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CentOS vs openSUSE Leap comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Aug 7, 2024

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Categories and Ranking

CentOS
Ranking in Operating Systems (OS) for Business
6th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
68
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
openSUSE Leap
Ranking in Operating Systems (OS) for Business
13th
Average Rating
9.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.8
Number of Reviews
6
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of April 2025, in the Operating Systems (OS) for Business category, the mindshare of CentOS is 5.5%, down from 8.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of openSUSE Leap is 6.3%, up from 5.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Operating Systems (OS) for Business
 

Featured Reviews

Mahender Nirwan - PeerSpot reviewer
In-depth documentation available and command-line utility works well
One issue I recently faced, but I think it was due to my IT support guys, was that when the server storage gets full, the service crashes. It's very difficult to regain access and stability in that situation. That could be improved. So, the stability might be improved. But I don't think it's a CentOS-level issue. The system administrators need to come up with a solution for that, but I don't think it's CentOS's fault. I haven't done any research [R&D] on this issue. There's one thing for sure. We recently migrated from CentOS 7 to CentOS 9, and it was a bit difficult. For example, updating Windows is simple; you just download it, and it takes about 15-20 minutes. But that's not the case with migrating from CentOS 7 to 9. We had to back up the entire server, launch a new server, and then restore the backup to the new server. We couldn't directly migrate. I think that was a bit of a problem. The setup and updates are not that new in CentOS.
NK
Provides BTRFS file system, which allows you to take snapshots
I only use the tool for testing purposes on my team, but multiple people use it. We don't make a team effort to install the solution. When it comes to maintenance, we ask our company to buy SUSE Linux Enterprise. My team consists of 13 people. We are currently integrating the solution with Ansible to do some coding. Although not a full-fledged automation, we are integrating the solution with Ansible and executing a couple of playbooks connected to openSUSE Leap. I would recommend the solution to other users looking for an open-source solution. Overall, I rate the solution a nine out of ten.

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Pros

"It’s scalable."
"The most valuable feature of CentOS is that it is easy to use."
"Its performance is most valuable. There is a performance boost as compared to when the applications are run on Windows OS."
"The product's initial setup phase was straightforward and not complex, especially if you are familiar with CLI."
"The pricing is good. We pay a minimal fee."
"The product's initial setup phase is very straightforward."
"The solution is easy to use but not as easy as Windows."
"The most valuable feature of this solution is that it is free."
"The solution is very stable after it is configured. It is hard to have a panel slow, a problem, misconfiguration, or any kind of loss function."
"The solution is easy for me to use because the backend is derived from FreeBSD and this is something I have been using for over 20 years."
"The most valuable feature by far has been the virtualization capabilities of the operating system."
"openSUSE Leap has helped me with using containers in Podman."
"Stable - it just runs without the necessity to reboot."
"The solution's most valuable feature is the BTRFS file system, which allows you to take snapshots."
 

Cons

"CentOS could improve by having troubleshooting logs."
"They could build more options into the wizard."
"The product lacks a graphical user interface that can help users automate certain systems using the native features offered by CentOS."
"CentOS NetworkManager is an area of concern in the solution that needs improvement, and it is the same with other products from Red Hat."
"The solution might be discontinued but I hope that IBM will continue to develop it and improve on the functionally and features."
"When comparing the GUI of CentOS to Microsoft Windows or Mac, it could improve."
"This solution is no longer supported and will not receive any updates going forward."
"CentOS can be somewhat difficult for beginners, as it has a complex UI, especially for those not in the IT field."
"There is room for improvement in the console."
"In the future, the Active Directory could improve."
"It would be helpful if we could easily switch from openSUSE Leap for testing to SUSE Linux Enterprise for production."
"Like most Linux-based operating systems, the biggest challenge Leap faces is the GUI."
"Somehow the change from OS12.x via 13.x to Leap was a bit bumpy and some old issues seemed to reappear."
"I would like openSUSE Leap to have better link integration with Windows."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"There are no licensing fees. CentOS is a free solution."
"For the enterprise version of CentOS, there is a license required. However, for personal use, I do not need a license."
"There are no licensing fees for CentOS."
"The solution is open source."
"This is an open-source solution, so there are no licensing costs involved."
"There are no costs for CentOS, it is open-source."
"The solution is open-source and does not have any costs or licensing fees."
"We use the free, open-source solution because we cannot afford the price for Linux."
"The cost of this solution was reasonable and it was within our budget."
"The solution is open-source."
"openSUSE Leap is an open-source solution that is free of cost."
"This is an open-source operating system that can be used free of charge."
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Comparison Review

it_user281973 - PeerSpot reviewer
Aug 24, 2017
It's improved our company's system environments that run Oracle databases.
Red Hat is mission critical to our environment Red Hat has improved the mission critical environments running Oracle databases, while CentOS has improved our web environment and MySQL. Oracle and SAP Environment and all HPC environments. 10 years No issues Very stable i don´t find any problem…
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
17%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Government
8%
Financial Services Firm
7%
Computer Software Company
15%
Comms Service Provider
14%
Educational Organization
9%
Manufacturing Company
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

Which would you choose - RHEL (Red Hat Enterprise Linux) or CentOS?
Red Hat Enterprise Linux is fantastic. It is an inexpensive solution that has excellent security, performance, and stability, and also lots of features. I specifically like that the solution has fe...
What do you like most about CentOS?
CentOS is very easy to use, and all the commands are user-friendly.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for CentOS?
I am not responsible for the setup cost in my company, so I am unsure about the cost of the license.
What do you like most about openSUSE Leap?
openSUSE Leap has helped me with using containers in Podman.
What needs improvement with openSUSE Leap?
Both openSUSE Leap and the SUSE Enterprise version use the same kernel. Suppose I have a lower environment where I can run openSUSE to test all my products. It would be helpful if I could easily sw...
What is your primary use case for openSUSE Leap?
I use openSUSE Leap for testing purposes. Before officially using any server in our office, we test it using the solution. My office usually uses production servers on the SUSE Linux enterprise ver...
 

Comparisons

 

Overview

Find out what your peers are saying about CentOS vs. openSUSE Leap and other solutions. Updated: March 2025.
844,944 professionals have used our research since 2012.