Try our new research platform with insights from 80,000+ expert users

CentOS vs Oracle Linux vs Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

Review summaries and opinions

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

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 Oracle Linux is 11.1%, down from 14.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) is 9.9%, down from 12.4% 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.
Marcelo Muniz - PeerSpot reviewer
The operational system is the best and is packed with free features like CapsLive
It is important to work with a vendor who will sell you the correct product for your environment rather than just try to make the most money off of you. Study the solution and learn how to install it correctly and use it in the best ways. Follow best practices from Oracle and get some training in the operational system. The solution comes with a lot of features and options that you can use for free. It is reliable and you can even use an old version with no issues. It is not the most user friendly, but you can learn it with a bit of study. Overall, the solution beats other operational systems by a large margin. The solution is rated a nine out of ten.
Bruce Lundberg - PeerSpot reviewer
Reliable patch management, high uptime, and incredible knowledge base
In terms of security, it does a lot of things that most people still turn off. SELinux is turned on by default. They have pretty good firewall rules in their defaults. The audit rules always take tweaking, but, overall, it comes out of the box not too bad. I used to write scripts to harden them from there. There are multiple ways to provision and patch. You have everything from local repositories to doing it by hand. Their knowledge base is incredible. There is so much information out there. It has never taken me longer than 30 minutes to find an answer to anything, even very tough ones. One company I worked for was a security company, and we did a lot of patching on everything. It was designed around security and email hosting, and uptime was pretty much whatever we wanted it to be. I have had a couple of times when the uptime was bad, but it was caused by a third-party solution. In fact, the Norton antivirus was definitely the worst. Red Hat had nothing to do with it.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"CentOS's most valuable features are that it's cost-saving and helps to scale down your usage."
"It’s a simple, straightforward implementation."
"The user access level is most valuable. When you do administration with CentOS, the number of customizations that you can do for each user is higher than other solutions. It is very customizable."
"It's a good and stable system. It provides everything you need for web servers and database servers."
"The stability of this solution is its most useful feature. It is a high quality product and you know what you're getting. You also receive wide support from the community."
"It is better than Ubuntu Linux."
"The most valuable feature is that it is compatible with RedHat."
"The solution is stable and reliable."
"The solution has zero downtime and is easy to optimize right out of the box."
"Oracle Linux for Oracle databases is the top. There's no doubt whatsoever."
"The product is 99.99% stable."
"The performance, feasibility, and flexibility of the I/O subsystem are valuable to us."
"It has a good amount of mount points."
"There are several valuable features in Oracle Linux. For example, it's very secure and stable. You don't have to reboot it frequently."
"The user interface is comfortable and easy to use."
"There is full compatibility with RedHat-based operating systems, in particular Centos, which we widely deployed before Oracle Linux (OL)."
"The most valuable features for us are the flexibility and security that Red Hat Enterprise Linux provides."
"The most valuable feature of Red Hat Enterprise Linux is its support. I primarily use the product because it offers a phone number for support when needed."
"Errata is the most valuable feature, which is supported by Red Hat."
"The features and tools help us to maintain security overall."
"The best system I've ever used is Red Hat, in terms of its ability and consistency of the operating system. Other than that, the vast majority of applications that I had, you can deploy Red Hat with the support of the vast majority of applications. We don't have many issues with the OS, the support is very good."
"The Red Hat command line interface is more user-friendly than the Windows command line interface."
"The automation is great."
"Red Hat Enterprise Linux is certainly more secure than AIX, which is what we had. It's also better than Solaris. It has improved from that perspective. We can handle the vulnerabilities better. It's more secure."
 

