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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:
 

Mindshare comparison

As of July 2025, in the Operating Systems (OS) for Business category, the mindshare of CentOS is 4.6%, down from 8.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) is 9.1%, down from 12.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Ubuntu Linux is 12.5%, down from 20.8% 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.
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.
PrashantSharma - PeerSpot reviewer
Performs efficiently but requires overcoming a learning curve
There are many differences between Ubuntu Linux and Windows as they are totally different systems. You need to have more knowledge about Linux before using Ubuntu Linux. Although it is designed as a desktop system, basic knowledge is still required. Windows can be used by any layman, which is the main difference. I do not know much about security breaches or potential issues. The Wi-Fi and wireless capabilities work perfectly fine. Excluding the learning curve, I would rate it a 10. However, considering the learning curve, I would give it a six or seven. My advice would be to have patience. Overall rating: 10 out of 10.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"CentOS is very efficient and very powerful with many capabilities."
"It's easy to install."
"We particularly like that we can remove the graphic user interface to minimize attack settings for the operating system."
"Setup is straightforward. You can complete it in about 30 minutes."
"The solution is open source."
"I like its stability, performance, and usability."
"It is better than Ubuntu Linux."
"The scalability of CentOS is good. We can deploy the operating system in many hardware, laptops, and servers."
"RHEL is the most reliable Linux flavor in terms of enterprise governance. I prefer it for its code stability, support, and integration. The lifecycle management features help us maintain compliance and keep the components updated."
"Errata is the most valuable feature, which is supported by Red Hat."
"It is the most lightweight platform to use. It is very flexible. It is not very difficult to manage, configure, and deal with."
"The product is optimized for resource utilization."
"RHEL has a lot of specialized documentation. Typically, people search on the Internet and find solutions by trial and error. However, everything about RHEL is there in the documentation. You only need to follow it correctly."
"The automation is great."
"The integration with Oracle is the most valuable feature."
"RHEL is stable, mature, and relatively easy to handle. I'm pretty confident in it. We haven't had to raise a serious support ticket for any server in I don't know how many years."
"The solution has a very good graphical user interface."
"You can do everything you need to do with a browser."
"Ubuntu Linux is flexible because it has a lot of new features, so you can use it without any problems."
"I use Ubuntu Linux to update some drivers related to some of my work."
"The integration with other applications, like Chrome or Firefox, works excellent for users navigating and test browsing."
"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."
"The solution is very stable, it does not need to restart to maintain stability."
"The solution has high fantastic performance."
 

Cons

"Continuous deployment is the only thing that can be improved."
"More security features could be included in the next release."
"The main issue is the End of Support. For that reason, we will switch to another operating system."
"This solution is no longer supported and will not receive any updates going forward."
"CentOS should extend the support of the solution. The solution is set to have no update support in 2023."
"The tool has no official support."
"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."
"We would like Red Hat to keep supporting the solution but they have decided to get rid of it and there isn't much we can do about it."
"The product should be made available on Oracle Cloud."
"The cost could be lower. Red Hat is considered a costly solution. It can be expensive if you want all the features in the license. A cheaper license would make Red Hat more accessible to a broader range of users."
"They can allow more access to their training and their products' testing. There are ways to do it now. You might have to get a certain type of account to test their products. It might be easier if you can just download the product and test it out."
"There should be more upgrades to the security features."
"Adding more relevant features to Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) would be great. I have seen some issues on GitHub where people are suggesting things, such as Ansible."
"It would be great to have an overview of how various Red Hat products work together. They can show how to tie all those pieces together and how to have the products that we work together for our day-to-day processes."
"I would like to see the GNOME system monitor feature, which shows CPU usage and other aspects. It will help to save time."
"Although we are happy with the current capabilities, we would welcome new features, particularly in the AI domain."
"It could be better for working with software at a high resolution."
"The encryption of the partition regarding software systems could be improved."
"I find the solution could be easier to use, more flexible, user-friendly, and have a better UI."
"One of the reasons people don't use Ubuntu on servers is because they are not as secure as Red Hat."
"The solution is not user-friendly in comparison with Windows."
"The documentation is very poor."
"The problem with the license costs for Ubuntu Linux right now is due to currency exchange, as everything is based on US dollars."
"I think Ubuntu's performance is fine and so is its user interface. However, the latter is not as fancy as Microsoft Windows. It could be a bit fancier and easier to use."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The solution is not subscription-based, unlike Red Hat."
"The solution is open source."
"We have a CentOS license that we pay for on a yearly basis."
"There are no licensing fees. CentOS is a free solution."
"Once you buy the license, Linux will provide you with yearly or monthly patches, so your systems will be scalable for a long time."
"There is no price or licensing required — it's open-source."
"This is an open source solution."
"The solution is free of cost to use."
"Its pricing and licensing are reasonable."
"It is not fairly priced. If they can reduce the price, it would be nice."
"Because it is a subscription, you can go elastic. This means you can buy a year, then you can skip a year. It is not like when you buy something. You don't buy it. You are paying for the support on something, and if you don't pay for the support on something, there is no shame because there are no upfront costs. It changes the equation. However, we have such growth right now on the Linux platform that we are reusing and scavenging these licenses. From a business standpoint, not having to buy, but just having to pay for maintenance, changes a lot of the calculations."
"The licensing makes perfect sense for the amount of stuff you get with the operating system."
"We use open source. We only have a subscription for support."
"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 get our licenses directly through Red Hat."
"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."
"The solution is open source and we do not need to pay for a license."
"It is open-source. We don't have to pay for its license."
"I am using the free version. There is no subscription."
"There is no licensing cost for the product."
"Ubuntu Linux is free, but you can pay for a supported version that is better."
"The solution is open source, so there is no licensing fee."
"If the customer wants to start, there is no license required. It is all free, but they must purchase the production license."
"We are using Ubuntu Linux free of cost, and there is no licensing."
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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
16%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Government
7%
Computer Software Company
15%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Government
8%
Computer Software Company
13%
University
10%
Comms Service Provider
9%
Manufacturing Company
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 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 the pricing, setup costs, and licensing of Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) indicates that this was...
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

No data available
Red Hat Enterprise Linux, RHEL
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: June 2025.
861,524 professionals have used our research since 2012.