--- title: "Understanding ISPConfig User Levels: Admin, Reseller, and Client" description: "Learn what the admin, reseller and client levels in ISPConfig can see and do, and how to tell from the panel tabs which level your account uses." url: "https://docs.noiz.ie/ispconfig/understanding-ispconfig-user-levels-admin-reseller-and-client/" section: "ISPConfig" categories: - "Control Panels > ISPConfig > Getting Started" last_reviewed: "27 July 2026, against the ISPConfig release Noiz runs" --- # Understanding ISPConfig User Levels: Admin, Reseller, and Client This guide explains the three user levels in the ISPConfig control panel, admin, reseller, and client, what each level can see and do, and how to work out which level your own Noiz account uses. User levels are sometimes called roles or account types, and a client account is sometimes called a customer account. Understanding your level saves time: it explains why your panel shows certain tabs and not others, and why some guides in this knowledgebase describe screens you may not have. This article is for anyone using the ISPConfig panel on a Noiz hosting account, and the admin section is mainly relevant to self-managed server administrators. **Last reviewed:** 27 July 2026, against the ISPConfig release Noiz runs. This guide is written for Noiz hosting and is kept current against ISPConfig. It complements, and does not replace, the official ISPConfig documentation linked below. ### Official Documentation Reference - [ISPConfig Documentation: Users and Clients](https://docs.ispconfig.org/users-and-clients/), the official overview of admin, reseller, and client accounts - [ISPConfig Documentation: Control Panel Users](https://docs.ispconfig.org/users-and-clients/control-panel-users/), covering how panel accounts and their permissions are structured - [ISPConfig Documentation: Adding a New User](https://docs.ispconfig.org/modules/admin/adding-a-new-user/), covering how administrators grant module access to individual users ## Prerequisites - The ability to [log in to the ISPConfig control panel](/ispconfig/how-to-log-in-to-the-ispconfig-control-panel/) with your Noiz account details. - Optionally, your Noiz welcome email, which states which hosting plan you are on. ## The Three User Levels at a Glance Every ISPConfig user, regardless of level, logs in at the same panel address in the same way. The panel then decides what to show based on the level and permissions of the account. The three levels are: - **Admin**: the built-in administrator account. It has full control over the panel, every hosted account on the server, and the server configuration itself. - **Reseller**: an account that sells or manages hosting for its own set of clients. A reseller can create and manage client accounts within limits set by the administrator, but cannot change the server configuration. - **Client**: the standard end-user account. A client manages their own websites, mailboxes, databases, and similar resources, within the limits set by the administrator or their reseller. The levels are hierarchical. Admin can create resellers and clients, resellers can create clients, and clients cannot create other accounts. On Noiz shared hosting the admin level is held by Noiz, so your account will normally be either client level (standard hosting plans) or reseller level (reseller hosting plans). ## What Each User Level Can See and Do ### Admin The `admin` account is created automatically when ISPConfig is installed and has full control over the panel and all of its functions. Admin can: - Create, edit, and delete resellers, clients, and additional control panel users. - Manage every website, mailbox, DNS zone, and database on the server, regardless of who owns it. - Configure the server itself through the **System** tab, which no other user level can see. - Monitor server health, load, and services through the **Monitor** tab. - Set the resource limits (web space, number of websites, mailboxes, databases, and so on) that apply to resellers and clients. - Create additional panel users under **System** > **User Management** > **CP Users**, each with its own selection of modules, for example a user who can only manage email. These are permission variations created by admin rather than a separate level. Do not confuse the ISPConfig `admin` user with the Linux `root` user. Admin is a control panel login only; it is not a shell account on the server. On a self-managed server you hold both, but they are separate credentials used in separate places. **CP Users** is intended for creating further administrator accounts. Ordinary client and reseller accounts should always be created from the **Client** tab instead, because editing users or groups directly under **User Management** can leave an existing account unable to reach its own websites and mailboxes. ### Reseller A reseller is a company or individual that buys hosting in bulk and resells it to its own customers, without having to manage the server behind it. A reseller logs in to the same panel as everyone else and manages its clients, their websites, and their mailboxes from there. A reseller can: - Create, edit, and delete their own client accounts under **Client** > **Clients**. - Set per-client limits, such as how many websites or mailboxes each client may create, within the overall limits the administrator has granted the reseller. In those limit fields, `-1` means unlimited and `0` means none allowed, which switches that function off for the client. - Manage the