Oracle Linux vs Rocky Linux comparison

Oracle and Rocky Linux are both solutions in the Operating Systems (OS) for Business category. Oracle is ranked #3 with an average rating of 8.8, while Rocky Linux is ranked #5 with an average rating of 8.4. Oracle holds a 11.1% mindshare in OSB, compared to Rocky Linux’s 15.2% mindshare. Additionally, 92% of Oracle users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 100% of Rocky Linux users who would recommend it.

Oracle Linux

Read 112 Oracle Linux reviews

18,308 Views
15,008 Comparison Views

92% willing to recommend

Rocky Linux

Read 5 Rocky Linux reviews

14,433 Views
13,505 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

Oracle Linux

Rocky Linux

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Jan 12, 2025

Oracle Linux and Rocky Linux are both contenders in the open-source enterprise operating system market. Oracle Linux has a competitive advantage due to its extensive enterprise support, whereas Rocky Linux attracts users with its community-driven approach and strong compatibility with existing enterprise applications.

Features: Oracle Linux is recognized for its cloud and on-premise interoperability, automated patching with Ksplice, and advanced security. Its built-in enterprise capabilities also include Btrfs, Dtrace, and Spacewalk for managing multitudes of systems. Rocky Linux stands out for its Red Hat Enterprise Linux binary compatibility, stability, and community-driven support model.

Room for Improvement: Oracle Linux could enhance its appeal by increasing vendor support when operating on Oracle-branded hardware and addressing perceived complexity compared to other distributions. Additionally, improving documentation for non-Oracle use cases might attract a wider audience. Rocky Linux, being relatively new, needs to strengthen its support infrastructure, diversify its offerings beyond basic compatibility, and expand its ecosystem of partners to truly rival Oracle's corporate backing.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Oracle Linux offers a seamless deployment process, supported by comprehensive documentation and dedicated technical support, facilitating enterprise transitions. Rocky Linux provides a straightforward community-assisted deployment process but lacks the robust professional support services that Oracle Linux offers, primarily relying on its community for assistance.

Pricing and ROI: Oracle Linux's pricing model involves higher setup costs due to its subscription-based support, offering significant ROI for enterprises leveraging its extensive service integrations. In contrast, Rocky Linux provides a more cost-effective solution with its free distribution model, offering a favorable cost-benefit ratio for organizations focused on minimizing initial expenditures.

To learn more, read our detailed Oracle Linux vs. Rocky Linux Report (Updated: March 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Oracle Linux vs. Rocky Linux

March 2025

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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

Oracle Linux

Ranking in Operating Systems (OS) for Business

3rd

Average Rating

8.4

Reviews Sentiment

7.7

Number of Reviews

112

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Rocky Linux

Ranking in Operating Systems (OS) for Business

5th

Average Rating

8.4

Reviews Sentiment

7.8

Number of Reviews

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 Oracle Linux is 11.1%, down from 14.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Rocky Linux is 15.2%, up from 9.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Operating Systems (OS) for Business

Featured Reviews

Marcelo Muniz

Database Engineer at kyndryl

The operational system is the best and is packed with free features like CapsLive

It is important to work with a vendor who will sell you the correct product for your environment rather than just try to make the most money off of you. Study the solution and learn how to install it correctly and use it in the best ways. Follow best practices from Oracle and get some training in the operational system. The solution comes with a lot of features and options that you can use for free. It is reliable and you can even use an old version with no issues. It is not the most user friendly, but you can learn it with a bit of study. Overall, the solution beats other operational systems by a large margin. The solution is rated a nine out of ten.

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Dominique Locksley

Linux System Administrator at Adapt IT

Very simple to work with, easy to learn, and has a competitive pricing

The UX design, the user front end, and the user GUI are very well done on the GNOME and KDE platform side. It's very simple to work with, easy to learn, and know where things are. I have worked with a lot of different solutions like Debian, Ubuntu, Red Hat, and CentOS. Rocky Linux is very easy, and if you switch from one to the other, you can easily detect your tools in the front end. Since it is very similar to the file system breakdown of downloads and documents, it's very easy to show users where things will be.

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Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The virtual environment is the best I've ever worked with."

