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Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) vs Windows 11 comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jan 25, 2026

Review summaries and opinions

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

ROI

Sentiment score
6.3
RHEL delivers strong ROI with enhanced security, efficient operations, seamless integration, and reduced downtime, optimizing costs and performance.
Sentiment score
5.1
Windows 11 offers user-friendliness, stability, and cost-effective upgrades, enhancing efficiency and ROI for many companies.
A long lifecycle is key to having a good return on investment.
Architect at KnowIT
Being able to transform common manual tasks that previously took all day into processes that take an hour, half an hour, or even less, demonstrates clear value.
Systems administrator at a retailer with 501-1,000 employees
I invest effort and money in RHEL 8, expecting the system to be secure and reliable when serving my clients.
Associate Director at a financial services firm with 10,001+ employees
It has definitely saved time and generated a return on investment as well.
Presales Engineer at Crayon AS
I believe we have seen a return on investment from using Windows 11 since our company is primarily a software house where most costs stem from salaries and licenses.
Software Engineer at a tech services company with 51-200 employees
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
7.3
RHEL support is praised for professionalism and responsiveness, though initial resolutions may vary; overall satisfaction is high.
Sentiment score
5.2
Windows 11 support experiences vary, with some appreciating efficient assistance and others encountering delays or using internal resources.
Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) support is great, as they go beyond their duty to help resolve issues and provide solutions even for third-party software such as XRDP.
Senior Infrastructure Systems Administrator at a healthcare company with 1,001-5,000 employees
When we do contact customer service, they are generally very knowledgeable and well-versed in our size.
Solutions Architect at a healthcare company with 10,001+ employees
Usually, I send the information, and they have something for me within hours, sometimes even minutes.
Team manager at Evertec
The technical support team’s response time is very slow.
Senior Technical Manager at Peristent Systems
We have an internal team that supports all the Microsoft issues within the system.
Chief Executive Officer at a tech services company with 201-500 employees
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.3
Red Hat Enterprise Linux scales effectively, integrates with cloud and automation tools, and efficiently handles workloads across environments.
Sentiment score
6.3
Windows 11 offers scalable solutions for enterprises, excelling in vertical scaling while requiring Windows Server for horizontal expansion.
Many of our applications scale really well, with some having several hundreds of VMs, which we couldn't accomplish on Windows.
Solutions Architect at a transportation company with 10,001+ employees
Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) scales very well with the growing needs of our company.
Director, DevOps at Lightedge Solutions
Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) handles increases in users, applications, or data smoothly, which is why we use it for all our projects, as it provides us with confidence.
Cloud Administrator at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
We faced challenges integrating it in multi-app environments, requiring complex API setups.
Associate Vice President at Rishabh Software
The solution's scalability is good because it allows you to run a large number of virtual machines.
Senior Technical Manager at Peristent Systems
It scales well vertically, so a single machine can be very powerful without reaching its limits.
Software Engineer at a tech services company with 51-200 employees
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
7.9
Red Hat Enterprise Linux is praised for stability, reliability, secure updates, and effectively handling business-critical workloads in enterprises.
Sentiment score
6.7
Windows 11 is praised for stability and performance, though some users face update issues and prefer Windows 10.
It works consistently with minimal downtime and very few bugs or glitches.
Senior DevOps Engineer at a financial services firm with 10,001+ employees
It just works, and that's really the key factor; I can't remember the last time we had a system go down and had to restore it due to a bad patch.
Senior software engineer at a financial services firm with 10,001+ employees
We've not had a service outage with Red Hat in six years.
Team Lead, Linux Systems & Tools at a tech vendor with 5,001-10,000 employees
The solution's high level of stability ensures that the machine doesn't go down multiple times.
Senior Technical Manager at Peristent Systems
The stability can be influenced by the status and specifications of our company PCs.
IT Specialist at EMA
Regarding stability, I would say the Slack issue which I found; other than that, I think all of the other things are pretty smooth.
S QA Engineer at 7Vals
 

Room For Improvement

Red Hat Enterprise Linux needs improvements in CLI, integration, compatibility, security, user experience, multi-cloud, training, and upgrade processes.
Windows 11 needs better integration, security, performance, and AI features while addressing stability, compatibility, and cost issues.
Addressing these limitations would significantly enhance the operating system's flexibility and efficiency.
Senior DevOps Engineer at a financial services firm with 10,001+ employees
The built-in security features of Red Hat Enterprise Linux were insufficient for our needs, necessitating the implementation of supplementary security measures.
IT Infrastructure Engineer at a manufacturing company with 11-50 employees
By providing pre-installed, native automation tools within the operating system, Red Hat would streamline processes and improve user efficiency.
Systems Engineer at a tech vendor with 501-1,000 employees
For a better experience, Windows 11 should be improved to take fewer resources.
Delivery Manager at Ford Motor Company
The needed improvements in Windows 11 include that the Copilot integration needs a better user interface experience with rich features, alongside making a very simple UI experience as well.
Presales Engineer at Crayon AS
It still feels more oriented toward consumer use rather than enterprise use, and the company is forced to maintain extensive backward compatibility, which creates technical debt.
Software Engineer at a tech services company with 51-200 employees
 

Setup Cost

Enterprise users find RHEL's pricing high but value its support and reliability, though smaller businesses prefer flexible pricing.
Enterprise feedback on Windows 11 pricing varies, with opinions split between seeing it as costly and reasonably priced.
It may be considered expensive compared to other solutions like CentOS or Ubuntu, which offer some of the same features without additional costs.
Cloud Infrastructure Architect at a healthcare company with 10,001+ employees
Its pricing has room for improvement because it's more expensive in the local market due to purchasing power parity in India.
Cloud engineer at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
Windows Servers base their cost on the number of users and have high licensing fees, while Red Hat Enterprise Linux offers free versions alongside its paid, supported versions.
Senior DevOps Engineer at a financial services firm with 10,001+ employees
I have a university license, so I do not pay anything for Windows 11.
Associate Professor at a educational organization with 501-1,000 employees
The licensing is expensive, but it's value for money.
Associate Vice President at Rishabh Software
We use a cracked version of Windows, so there are no licensing costs.
IT Specialist at EMA
 

