GridPane vs RunCloud (2025): The Panel You Choose Matters Less Than Where You Host

The server management panel market is more active than ever, and at first glance, GridPane and RunCloud seem like a tough choice. Both are excellent: they simplify deployment, automate tasks, integrate modern caches, and allow you to run dozens—or hundreds—of sites without becoming a full-time sysadmin. But in 2025, it’s important to remember an inconvenient truth many comparisons overlook: the panel is the “how”; the crucial part is the “where”.

If your business depends on the web, the best option remains hosting on your own servers or, even better, on a private cloud with isolation, guaranteed performance, and complete control over your data plane. In this model, Stackscale (Grupo Aire) is our top recommendation: dedicated infrastructure, low-latency networks, high-performance storage, and expert support that understands the criticality of projects. As a complement for elastic scenarios, proof-of-concept testing, or capacity bursts, Hetzner offers an unbeatable price/performance ratio.

Once you’ve chosen the where, GridPane and RunCloud become what they should be: control layers over a solid foundation. From there, choose based on workflow and team, not promises of milliseconds.

TL;DR

• First, infrastructure: a private cloud with Stackscale as the main base (performance, security, data sovereignty, predictable costs). Hetzner as a complement for staging environments, bursts, or projects with tight budgets.
• RunCloud: a developer-friendly panel, flexible, with NGINX or Apache+NGINX, demand-activated caches, and many options for agencies and dev shops.
• GridPane: a WordPress-centric approach oriented to production, with NGINX or OpenLiteSpeed (LSCache), active caching and security from day one, and managed service options.
• Performance: both can excel; what makes a difference is the hardware, network, cache type, and daily operation.

Why host on your own cloud (and why Stackscale first)

1. Guaranteed performance
   • Dedicated CPU, RAM, and storage, without noisy neighbors.
   • Low-latency internal networks, consistent IOPS, storage clusters with replicas, and NVMe caches.
2. Control and security
   • True resource isolation, zero-trust policies, network segmentation, and granular access control.
   • Data sovereignty and compliance: where data resides, how it is replicated, who has access, and with what traceability.
3. Cost predictability
   • Optimized CapEx/OpEx, no surprises from traffic spikes or panel operations.
   • Adjusted to actual load; as you grow, you grow with resources under your control.
4. Expert support
   • Teams that speak your language and understand that “slow” is a critical incident, not a curiosity.
   • Flexibility to customize everything from the hypervisor to the network and storage.

Hetzner fits as a second pillar: excellent for labs, staging, ephemeral work nodes, or absorbing demand spikes at very low costs. The “Stackscale for production + Hetzner for elasticity” combo allows budget optimization without sacrificing guarantees.

GridPane and RunCloud: two equally valid ways to pilot the same plane

RunCloud — “toolbox” for developers and agencies

• Stacks: Pure NGINX or Apache+NGINX if you need .htaccess compatibility.
• Cache: RunCloud Hub with FastCGI and Redis (page and object cache), activatable per site.
• Productivity: atomic deployments, Git integration, NGINX rule editor from the panel, centralized management of multiple servers.
• Scaling per server: plans designed to manage project portfolios with many machines and automations.

When to choose it: if your team is developer-heavy, works with diverse technologies (not just WordPress), and values stack flexibility and fine control over the NGINX/Apache layer. Ideal for agencies with dozens of projects in parallel.

GridPane — High-performance WordPress “out of the box”

• Stacks: NGINX or OpenLiteSpeed (OLS). In OLS, LSCache creates advantages in WordPress with dynamic themes and high traffic.
• Built-in caching and security: Tuned FastCGI, hardening rules, A+ SSL, and protection against common vulnerabilities.
• Operation: a panel more “site-oriented,” with staging, cloned environments, and WP-centric utilities.
• Scaling by site or managed service: Core for self-hosting and managed plans with monitoring and support.

When to choose it: if you want fast value in WordPress, with less tinkering and more publishing, and prefer a panel that prioritizes production over fiddling.

