RunCloud vs ServerPilot (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, RunCloud and ServerPilot share a 2.0 GPA, neither has a free plan, and ServerPilot starts cheaper, at $0.50 a month against $9 a month.
Checked Nov 12, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 · graded Nov 12, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
RunCloud grades higher on platforms. ServerPilot grades higher on the free plan. They get the same grade on value for money, features and ease of use.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
RunCloud
Web server control panel for PHP sites on your own cloud servers
ServerPilot
Control panel for PHP and WordPress servers at any cloud provider
Which one is for you
Pick RunCloud if
- Fits if you rent your own servers for PHP and WordPress sites
- Works for small setups that need one server on the cheapest plan
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you want a free plan, as there's only a 7-day trial
- Watch out: servers are billed by your cloud provider
- Tight if you need more than one server: Professional starts at 50
- Watch out: the API, zero-downtime deploys and WAF are Business and above
- Watch out: only monthly prices could be read
Pick ServerPilot if
- Fits if you run PHP or WordPress sites on a VPS and want hourly billing with no contract
- Works for people who want the panel price to stay flat when they upsize the server
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if your apps run Node.js, Python or anything outside PHP and static sites
- Tight if you want monitoring, as the log viewer and resource metrics start at $10 a server
- Watch out: MySQL and app request metrics need First Class at $20 a server
- Watch out: the 14-day trial covers basic functionality only, and servers are billed by your provider
How we grade them
| 2.0GPARunCloudFair | 2.0GPAServerPilotFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | C$9 a month for 1 server on Essentials, $19 for 50 servers, $49 for Business, near the category middle of $11. Server rental is extra. | C$5 a server plus $0.50 an app each month, so one server with one app is $5.50, level with the $5.00 cheaper-quarter line. The cloud server is billed separately. |
| Free plan and trial | DA 7-day free trial, and the page read doesn't say whether it needs a card. No free plan. | CA 14-day trial with no card, covering basic functionality only. After that a card or PayPal is needed. |
| Features | CUnlimited apps, caching, backups, staging, Git deploys and a firewall. A smaller job than hosting, and the API, zero-downtime deploys and WAF need Business. | CServer setup, free SSL, a firewall and one-click WordPress. Apps are PHP or static sites only, and the log viewer and metrics start at Business, with MySQL metrics at First Class. |
| Ease of use | CNo store rating on record. You connect a cloud provider and set up servers. | CNo store rating on record. You connect your own server with root access and add apps to it. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb only, with Vultr, Linode, Hetzner, AWS, Google Cloud, DigitalOcean and Cloudflare. | CWeb only, with a short list of integrations: WordPress, Laravel, Nginx, Apache and Let's Encrypt. It works with servers from any provider. |
| Best for | managing PHP and WordPress servers | a hosted panel for PHP and WordPress servers |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: RunCloud and ServerPilot. How we grade
Price against what you get
RunCloud starts at $9 a month and scores 2.3 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. ServerPilot starts at $0.50 a month and scores 2.0.
RunCloud scores higher, and starts $8.50 a month higher: the question is whether the extra is worth that to you. Of the other web hosts on the chart, 2 score higher than RunCloud for less, and 1 scores higher than ServerPilot for less.
Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
- The best score at each price
- Has a free plan
- No free plan
Where they differ
- ServerPilot also covers dashboards.
At a glance
| RunCloud | ServerPilot | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free trial | Free trial |
| Starts at | $9 per month (Essentials, billed monthly) | $5 per server + $0.50 per app per month, billed hourly |
| Free plan | None | None |
| Free trial | 7-day free trial. | 14-day free trial, no credit card required; it covers basic functionality until a card or PayPal is added. |
| Web | ||
| Made by | RunCloud | ServerPilot |
| Price read from | runcloud.io | serverpilot.io |
| Checked | Nov 12, 2026 | Nov 13, 2026 |
Worth knowing
RunCloud
- Servers are paid separately to your cloud provider.
- Essentials covers a single server; Professional starts at 50 servers.
- The RunCloud API, zero-downtime deployments and the web application firewall are limited to Business and above.
- The pricing page has a Monthly and an Annually toggle; only monthly figures could be read. It states a 14-day money-back guarantee.
ServerPilot
- Servers are not included; the cloud provider bills them separately.
- Apps are PHP applications or static sites, so other runtimes are outside what the pricing page defines as an app.
- Log viewer and resource metrics need Business at $10 a server, and MySQL metrics need First Class.
- The 14-day trial covers basic functionality; paid features start once a card or PayPal is added.
Key features
RunCloud
- Server and app management
- Plans list unlimited web applications, domain management and one-click SSL certificates, with server counts from 1 to 500.
- Caching
- Server-side caching with NGINX FastCGI and Redis full-page and object cache is listed on every plan.
- Backups
- Full and incremental backups come with 2 to 100 GB of free storage by plan, with external backups to providers that widen on higher plans.
- Staging and Git deployment
- Essentials has 1 staging environment, Professional has 10 and Business is unlimited; Git deployment is on all plans.
- Security
- A 6G, 7G and 8G firewall starts on Professional, and Business adds ModSecurity with the OWASP Core Rule Set.
- Team and API
- Business adds roles, 10 team seats and the RunCloud API, at 120 requests a minute and 10,000 a month on monthly billing.
ServerPilot
- Any server provider
- Servers from any provider can be managed as long as you have root access, and the vendor says you keep ownership of them.
- Apps and WordPress
- Apps are PHP applications such as WordPress and Laravel, or static sites, isolated from one another, with a one-click WordPress installer and multiple PHP versions.
- Server stack
- Nginx fronts Apache, with HTTP/3, a default firewall, automated updates and Let's Encrypt SSL certificates.
- Monitoring
- Business adds a log viewer and server resource metrics; First Class adds app request and MySQL health metrics.
- Migrations
- Sites and databases can be transferred between servers.
- Hourly billing
- Server and app charges accrue by the hour and are billed after each month ends, and a server's plan can be changed at any time.
Plans
RunCloud
Essentials$9
per month, billed monthly
1 server, unlimited web applications, 2 GB of backup storage, Git deployment, server-side caching and 1 staging environment.
Professional$19
per month, billed monthly
50 servers, 10 GB of backup storage, 10 staging environments, application cloning, custom NGINX configuration and 6G, 7G and 8G firewall.
Business$49
per month, billed monthly
100 servers, 30 GB of backup storage, 10 team seats, zero-downtime deployments, the RunCloud API and a WAF with the OWASP core rule set.
Enterprise$399
per month, billed monthly
500 servers, 100 GB of backup storage, up to 5 workspaces, 50 team seats and a higher API rate limit.
ServerPilot
Economy$5
per server / month, plus $0.50 per app, billed hourly
Server management, free SSL, firewall, one-click WordPress and email support, without monitoring or priority support.
Business$10
per server / month, plus $1 per app, billed hourly
Adds a log viewer, server resource metrics and priority support.
First Class$20
per server / month, plus $2 per app, billed hourly
Adds app request metrics and MySQL metrics, with high priority support.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, RunCloud or ServerPilot?
As of Nov 13, 2026, ServerPilot is cheaper to start with: $0.50 a month, against $9 a month for RunCloud. RunCloud starts at $9 per month (Essentials, billed monthly), and ServerPilot starts at $5 per server + $0.50 per app per month, billed hourly.
Which has a free plan, RunCloud or ServerPilot?
As of Nov 13, 2026, neither RunCloud nor ServerPilot has a free plan. Both have a free trial.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.