A control panel is a flat, often vertical, area where control or monitoring instruments are displayed or it is an enclosed unit that is the part of a system that users can access, such as the control panel of a security system (also called control unit).

They are found in factories to monitor and control machines or production lines and in places such as nuclear power plants, ships, aircraft and mainframe computers.

Older control panels are most often equipped with push buttons and analog instruments, whereas nowadays in many cases touchscreens are used for monitoring and control purposes.