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

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
7.2
Number of Reviews
68
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.
Zandile Mushi - PeerSpot reviewer
Offers good security features and reliability
The tool is quite complex and difficult for anyone trying to use or study it. The complexity of learning the tool is an area of concern where improvements are required. Oracle Solaris' lighter and simpler version can be introduced. I feel that Oracle Solaris is a user-friendly tool because I am exposed to it.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"I like how you can alternate certain things and minimize admin features on there and just let it run on specific scripts. It's nice. Even if I had to put it in a container, I'd still do it. I prefer Linux over Windows any day."
"CentOS is very easy to use, and all the commands are user-friendly."
"We used the solution as an operating system."
"The open architecture is useful for us. That's why we're using CentOS."
"The vendor updates the tool regularly to solve vulnerabilities."
"A valuable features of CentOS is that it's quite stable and doesn't crash often. It's also quite intuitive."
"There's lots of great documentation available."
"I like its stability, performance, and usability."
"One of the main advantages is the rock-solid reliability. It works. The stability is very good. It has a very good track record in the data security database."
"Solaris's best features are high availability, robustness, and database hosting."
"This product handles databases well; they run on top of the operating system."
"The most valuable feature of Oracle Solaris is the incremental backup that happens in the system."
"The most valuable feature is the ease of setup."
"This product is stable, has good documentation, lots of solutions, a big community, and good support."
"The stability of the solution is good."
"Its networking has helped me combine the power of a neural network with the benefits of virtualization to improve the AI's performance."
 

Cons

"The interface could be improved."
"The server system is a little bit tough to manage."
"This solution is no longer suited to our business following the change they have made to the release process. It is no longer an enterprise solution."
"Lacks sufficient security and some coding tools."
"It would be useful if reporting were included as part of the basic license."
"The solution could improve by making the management tools better for the DevOps teams. For example, WebEX and Webstacks."
"Like every operating system, it could be more secure."
"When comparing the GUI of CentOS to Microsoft Windows or Mac, it could improve."
"This product is not as flexible as other similar solutions on the market today."
"I don't want to receive any updates on Oracle"
"It would be helpful if the solution offered backend management. In the 11.4 version, Oracle added a management console. It would be great if we maybe had a user management tool to go with it."
"When we switch over to Solaris it was not easy because we had some troubles with the performance. Solaris is from Oracle and you would expect that it would run flawlessly, but we had some issues in sizing the previous Linux environment to the Solaris environment."
"The tool is quite complex and difficult for anyone trying to use or study it."
"Red Hat Enterprise Linux is more secure and better documented. So Oracle could learn from them when it comes to security and documentation."
"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."
"Patching without downtime would be nice."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"There are no licensing costs for CentOS."
"It's free."
"This 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."
"CentOS is free."
"I use the free version."
"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."
"It is a very expensive product."
"This solution needs a license to use it."
"It is more expensive, but very complete and worth enacting."
"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."
"The price is not good and needs to improve."
"The price of Oracle Solaris could be less expensive."
"The product is inexpensive."
"The current setup with hardware devices involves a higher cost, but the performance is top-notch."
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Operating Systems (OS) for Business solutions are best for your needs.
842,767 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
7%
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.
 

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: March 2025.
842,767 professionals have used our research since 2012.