Software Alternatives & Startups

ImprovMX VS CloudLinux

Compare ImprovMX VS CloudLinux and see what are their differences

ImprovMX

Free email forwarding

CloudLinux

Making Linux secure, stable, and profitable for thousands of hosting providers and data centers worldwide.

Rating
0 reviews
Pricing
Open source
Note: These products don't have any matching categories. If you think this is a mistake, please edit the details of one of the products and suggest appropriate categories.

Which is more popular?

Based on our record, ImprovMX seems to be more popular. It has been mentioned 57 times since March 2021.

social mentions
57 vs 0
Email popularity
100% vs 0%

Base details

Website, pricing, platforms and company facts side by side.

ImprovMX
CloudLinux
Website improvmx.com cloudlinux.com
Pricing
Open source
Listed in

Features and specs

What each product offers, as listed by its team.

ImprovMX 5 features
CloudLinux 5 features
  • Free Plan Available
    ImprovMX offers a free plan that includes features like unlimited aliases and email forwarding, making it accessible for individual users or small businesses without additional costs.
  • Ease of Use
    The platform provides a straightforward setup process, allowing users to easily manage email forwarding without the need for technical expertise.
  • Custom Domains
    Users can use their own custom domains for email forwarding, which helps maintain a professional image by using branded email addresses.
  • Reliable Service
    ImprovMX is known for its reliability and strong uptime, ensuring that emails are forwarded without significant delays or downtime.
  • No Ads in Emails
    Emails forwarded through ImprovMX do not include advertisements, providing a clean and professional communication experience.

Possible disadvantages

  • Limited Features in Free Plan
    While the free plan is generous, it lacks some advanced features that are available in the paid plans, like premium support and detailed analytics.
  • Dependency on Third-Party Services
    As an email forwarding service, ImprovMX requires integration with third-party email providers, which might add an extra layer of complexity for some users.
  • Potential for Email Delays
    There is a potential risk for minor delays in email forwarding, although these are generally minimal and infrequent.
  • No Built-In Email Hosting
    ImprovMX focuses solely on email forwarding, so users who require full email hosting services will need to look elsewhere.
  • Premium Features Require Payment
    To access additional features such as premium support, enhanced security options, and priority forwarding, users must subscribe to a paid plan.
  • Enhanced Server Stability
    CloudLinux uses its lightweight virtualization technology (LVE) to isolate each tenant on a shared hosting server, preventing any single user from consuming excessive resources and crashing the server for everyone else. This ensures consistent uptime and performance.
  • Improved Security with HardenedPHP and KernelCare
    CloudLinux offers HardenedPHP, which patches old and unsupported PHP versions against known vulnerabilities, and KernelCare, which provides live kernel patching without requiring server reboots. These features significantly enhance server security posture.
  • Resource Limit Management
    Administrators can set granular resource limits (CPU, memory, I/O, number of processes, etc.) per user account using LVE Manager. This makes it easy to manage shared hosting environments and ensure fair resource distribution among tenants.
  • CageFS File System Virtualization
    CageFS creates a virtualized file system for each user, preventing them from seeing other users on the server, viewing sensitive configuration files, or exploiting server vulnerabilities. This adds an important layer of isolation and security.
  • Wide Compatibility with Hosting Panels
    CloudLinux integrates seamlessly with popular hosting control panels such as cPanel, Plesk, and DirectAdmin, making it straightforward for hosting providers to adopt without overhauling their existing infrastructure or workflows.

Possible disadvantages

  • Additional Licensing Cost
    CloudLinux requires a paid monthly or annual license on top of the base server cost. For smaller hosting providers or individual server owners, this additional expense can add up and may not always be justifiable compared to free alternatives.
  • Limited to CentOS/RHEL-Based Systems
    CloudLinux is built on top of RHEL/CentOS and does not support other Linux distributions like Ubuntu or Debian. This limits its adoption for hosting providers who prefer or already run non-RHEL-based environments.
  • Learning Curve for Configuration
    While CloudLinux provides powerful resource management tools, properly configuring LVE limits, CageFS, PHP Selector, and other features requires a solid understanding of the platform. Misconfiguration can lead to users being unnecessarily restricted or resources being poorly allocated.
  • Potential Performance Overhead
    The additional layers of virtualization, resource monitoring, and file system isolation introduced by CloudLinux can impose a slight performance overhead on the server compared to running a bare, unmodified Linux distribution without these controls.
  • Dependency on CloudLinux Ecosystem
    Adopting CloudLinux means relying on their ecosystem for kernel updates, PHP patches, and security fixes. If the company experiences delays in releasing patches or changes its pricing/licensing model, hosting providers may find themselves locked into a dependency that is difficult to migrate away from.

