Blesta is replacing WHMCS?

Angelshine

New member
I have seen many large companies moving their billing systems from WHMCS to Blesta. I think this is the time now WHMCS is being replaced by Blesta. I don't know why do they go to Blesta because WHMCS is still too good as compared to other billing software.

I think this is going to happen same like vBulletin when VB5 Connect was launched and all major forums and new comers went to Xenforo and left vBulletin. Maybe WHMCS is going to face the same situation.

What do you guys think? Which software do you personally prefer? WHMCS or Blesta?
 
Blesta won't replace WHMCS. Sorry to burst your bubble, but it's just not happening. Here's quite a few reasons why:

#1 : WHMCS is backed by cPanel. This is no small feat, and these giants won't just let their investment go.

#2: WHMCS is actively developed. When was the last time we saw a major Blesta update? Almost 3 years ago. Yes, v3 has been out for that long. The last time we saw a major WHMCS update? March/April with 6.3

#3: WHMCS will have php7 support, likely before ioncube does.

#4: Did I mention they're not really actively developing Blesta? See http://www.blesta.com/forums/index.php?/topic/925-quantum-gateway-vault/ for a perfect example. Topic created September 2013. very, very valid gateway (Quantum vault) , yet where is it? They still haven't bothered to put it together.

#5: Extendability . You can do so much more with WHMCS than you can anything else.

Yes, I'm slightly biased. I've been working on WHMCS installs for years, but Blesta doesn't have a chance at 'replacing WHMCS'. As it sits right now, nothing does. Nothing out there has the power to take the beast that is WHMCS down. Trust me, I've tested almost all of 'em.

In time, someone will dethrone the king, always happens (anyone remember moldernbill ?), but typically, that's an upstart, someone just starting out. Nukern might stand a slight chance, but they need to get away from the whole 'cloud' idea. That's just scary as anything for billing software.
 
Blesta for all the hype will not in any time soon replace WHMCS as far as my vision can see. WHMCS is the most complete integration software for cPanel servers and you know that Hosts love cPanel.
 
#2: WHMCS is actively developed. When was the last time we saw a major Blesta update? Almost 3 years ago. Yes, v3 has been out for that long. The last time we saw a major WHMCS update? March/April with 6.3

Version 4 is very close to a beta release. Since v3.0 came out, we've had 6 minor releases (and many beta's and patches) that have added a significant amount of functionality. Each one of our "minor" releases could have been a "major" release, but we follow semantic versioning and only increase the major version when introducing backwards incompatible changes.

#3: WHMCS will have php7 support, likely before ioncube does.

Blesta will support PHP7. How will WHMCS support PHP7 before ioncube though?.. considering they encode it with ioncube.

#4: Did I mention they're not really actively developing Blesta? See http://www.blesta.com/forums/index.php?/topic/925-quantum-gateway-vault/ for a perfect example. Topic created September 2013. very, very valid gateway (Quantum vault) , yet where is it? They still haven't bothered to put it together.

Blesta is actively developed, that's an absurd argument. If you look at requested WHMCS features you could make the same argument. They still don't have a native Stripe gateway, which we have supported for some time.

#5: Extendability . You can do so much more with WHMCS than you can anything else.

Blesta is almost entirely open. I think that makes it pretty extensible too.

Yes, I'm slightly biased. I've been working on WHMCS installs for years, but Blesta doesn't have a chance at 'replacing WHMCS'. As it sits right now, nothing does. Nothing out there has the power to take the beast that is WHMCS down. Trust me, I've tested almost all of 'em.

We're all biased, so I won't hold it against you. Please try to be accurate though.

Also, we aren't trying to replace WHMCS. There is room in this market for several players, and the competition between us results in better products for everyone to enjoy. We should all embrace competition.
 
Version 4 is very close to a beta release. Since v3.0 came out, we've had 6 minor releases (and many beta's and patches) that have added a significant amount of functionality. Each one of our "minor" releases could have been a "major" release, but we follow semantic versioning and only increase the major version when introducing backwards incompatible changes.



Blesta will support PHP7. How will WHMCS support PHP7 before ioncube though?.. considering they encode it with ioncube.



Blesta is actively developed, that's an absurd argument. If you look at requested WHMCS features you could make the same argument. They still don't have a native Stripe gateway, which we have supported for some time.



Blesta is almost entirely open. I think that makes it pretty extensible too.



We're all biased, so I won't hold it against you. Please try to be accurate though.

Also, we aren't trying to replace WHMCS. There is room in this market for several players, and the competition between us results in better products for everyone to enjoy. We should all embrace competition.

I like the issues being raised here. Interesting
 
We're all biased, so I won't hold it against you. Please try to be accurate though.
Oh, you mean like calling a product that ignores features requested by clients for years 'actively developed' ? nice try there. of course, we're all biased, and it doesn't get any more biased than the owner of a product trying to sweep glaring concerns under the rug.

Blesta is NOT 'actively developed'. A major version every 4 years for something as small as a billing client is not 'actively developed'. that's a hobbyist, nothing more.

