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Windows Server vs openSUSE Leap 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

openSUSE Leap
Ranking in Operating Systems (OS) for Business
13th
Average Rating
9.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.8
Number of Reviews
6
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Windows Server
Ranking in Operating Systems (OS) for Business
4th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.5
Number of Reviews
184
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of February 2025, in the Operating Systems (OS) for Business category, the mindshare of openSUSE Leap is 5.9%, up from 4.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Windows Server is 8.9%, up from 8.8% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Operating Systems (OS) for Business
 

Featured Reviews

NK
Provides BTRFS file system, which allows you to take snapshots
I only use the tool for testing purposes on my team, but multiple people use it. We don't make a team effort to install the solution. When it comes to maintenance, we ask our company to buy SUSE Linux Enterprise. My team consists of 13 people. We are currently integrating the solution with Ansible to do some coding. Although not a full-fledged automation, we are integrating the solution with Ansible and executing a couple of playbooks connected to openSUSE Leap. I would recommend the solution to other users looking for an open-source solution. Overall, I rate the solution a nine out of ten.
Sagar SampadMall - PeerSpot reviewer
User-friendly, resources available online to troubleshoot any issue
It's easy to manage core applications and deploy engineers. Windows engineers are more affordable than Linux or Unix engineers, so that's another advantage. So, the management costs are much lower for the Windows Server. Plus, troubleshooting is straightforward with readily available online resources, so we don't need to raise tickets or wait for help. We can easily search on Google and find the solution on the search engine. Windows Server is pretty mature already. They're doing a good job with it.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Stable - it just runs without the necessity to reboot."
"The most valuable feature by far has been the virtualization capabilities of the operating system."
"The solution's most valuable feature is the BTRFS file system, which allows you to take snapshots."
"The solution is very stable after it is configured. It is hard to have a panel slow, a problem, misconfiguration, or any kind of loss function."
"The solution is easy for me to use because the backend is derived from FreeBSD and this is something I have been using for over 20 years."
"openSUSE Leap has helped me with using containers in Podman."
"The features that I have found most valuable are its ease of use and the compatibility with most other products."
"The installation of the solution is becoming easier every year after new releases. The first installation can take an hour but you can use templates to make the installation very quick."
"Most applications are compatible with this operating system."
"The platform generates a return on investment in terms of stability."
"Windows engineers are more affordable than Linux or Unix engineers, so that's another advantage. So, the management costs are much lower for the Windows Server."
"Setting up Windows Server is pretty straightforward. It takes anywhere from a few hours to a day. One person can do it if it's not a complex environment."
"It is very useful, and it is easy to use."
"I find mutual authentication and the environment useful."
 

Cons

"Like most Linux-based operating systems, the biggest challenge Leap faces is the GUI."
"There is room for improvement in the console."
"It would be helpful if we could easily switch from openSUSE Leap for testing to SUSE Linux Enterprise for production."
"In the future, the Active Directory could improve."
"Somehow the change from OS12.x via 13.x to Leap was a bit bumpy and some old issues seemed to reappear."
"I would like openSUSE Leap to have better link integration with Windows."
"I would like to see the security features improved in the future."
"Sometimes the performance goes down, which might be due to the stability zone or network issues."
"When it comes to the performance of this solution others are slightly better such as Linux."
"In terms of improvement, performance could be enhanced."
"Better integration with more platforms would be useful."
"The reporting, event logging, and event management functionalities need to be improved."
"More security features would be great."
"I would like to see better integration with other operating systems."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"openSUSE Leap is an open-source solution that is free of cost."
"This is an open-source operating system that can be used free of charge."
"The cost of this solution was reasonable and it was within our budget."
"The solution is open-source."
"Our customers prefer lifetime licenses."
"Licensing fees are paid on a yearly basis."
"The solution requires licencing."
"Windows Server has medium pricing."
"Windows Server is expensive. We purchase its yearly license."
"There is an annual license required for this solution."
"I paid for a license to use Windows Server. It is a subscription-based license and it is purchased annually."
"We have multiple types of licenses. Some of them are on a yearly basis, and some of them are prepaid."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
15%
Comms Service Provider
11%
Educational Organization
9%
Government
9%
Computer Software Company
13%
Government
9%
Educational Organization
9%
Financial Services Firm
9%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about openSUSE Leap?
openSUSE Leap has helped me with using containers in Podman.
What needs improvement with openSUSE Leap?
Both openSUSE Leap and the SUSE Enterprise version use the same kernel. Suppose I have a lower environment where I can run openSUSE to test all my products. It would be helpful if I could easily sw...
What is your primary use case for openSUSE Leap?
I use openSUSE Leap for testing purposes. Before officially using any server in our office, we test it using the solution. My office usually uses production servers on the SUSE Linux enterprise ver...
What needs improvement with Windows Server?
Sometimes the performance goes down, which might be due to the stability zone or network issues. It can also depend on our network.
What is your primary use case for Windows Server?
We are using Windows Server to connect our client software. We use it to access client systems and work on SQL databases.
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Information Not Available
Rakuten, Rackspace, Tyco
Find out what your peers are saying about Windows Server vs. openSUSE Leap and other solutions. Updated: January 2025.
832,138 professionals have used our research since 2012.