Another software price rise is easy to dismiss when the difference looks small on a monthly invoice. For a hosting provider, though, that invoice sits alongside servers, backups, payment fees and support. There isn't much room to shrug it off.
cPanel and WHMCS both sit within WebPros. One manages the hosting accounts. The other handles billing and automation. If you use both, changes to their licensing costs can affect two essential parts of your business at once.
The concern for smaller hosts is straightforward: how much of each customer's payment is left after the software bill?
WHMCS has published another increase for 2027
The WHMCS Customer Licensing Guide 2027 lists new monthly prices from 1 January 2027. Compared with the 2026 store rates, several familiar tiers look like this:
| WHMCS plan | 2026 per month | From January 2027 per month | Increase |
|---|---|---|---|
| Plus, up to 250 active clients | $34.95 | $39.99 | 14.4% |
| Professional, up to 500 active clients | $54.95 | $62.99 | 14.6% |
| Business, up to 1,000 active clients | $84.95 | $99.99 | 17.7% |
| Business Unlimited | $1,999.95 | $2,399.99 | 20.0% |
These are monthly retail prices in US dollars, before tax. Percentage changes are our calculations. Reseller and partner rates can differ.
Professional rises by $8.04 a month, adding $96.48 a year to your licence bill. Business Unlimited rises by $400.04 a month, adding $4,800.48 a year. These are the extra costs over twelve monthly payments at the new rates.
You'll pay these increases even if your client numbers stay the same. On a capped plan, growing into a higher licence tier can add another increase.
WHMCS defines an active client as a client with at least one active product, service or domain. Its guide also explains that licences normally upgrade automatically when the client limit is reached, with the new price applying at the next renewal. Check your licence settings as well as the headline price.
cPanel adds another cost to each hosting account
The published 2026 cPanel store rates are $29.99 a month for Solo, $35.99 for Admin, $53.99 for Pro and $69.99 for Premier. Premier includes 100 accounts, then charges $0.49 a month for each additional account.
Those are the current public rates we checked on 9 October 2026. Use your supplier's renewal notice to confirm upcoming prices and effective dates, particularly if you buy through a reseller.
At those published rates, a Premier server with 240 cPanel accounts costs $138.59 a month. If that host also has 300 active WHMCS clients, Professional adds $54.95 at the current rate. The two licences come to $193.54 a month, or $2,322.48 a year when paying monthly, before tax.
That example excludes the server, backups, security tools and staff. It also shows why the two account counts matter. cPanel accounts and WHMCS active clients measure different parts of the business, so check both when working out your costs.
A new hosting account can increase the cPanel bill even when the server has spare capacity. For an agency that gives each client a separate account, that charge belongs in the price of its hosting or maintenance package.
The extra value should show up in your business
There is real work in maintaining hosting software. Operating systems change, payment providers update their integrations, and security fixes need to reach customers. Reliable maintenance matters when the software controls websites and collects money.
cPanel's current feature list also includes WP Toolkit, a website builder, monitoring and newer AI features. Some hosts will get useful time savings or extra sales from those tools.
The useful question is whether your business sees those benefits. Does a new feature reduce support work? Does it replace another paid tool? Do customers use it enough to justify a more expensive hosting package?
If it does, include that saving or revenue in your calculation. If it sits unused, it won't help pay the higher licence bill. A longer feature list makes a poor substitute for knowing what your team and customers need.
Passing the increase on is a business decision
A host can absorb a higher cost, raise its own prices or change its software. Each choice has consequences.
Absorbing the increase reduces the money available for support and infrastructure. Passing it on may be reasonable, but customers need clear notice of what changes, when it changes and which services are affected. Annual packages need particular care because the customer may have already paid while the host's monthly costs keep moving.
Start with the margin on each package. Include payment fees, backup storage and the support time it usually needs. An apparently healthy hosting price can look different once all those costs are counted.
Switching takes more than buying a cheaper licence
Moving away from cPanel or WHMCS is possible, but the replacement needs to fit the way your business works. A lower monthly price can lose its appeal if an essential integration is missing or routine tasks take longer.
For a control panel, test website transfers, email, DNS, backups and account isolation. For billing software, check your payment gateways, domain registrars, recurring invoices, customer records and provisioning modules. Include any custom code your business depends on.
Try the replacement in a separate test environment before making a commitment. Work through a full customer journey, from placing an order to renewal and cancellation. Budget for staff training, migration work and a period when both systems may need licences.
You can move one part of the setup at a time. A control panel change doesn't have to become a billing migration on the same weekend.
What to check before the next renewal
Record the renewal price and effective date for every licence and add-on.
Check cPanel account counts on each server and the active-client count in WHMCS.
Recalculate package margins using the new costs, including customers on annual plans.
List the features and integrations you rely on before testing a replacement.
cPanel and WHMCS may still earn their place in your business. Familiar tools, useful automation and experienced staff all have value.
But staying should be a decision you revisit. Before renewing, work out what the software costs per paying customer and what it saves your team each month. If the bill keeps rising faster than those benefits, start preparing another option.