As far as WHMCS and Stripe, there are plenty of workarounds , plenty of active modules for it. There's no reason for them to immediately jump on the bandwagon there. The same can not be said about Blesta.
 
Oh, you mean like calling a product that ignores features requested by clients for years 'actively developed' ? nice try there. of course, we're all biased, and it doesn't get any more biased than the owner of a product trying to sweep glaring concerns under the rug.

Blesta is NOT 'actively developed'. A major version every 4 years for something as small as a billing client is not 'actively developed'. that's a hobbyist, nothing more.

As far as WHMCS and Stripe, there are plenty of workarounds , plenty of active modules for it. There's no reason for them to immediately jump on the bandwagon there. The same can not be said about Blesta.

It's obvious that you don't know what active development means. Blesta is in active, continuous development. Every day.

Not only that, but we've actually had more releases than WHMCS in the past 2 1/2 years.

You can troll if you want, or you can try to be intellectually honest in your assertions. I think most people can tell the difference.
 
Oh, you mean like calling a product that ignores features requested by clients for years 'actively developed' ? nice try there. of course, we're all biased, and it doesn't get any more biased than the owner of a product trying to sweep glaring concerns under the rug.

Blesta is NOT 'actively developed'. A major version every 4 years for something as small as a billing client is not 'actively developed'. that's a hobbyist, nothing more.

As far as WHMCS and Stripe, there are plenty of workarounds , plenty of active modules for it. There's no reason for them to immediately jump on the bandwagon there. The same can not be said about Blesta.

Lol bit like you on WHT saying "Some people just want to complain to complain"
- http://www.webhostingtalk.com/showthread.php?t=1564960&p=9682227#post9682227

What did you do on the Blesta forums over a 3.0 importer beta: http://www.blesta.com/forums/index....or-beta-updated-2013-11-12/page-12#entry10910

You contradict yourself. It's up to the people who they prefer or want to use, they can search google find out the past of competitors, and find out what is better for them.
 
I would be staying WHMCS, as I need Centova Cast support.
Which I didn't see on the module supported list.

If I was only supporting Cpanel, I would be looking as blesta as a option.
 
Blesta won't replace WHMCS. Sorry to burst your bubble, but it's just not happening. Here's quite a few reasons why:

#1 : WHMCS is backed by cPanel. This is no small feat, and these giants won't just let their investment go.

#2: WHMCS is actively developed. When was the last time we saw a major Blesta update? Almost 3 years ago. Yes, v3 has been out for that long. The last time we saw a major WHMCS update? March/April with 6.3

#3: WHMCS will have php7 support, likely before ioncube does.

#4: Did I mention they're not really actively developing Blesta? See http://www.blesta.com/forums/index.php?/topic/925-quantum-gateway-vault/ for a perfect example. Topic created September 2013. very, very valid gateway (Quantum vault) , yet where is it? They still haven't bothered to put it together.

#5: Extendability . You can do so much more with WHMCS than you can anything else.

Yes, I'm slightly biased. I've been working on WHMCS installs for years, but Blesta doesn't have a chance at 'replacing WHMCS'. As it sits right now, nothing does. Nothing out there has the power to take the beast that is WHMCS down. Trust me, I've tested almost all of 'em.

In time, someone will dethrone the king, always happens (anyone remember moldernbill ?), but typically, that's an upstart, someone just starting out. Nukern might stand a slight chance, but they need to get away from the whole 'cloud' idea. That's just scary as anything for billing software.

Edit: I didn't read the entire thread and just saw Paul's response. But I think my points still remain :).

Whilst I agree that WHMCS won't be overtaken in terms of market share anytime soon, Blesta is taking up traction.

All of your points can be argued against and in some cases, are not fair comparisions.

#1: Being a profitable, independent company has it's own advantages. Blesta is much more personal company whereas WHMCS is the larger, harder to reach out to specific people company. For example, can you reach out to Matt at WHMCS? No. can you reach out to Paul? Very easily.

#2: This isn't entirely fair considering you're comparing a major version (v3) to a minor update (6.3). Comparing major to major, WHMCS 6 was released in July 2015. WHMCS recently released 6.3 yes, they might be faster at releases but then again WHMCS has significantly more resources and money (cPanel). 6.2 was released in December 2015 and 6.3 in March 2016. Also, WHMCS is working on minor releases (6.3 for example) whereas the priority for Blesta is a major release (4.0) so this is going to take more time. If you look at dev.blesta.com you can see 4.0 is well under way and they are being actively developed.

#3: In any case, you will be waiting for IonCube to support the loaders and readers. To say Blesta isn't going to (or doesn't already?) support PHP 7 wouldn't be accurate.

#4: The same can be said for WHMCS and Stripe: https://requests.whmcs.com/topic/stripe-payment-gateway-module -- 3 years in the waiting also.

#5: Not exactly true. Sure Smarty and the plugin system makes things nice and easy though Blesta is 99.9% open source so the possibilities are endless.

