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CentOS vs Windows 10 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
Windows 10
Ranking in Operating Systems (OS) for Business
8th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
5.2
Number of Reviews
271
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 Windows 10 is 3.0%, down from 4.5% 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.
Akos Szirmai - PeerSpot reviewer
Easy installation and the initial setup time is reasonable
Stability can be an issue. I have to restart it every two days. And the boot time is quite long. My laptop's old, has no SSD, and is just a traditional Winchester. Had desktops with Windows 11 and SSDs, much better performance. But hardware limitations on my current laptop lead to stability and response issues. It's more like the whole reinstall every two years thing. It makes cleaning a pain. Performance improves significantly after a fresh install, then slowly deteriorates as I add more programs. But my biggest concern with Windows 10 is actually bigger than my situation. I'm replacing my laptop anyway, but I read that Windows 10 support ends in a year or so. And with hardware limitations, many other computers won't run Windows 11. So it's not just me. A lot of people with decent, still-working Windows 10 machines will lose support and be unable to switch to 11. This will be a significant problem for individuals and institutions. Large companies with thousands of computers don't replace them every three years, and they might face issues with many computers unable to run Windows 11 and lacking support for 10.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"We used the solution as an operating system."
"It is a stable soultion."
"CentOS is very easy to use, and all the commands are user-friendly."
"I like its stability, performance, and usability."
"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."
"It’s a simple, straightforward implementation."
"Offers useful information and has good compatibility."
"The customization of the solution is easy."
"Windows is really backward compatible."
"I like the performance of the solution and its user-friendliness."
"Windows is so widely used that almost every problem has been encountered by someone else. There are usually multiple solutions or workarounds available online. So, in that sense, the support is pretty good."
"Windows 10 is a pretty standard platform. It does its job."
"The product is user-friendly and runs on multiple PCs."
"I have found Windows 10 to be very user-friendly and has good performance."
"I like the main window pane where you can sort your mostly used and different types of apps, such as OneDrive, Google Chrome, and Access. I can just open up the main window, and those apps are right there at my fingertips. I moved from Windows 7 to Windows 10, and it took me a little while to get used to Windows 10, but once I got used to it, I do like it. It integrates with everything that I am using, and it gives me everything that I need as a user."
 

Cons

"The solution’s stability could be improved."
"The tool has no official support."
"Continuous deployment is the only thing that can be improved."
"I would like the integration to be more secure."
"The solution could be more scalable."
"There is no notification before updates are applied to the solution, which occasionally means that new functionality isn't compatible with how the product is currently being used, and causes issues."
"CentOS is pretty old now, so I wouldn't recommend anyone use it."
"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."
"It may be due to the features and apps that I use, but sometimes, I find my laptop slows down."
"I think that the user interface is a little bit complicated and can be more user-friendly."
"We have a lot of different hardware that has to communicate, and sometimes, the Windows drivers get overloaded."
"Windows 10 could improve the security of the solution."
"The frequent update of the Operating system is bad because, during each update, most of the programs or applications do not function well."
"In general, the price could always be cheaper."
"Nowadays, everything needs to be online, which I do not prefer. I prefer a few files, few applications to be available offline without connecting to the cloud."
"The solution can improve security."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The solution is open source so is free."
"There are no licensing costs for CentOS."
"There are no licensing fees for CentOS."
"CentOS is an open source that is free of cost."
"We don’t have to pay for the system’s licenses."
"There are no costs for CentOS, it is open-source."
"There are no licensing fees. CentOS 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."
"There is a one-time purchase license required for this solution."
"Windows 10 is expensive."
"My organization gets Windows 10 for free with our computers."
"The solution is affordable and there is a license to use it."
"It is not expensive."
"The license is built into whatever you have purchased. For example, we purchased our Lenovo laptop and the license for Windows 10 was built in."
"The pricing is about average."
"The licensing price could definitely be cheaper. I pay a yearly license for Windows 10."
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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
13%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Manufacturing Company
9%
University
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.
What needs improvement with Windows 10?
I do not have notes for improvement.
What is your primary use case for Windows 10?
In my case, I would mostly say it's because of security reasons. At least for the typical use cases that I generally rely on Windows for, there didn't seem to be a noticeable performance difference...
 

Comparisons

 

Overview

Find out what your peers are saying about CentOS vs. Windows 10 and other solutions. Updated: March 2025.
844,944 professionals have used our research since 2012.