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

ROI

Sentiment score
4.0
CentOS is valued for efficiency, reducing downtime and costs, saving time, and enhancing business operations without detailed financial tracking.
Sentiment score
6.9
RHEL enhances ROI with competitive pricing, stability, automation, and security, reducing costs and increasing operational efficiency for users.
Sentiment score
6.8
Ubuntu Linux is free, extends older equipment lifespan, and efficiently manages tasks, offering significant cost savings over licensed systems.
We have saved approximately 50% of our revenue by using CentOS.
It saved a lot of time through troubleshooting, which gives us substantial room for improvement in terms of fixing things.
A long lifecycle is key to having a good return on investment.
Being able to transform common manual tasks that previously took all day into processes that take an hour, half an hour, or even less, demonstrates clear value.
Red Hat Enterprise Linux has saved us time and increased productivity.
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
5.2
CentOS depends on community support, with users utilizing forums and resources, while Red Hat offers paid technical service.
Sentiment score
7.1
Red Hat Enterprise Linux support is responsive and effective, though some suggest improvements for quicker resolution of complex issues.
Sentiment score
6.4
Ubuntu users typically rely on community resources for support, with paid users satisfied by responsive customer service.
I would rate the customer support for CentOS a 10 on a scale of 1 to 10.
I've seen many people across the globe interacting, and when users encounter issues, the community provides solutions.
I would rate the documentation about eight in terms of usefulness.
Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) support is great, as they go beyond their duty to help resolve issues and provide solutions even for third-party software such as XRDP.
When we do contact customer service, they are generally very knowledgeable and well-versed in our size.
Usually, I send the information, and they have something for me within hours, sometimes even minutes.
They responded well, understood that the issue was not on my end, and provided a patch within two days.
The community around Ubuntu Linux is beneficial, providing answers to questions and assisting with issues.
Ubuntu Linux has a comprehensive knowledge base for self-help.
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
6.9
CentOS efficiently scales for diverse users, adaptable for extensive growth in industries like scientific computing and microservices.
Sentiment score
7.3
Red Hat Enterprise Linux excels in scalability, seamlessly managing large infrastructures and integrating with diverse cloud and on-premises environments.
Sentiment score
7.1
Ubuntu Linux is scalable and adaptable, effectively supporting various deployment sizes with proper hardware and technical expertise.
CentOS is scalable and user-friendly without requiring complex configurations.
It allows users to scale resources vertically for upgrading hardware and horizontally by adding more servers, making it suitable for modern web hosting and containerized applications.
CentOS's scalability for my organization has handled growth and changing needs smoothly.
Many of our applications scale really well, with some having several hundreds of VMs, which we couldn't accomplish on Windows.
Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) scales very well with the growing needs of our company.
Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) handles increases in users, applications, or data smoothly, which is why we use it for all our projects, as it provides us with confidence.
In a server environment, it can seamlessly adapt to increased customer demand.
Any Linux is scalable in terms of capacity, and on a day-to-day basis, we use scalability options with the help of Kubernetes clusters.
So far, I do not have any issues related to security in Ubuntu Linux.
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
7.3
CentOS is reliable and stable, with recent versions improving past issues, earning favor for its simplicity and consistent performance.
Sentiment score
7.7
Red Hat Enterprise Linux is favored for stability, security, and support, ideal for business-critical operations despite occasional third-party issues.
Sentiment score
7.8
Ubuntu Linux is praised for stability, especially LTS versions, despite occasional concerns with specific environments or newer hardware.
CentOS is stable, reliable, flexible, and very useful.
CentOS's simplicity and stability make it easy to use.
I believe CentOS is stable, but we are gradually moving away from it.
It works consistently with minimal downtime and very few bugs or glitches.
It just works, and that's really the key factor; I can't remember the last time we had a system go down and had to restore it due to a bad patch.
We've not had a service outage with Red Hat in six years.
The system has been completely stable, which makes it deserve a perfect score.
Ubuntu Linux is extremely stable and maintains uptime effectively.
Ubuntu Linux is generally stable, though there can be occasional issues with new hardware integration.
 

Room For Improvement

CentOS requires enhanced user-friendliness, stability, support, and updates to address compatibility, security, and usability concerns.
RHEL requires improvement in upgrade simplicity, application compatibility, support, cloud integration, training accessibility, and transitioning from CentOS.
Ubuntu Linux needs better Windows compatibility, user-friendliness, robust tools, support, and marketing to improve integration and reach.
The documentation and support could be improved, along with compatibility with newer hardware as hardware continually evolves over time.
Kernel parameters, sysctl config details, tuned profiles, process prioritization, optimized disk, and input scheduler choice are all points for performance optimization.
CentOS removed long-term support, and version releases every two to three years are not ideal for production environments because they necessitate frequent updates.
Addressing these limitations would significantly enhance the operating system's flexibility and efficiency.
The built-in security features of Red Hat Enterprise Linux were insufficient for our needs, necessitating the implementation of supplementary security measures.
By providing pre-installed, native automation tools within the operating system, Red Hat would streamline processes and improve user efficiency.
There is a push towards integrating AI into software for various purposes like video and sound processing.
Stability issues occur when integrating new components due to physical or technical challenges.
Unlike CentOS, Ubuntu Linux lacks an easily accessible inbuilt repository where dependencies or packages are easily found.
 

