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

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary
 

Mindshare comparison

As of December 2024, in the Operating Systems (OS) for Business category, the mindshare of CentOS is 7.2%, down from 9.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) is 11.9%, down from 12.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Ubuntu Linux is 17.2%, down from 23.6% 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.
Saravvana Kumar. - PeerSpot reviewer
Highly stable, good knowledge base, and reasonable price
Its installation on a RAID or cluster system is something difficult. There are specific teams working on that. The GRUB configuration is also a little different from the other Linux distributions. In terms of additional features, as technology keeps evolving, the product will also have to evolve. For example, Microsoft Windows has come a long way. In Windows 11, there are so many features that are fundamentally the same as the oldest version, but there are other aspects or processes that have improved. macOS has also evolved over time. Similarly, in the Red Hat Enterprise Linux that I used in 2003 and the one that I am using now, some things are the same and some things have changed. Red Hat can continue to engage clients, understand the use cases, and update them.
Bahattin Yetismis - PeerSpot reviewer
The product is easy to use and has excellent performance and availability
The setup is really straightforward. It is not complex. We develop DevOps scripts to deploy it. It takes only one or two hours. If the hardware is available, then it will take only one hour. We prepare the hardware environment and deploy the solution. After that, we deploy the Docker container environment. Then, we run the whole software. The product is deployed on-premises because we are still in the testing phase. We have a small number of customers. In the future, we will try to migrate to the cloud.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The initial setup is very easy."
"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."
"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."
"The most valuable feature is the limited resources the solution uses in operation."
"We used the solution as an operating system."
"The most valuable feature is performance."
"The solution is stable and reliable."
"Very robust and easy to work with."
"Management is portable and easily automated so deploying or installing packages and running updates is seamless."
"Technical support is excellent."
"The solution is stable and reliable."
"Their security library is well-maintained."
"We have support. If we have any issues with the distro, we can call their support team."
"The solution is useful for application support and automations."
"Red Hat Enterprise Linux has made significant improvements in terms of storage. You can mount an 18 terabyte file system. It also supports NFS shares and the SIP share for the photos. There have been many features added since RHEL 6. It's more user-friendly and graphical."
"Customer support is valuable."
"It is more powerful because you have more control over it."
"I feel the graphical interface to be very user friendly, as is first time installation."
"You can do everything you need to do with a browser."
"Ubuntu has a good interface, it is easier to use than other distribution such as CentOS or Red Hat. It's suitable for beginners who want to start learning Linux. It has a simple interface and it's easy to use."
"Windows needs a refresh option to refresh its screen, but Ubuntu doesn't need that. It refreshes automatically and works well."
"The solution is stable."
"The solution is free to use and open-source."
"I like the fact that I can make it very secure with my own knowledge, which makes it different from Windows that does things in the background by magic, and you hope that it's secure. I like the availability of starting with Linux with totally minimal permissions for anybody and then increasing it on an as-needed basis. This is probably the most important to me."
 