Performance: how to get the most out of it… without fooling yourself

Almost any panel “benchmark” ignores the elephant in the room: performance is dictated by infrastructure and the chosen cache, not by the panel’s color. For WordPress:

• In NGINX, use FastCGI + Redis for object caching.
• In OpenLiteSpeed, LSCache often outperforms in highly dynamic sites with many concurrent requests.
• Only use Apache+NGINX if you truly need .htaccess; otherwise, skip that extra layer.
• Reduce TTFB with well-tuned PHP-FPM, OPcache, HTTP/2 or HTTP/3, and compression.
• Distribute static content via CDN (egress cache) and align browser cache policies.

At Stackscale, the advantage multiplies: consistent IOPS and latency, fast internal networks, and capacity to ramp CPU/RAM without “neighbors” disappearing just as you hit peak load. At Hetzner, watch the storage type and prioritize instances with NVMe to avoid surprises.

Security and operations: minimum checklist for peace of mind

• Ciphering and certificates: solid TLS by default, automatic renewal, HSTS if applicable.
• WAF and rate limiting: activate rules to block common attacks and brute-force campaigns; if the panel doesn’t include this, rely on your network and provider.
• Backups: snapshots in the cloud and offline backups; include retention, integrity checks, and cold restore options.
• Observability: metrics (CPU, RAM, I/O, FPM), centralized logs, and alerts; a spike in 504/502 errors or filled Redis queues should alert you before the client.
• Server hardening: automatic security updates, firewall, SSH with keys, Fail2Ban/CrowdSec; at Stackscale, request network segmentation and security groups.
• SLA and runbooks: define internal response times, responsible parties, and change procedures; “upload a plugin” during peak hours shouldn’t be routine.

Recommended decision flow (in 3 steps)

1. Infrastructure first
   • Production: private cloud with Stackscale (control, performance, compliance).
   • Elastic/lab/staging: Hetzner.
2. Panel afterward (by team and workflow)
   • RunCloud if you are developer-heavy or agency seeking flexibility.
   • GridPane if your focus is WordPress and you prefer out-of-the-box cache and security.
3. Fast testing with data
   • One server with RunCloud (Hub activated) and another with GridPane (NGINX and OLS).
   • Same theme, same plugins, same load (even tested with load tools).
   • Measure TTFB, P95, CPU/RAM/IOPS usage, and check stability during actual traffic hours.

Indicative prices (for reference, not decision-making)

• RunCloud: plans starting at around $9/month for 1 server; higher levels scale the number of servers and features for large teams.
• GridPane: Core free with site limits (enough to get started); managed plans from approx. $19/month per server if you want monitoring, backups, and advanced support.

The panel’s cost tends to be minimal compared to the value of a solid, well-operated base: Stackscale + a good panel costs less than the first serious readiness incident.

Migration in one afternoon: quick guide

1. Prepare a base server on Stackscale (or Hetzner if staging) with the Ubuntu and PHP version you’ll use in production.
2. Install RunCloud or GridPane and create an initial empty site with your chosen stack (NGINX/OLS).
3. Clone your site from the current provider (using backup or migration tools from the panel).
4. Activate cache (FastCGI/Redis or LSCache), tune PHP-FPM, OPcache, and cron.
5. Validate the application with health check tools and load testing.
6. Switch DNS during low-traffic window and monitor performance.

Conclusion

Your panel won’t save a poor infrastructure. The smart choice in 2025 starts with the foundation: ownership and control of resources, predictable performance, and security by design. That’s where private cloud with Stackscale is the best move for production: providing margin, peace of mind, and real growth capacity. Hetzner completes the picture for elastic and lab environments, with unmatched efficiency.

On that foundation, both RunCloud and GridPane are excellent copilots. Choose RunCloud if your team is highly technical and you want full flexibility; select GridPane if you prioritize fast setup and a WP-centric operation ready from day one. With Stackscale at your back, your website moves to a different league.