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CentOS vs Oracle Solaris 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
7.1
Number of Reviews
69
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Oracle Solaris
Ranking in Operating Systems (OS) for Business
9th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.7
Number of Reviews
50
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 Oracle Solaris is 2.4%, down from 3.6% 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.
Erick Kathurima - PeerSpot reviewer
Has enabled a user-friendly and lightweight installation with improved performance
I installed Oracle Solaris on a normal PC to test its functionality. It is comfortable to use and provides a good test environment, especially because it is not commonly known or recognized in the market Oracle Solaris has a graphical interface that is user-friendly, especially with its use of…

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The product's initial setup phase is very straightforward."
"The most valuable feature of this solution is that it is free."
"The most valuable features of CentOS are it is built from Linux, has good performance, and can we can create scripts. The scripts are you to do minor work automatically."
"CentOS is very efficient and very powerful with many capabilities."
"CentOS' best feature is that it's the standard product for Linux, so it's well-supported."
"Offers useful information and has good compatibility."
"I like its stability, performance, and usability."
"It is a stable soultion."
"Solaris's best features are high availability, robustness, and database hosting."
"It works well. It is very stable and very good. It is also very safe. It cannot be easily infected by viruses or attacks."
"We like that the virtualization is built in, so you don't have to spend extra money on buying licenses for a hypervisor."
"The most valuable feature is the ease of setup."
"It stands out for its exceptional stability."
"This product is stable, has good documentation, lots of solutions, a big community, and good support."
"Oracle Solaris is great due to the fact that it actually is meant for high-end servers."
"Oracle Solaris was the preferred operating system for their customers to run their databases on and to get the best performance. It performs well with Oracle applications. Additionally, there are some features inside that are called zones which are Linux containers."
 

Cons

"The tool has no official support."
"The support could be a bit better."
"More security features could be included in the next release."
"The solution could improve by making the management tools better for the DevOps teams. For example, WebEX and Webstacks."
"Previous versions were unstable."
"CentOS could be improved with more user-friendly monitoring."
"We occasionally have issues with software installation."
"CentOS is very close to the end of life."
"It is not easy to use. It doesn't have a user-friendly interface. It should be easy to use. We are planning to move from Solaris to Linux because Linux is more flexible and user-friendly. Its installation should also be easier. Solaris also needs specific hardware to work well, which is another reason why we are moving to Linux. It should be more flexible in terms of hardware. It should have better integration with other hardware platforms."
"The scalability of the solution can be improved."
"They could also enable Oracle OEM for x86 architecture as well."
"Oracle customer service is slow at times."
"One of the drawbacks is Oracle itself. Oracle has its good and bad they are not putting resources into the development."
"The primary drawback with this product is the lack of version updates."
"I believe before Oracle was using Oracle Linux, they were using Oracle Solaris for their customers who are using Oracle databases. This was because it was more optimized for the hardware built for it. It has good performance for the database only. However, if you take it out of the Oracle applications, it will not do well compared to other operating systems, such as Linux or even Windows can have better performance."
"More monitoring tools could be included in the product."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"We don’t have to pay for the system’s licenses."
"The solution is open-source and does not have any costs or licensing fees."
"The solution is not subscription-based, unlike Red Hat."
"CentOS is free."
"It's free."
"CentOS is a free solution."
"CentOS is cheaper compared to Windows."
"It's freeware, so we can use it without worrying about licensing."
"The product is inexpensive."
"The annual license cost is fair and reasonable."
"The current setup with hardware devices involves a higher cost, but the performance is top-notch."
"The solution is free to use."
"The price is not good and needs to improve."
"It is a very expensive product."
"There should be an option to install the solution for free and just pay for the support. We purchased an annual license and the price could be better."
"It is an expensive product. I rate the pricing a ten out of ten."
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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
8%
Financial Services Firm
14%
Computer Software Company
12%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Government
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.
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 suitable for enterprises that are already Oracle solution users. I found Linux to be ...
What do you like most about Oracle Solaris?
We use the solution as an internal operating system.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Oracle Solaris?
I find the pricing of Oracle Solaris to be affordable compared to competitors like Windows.
 

Comparisons

 

Also Known As

No data available
Solaris 11, Solaris
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Information Not Available
Siemens, IVV
Find out what your peers are saying about CentOS vs. Oracle Solaris and other solutions. Updated: April 2025.
849,190 professionals have used our research since 2012.