"We find the consolidated support for this solution and other same vendor systems to be an extremely valuable feature. This allows for faster resolution of issues and consistency of support personnel."

"The installation is straightforward."

"The platform is stable, and there is no risk of viruses, unlike the Microsoft platform."

"It's very useful for hosting other Oracle products."

"The features that I have found to be the most valuable are the performance, stability, and support that Oracle offers for the solution."

"When it comes to my favorite features of Oracle Linux, I have been impressed with its ability to facilitate a smooth and efficient workflow system. This system is responsible for gathering data from multiple cameras and transferring this information to the backend systems. The system comprises around 10 to 12 servers, all of which are integrated into a highly reliable and redundant cluster setup. Currently, we are using Red Hat Linux for our production needs, however, we have plans to switch over to Oracle Linux in the near future. The reason for this change is due to the specialized nature of our system which precludes the use of cloud computing capabilities."

"There is full compatibility with RedHat-based operating systems, in particular Centos, which we widely deployed before Oracle Linux (OL)."

More Oracle Linux pros

"It helps us keep our workstations in sync and ensures consistent settings across most of our machines."

"I haven't needed to use customer service or support, which speaks volumes about their product's reliability and ease of use."

"The custom install scripts streamline the setup process, making it straightforward."

"It's very simple to work with, easy to learn, and know where things are."

"The most valuable feature of the solution is its stability."

Cons

"They should improve in the area of entertainment applications for the average user."

"Occasionally, we might get an alert to restart our database, and if we don't do it on our own, the system will do it automatically. That can cause downtime issues if your clients aren't expecting it."

"The support process is time-consuming as it involves several steps."

"There can be improvements to the documentation capabilities."

"The product's support is expensive."

"The licensing price could be better."

"The price of Oracle Linux should improve, it is expensive compared to other solutions."

"The installation documentation needs to be improved"

More Oracle Linux cons

"The solution's audio integration for virtual machines could be improved."

"One of the potential issues is that if you don't pay for support, you may need to manage certain aspects on your own and rely on the community for assistance."

"I have certain problems with the tool's DNS part, making it an area where improvements are required."

"In terms of improvement, Rocky Linux needs to clarify its identity and target audience."

"Improved integration with Windows, particularly Active Directory, would be beneficial for the product. Currently, this aspect requires additional effort."

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It is an expensive solution for us."

"The solution is free."

"We pay for a license for this solution annually."

"We have a yearly license, and I think Oracle charges too much."

"The solution is less expensive than Solaris and allows for use of existing hardware."

"This solution is very cost-effective, as it is essentially free, with charges only for support purposes."

"The pricing and licensing are good."

"There is a license required for this solution and we are on an annual license."

More Oracle Linux pricing and cost advice

"Compared to the market prices of other tools, the solution has a very competitive pricing."

"The product is expensive. I rate the pricing a three."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

14%

Government

Manufacturing Company

Financial Services Firm

Computer Software Company

14%

University

12%

Educational Organization

10%

Comms Service Provider

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

No data available

Questions from the Community

How does Oracle Linux compare with Solaris?

When comparing Oracle Linux and Solaris, I believe that Linux is more secure and more flexible. It is also very suitable for enterprises that are already Oracle solution users. I found Linux to be ...

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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 support. This solution is suitable for both desktop and server use. It has a very app...

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What do you like most about Oracle Linux?

The product is 99.99% stable.

See all answers

What do you like most about Rocky Linux?

It's very simple to work with, easy to learn, and know where things are.

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What needs improvement with Rocky Linux?

Improved integration with Windows, particularly Active Directory, would be beneficial for the product. Currently, this aspect requires additional effort.

See all answers

What is your primary use case for Rocky Linux?

I use the solution in my company to do some automation stuff to run Ansible, and it has an administration server to provide all the Linux control like a client node can be connected to that master ...