Analysis

An editorial look at what each product does well and who it suits.

ImprovMX
CloudLinux

No analysis of ImprovMX yet.

Overall verdict

  • CloudLinux is a well-regarded, mature Linux OS distribution and toolset specifically designed for shared hosting and multi-tenant server environments, offering strong isolation, resource management, and security features that make it a solid choice for hosting providers.

Why this product is good

  • Provides LVE (Lightweight Virtual Environment) technology for per-tenant resource isolation, preventing 'bad neighbor' effects on shared servers
  • Enhances server stability and security by isolating users so that one account's issues (crashes, resource spikes) don't affect others
  • Offers extended lifecycle support (longer than standard CentOS/RHEL support windows), which is valuable for legacy systems
  • Includes tools like CloudLinux OS Shield, Imunify360 integration, and hardened kernel options for improved security
  • Compatible with popular control panels like cPanel and Plesk, making it easy to integrate into existing hosting stacks
  • Backed by an established company with a long track record in the hosting industry and responsive support
  • Offers granular control over CPU, memory, I/O, and other resources per user account
  • Provides PHP Selector and multiple PHP version support, useful for hosting providers serving diverse client needs

Recommended for

  • Web hosting companies running shared or reseller hosting environments
  • Hosting providers needing to isolate customer accounts on the same physical server
  • Businesses requiring extended OS support lifecycles beyond standard RHEL/CentOS EOL dates
  • Enterprises using cPanel or Plesk that want tighter security and resource control
  • Hosting companies looking to reduce support tickets caused by noisy-neighbor resource contention
  • IT teams managing multi-tenant infrastructure who need governance and monitoring tools built into the OS layer

Videos

Walkthroughs and reviews on video.

ImprovMX 0 videos + Add
CloudLinux 3 videos + Add

No ImprovMX videos yet. You could help us improve this page by suggesting one.

When To Use Cloudlinux On Your Virtual Private Server (VPS)

More videos

  • - CloudLinux OS+ in a minute: Explore Features
  • - How CloudLinux Plans to Keep CentOS 6 Alive

Category popularity

How often each product is chosen within a category, 0–100% relative to the other.

Score bands 0–20 21–40 41–50 51–60 61–100
ImprovMX
CloudLinux
100% 100%
0% 0%
0% 0%
100% 100%
100% 100%
0% 0%
0% 0%
100% 100%

User comments

Share your experience with using ImprovMX and CloudLinux. For example, how are they different and which one is better?

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Reviews and articles

External articles and on-site reviews we used to compare the two products.

ImprovMX 5.0 · 1 review
CloudLinux no reviews yet
  • Great tool
    SaaSHub review
    · Jun 2020

    It's simple and easy to set it up. An amazing tool if you are managing multiple projects with email from different domains.

We have no reviews of CloudLinux yet. Be the first one to post

Social recommendations and mentions

Recommendations tracked on public social media and blogs since March 2021.

ImprovMX 57 mentions
CloudLinux 0 mentions
  • Ask HN: Replacement for Rackspace SMTP Hosting?
    Check out ImprovMX [1]. Main feature is forwarding but they have an SMTP option for $9/mo (6K emails). [1] https://improvmx.com/. - Source: Hacker News / over 1 year ago
  • Purelymail: Cheap Email for Everyone
    Https://improvmx.com/ how about improvmx , it gives redirection for free , I have also discovered it right now in this thread though I think I had heard about it (I am not sure , I know of some email software where you pay one time and... - Source: Hacker News / almost 2 years ago
  • How to create free email forwarding for your Vercel app custom domain
    During my day to day use, I missed having a personalized email service with my domain, for example info[at]joodi.me I looked on the Vercel dashboard and saw that they didn’t offer this type of service, so I started searching for... - Source: dev.to / almost 2 years ago

View more

Tracking CloudLinux since Mar 2021.

Alternatives to ImprovMX and CloudLinux

When comparing ImprovMX and CloudLinux, you can also consider the following products.