DirectAdmin License, Tied to Your Server IP
DirectAdmin is the light option when memory should go to the sites rather than the panel. The license is issued to your IP address, paid from your prepaid balance, and usually running within a minute.
DirectAdmin is a Linux hosting control panel known for being light on resources. It leaves more of a small VPS to the websites themselves, which is why it turns up on modest servers where a heavier panel would end up as the largest process on the box. It is organized in three layers: an admin level for the server as a whole, a reseller level for selling packages, and a user level for domains, mailboxes and databases. Hosting companies working to a tight budget, resellers with a handful of customers on one machine, and administrators who want the panel to stay out of the way tend to choose it.
The license is written to your server's IP address, so there is no key file to lose in an inbox. Installation is a single command, and the script reads the license from the IP rather than leaving you a file to keep. The cost comes out of your prepaid balance, and with no approval step in between the license is usually live within a minute. When you move the server you set the new IP yourself in the panel — which is worth something at three in the morning — and the old address stops at the same moment. If you handle licenses in volume, the REST API is open on every account tier and covers creating, renewing, suspending and moving them, so you can drive it from WHMCS or from your own panel. On a reseller account, discounts apply at order time, the installation script is served from your own domain under your brand, and you can define sub-resellers with their own price lists and balance limits.
The tiers differ mainly in how many accounts you can create and whether reseller accounts are allowed. Personal is the narrowest: fine for hosting your own sites, not designed around selling to customers. Lite allows a limited number of user accounts and covers small-scale hosting. Standard is the broadest on both account numbers and reseller accounts, and it is what you need if you sell hosting or hand panels to resellers of your own. Choose against next year's account count rather than today's, because hitting the ceiling means no new accounts until you move up a tier. Exact limits and current pricing per tier are shown on the product page in the panel. Bought monthly, the license runs to the end of the period you paid for; there is no contract, and turning auto-renewal off is up to you.
Why buy it here
Light on Resources
Low memory and CPU use leaves the bulk of a small server to the sites it hosts.
IP-Based Validation
The license lives on your IP address and the install script finds it; nothing is typed in by hand.
Reseller Price Lists
Discounts apply at order time, and each sub-reseller can have its own pricing and balance limit.
Runs to Period End
A monthly license stays active until the period you paid for ends; there is no contract and auto-renewal is optional.
Frequently asked
Will DirectAdmin run on a small 1 GB VPS?
The panel itself is light and is built for small servers, but quoting a figure would be misleading: what actually consumes the memory is the web server, database and mail stack underneath it. If the sites on that machine are heavy, size the server for them rather than for the panel.
Which tier should I buy?
If you only host your own sites, the narrowest tier is enough. If you create accounts for customers, you need a tier that allows user accounts; if you hand panels to resellers of your own, you need one that allows reseller accounts. Current limits and pricing per tier are shown on the product page in the panel.
My server IP changed. Do I have to buy a new license?
No. Set the new IP yourself in the panel and the license applies to that address from then on, with no need to wait for support. The old address is dropped at the same moment, so make the change once the new server is ready.
I am a reseller. Can I sell licenses under my own brand?
Yes. Reseller pricing is applied automatically when you order, the installation script is served from your own domain with your branding, and you can define sub-resellers with separate price lists and balance limits. Every order, renewal and API call is recorded on your account with its result.
Other licences
Enter your server's IP address and have a DirectAdmin license running in a few minutes.