Head to Head Comparison of Fantastico Deluxe and Softaculous

Web hosting services make use of a user interface like cPanel, which allows for the installation and management of various software. The user interface acts as a transparent layer which simplifies the installation process to the point that a non-technical user can use it successfully.

In order to a web hosting user interface to install other programs, another software is used to actually run installation scripts. Two of the more popular programs which run installation scripts are Fantastico Deluxe and Softaculous. Most web hosting services either use any or both of the two, as a user option. 

Fantastico Deluxe and Softaculous installs the user software with the use of scripts. The number of web hosting applications and the complexity of the individual installation procedures are hurdles which even the most experienced webmasters find daunting. To that end, the installation procedures are simplified with the use of these auto-installers. 

Since these two auto-installers are direct competitors, a simple comparison chart would help to better understand their features: 

Softaculous included user reviews to assist the end-user in choosing which software to use based on the experience of other users. The software demos assist the end-user in understanding the software and in training the end-user with the installed software. Softaculous can run scripts written in javascript or in Perl. When upgrading software on the server, these are usually done within the software. One such software which can be updated this way is WordPress. However, there are some apps which require the software to be uninstalled first, before being installed again, with the same configuration files. This requires an additional step for the user. Softaculous can do the backup and upgrade automatically. 

When using cPanel, you have the option to choose which language to use for the user interface. Sofaculous uses the cPanel default language enabling for multilingual installation processes. 

In addition to the above, Softaculous has a free version of the software. The Softaculous free version comes with 55 scripts, it is not capable of running Perl scripts, it cannot add more scripts, and it cannot modify email templates. 

Overall, Softaculous has more features and costs less than Fantastico Deluxe. For the web hosting client, the cost may not be apparent as cPanel is usually part of the package, with the autoinstaller thrown in for free. But in terms of the feature set, Softaculous would be better for the end-user.

About Stephane Brault

Stephane is a web developer and system administrator with over 18 years of experience. Specialized in PHP programming and Linux server administration, he also provided development and consulting services to SMBs for several years before becoming an online entrepreneur.