Cons

"CentOS can be somewhat difficult for beginners, as it has a complex UI, especially for those not in the IT field."
"CentOS should extend the support of the solution. The solution is set to have no update support in 2023."
"The solution could be more scalable."
"The interface could be improved."
"The main issue is the End of Support. For that reason, we will switch to another operating system."
"CentOS is very close to the end of life."
"It would be ideal if Red Hat would continue the CentOS versions in an open-source format. They seem to be moving away from that. Now only paid versions are available."
"More security features could be included in the next release."
"It could be a bit more user-friendly. It could also be cheaper."
"Could include additional security fefatures."
"Risks, for example, specific to Linux, need improvements."
"The only issue that we have is that Red Hat specifically promotes OpenStack, and we don't use OpenStack. It's good if you're using OpenStack, but if you're not using OpenStack, and you're using Docker or something else, it isn't that good. Having more support for non-OpenStack would be very helpful, but, of course, as part of their business, we don't expect it."
"There are performance issues with the response time when accessing the console, but I'm unsure if that's RHEL's fault or if it's due to the lack of CPU or memory on our machines. The enterprise interface could be improved. I can only use the keyboard to transfer files from one system to another. I want to use my mouse on the interface, not just scroll up and down. I would also like my logs archived as an RAR and sent to me."
"Red Hat can be tricky at times, but all operating systems are. The moves to systemd and NetworkManager haven't made the product more user-friendly. Let's put it that way. The network management they had before was easier and somewhat more reliable than NetworkManager, which Red Hat forces us to use now."
"Red Hat Enterprise Linux training and certification opportunities for engineers and administrators could be improved."
"Right now, we need to get memory and CPU via the console."
"I find the solution could be easier to use, more flexible, user-friendly, and have a better UI."
"The solution could improve by having better integration."
"The solution could improve by being more secure."
"The product should provide more automation."
"On the gaming side, things are happening but there are some games that should be ported to Ubuntu."
"The only improvement I would suggest is to switching back to Aptitude. They switched a lot of the packages that used to be running in Aptitude to Snap. I don't find them as usable when they are in Snap. The most obvious instance of this is that it's caused me to have issues with Chrome. Starting Chrome took a couple of seconds before it was up and running, which wasn't pleasant. Back when it used to run packaging in Aptitude, I didn't have this problem. I know they're familiar with these issues because a lot of other people have experienced them too."
"The solution could improve its GUI personalization."
"Could be even more light weight than it currently is."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"This is an open-source solution, so there are no licensing costs involved."
"I use the free version."
"I'm not required to pay a licensing fee."
"CentOS is free."
"We use the free, open-source solution because we cannot afford the price for Linux."
"The solution is free of cost to use."
"The solution is not subscription-based, unlike Red Hat."
"There are no licensing fees for CentOS."
"While expensive, Red Hat Enterprise Linux offers efficiency and performance."
"It is very straightforward. We do not have to think much about having to get all the subscriptions related to the Red Hat Enterprise Linux fleet that we have because all the subscriptions came in pairs of CPUs or even for an entire bare-metal server."
"We like the model that Red Hat makes available for subscription and support. There are some free parts, subscriptions that facilitate solution development and implementation, and then, when the solution is well-defined, we move into the paid support license."
"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."
"We purchased our license from ITM, our local provider."
"We can always ask for Red Hat Enterprise Linux to be less expensive but when we compare it to other options, there are savings in the long run."
"Red Hat Enterprise Linux offers a straightforward pricing and licensing model."
"We use open source. We only have a subscription for support."
"We don't pay any fees."
"It is free."
"The solution does not come with a licensing fee."
"Ubuntu Linux is free, but you can pay for a supported version that is better."
"It's an open-source solution that can be used free of charge."
"Ubuntu Linux is open-source and available to use free of charge."
"Ubuntu is essentially free to download and use, making it accessible to anyone without the need for licensing costs."
"We are using the free and open-sourced version of the solution."
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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
9%
Government
8%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Computer Software Company
15%
Manufacturing Company
12%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Government
9%
Computer Software Company
14%
University
10%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Educational Organization
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.
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)?
Red Hat Enterprise Linux has a yearly subscription cost for the licensing that includes maintenance and support.
What needs improvement with Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL)?
The cost of Red Hat Enterprise Linux is a bit high. Red Hat Enterprise Linux's support could be improved by offering ...
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 Ubuntu Linux?
It has a good support system for loading databases.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Ubuntu Linux?
Ubuntu Linux is open-source and free to use, which makes it cost-effective.
 

Also Known As

No data available
Red Hat Enterprise Linux, RHEL
Ubuntu
 

Learn More

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Overview

 

Sample Customers

Information Not Available
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
Samsung, eBay, AT&T, Walmart, Cisco, Time Warner Cable, Bloomberg, Best Buy, Dell, Intel, Microsoft, Ericsson, Orange, Wells Fargo
Find out what your peers are saying about Red Hat, Canonical, Oracle and others in Operating Systems (OS) for Business. Updated: December 2024.
824,121 professionals have used our research since 2012.