard and RuPay cards, net banking and wallets. Everything is charged in rupees and you get an invoice. More about paying with UPI.
Will my renewal price go up?
No. The prices on this page are the renewal prices. There is no introductory discount that jumps at the end of the first year, which is a common surprise on cPanel hosting because the host's licence cost keeps rising.
Try DirectAdmin hosting for ₹99 a month.
Free SSL, one-click WordPress and email included, paid by UPI. Moving from cPanel? We do it free. Questions first? Ask us on WhatsApp.
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