Interface

• The DirectAdmin user interface has three primary sections that users can choose from: Advanced Features, E-mail Management and Your Account. The Advanced Features section houses all of DirectAdmin's advanced tasks, such as installing external applications and configuring scheduled website commands known as cron jobs. The E-mail Management section provides users with access to email-related tasks, such as changing an email configuration; while the Your Account section houses basic account management tasks, like setting up domain names and managing File Transfer Protocols (FTPs). In contrast, the cPanel user interface has considerably more sections to choose from, which may confuse inexperienced users. These sections, which house corresponding tasks, are Advanced, Software/Services, Databases, Domains, Security, Logs, Files, Mail and Preferences. However, for finding specific tasks faster, the cPanel interface also includes an integrated search bar.
  
  

Features

• Of the two control panels, cPanel provides more web-hosting features, which make cPanel more versatile than its DirectAdmin adversary. These features include support for the DomainKeys email management system for authenticating emails as well as an Agora shopping cart for assisting in e-commerce. Specifically, the shopping cart is a tool that a user can install on a website, allowing visitors to make online purchases. Other features that cPanel provides but DirectAdmin lacks include support for a phpBB bulletin board, which allows website visitors to post public messages; and support for phpMyChat, which allows visitors to participate in live, online communications.
  
  

Performance

• Because DirectAdmin has fewer features, its underlying programming code is "cleaner" or shorter. This allows DirectAdmin to function faster than cPanel, as the former does not demand as many computer resources as the latter. In comparison, because cPanel has a complex interface and supports a greater amount of features, the control panel is more prone to slow downs and bugs.
  
  

Support

• While DirectAdmin is a simpler and more intuitive control panel than cPanel, making it a better choice for beginners, the youthfulness of DirectAdmin has some drawbacks. In comparison to cPanel, which has been around for over a decade, DirectAdmin does not have as large of a community support base. So if a problem does occur with DirectAdmin, it can be hard for users to find help online. In contrast, cPanel is a more widely used control panel and users can more easily find fixes, recommendations, tutorials and other types of community support online should problems arise.