Panelra vs BattleMetrics RCON for Rust Servers

BattleMetrics is best known for its public server list, and its RCON product is used by a lot of Rust communities for bans and staff management. This page compares it with Panelra honestly, using the BattleMetrics knowledge base as of 2026-09-28 and what Panelra does today.

What BattleMetrics RCON is

According to the BattleMetrics overview, the RCON service "maintains a 24/7 connection to your server" and acts as a mediator for your RCON needs. You and your staff see RCON data through BattleMetrics instead of connecting to the server directly.

Servers are grouped into an organization. Staff are invited into the organization, and you never need to hand out your RCON password (inviting staff). Everything it does happens over RCON, so it works with any host that exposes RCON, including rented game slots.

What BattleMetrics RCON does better

Community-wide bans. Bans can apply to every server in an organization. BattleMetrics bans are the primary ban system and work alongside the game's own ban list, and ban lists can be imported and exported where the game allows it.

Ban Sync. Ban Sync pushes BattleMetrics bans into the server's native ban list, either when the ban is added or when a banned player tries to join. A time-to-live setting controls how long bans stay in the native list, and BattleMetrics periodically checks that issued bans are still in the right state.

Triggers. BattleMetrics calls triggers its most powerful feature. They automate rule enforcement and messaging without human intervention, for example checking right away whether a joining player has a VAC ban or is using a VPN. Panelra does not have an equivalent rule engine for in-game events.

Staff permissions. You can give a staff member a predefined role or customize exactly which permissions they get, then edit them later. You can limit someone to kicking or to temporary bans only. Panelra's five roles are simpler and cover server control as well, but they are not as granular for moderation.

Scheduled messages and commands. The built-in scheduler sends messages or commands on a schedule, with Basic, Warning and Advanced options.

Many games, many hosts. BattleMetrics RCON supports several games (its docs cover Rust, Arma, DayZ, Squad and others) and does not care which host runs the server. Panelra is Rust only, and needs a Linux host you control.

Nothing to install. Since it only needs RCON details, you can be up and running without shell access. Some game server providers sell BattleMetrics RCON bundled with the server (adding a server).

What Panelra does that BattleMetrics RCON does not

BattleMetrics sits outside the server. Panelra runs an agent on the host with root access, so it can manage the server process and its files. That is the difference behind everything in this list.

Installs and updates Rust. Panelra installs Rust on your machine and handles Facepunch updates: auto-update, with the panel showing when the next one will run, or Update now. Players get a single 5-minute warning. The BattleMetrics docs we read do not cover installing or updating game servers.

Real wipes, on a schedule. Panelra deletes the right files on the host on a weekly or monthly schedule, on specific dates, on Facepunch forced wipe days, or on demand. You choose map only or map and blueprints, and keep the seed, roll a random one, set your own or use a custom map URL. RCON commands alone cannot delete map files or change the seed.

Oxide and Carbon. One-click install of Oxide or Carbon, the uMod catalog, a config editor and plugin auto-update. Removing a framework stops the server first and restores vanilla.

Backups. Manual, scheduled and pre-wipe backups with one-click restore. We did not find backups in the BattleMetrics docs we checked.

Crash detection that can act on the host. Panelra detects a crash, a crash loop (a server that keeps crashing and restarting), a server that stops responding, a server stuck while starting and a host that goes offline. Alerts land in an in-panel inbox and can go to a Discord webhook, and a frozen server can be force restarted from the host, even when RCON no longer answers. Panelra does not send CPU or RAM usage alerts.

Graceful restarts. Scheduled restarts count down with chat warnings, and pending restarts or wipes can be cancelled.

Moderation built in. Panelra also covers the everyday moderation basics: kick, ban, player notes, an F7 report inbox, broadcasts, a live map with the companion plugin, an activity log, and team-wide bans that are enforced when a banned player joins any server in the team. If your moderation needs stop there, you may not need a separate RCON service.

Who should NOT use Panelra

Panelra is the wrong choice if:

• Your servers run on Windows. The agent needs Linux (Ubuntu 22.04 or 24.04, Debian 12) on x86_64 with systemd. BattleMetrics works whatever the host runs.
• You rent game slots without shell access. The Panelra agent is installed on the host and needs root. With only a web panel and RCON, BattleMetrics is the realistic option.
• You only want RCON. If someone else already runs the servers and you only need bans, triggers and staff management, BattleMetrics is built for that.
• You run games other than Rust. Panelra only manages Rust. BattleMetrics can put several games under one organization.

Each Rust server also needs roughly 12 GB of RAM and 30 GB of disk. The agent only connects out on HTTPS port 443, with no inbound port for it; players need 28015 and 28017 UDP and Rust+ uses 28082 TCP.

Feature comparison

"Not verified" means the BattleMetrics docs we could open did not confirm it either way. It is not a "no".

Pricing

The $10/month figure comes from the BattleMetrics knowledge base, checked on 2026-09-28. The BattleMetrics website itself refused automated access when we checked, so we could not confirm the other tiers; see battlemetrics.com for current plans.

Using both together

A common setup is to let each tool do what it is good at. Panelra runs the Rust server on your host: the install, updates, wipes, framework and plugins, backups and crash recovery. BattleMetrics keeps its RCON connection for organization-wide bans, Ban Sync and triggers. If you do this, decide which tool holds your bans so moderators do not work from two lists.

How to try Panelra

Sign up at app.panelra.io and add a host. The dashboard shows an install command that contains a token for that host. Run it as root on your Linux machine:

curl -sL https://app.panelra.io/install | sudo AGENT_TOKEN=<your-token> bash

Once the agent connects, you can install Rust, choose Oxide or Carbon and set a wipe schedule from the browser.

Sources

Checked on 2026-09-28:

• BattleMetrics RCON overview: learn.battlemetrics.com/article/36-overview
• Adding a server and the $10/month RCON plan: learn.battlemetrics.com/article/37-how-do-i-add-a-server
• Inviting staff, roles and permissions: learn.battlemetrics.com/article/59-how-do-i-add-or-invite-staff-to-my-organization
• Ban Sync: learn.battlemetrics.com/article/12-ban-sync
• RCON protocols per game: learn.battlemetrics.com/article/66-rcon-best-practices
• Panelra features: panelra.io/features