See all answers

Comparisons

Ubuntu Linux vs Oracle Linux

Compared 24% of the time

CentOS vs Oracle Linux

Compared 20% of the time

Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) vs Oracle Linux

Compared 9% of the time

Oracle Solaris vs Oracle Linux

Compared 9% of the time

Windows Server vs Oracle Linux

Compared 4% of the time

More Oracle Linux Competitors

Ubuntu Linux vs Rocky Linux

Compared 27% of the time

Fedora Linux vs Rocky Linux

Compared 22% of the time

Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) vs Rocky Linux

Compared 9% of the time

openSUSE Leap vs Rocky Linux

Compared 7% of the time

Debian vs Rocky Linux

Compared 7% of the time

More Rocky Linux Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Oracle Linux

March 2025

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Buyer's Guide

Operating Systems (OS) for Business

March 2025

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Also Known As

Oracle Enterprise Linux

No data available

Overview

Oracle Linux is a stable, reliable, and scalable operating system primarily used for deploying and running Oracle databases. It is also suitable for various other functions, including managing operating systems and web servers, supporting traffic surveillance, and identity management.

Oracle Linux is highly valued for its stability, reliability, scalability, good technical support, and ease of use. It has helped organizations to achieve faster DNS queries, stable development environments, reduced vulnerability issues, good performance for Oracle applications, and improved ability to run test scenarios and parallel queries across massive databases.

Oracle Linux Features

Oracle Linux has many valuable key features. Some of the most useful ones include:

The software is 100% free (no cost) to use, distribute, and update

Ksplice allows for zero-downtime kernel and user-space upgrades

DTrace provides comprehensive kernel and application tracing

For Oracle Linux Support clients, Linux management and high availability are available at no additional cost

It's Oracle-optimized and works well with Oracle Database and Oracle Applications
New workload optimizations:
- Enhanced memory performance by attempting to better locate a process near its memory and better placement of tasks that do not fit on a single NUMA node
- SPECjbb's performance has been improved by up to 3.6 times thanks to optimizations that help reduce lock contention.
- With bcache, it's simple to employ SSDs as a block cache for slower block devices. A new, scaled block layer subsystem supports many millions of IOps on NVM-Express and high-end PCI-E devices.
Oracle Linux has three deployment options:

Linux in the cloud: Oracle Linux Premier Support is included in all Oracle Cloud Infrastructure subscriptions at no additional cost.
Linux on premises: This is the industry's most comprehensive and open Linux distribution.
Embedded Linux design: Embedding a feature-rich Linux distribution is an optimized, cost-effective solution for your business.

Oracle Linux Benefits

There are many benefits to implementing Oracle Linux. Some of the biggest advantages the solution offers include:

Save money by only paying for support for the systems you need
Improve security by applying patches faster and spending less time troubleshooting and updating
Improve Oracle software and hardware performance

Reviews from Real Users

Oracle Linux stands out among its competitors for a number of reasons. Two major ones are its stability and scalability. PeerSpot users take note of the advantages of these features in their reviews:

One PeerSpot reviewer, an IT Manager, reports, “I find the virtualization the most valuable.” He adds, “Oracle Linux is the best Linux operating system that I have ever known. It is very stable and strong.”

An Enterprise Architect at a financial services firm writes of the solution, “You also don't have memory issues, especially when it is engineered with platforms like Exadata and Oracle Cluster. These give you the most throughput and performance.” He adds, “It is very scalable, especially on platforms like Oracle Cluster and Exadata.”

Oracle

Rocky Linux is a robust and secure enterprise-grade operating system designed as a drop-in replacement for CentOS. Its primary use case is to provide a stable and reliable platform for organizations to run their critical workloads and applications.

The most valuable functionality of Rocky Linux lies in its compatibility with CentOS, ensuring a seamless transition for organizations already using CentOS. It offers long-term support, regular security updates, and a predictable release cycle, providing stability and reliability for mission-critical systems.

Rocky Linux helps organizations by offering a free and open-source alternative to CentOS, which was discontinued by Red Hat. It allows businesses to continue using their existing CentOS-based infrastructure without the need for costly migrations or vendor lock-in. With its strong community support and active development, Rocky Linux ensures a sustainable and community-driven future for CentOS users.

Moreover, Rocky Linux is built with security in mind, providing robust features like SELinux and secure defaults. This helps organizations protect their data and systems from potential threats and vulnerabilities.

Rocky Linux

Sample Customers

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Information Not Available

Buyer's Guide

Oracle Linux vs. Rocky Linux

March 2025

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