Now how about the points where WHMCS can't compare:
1. Blesta has a proper multicompany support.
2. WHMCS doesn't have a proper multicurrency system (Yes it has the features but its an accounting nightmare). Want to change currency for a client? You have to go over their previous invoices and adjust them manually, change affiliate commissions and so on).
3. I'll just link to: http://billingbrawl.com/ - No need to say more.

So yes, WHMCS is very popular, it is powerful and it will probably remain in the #1 position for a long time to come though Blesta is getting more and more popular and I can see why.

As far as WHMCS and Stripe, there are plenty of workarounds , plenty of active modules for it. There's no reason for them to immediately jump on the bandwagon there. The same can not be said about Blesta.

There is a need though. The people that are giving them that #1 position in terms of market share want an official module otherwise they wouldn't put in a feature request for it.
 
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There is no way that blesta is going to replace WHMCS.

WHMCS Is well known for alot of hosting company's.

Blesta, Well they not new but they do not have the rep like "WHMCS" has. Alot of people will continue to use WHMCS because there client and admin panel are well organized and easy to find things that you need to "for example" change things in timely manner
But hey that is my opinion other people may think differently
 
Although I agree that WHMCS is not going to be beaten into 2nd place anytime soon, it doesn't mean that it will always be number one.

Other control panels cannot mature quickly enough that they are able to go to market fully functional and bug-free immediately. It will take a while for them to become a challenger.

However, what I believe we will see is WHMCS and other panels will also raise their game in order not to lose customers.
In theory, the incumbent has less work to do, as they already have customers and a working functional codebase.
As we all know as hosts, customers are hard won and easily lost.
The customers who are the most "sticky" are the ones with the most work to do in order to change, i.e. the reseller with 300 sites is less likely to change, unless you are doing something wrong, like downtime, or you are not providing a required feature. As long as you keep on top of the features and reliability, they will stay,

So as long as WHMCS does the same, keeps adding features and ensuring reliability and security, they will do well.
 
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It's obvious that you don't know what active development means. Blesta is in active, continuous development. Every day.

Not only that, but we've actually had more releases than WHMCS in the past 2 1/2 years.

You can troll if you want, or you can try to be intellectually honest in your assertions. I think most people can tell the difference.

As a user of Both in the last 2 years you mention, I would still choose WHMCS as of now BUT keep the hardwork the market is big enough to support more than 5 different software.
 
I have to agree with others, I like the approach Blesta is taking but it won't replace WHMCS. Their software appears to be taking the approach of a more general billing system that will be open to most industries where as WHMCS's features and focus is completely on web hosting + a few more related industries such as software development.

Feature wise Blesta is too far behind WHMCS to catch up anytime soon, WHMCS have also stood the test of time which is very important for any web hosting provider.

If anyone software had the potential to replace WHMCS it was HostBill but they turned out to have a lot of flaws with constantly changing their pricing model etc
 
WHMCS have also stood the test of time which is very important for any web hosting provider.

If anyone software had the potential to replace WHMCS it was HostBill but they turned out to have a lot of flaws with constantly changing their pricing model etc

Wasn't Blesta released only 2 - 3 years after WHMCS? So WHMCS in 2005 making Blesta 2007 - 2008? Point being, Blesta has been around for a very long time also :).

I can't believe Hostbill to be honest, they had such a good opportunity at this market. I mean, they had direct partnership with SingleHop (offering free HB licenses in their Tandem reseller program or something) and a few other companies, the feature-set was there but they really let themselves down. Cut the reseller program, cut the partnerships and change pricing weekly!

But I guess if they're still around and pushing regular updates they must have finally found their price / market and are going strong. It might work out nicely for them, WHMCS has to provide support to thousands on thousands of clients for very few dollars per month whilst maintaining updates and so on. HostBill goes for less clients, higher margin so in reality, they wouldn't need as many support reps and can focus more on development.
 
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I vote for WHMCS, and it can not be replaced with any other billing control panel. WHMCS comes with Best Solutions for your billing operations. It has ability to store n number of clients billing details and maintains the records for future use. its one of the best user friendly billing operation control panel.
 
I vote for WHMCS, and it can not be replaced with any other billing control panel. WHMCS comes with Best Solutions for your billing operations. It has ability to store n number of clients billing details and maintains the records for future use. its one of the best user friendly billing operation control panel.

It could be replaced but just not in the near future and definately not by Blesta unless they up their game
 
People voted for Moldernbill too, before it got up and wiped out by WHMCS. The main reason they did? They refused to listen to their customers, and their customers walked. That's what happens.

As of now, WHMCS is safe here, but Matt's treading that dangerous path by placing what he wants ahead of his customers. Case in point, the email signatures in v6.3. This is just a ton of more marketing for him, at the cost of his customers.
 
Competition is always good. However, I believe Blesta and other competitors are far from erasing WHMCS from the industry.
 
I Completely agree. Competition drives the industry, and it's what's needed. When one product becomes the dominating force, then the people behind that product tend to ignore what they should be paying the most attention to, the customers.
 
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