Valuable Features

Red Hat Enterprise Linux offers strong security, automation, and hybrid cloud support, praised for stability, scalability, and enterprise reliability.
Windows 11 enhances productivity with features like snap layouts, improved security, seamless multitasking, and development tools integration.
It also has strong security features, is OIS and FIPS certified, and has built-in Linux security configurations.
Cloud Infrastructure Architect at a healthcare company with 10,001+ employees
There is also no downtime.
Linux/DevOps Engineer at Ekwantu Consulting
The operating system allows for the simple addition of kernels, modules, and other applications, making it highly adaptable to various needs.
Technical Lead at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
The solution is fast, doesn't get hung, and minimizes operational issues, which improves the end user's productivity.
Senior Technical Manager at Peristent Systems
We use it for the validation of our data and code, or even code generation.
VP & GM, Client Storage at Micron Technology
It has good security features, providing strong protection against platform viruses and vulnerabilities, which secures my resources.
IT Specialist at EMA
 

Categories and Ranking

Red Hat Enterprise Linux (R...
Ranking in Operating Systems (OS) for Business
1st
Average Rating
8.8
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
432
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Windows 11
Ranking in Operating Systems (OS) for Business
6th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.1
Number of Reviews
52
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of June 2026, in the Operating Systems (OS) for Business category, the mindshare of Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) is 7.0%, down from 9.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Windows 11 is 7.6%, up from 6.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Operating Systems (OS) for Business Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL)7.0%
Windows 117.6%
Other85.4%
Operating Systems (OS) for Business
 

Featured Reviews

CC
Vice President at a financial services firm with 10,001+ employees
Automation has transformed daily operations and supports secure, continuous infrastructure
When considering improvements to Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL), I see one primary area. Within your portal, if you provided more study material along with demonstrations similar to the sessions we are attending, which feature a user-friendly guide, you could incorporate this into your Red Hat console. When I want to install an agent or something else, typing in the console should provide me with clear step-by-step instructions. Throughout the years, installation steps have been available, but regarding AI agents or Ansible automation, I need to verify whether clear information exists. Including this information would be beneficial. Additionally, if you add the sessions that have occurred to your portal or another location, this would help us review them multiple times to gain better understanding. Time is limited, and many sessions occur simultaneously, making it impossible to attend everything. Making these sessions available on your website would be very helpful.
Naveenkumar Lakshman - PeerSpot reviewer
Presales Engineer at Crayon AS
Daily work has become smoother and organized as I manage calls, notes, and files efficiently
The best features that Windows 11 offers in my opinion are Notepad++ and the integration, as I could use Microsoft 365 on it and I could also run many applications. If I want to use Linux, then I could use Windows Subsystem for Linux as well. Most of the industry-wide applications are easily installable on Windows 11 and user-friendly as well. Windows 11 has definitely impacted my organization positively because you could see that all the day-to-day activities, most of our professionals would use a Windows system itself. In terms of productivity, Windows 11 has made a positive difference as we use a mail inbox with its links and Microsoft Teams, which is available. Windows 11 is natively installable and very friendly with the compatible operating system, and alongside, we have other applications that are available. Edge browser, which is the default browser for Windows 11, is also a good browser and a very decent option. Additionally, we have other features available for the day-to-day activities. You can see it gives you a basic calendar, calculator, and camera options, and you have the File Explorer. You get a pretty decent operating system for a layman to work on a day-to-day basis. While there are certain tasks that consume a certain amount of time, Windows 11 reduces the time. The usability and architecture, how it is built, makes a user get into a state where they don't need to spend excessive effort on the task to be done. You can get everything through a UI-based interface, and everything is sorted and very simple. Over the period of time, the operating system evolution by Microsoft is good for the individual workspace.
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Comparison Review

it_user281973 - PeerSpot reviewer
Storage and VMware Expert at a comms service provider with 1,001-5,000 employees
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
Financial Services Firm
12%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Government
7%
Computer Software Company
7%
Comms Service Provider
13%
Manufacturing Company
9%
University
8%
Computer Software Company
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business92
Midsize Enterprise50
Large Enterprise309
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business14
Midsize Enterprise12
Large Enterprise27
 

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 is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL)?
My experience with the pricing, the setup cost, and the licensing of Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) has been pretty good. I have no complaints.
What needs improvement with Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL)?
I've never really thought about how Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) could be improved, but the only thing I wish they had that I've asked Red Hat for so far is something resembling managed service ...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Windows 11?
My experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing for Windows 11 is not something I can share, as I am not the one responsible for that; it falls to other colleagues in my company.
What needs improvement with Windows 11?
For me, as a power user looking to customize Windows 11, I do not prefer the many different available package managers such as Winget, Scoop, and Chocolatey, as I find it very fragmented. It would ...
What is your primary use case for Windows 11?
My main use case for Windows 11 at my company is as an operating system that I use daily for work. It is the foundation that allows me to work effectively. As a .NET developer, I perform many tasks...
 

Also Known As

Red Hat Enterprise Linux, RHEL, Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) for AWS
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

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
Information Not Available
Find out what your peers are saying about Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) vs. Windows 11 and other solutions. Updated: June 2026.
899,258 professionals have used our research since 2012.