The best billing software for reseller hosting is the one that creates, suspends and terminates cPanel accounts automatically, takes payments through gateways your clients actually use, and costs a sensible amount at your number of clients. WHMCS is the most common choice and integrates closely with cPanel and WHM; alternatives such as Blesta and HostBill use different pricing models. For a new reseller, getting WHMCS bundled with a hosting plan can remove the licence cost altogether.
This is Tremhost’s own blog, and Tremhost is one of the providers listed. We have not tested or scored any product; facts below come from each provider’s own pages, with the date we checked them.
What makes billing software good for a reseller hosting business?
Automatic account provisioning
What to check: whether the software has a maintained module for cPanel and WHM that creates an account when an invoice is paid, suspends it when a renewal is overdue and unsuspends it on payment. Why: doing this by hand is the job billing software exists to remove, and a late suspension is lost revenue.
Payment gateways your clients can use
What to check: which gateways are supported out of the box, whether a module exists for local providers you rely on, such as Paynow in Zimbabwe, and who maintains that module. Why: if a client cannot pay easily, renewals slip. Card-only billing loses clients in markets where mobile money is the norm.
Pricing model and total cost
What to check: whether the licence is a monthly subscription priced by active clients, or a one-time licence with a yearly fee for updates. Why: a per-client subscription is cheap with 20 clients and expensive with 500; a one-time licence costs more on day one but less over several years if you grow.
Self-hosted or cloud
What to check: whether you install the software on your own server or the vendor hosts it. Why: self-hosted means you handle updates, backups and security for a system that holds client and payment data; cloud versions move that work to the vendor.
Domain registration and resale
What to check: registrar modules for the registrars you use, and whether domain renewals can be automated. Why: most hosting clients also want a domain, and expired domains create the angriest support tickets.
Client area, support desk and invoices
What to check: a branded client area, a built-in ticket system, invoice templates with your tax details, and currency support. Why: your clients see the billing system more than they see your hosting.
Updates and security
What to check: how often security updates are released and whether updates are included in your licence. Why: billing systems are a frequent target because they store client data and can create accounts.
A shortlist to compare
Listed alphabetically. This is not a ranking.
Blesta
Billing and client management with unlimited clients on every licence. Monthly licences are $17.95 (branded), $20.95 (unbranded) or $23.95 (Flex); owned licences are a one-time $350, $425 or $500 with a year of support and updates, then $62 a year for updates, as listed on 5 November 2026 on Blesta’s pricing page. Suited to resellers who expect many clients and prefer a fixed cost.
HostBill
Billing and automation sold as one-time licences: Startup $599, Enterprise $999, Data Center $1,599 and All-Inclusive $5,999, each with a year of updates (then $125 a year) and integrations including cPanel, Plesk and DirectAdmin on Startup, as listed on 5 November 2026 on HostBill’s pricing page. Suited to larger providers that also sell VPS or cloud services.
Tremhost
A reseller host rather than a billing vendor, included because it bundles WHMCS. All nine reseller hosting plans include unlimited cPanel accounts, WHM, white label, LiteSpeed, CloudLinux, Imunify360 and free SSL. According to that page, WHMCS is free on Reseller 6 ($25 a month, 200 GB NVMe, 2 TB bandwidth) and above, and a paid add-on on smaller plans, which start at $7 a month. Tremhost also supplies a WHMCS licence for $50 once off through its licence store; licences supplied by Tremhost are shared licences that receive official vendor updates, not licences issued to you directly by WHMCS. Payment is in US dollars by EcoCash, InnBucks, ZimSwitch, Omari, cards or crypto, and first reseller orders have a 30-day refund. Suited to new resellers, especially in Zimbabwe, who want hosting and billing in one bill.
WHMCS
Monthly subscriptions priced by active clients. Self-hosted plans are Plus ($34.95 a month, 250 clients), Professional ($54.95, 500) and Business ($84.95, 1,000); WHMCS-hosted cloud plans are Starter ($9.99, 25 clients), Growth ($25, 100) and Expansion ($75, 300), all excluding tax, as listed on 5 November 2026 on WHMCS’s pricing page. Suited to resellers who want the most widely used option and plenty of third-party modules.
Worked example: three-year licence cost at 100 clients
Using the list prices above (checked 5 November 2026, excluding tax, and excluding the cost of a server for self-hosted options), here is what the licence alone would cost over 36 months for a reseller with about 100 active clients:
| Option | How it is calculated | Three-year licence cost |
|---|---|---|
| Blesta Owned Unbranded | $425 once, plus $62 a year for updates in years two and three | $549 |
| Blesta monthly Unbranded | $20.95 x 36 | $754.20 |
| HostBill Startup | $599 once, plus $125 a year for updates in years two and three | $849 |
| WHMCS Growth (cloud, 100 clients) | $25 x 36 | $900 |
| WHMCS Plus (self-hosted, 250 clients) | $34.95 x 36 | $1,258.20 |
| WHMCS on Tremhost Reseller 6 or above | Included in the hosting plan price | $0 extra |
Licence price is only part of the decision. Weigh it against the modules you need, the time you will spend maintaining a self-hosted install, and how well each product handles your payment gateways.
Which option fits your situation?
- Just starting, under 25 clients: a reseller plan with WHMCS included, or a low-tier cloud plan, keeps the cost close to zero while you learn.
- Growing past a few hundred clients: compare a per-client subscription with a one-time licence over three years at your expected client count.
- Selling VPS, cloud or colocation as well as cPanel hosting: check the provisioning modules for those platforms before anything else.
- Clients who pay by mobile money: confirm a gateway module exists and is maintained before you commit to any billing system.
- Not sure reselling is for you: read what reseller hosting is first.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need billing software to start reselling hosting?
Not on day one. With a handful of clients you can invoice by hand and create accounts in WHM. Billing software pays off once renewals, reminders and suspensions start taking real time.
Can I move from one billing system to another later?
Usually, but it takes work. Some products offer importers from WHMCS; check that clients, invoices and services move across before you switch.
Is WHMCS self-hosted?
Both options exist. Its pricing page lists self-hosted plans you install on your own server and cloud plans hosted by WHMCS.
Next step
Count your current and expected clients, list the payment methods they use, then compare total cost over three years. To get WHMCS with your hosting, compare the nine plans on Tremhost’s reseller hosting page.