Cons

"There is no notification before updates are applied to the solution, which occasionally means that new functionality isn't compatible with how the product is currently being used, and causes issues."
"CentOS should extend the support of the solution. The solution is set to have no update support in 2023."
"CentOS removed long-term support, and version releases every two to three years are not ideal for production environments because they necessitate frequent updates."
"The GUI interface could always be better."
"The solution’s stability could be improved."
"There could be more integration features included in the product."
"It is challenging to scale the solution when we have to increase the storage capacity from one end."
"Previous versions were unstable."
"The technical support for Oracle Linux is just okay. It is not as helpful or friendly as their application support."
"Time drifts happen frequently, and the database restarts automatically to protect data integrity."
"The solution could be more user friendly."
"Since it is a VM, it gets slow. It can be an area for improvement."
"The support process is time-consuming as it involves several steps."
"The user interface for Oracle Linux could use improvement."
"What we found in moving from Oracle Linux 6 to Oracle Linux 7 was the whole interfacing with the application and the fact that operating had all changed, all the commands had changed. You need to be aware that there is some kind of training, some kind of handover required for your technical guys, understanding different ways of interacting with it. Bear that in mind."
"The main challenge for new users of Linux is the command-line interface (CLI). It can be intimidating if you're not familiar with it."
"The GUI has room for improvement. It needs to be managed by many administrators. It has basic command lines. They could improve it with better automation. We'd like to be able to create a script, and then have the ability to deploy it where we don't need to write everything manually. That part can be useful for automating."
"Maybe they need to make it easier to apply patches from different resources. That said, at my level of usage, I never have to apply patches."
"A feature that I would like to see in the image builder is the ability to open the image in live mode and access a command line interface."
"Red Hat Enterprise Linux's documentation could be improved."
"Having an image that includes all the necessary software and provisioning it so that subsequent updates provide the updated image, would significantly enhance the developer experience. It would be great if teams could make modifications and changes to the image, like rebasing. I think it would be an awesome feature."
"Network virtualization resources could be better. When you have any kind of trouble with network virtualization, such as with OVS, which is like a switch in a virtual environment, it takes many hours to find what is happening. Other vendors, such as VMware, and even other Linux implementations for network virtualization have better resources. It is much easier to escalate, and there is better documentation."
"The only issue for us was the cost. RHEL is expensive."
"The performance of Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) could be improved, especially under high load scenarios or when running applications involving AI."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The solution is open-source and does not have any costs or licensing fees."
"The solution is open source."
"There are no licensing costs for CentOS."
"We have a CentOS license that we pay for on a yearly basis."
"This is an open source solution."
"CentOS is an open-source tool."
"It's freeware, so we can use it without worrying about licensing."
"The price could be better. The cost depends on how the organization or a specific person licenses it. If you want the free version, there's Ubuntu which is supported by forums. You can pay for the license yearly or pay for a specific version."
"We are currently operating the solution using a license-based version. We get licenses per machine."
"The solution has no fees."
"The price of Oracle Linux could be less expensive for those who are running a small freelance company, such as I do. We use the solution fully but the income that you're receiving is slow."
"Nowadays, Oracle is very open toward price negotiation; they negotiate well with their clients"
"The solution is free."
"The licensing for this solution is based on the number of calls running Oracle databases, and are purchased either annually, or every three years."
"The solution is free to use with a support subscription rather than having to buy licenses."
"The pricing and licensing are good."
"Operating in the cloud space, we typically point our customers to pay-as-you-go licensing, which comes through the various cloud providers repository services."
"In terms of the solution’s single subscription and install repository for all types of systems, we can have as many RHEL installations as we want because we have a specific subscription that entitles us to have as many RHEL services as we want. We pay for a subscription and with that we get RHEL and Satellite as well."
"This is not a cheap solution but it gets you the support if you ever need it."
"I like my developer account. The free sixteen licenses that they give with the developer account are great because that gives me the ability to keep using it at home instead of trying CentOS or something like that."
"We purchased the Red Hat Enterprise Linux license via Azure and the vendor."
"Red Hat Enterprise Linux licensing is quite costly, but I personally do not deal with pricing."
"The licensing model of Red Hat Enterprise Linux is good, but lower prices are always preferable."
"Red Hat Enterprise Linux is expensive, particularly for governments operating with limited budgets."
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Operating Systems (OS) for Business solutions are best for your needs.
849,335 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

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
8%
Computer Software Company
14%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Government
8%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Computer Software Company
15%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Government
9%
 

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 st...
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.
How does Oracle Linux compare with Solaris?
When comparing Oracle Linux and Solaris, I believe that Linux is more secure and more flexible. It is also very suita...
Which would you choose - Ubuntu Linux or Oracle Linux?
Ubunto Linux is a complete Linux operating system that is freely available with both community and professional suppo...
What do you like most about Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL)?
It is open source. We can customize it as per our requirements.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL)?
Though a bit expensive compared to competitors, Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) is still recommended because it works...
What needs improvement with Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL)?
The performance of Red Hat Enterprise Linux ( /categories/operating-systems-os-for-business ) (RHEL) could be improve...
 

Also Known As

No data available
Oracle Enterprise Linux
Red Hat Enterprise Linux, RHEL
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Information Not Available
See here
Travel Channel, Mohawk Industries, Hilti, Molecular Health, Exolgan, Hotelplan Group, Emory University, BlueCross BlueShield of North Carolina, HCA Healthcare, Paychex, UPS, Intermountain Healthcare, Brinker International, TransUnion, Union Bank, CA Technologies
Find out what your peers are saying about Red Hat, Canonical, Oracle and others in Operating Systems (OS) for Business. Updated: April 2025.
849,335 professionals have used our research since 2012.