Setup Cost

CentOS offers a cost-effective, open-source solution, praised for affordability and low total cost of ownership compared to Windows.
RHEL pricing and licensing are costly for small businesses, but offer value and stability for larger enterprises.
Ubuntu Linux is an open-source, cost-effective operating system favored by enterprises, with minimal setup costs and optional paid support.
There was no cost in terms of deploying it or getting the license for it.
CentOS is a free product with free updates.
The enterprise subscription cost is at a certain level, but CentOS saves customers from paying additional money, optimizing costs for enterprises and startups involved in application development.
It may be considered expensive compared to other solutions like CentOS or Ubuntu, which offer some of the same features without additional costs.
Its pricing has room for improvement because it's more expensive in the local market due to purchasing power parity in India.
Windows Servers base their cost on the number of users and have high licensing fees, while Red Hat Enterprise Linux offers free versions alongside its paid, supported versions.
For an enterprise-wide scalable operating system with professional services, you can select Ubuntu Linux at a reasonable price.
The setup cost is free.
Ubuntu Linux is open-source, leading to cost savings through its free availability.
 

Valuable Features

CentOS is a stable, secure, and cost-effective open-source OS offering compatibility, performance, and robust community support for organizations.
RHEL is favored for its stability, security, automation, and integration, benefiting businesses with efficient management and compliance.
Ubuntu Linux provides security, performance, customization, and ease of use, making it ideal for beginners and enterprises.
The update cycle changed when CentOS was prioritized for updates, causing stability issues.
In my experience, the best feature that CentOS offers is the network configuration of a device from the command-line interface, which is exceptionally clean.
The best feature CentOS offers is that it's free.
It also has strong security features, is OIS and FIPS certified, and has built-in Linux security configurations.
There is also no downtime.
The operating system allows for the simple addition of kernels, modules, and other applications, making it highly adaptable to various needs.
Ubuntu Linux's open-source nature supports community contributions, bolstering its development and support ecosystem.
Ubuntu Linux supports remote troubleshooting via SSH, allowing connection from anywhere, which is beneficial for troubleshooting server issues.
In terms of security, I am satisfied with Ubuntu Linux and I can rely on its security features more than I can with Windows.
 

Mindshare comparison

As of October 2025, in the Operating Systems (OS) for Business category, the mindshare of CentOS is 4.5%, down from 7.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) is 8.6%, down from 11.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Ubuntu Linux is 11.5%, down from 18.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Operating Systems (OS) for Business Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL)8.6%
Ubuntu Linux11.5%
CentOS4.5%
Other75.4%
Operating Systems (OS) for Business
 

Featured Reviews

Mohammad Wasif - PeerSpot reviewer
Has supported reliable deployments and simplified issue resolution in complex environments
The most suitable feature of CentOS is its exceptional stability, security, and long-term support, which make it a popular choice for enterprise and server environments. CentOS is widely recognized for providing a stable and secure platform, especially suited for server and mission-critical workloads. Whenever we face critical work, it is easy for our team to handle. For long-term support, each CentOS release generally guarantees long-term updates, ensuring reliability for extended periods. For package management, we use YUM and DNF in the new version for flexible and efficient software management. It depends on our users' requirements for installing CentOS. Licensing for CentOS is above my management details, so I am not aware of this information. CentOS always provides good feedback, is easy to handle, and easy to troubleshoot. The experience with CentOS OS has been very good over the last two months. I rate CentOS 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.
Salim Ahmed - PeerSpot reviewer
Has supported secure application hosting and reliable server management
I find the GUI to be good in Ubuntu Linux, and I appreciate the open SSH. The fact that it is free since it is open and open-source is why I appreciate it and feel it is secured. We have multiple different kinds of support related to Ubuntu Linux, including official support and other options. I am currently using laptops, desktops, and servers, and Ubuntu Linux supports all these devices. If I need it for Raspberry Pi or something similar, I can download another Linux distribution. Ubuntu Linux is scalable, especially for servers. We prefer using Ubuntu Linux Servers rather than Windows. The biggest advantage of Ubuntu Linux for me is that it is open-source, secured, and scalable.
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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
15%
Comms Service Provider
8%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Educational Organization
7%
Computer Software Company
15%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Government
8%
Computer Software Company
13%
Comms Service Provider
10%
University
10%
Educational Organization
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business30
Midsize Enterprise20
Large Enterprise26
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business83
Midsize Enterprise47
Large Enterprise249
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business84
Midsize Enterprise21
Large Enterprise52
 

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?
CentOS is a free product with free updates. There are third-party companies available for support, but they charge va...
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)?
My experience with pricing, setup costs, and licensing is that I strongly believe Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) off...
What needs improvement with Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL)?
Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) can be improved by adopting a feature similar to YaST from a big European competitor,...
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?
My experience with the pricing for Ubuntu Linux is that I always use the free version, so I never paid for any instal...
 

Also Known As

CentOS 7 (x86_64) - with Updates HVM
Red Hat Enterprise Linux, RHEL, Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) for AWS
Ubuntu
 

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: September 2025.
872,098 professionals have used our research since 2012.