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Kali Linux vs Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) 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

Kali Linux
Ranking in Operating Systems (OS) for Business
11th
Average Rating
8.8
Reviews Sentiment
7.7
Number of Reviews
13
Ranking in other categories
AWS Marketplace (9th)
Red Hat Enterprise Linux (R...
Ranking in Operating Systems (OS) for Business
1st
Average Rating
8.8
Reviews Sentiment
7.4
Number of Reviews
263
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2025, in the Operating Systems (OS) for Business category, the mindshare of Kali Linux is 1.5%, up from 0.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) is 11.8%, down from 12.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Operating Systems (OS) for Business
 

Featured Reviews

GurpreetSingh4 - PeerSpot reviewer
Has small footprint and low maintenance cycles
Pre-installed tools can provide basic training and security measures, which is helpful. However, these tools may not be sufficient to secure your workload fully. That's why it's important to complement them with other specialized security tools to enhance your overall security. Before using Kali Linux, make sure you know its pros and cons. It's a good system to learn because it's the best choice for some situations. It has default firewall settings that block everything by default. It's up to the user to decide how much they want to open up. Learning Kali Linux takes time because it relies on command-line tasks instead of graphical interfaces. Practice is key to becoming comfortable with it.
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.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"I use the tool with Nmap to perform network audits. We use it to find vulnerabilities in our network through attacks. It's for those who want to launch or create viruses or perform attacks on systems. With Kali Linux, you can conduct penetration testing for networks, web applications, and Android mobile apps."
"The most valuable feature of Kali Linux is the attack it performs using a CVE script that's already on the internet."
"The solution's most valuable feature is that it is very easy to use."
"I'm mostly using for the web security web application, so end map and the troubleshoot will it's my price, and it's available in ColliNX."
"The most effective features of Kali Linux include its stability as a Linux operating system, its flexibility in configuring resources such as partitions, its powerful and stable file system, and its multi-user capability, which allows for setting user privileges and rights. Additionally, Kali Linux provides access to a wide range of free and open-source applications for testing and development purposes."
"The interface is good and straightforward to use."
"We use the product for open-source intelligence and identifying vulnerabilities."
"In general, Kali Linux is used for hosting applications, developing new applications, and operating systems. It's also used in containers and nodes. The tool offers a smaller footprint than Windows because it lacks the functionality of graphical user interfaces. One advantage of Kali Linux is its lower maintenance requirements than Windows, with slower update cycles and easier maintenance procedures."
"The most valuable features of the solution are in the areas of stability and scalability."
"The enterprise aspect of it is valuable. There is security patching, security scanning, and compliance. There are all kinds of features around managing and keeping it up-to-date and secure. Everything is in a box for us from Red Hat which makes it very easy to manage them."
"Integrating Ansible Automation offers benefits, while Red Hat Enterprise Linux provides robust security features, including benchmarks and CIS security hardening."
"The number one thing we like is that it is a very reliable platform. It is a very consistent platform. There is very little that we cannot do with Red Hat Enterprise Linux, and there is very little that we worry about when we are running a Red Hat distribution."
"The feature that I am enjoying right now is the actual LEAP program that they created for the actual in-place upgrades. I am upgrading from Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 to Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8."
"Because most databases run on Linux, that's what makes this solution so important. If you install a Unix system and want to use a database, you won't have to say, 'I can't find any database to run on this.'"
"The reliability and long support lifespan of RHEL are crucial for us. It lasts for ten years, meaning we don't need frequent changes."
"Things like packaging and the stability you get from things being downstream are valuable. A lot of times, upgrades are more security-based and not feature-based, so things do not break API-wise as we go forward a lot of times"
 

