ServerPilot vs Pantheon
A detailed comparison to help you choose between ServerPilot and Pantheon.
Quick Verdict
3.8/5
ServerPilot
0 reviews
3.6/5
Pantheon
0 reviews
ServerPilot is rated higher (3.8 vs 3.6). ServerPilot is a cloud control panel for managing PHP applications on DigitalOcean, Linode, and other VPS providers. Automated security updates, multiple PHP versions, and app deployment. Pantheon is a WebOps platform for Drupal and WordPress with Git-based workflows, multi-environment (dev/test/live), autopilot updates, and a global CDN. Used by publishers and agencies.
ServerPilot Control panel for PHP and WordPress apps on any VPS (no free tier since pricing rework) | Pantheon WebOps platform for Drupal and WordPress | |
|---|---|---|
| Overview | ||
| Rating | 3.8 (0 reviews)✓ | 3.6 (0 reviews) |
| Pricing model | paid | freemium |
| Starting price | From $5/mo | Free tier available✓ |
| Best for | Developers and small agencies running PHP/WordPress sites on their own VPS who want managed security and SSL without giving up provider choice or data ownership | Agencies and publishers running portfolios of Drupal or WordPress sites where updates, regressions and deployments are the real cost. |
| Features | ||
| IPv6 | ||
| DDoS protection | ||
| Automated backups | ✓ | |
| Snapshots | ||
| Managed option | ||
| Bare metal | ||
| GPU available | ||
| S3-compatible | ||
| Hourly billing | ✓ | |
| Free tier | ✓ | |
| Tags | ||
| Tags | free tiermanaged option | free tiermanaged optionus datacentereu datacenterteam features |
| Visit ServerPilot → | Visit Pantheon → | |
ServerPilot
Pros
- + Published, decoupled usage pricing: $5/server + $0.50/app entry, billed hourly
- + Security baseline on every tier: firewall default, no exposed management ports, app isolation, automated updates
- + Works on any major cloud provider — you keep root access and data ownership
- + One-click WordPress, AutoSSL via Let's Encrypt, multiple PHP versions per server
- + Migration tooling to move sites and databases between your servers
Cons
- - No free tier (the $0 freemium model is gone); card required at $5/server
- - PHP/WordPress only — no Node, Python, Docker, or Kubernetes workloads
- - Per-app fees compound on servers with many sites
- - No published control-plane uptime SLA; deep metrics gated behind higher tiers
- - Economy-tier support is deprioritized ticket-based help
Pantheon
Pros
- + Workflow is the product: dev/test/live Git deploys, Multidev, Autopilot with visual regression
- + Free sandbox sites and a $0 Silver workspace for small teams
- + Site regions in US, EU, Canada and Australia — EU keeps data and backups in-region
- + Automatic nightly/weekly backups on paid sites, backed by Terminus CLI and API
- + Google Cloud infrastructure with Fastly global CDN included
Cons
- - Workspace fee plus per-site plans gets expensive across a portfolio
- - Uptime SLA (99.95%) only on Elite; Performance tiers sold with no SLA
- - Opinionated CMS-only platform — no root, no arbitrary runtimes
- - Migration lock-in: Multidev, Autopilot and backups tooling must be rebuilt elsewhere
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