Try our new research platform with insights from 80,000+ expert users

Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) vs Windows Server 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:
 

ROI

Sentiment score
8.0
Red Hat Enterprise Linux offers high ROI with cost savings, improved efficiency, strong support, and enhanced stability for enterprises.
Sentiment score
1.4
Windows Server boosts efficiency, stability, and system performance, offering business value despite challenges in quantifying financial benefits and ROI.
Red Hat Enterprise Linux has saved us time and increased productivity.
Using Red Hat Enterprise Linux can yield resource savings of 200 percent to 300 percent compared to Windows Server instances.
We're very competitive commercially and technically because of it.
We've seen value in Windows Server because the systems work smoothly without any problems.
Windows Server offers excellent value for money, particularly when compared to alternatives.
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
8.0
RHEL support is highly rated for its knowledgeable team, timely responses, and robust problem-solving, despite occasional delays.
Sentiment score
6.3
Customers experience mixed support from Windows Server, with some praising promptness and others noting delays and varying service quality.
They respond immediately based on the SLA level.
The technical support is excellent.
They promptly addressed my concerns regarding permission issues when I contacted them.
Our in-house team can also solve most issues.
If you go through a partner who sells or supports Windows, the support could be around seven out of ten, because Windows relies on these partners for assistance.
Microsoft's technical support for Windows Server has been lacking, with rare responses even with premium support.
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.8
Red Hat Enterprise Linux excels in scalability, managing diverse environments and workloads efficiently with seamless integration and reliable performance.
Sentiment score
8.2
Windows Server is praised for scalability and flexibility, efficiently supporting diverse environments despite some complex environment challenges.
There are no issues with scalability when it comes to Red Hat Enterprise Linux.
Each computer has at least 24 to 72 CPUs in it, and everything runs on Red Hat Enterprise Linux or Rocky.
I would rate the scalability of Red Hat Enterprise Linux as nine out of ten, indicating it scales well with our needs.
I rate its scalability a ten out of ten.
It's definitely scalable.
The solution is used extensively in our organization, and we have plans to increase the usage.
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
8.3
RHEL is highly stable and reliable, favored for business-critical applications due to long uptimes and minimal issues.
Sentiment score
7.9
Windows Server is praised for stability and reliability improvements but faces challenges with updates, heavy load, and security concerns.
It works consistently with minimal downtime and very few bugs or glitches.
Red Hat Enterprise Linux offers great stability and performance compared to other operating systems.
Red Hat Enterprise Linux is very stable.
We have experienced no blue screens or crashes and often achieved an uptime of 2,000 to 3,000 days without any issues whatsoever.
Stability-wise, I rate the solution a ten out of ten.
The tool is stable.
 

Room For Improvement

RHEL users desire improvements in documentation, usability, security, automation, compatibility, and support to enhance overall user experience.
Windows Server needs enhanced security, lower pricing, better integration, simplified management, intuitive UI, and improved performance and technical support.
Addressing these limitations would significantly enhance the operating system's flexibility and efficiency.
The built-in security features of Red Hat Enterprise Linux were insufficient for our needs, necessitating the implementation of supplementary security measures.
By providing pre-installed, native automation tools within the operating system, Red Hat would streamline processes and improve user efficiency.
The solution should improve its stability.
From a security perspective, sometimes, malware attacks and hackers take advantage of the tool's vulnerabilities.
Deploying antivirus and firewall software on the server is advisable, but having an external firewall adds an extra layer of security.
 

Setup Cost

Red Hat Enterprise Linux's pricing is justified by its support and features, yet smaller companies consider alternatives for cost savings.
Windows Server licensing is complex and costly, with varying pricing models that often require detailed assessment and clearer structures.
It may be considered expensive compared to other solutions like CentOS or Ubuntu, which offer some of the same features without additional costs.
Its pricing has room for improvement because it's more expensive in the local market due to purchasing power parity in India.
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.
It is quite expensive.
Previously, a Windows Server with two processors cost around two 154 euros annually, but now it is estimated to be around 3,000 to 4,000 euros for the same configuration.
On a scale of one to ten, with ten being the most expensive, I rate it ten out of ten.
 

Valuable Features

Red Hat Enterprise Linux excels in stability, security, and usability with strong automation tools and support, ideal for diverse infrastructures.
Windows Server offers robust features, scalability, and security with easy integration, enhancing performance and supporting diverse enterprise needs.
It also has strong security features, is OIS and FIPS certified, and has built-in Linux security configurations.
The security features are the most valuable.
The most valuable feature of Red Hat Enterprise Linux is its command-line capabilities, which allow you to execute large operations quickly.
Windows Server is a stable and scalable solution.
The most valuable features of the solution stem from the fact that every Microsoft product is scalable, flexible, secure, and available on a certain budget.
The IP directory is the most valuable feature.
 

Categories and Ranking

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
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 January 2025, in the Operating Systems (OS) for Business category, the mindshare of Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) is 11.8%, down from 12.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Windows Server is 9.6%, up from 8.9% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Operating Systems (OS) for Business
 

Featured Reviews

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.
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.
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Operating Systems (OS) for Business solutions are best for your needs.
831,158 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

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
15%
Manufacturing Company
12%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Government
9%
Computer Software Company
13%
Government
10%
Educational Organization
9%
Financial Services Firm
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 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...
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.
 

Also Known As

Red Hat Enterprise Linux, RHEL
No data available
 

Learn More

 

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