websites, mailboxes, DNS records, and databases belonging to their clients. - Use almost every module of the panel except the server configuration: a reseller never sees the **System** tab. An administrator can narrow this further and grant a reseller only a limited set of modules. A reseller only ever sees their own clients and their clients' resources. Accounts belonging to the administrator or to other resellers are invisible to them. How many clients a reseller may create is capped by the **Max. number of Clients** limit the administrator sets on the reseller account. In ISPConfig terms a reseller is simply a client account that has sub-clients. An administrator promotes an existing client by ticking the **Reseller** checkbox on the account, at which point it disappears from the client list and appears in the reseller list instead. That is why moving from a client plan to a reseller plan does not mean rebuilding your account. ### Client A client is the standard end-user level, and it is the level most Noiz hosting customers use. A client can: - Create and manage their own websites, FTP users, and shell users from the **Sites** tab, where enabled for the account. - Create and manage mailboxes, forwarders, and spam filter settings from the **Email** tab. - Manage DNS records from the **DNS** tab, if DNS management is enabled for the account. - Change their own panel password and language under **Tools** > **User Settings**. Exactly which tabs and functions a client sees depends entirely on the limits and modules assigned by the administrator or reseller. One client account might have a single website and five mailboxes; another might have twenty websites, unlimited mailboxes, and DNS access. If a function is not enabled for your account, its tab or button simply does not appear. Clients cannot create other clients and cannot see any account other than their own. ![The ISPConfig top navigation as seen by a client-level user, showing tabs such as Sites, Email, and Tools with no Client or System tab](/images/kb/209_ispconfig-client-navigation-tabs.png) ## How to Tell Which User Level You Are The tabs across the top of the panel are the reliable indicator. The username shown in the panel is just your login name and does not reveal your level. To check your level: 1. Log in to the ISPConfig control panel. 2. Look at the row of tabs across the top of the screen. 3. Match what you see against these rules: - You can see the **System** tab: you are logged in as an administrator. On Noiz shared and reseller hosting this applies to Noiz staff only, so you will normally only see this on a self-managed server. - You can see the **Client** tab but not the **System** tab: you are a reseller. You can create and manage your own clients. - You can see neither the **Client** tab nor the **System** tab: you are a client. Your tabs will typically include **Home**, **Sites**, **Email**, **Help**, and **Tools**, plus **DNS** if it is enabled for your account. 4. For a summary of what your account may create, open the **Home** tab. Home holds the panel dashboard, and it is where you land after logging in unless the **Startmodule** setting under **Tools** > **User Settings** has been pointed at a different module. It lists your account limits, for example the number of websites, mailboxes, and databases allowed, alongside how many you have already used. A limit set to zero is left out of the list altogether, which is another reason a function you expected may be missing. ![The dashboard on the ISPConfig Home tab showing the limits summary for an account, including websites, mailboxes, and databases allowed and used](/images/kb/264_ispconfig-dashboard-limits.png) Your Noiz plan is also a strong clue: standard hosting plans are provisioned as client accounts, and reseller hosting plans are provisioned as reseller accounts. ## Troubleshooting - **A tab or button described in another guide is missing from your panel**: your user level or account configuration does not include that module. This is normal, not a fault. If you believe your plan should include the missing function, open a support ticket with the Noiz support team, or contact your reseller if you bought your hosting through one. - **A tab is visible but you cannot add a new item**: you have most likely reached a limit on your account, such as the maximum number of websites or mailboxes. Check the limits summary on the **Home** tab to confirm, then contact Noiz or your reseller about raising the limit. - **You manage hosting for other people but cannot find the Client tab**: your account is client level, not reseller level. Client accounts cannot create sub-accounts. If you need to manage separate customers, ask Noiz about a reseller plan. - **Your ISPConfig password does not work for FTP, email, or SSH**: an ISPConfig login only opens the control panel. FTP users, mailboxes, and shell users each have their own separate usernames and passwords, which are created inside the panel. - **You expected full admin access**: on Noiz shared and reseller hosting, the admin level is reserved for Noiz so that server configuration stays consistent and secure for everyone on the server. Admin access is only available on a self-managed server product. If you get stuck at any point, open a support ticket with the Noiz support team and include your ISPConfig username and a list of the tabs you can see across the top of the panel. --- Source: https://docs.noiz.ie/ispconfig/understanding-ispconfig-user-levels-admin-reseller-and-client/