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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 October 2024, in the Operating Systems (OS) for Business category, the mindshare of CentOS is 7.8%, down from 9.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) is 12.0%, up from 12.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Ubuntu Linux is 18.9%, down from 23.4% 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
Aug 15, 2024
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
Jul 10, 2023
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.
AtulChaurasia - PeerSpot reviewer
Aug 28, 2023
A stable and free solution that is easy to deploy and has a user-friendly GUI
We can use the solution for browsing. We can also use it as a server and deploy and configure it as a file or web server. The use case depends on the user. I use it to deploy something which I want to test out. If I have to test out ELK Stack, I might use Ubuntu because it’s free The GUI is…

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The technical support is good."
"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."
"I like the command prompt of CentOS. It's very simple."
"The product's initial setup phase is very straightforward."
"A valuable features of CentOS is that it's quite stable and doesn't crash often. It's also quite intuitive."
"There are a lot of sources on the internet that you can use to solve any issues, and people share their experiences. It's not a closed system"
"Offers useful information and has good compatibility."
"I like RHEL's clustering capabilities and high-level architecture. It has high availability, built-in disaster recovery, SSH features, and scripting."
"The most valuable feature of the solution is its good integration with Ansible."
"It is open source. Most of the features are already there for you."
"One pro is that at the operating system layer, like, RHEL has better support from Red Hat, and if something goes down, I found many resources for troubleshooting and stuff online."
"The solution's most valuable feature revolves around its simplicity, especially when maintaining it, which is an easy process."
"RHEL makes patching and scripting much easier, and it provides all the features I need for patching and VM updates."
"Red Hat Enterprise Linux is easy to manage, update, and integrate. I also like Red Hat Enterprise Linux's built-in security features. You need to enable them by default or keep them enabled if you want your system to be secured. It protects most of the system components."
"We are able to have a Linux system that is open-source and that allows us to do domain trust IBM and all that fun stuff. We have a good solid enterprise Linux."
"The solution is scalable."
"RTO with the use of templating support for VMware for fast deployment of recovery or new systems, with the least amount work needed on custom settings, within application installed from install repositories. Shorter overall time with the vetted packages. Normally install and go."
"Its performance is valuable. I am satisfied with it."
"I think Ubuntu's main strength, as opposed to using the other Linuxes, has been its ability to encourage user feedback."
"Since Ubuntu is freely available for download and use, there is virtually no investment required, resulting in a high ROI."
"It is open-source, secure, and easy to use."
"Linux-based operating system with good stability, good patching, and a straightforward setup."
"Ubuntu Linux is more secure and has additional security features than some other operating systems."
 

Cons

"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."
"CentOS is pretty old now, so I wouldn't recommend anyone use it."
"If CentOS could add Office features then that would be beneficial. Additionally, the UI could improve."
"They could build more options into the wizard."
"I have had a tough time with the product's scalability, making it an area where improvements are required."
"The GUI interface could always be better."
"The server system is a little bit tough to manage."
"In terms of commands, it's all CLI and there isn't any GUI which can make it challenging to use for some people."
"The documentation is an area of concern where improvements are required."
"Using Red Hat Enterprise Linux on the cloud can become costly over the long term."
"We had issues migrating from the old to the new RHEL version in the virtual environment. It forced us to spin up a new virtual environment to have the new RHEL version."
"Red Hat Enterprise Linux's documentation could be improved."
"Its pricing is good and competitive."
"The biggest challenge that we had was the migration from CentOS to Red Hat Enterprise Linux, but after some tests, it was easy."
"I am not happy with the tool's support. It is difficult to find knowledgeable people. It's hard to troubleshoot."
"The solution should improve its documentation."
"They can keep improving the solution's ability to be adopted by users by adding features, such as better tutorials and integration into the system."
"The support can be improved."
"On the gaming side, things are happening but there are some games that should be ported to Ubuntu."
"There aren't enough experts in my country to be able to help troubleshoot or to post answers to problems."
"When installing software, an online interface has to be used and commands written to run the installation. The solution could be improved if it was possible to click twice in an icon for the installation process to begin."
"Ubuntu Linux could improve by having more out-of-the-box functionality for common plug-and-play devices, such as printers. It's sometimes more difficult to plug-and-play printers with Ubuntu Linux. You need to work a bit and make some drivers work. They need to work a bit on plug-and-play devices."
"The support team is not good and needs to be improved. The user community is excellent and helpful, but some questions are unanswered. Also, stability and scalability could be improved."
"The ZFS needs improvement. They do an implementation of the ZFS storage that needs improvement."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"This is an open-source solution, so there are no licensing costs involved."
"It's freeware, so we can use it without worrying about licensing."
"CentOS is a free solution."
"There are no licensing fees. CentOS is a free solution."
"The solution is open source so is free."
"This is an open source solution."
"There are no licensing costs for CentOS."
"We use the free, open-source solution because we cannot afford the price for Linux."
"The pricing is good and not complex. It is available per user, monthly."
"The cost has been pretty stable over the years for what you get."
"RHEL's price seems to be consistently changing, depending on what you're after. We might need a more extended license to lock in a price if it keeps changing. It would be nicer if it stayed steady within a specific range, but it's negotiable. We try to negotiate, and maybe a more extended contract would be better."
"RHEL is expensive."
"The solution is moving away from its open source roots and licensing is a little bit of an issue."
"The product is on the expensive side."
"RHEL has a decent pricing model. It's a subscription, which makes sense. The OS itself is free, but you pay for the support. I have never heard any complaints about the pricing."
"As a developer, I pay around 10,000 Yen, which is around $100 per annum for support. SUSE and Red Hat are typically the same without standard support. The pricing is not a big deal. Enterprise customers will pay for the support."
"We do not incur a licensing fee for the solution, as we make use of the free version."
"Ubuntu is a free product."
"I am not in a position to comment on the licensing, as we mostly make use of the free version."
"We don't pay a licensing fee for the solution."
"There is no licensing cost for the product."
"It is open source, so it is free. There is no licensing fee."
"Ubuntu Linux is more affordable than its competitors."
"Ubuntu Linux is free, but you can pay for a supported version that is better."
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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
7%
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 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)?
It is not fairly priced. If they can reduce the price, it would be nice. I understand that they do not have any big c...
What needs improvement with Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL)?
There are performance issues with the response time when accessing the console, but I'm unsure if that's Red Hat Ente...
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: October 2024.
814,091 professionals have used our research since 2012.