Cons

"The product should improve its security features."
"The tool is already stable and well-developed, so there's minimal feedback for enhancement or change. However, it should improve security, which is crucial, especially with the increasing use of Kali Linux in cloud environments."
"From an improvement perspective, it should be made possible for users to learn about the product easily."
"The installation process of Kali Linux can be slow, particularly when installing and upgrading packages within virtualized environments."
"Any new user or someone without deep expertise won't be able to understand how to scale or manage it"
"Unfortunately, my current tool runs on Windows 10, and its use is restricted to enterprise versions. Integrating this tool or similar functionalities into Kali Linux for non-enterprise users would be incredibly valuable."
"The product should integrate AI and GPT capabilities."
"There can be some lagging issues because the product gets stuck at times, making it an area of concern where improvements are required."
"If Red Hat Enterprise Linux can improve its monitoring capabilities, that would be helpful."
"The price is something that can be improved, as they are still being undercut."
"The solution's licensing sometimes could be a little bit confusing for someone who's not a full-blown system admin and doesn't have a lot of experience with Red Hat Enterprise Linux."
"Maybe they need to make it easier to apply patches from different resources. That said, at my level of usage, I never have to apply patches."
"A feature that I would like to see in the image builder is the ability to open the image in live mode and access a command line interface."
"Red Hat Enterprise Linux's monitoring could be improved. I would like additional monitoring features, like a greater ability to monitor services and workloads running. Satellite can provide centralized monitoring of subscriptions and deployments. You can build a monitoring console, but there is no native monitoring."
"There's an operating system called EdgeOS, which is an edge operating system used by edge computing nodes in the cloud. If RHEL had a version incorporating EdgeOS-type functions, that would be great. Otherwise, you have to learn a little bit of EdgeOS to work with those nodes."
"We hope it will improve tasks we have found challenging in the past, like documentation searches."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"There is no need to make any payments towards the licensing costs since it is a solution that is available for free."
"I have used the free version."
"I use it free of charge."
"Kali Linux is a free product, and you don't have to pay for a license."
"It is an open-source tool."
"The licensing fee is expensive compared to other products."
"The price is good because Kali Linux already provides a good bundle of tools."
"Kali Linux is open source."
"Red Hat Enterprise Linux is expensive, particularly for governments operating with limited budgets."
"I do not know what the pricing is like now. Previously, the pricing model was advantageous as it allowed unlimited installations for a single price, focusing on support. The recent introduction of paywalls complicates the cost landscape."
"That has been mostly handled by Red Hat. As we are a Red Hat shop, we have a lot of people around that already."
"The solution's price is reasonable."
"It is cost-efficient for the tasks it does and the improvements that it brings. For a professional environment, it is very cost-efficient. It was easy to purchase the subscription."
"While expensive, Red Hat Enterprise Linux offers efficiency and performance."
"I do not know enough to give a comprehensive answer, but other operating systems are in use at my company because they have more favorable licensing terms."
"They knew we would buy tons of Red Hat Enterprise Linux, so they were a little bit more relaxed. We wanted a thousand licenses, and we could pick those up. We true up. Our license experience has been positive with the exception of having to deal with all of the broken-up accounts, which is as much our fault as anybody's."
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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
13%
Educational Organization
12%
Comms Service Provider
11%
University
11%
Computer Software Company
15%
Manufacturing Company
12%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Government
9%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Kali Linux?
I use the tool with Nmap to perform network audits. We use it to find vulnerabilities in our network through attacks. It's for those who want to launch or create viruses or perform attacks on syste...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Kali Linux?
Kali Linux offers a perpetual license, meaning you pay for it once and can use it. While free versions of Linux are available, Kali Linux, being an enterprise edition, usually comes with a perpetua...
What needs improvement with Kali Linux?
The tool is already stable and well-developed, so there's minimal feedback for enhancement or change. However, it should improve security, which is crucial, especially with the increasing use of Ka...
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 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)?
I do not have any insights, but I know why the prices went up. At the time, it made sense. I do not know what the pricing is like now. Previously, the pricing model was advantageous as it allowed u...
 

Also Known As

No data available
Red Hat Enterprise Linux, RHEL
 

Learn More

Video not available
 

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
Find out what your peers are saying about Kali Linux vs. Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) and other solutions. Updated: December 2024.
831,158 professionals have used our research since 2012.