A WHMCS alternative

Familiar like WHMCS. Free like it should be.

WHMCS has run hosting businesses for many years, and it shaped what staff and clients expect. HostBMS keeps that familiar layout and stack, and changes the parts hosts complain about: encoded code, a licence server, and a bill that grows with you.

👤 Who is it for?

✔ Small and mid-sized hosts who want billing, provisioning and support in one app they control.
✔ WHMCS users tired of licence costs and encoded files, who want an exit path that keeps their data and IDs.
✔ Developers who want to read, patch and extend the billing code instead of working around it.
✔ KarnakPanel users who need the business side to go with their hosting panel.

🧭 Moving over

1 Install HostBMS on a fresh site and database.
2 Dry-run the migrator against a copy of your WHMCS database — it reports what it would copy and changes nothing.
3 Import clients, products, services, domains, invoices and tickets with their WHMCS IDs, so invoice and client numbers stay the same.
4 Port your modules — gateway, server and registrar modules use the same function names and hooks.

Head to head

HostBMS and WHMCS compared.

Written in good faith from our understanding of WHMCS 8.x — check whmcs.com for current details. WHMCS is a mature product; where it is ahead, we say so.

Area	HostBMS v0.1	WHMCS
Licence	Free to use, source included (HostBMS Licence) — not for resale	Commercial, paid licence
Source code	Plain, readable PHP	Core encoded with ionCube
Licence server	None — keeps working if we disappear	Licence is validated online
Stack	PHP 8.1–8.3, MySQL/MariaDB, Smarty	PHP, MySQL, Smarty
Admin and client area layout	Same menu structure, own dark glassy theme	The original
Modules (gateway, server, registrar, addon)	Same conventions and hooks; small port needed	Native, large third-party marketplace
Ready-made server / registrar modules	Demo modules only so far	cPanel, Plesk, DirectAdmin, many registrars
API	22 actions, WHMCS names and responses	Extensive
Dunning	Step schedule, hard-decline stop, catch-up window, recovery report	Reminders, late fees, overdue suspension and card retry settings
Order form builder	Visual builder with A/B testing	Template-based order forms
Import from WHMCS	Built in, keeps IDs, dry run first	—
Maturity	Early development, not production ready	Mature, widely used

✅ Choose HostBMS if…

✔ You want to own and read the code that bills your customers.
✔ Licence costs or licence checks are a pain point.
✔ You're happy to test early software and help shape it.

⏳ Stay on WHMCS for now if…

! You need it in production today — HostBMS is v0.1.
! You depend on ready-made cPanel, Plesk or registrar modules we don't ship yet.
! You rely on third-party WHMCS addons that need the full WHMCS API.

🔁

Have a WHMCS install we could test against?

The migrator has only met sample data so far. A copy of a real (test) WHMCS database is the most useful thing a tester can give us.

Offer a test migration Browse all features →