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Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) vs SUSE Linux Enterprise 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

Red Hat Enterprise Linux (R...
Ranking in Operating Systems (OS) for Business
1st
Average Rating
8.8
Reviews Sentiment
7.3
Number of Reviews
273
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
SUSE Linux Enterprise
Ranking in Operating Systems (OS) for Business
7th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.3
Number of Reviews
32
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 Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) is 9.9%, down from 12.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SUSE Linux Enterprise is 7.2%, down 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.
Dominique Locksley - PeerSpot reviewer
Has good kernel modules and upgrades
I like how the tool handles kernel modules and upgrades - we rarely have issues after upgrades, unlike with other Linux distributions like Oracle Linux or Ubuntu. The kernel module management is excellent. Changes made in one version typically work the same in other versions too, which isn't always the case with other distributions. There's also lots of information and community support available if you run into any problems, both on the official website and in forums and user groups. I know many people who use it specifically, so it's easy to get independent support if needed. I've been working with the tool for a long time, since 2003, before they became SUSE Linux Enterprise. It's always been one of the most admin-friendly Linux versions.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The solution has features that simplify adoption for non-Linux users. There is an interface that you can activate on RHEL systems, and on other Linux systems as well, so that you will get a graphical user interface instead of just a shell. It's easier for an administrator who is used to only working on Windows."
"Customer support for Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) is rated as a ten out of ten."
"The most valuable feature of the solution is its good integration with Ansible."
"RHEL improves database and application performance for my end users. The application can collect regional and national data for my end user, a strategic customer in Indonesia."
"Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 updates the Cipher Suites and the security proceeds it. I wasn't pleasantly surprised because a bunch of our server communication didn't work. Having the Cipher Suites updated is a good thing but was not convenient."
"RHEL is the most reliable Linux flavor in terms of enterprise governance. I prefer it for its code stability, support, and integration. The lifecycle management features help us maintain compliance and keep the components updated."
"The feature that I like the most is that we can integrate it easily with our existing infrastructure. We found that it is much easier to deploy RHEL in our environment compared to a competing distribution like Ubuntu."
"One of the most valuable features is the package manager because it makes it easier to keep everything up to date."
"Some of the functionalities I like the most are the security features. This includes security restrictions on specific folders and secure communication for SFTP. These features are more secure and reliable. The tool also makes compliance possible."
"It also was very easy to setup, and offered an easy to use advanced setup option as well. This helped to create special configurations for different use cases."
"SUSE Linux was stable for me. I did not experience any problems with its stability."
"It is very easy to maintain, migrate and upgrade."
"The return on investment has been significant, especially considering its cost-effectiveness compared to other solutions."
"The most valuable feature of the solution is the installation part...We don't face any issues related to the operating system or application."
"The initial setup for most modern Linux distributions is normally straightforward. Most of the common distributions use an ncurses or GUI install."
"The technical support services are good."
 

Cons

"As such, there are no specific features that we are looking for. We have frequent meetings with them. We have had some issues on the application side and the OS side for which we opened cases and discussed those concerns and questions in the meetings offered by Red Hat."
"I want RHEL to stick to the open-source routes. As a company, we experience challenges in managing the budget."
"Live patching should be improved."
"I'm also using IBM AIX, which supports a tool called Smitty. You just put Smitty, and you can do anything. At the backend, the command will run automatically. It is not exactly like a GUI, but you just give the input and it will give you the output. That is something that Red Hat should work on. That would be an added advantage with Red Hat."
"Its pricing is good and competitive."
"Red Hat could enhance its user experience by incorporating built-in automation tools, eliminating users needing to install, set up, or configure external applications."
"I encountered an issue updating the time zone for one of my assigned countries due to a daylight-saving time change."
"Writing SELinux policies is sometimes very hard if you want to deploy a new application on it."
"The software management side was a bit difficult, especially compared to Ubuntu."
"The quality of support offered by SUSE Linux Enterprise is not that great, making it an area where improvements are required."
"The solution could be more stable."
"They should improve their educational portal."
"If you want to do something simple like changing an IP number, you have to be quite aware of all the configuration files where you will change that."
"The price of SUSE Linux Enterprise could improve, it is too expensive."
"When working in a Department of Defense environment, Security Technical Implementation Guides (STIGs) have to be followed. SLES is not really addressed directly here. It did make following security policy difficult."
"The interface could improve."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Pricing is something that needs to be worked out with the vendor. The more you have, the less you pay. That is the model nowadays in IT, but it is very cost-effective. You get what you pay for."
"Red Hat is stable, and we always opt for the lower-tier subscription, which is affordable."
"We use open source. We only have a subscription for support."
"Red Hat Linux is inexpensive. Linux solutions are generally inexpensive."
"We are good as of now. We do not have any concerns about licensing. Its price is still good for us."
"I have purchased the license via hyperscalers and transferred it as well. I purchased the license from the marketplace and also from Red Hat. Pricing is something that can always be better."
"We used to get our own license model. We purchased a license through Red Hat."
"The licensing with Red Hat is on par with other organizations like Microsoft. We have a site license, which gives us a certain number of servers, perhaps 25,000, for the type of license that we have. That works really well for us."
"The product is expensive. We purchase its yearly license."
"The license we pay is for Oracle. We make use of the community edition."
"The price is reasonable."
"The price of SUSE Linux Enterprise could be cheaper. Other solutions, such as"
"I rate the product price an eight on a scale of one to ten, where one is a low price, and ten is a high price."
"I would advise others to download the free or strictly open source versions, then test them in their environment before committing to a purchase. This will allow for testing suitability for applications that they want to run."
"The platform is affordable."
"The tool is expensive compared to Red Hat. I rate its pricing a nine out of ten."
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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
15%
Manufacturing Company
12%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Government
9%
Computer Software Company
15%
Manufacturing Company
12%
Government
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)?
The setup and licensing costs for RHEL are high, especially concerning support and associated applications. Red Hat charges high prices for support solutions like Ansible ( /products/red-hat-ansibl...
What do you like most about SUSE Linux Enterprise?
The initial setup is simple and takes five minutes for deployment and if you have automation in place, it will take four minutes.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for SUSE Linux Enterprise?
I used the open-source version, so there were no setup costs.
What needs improvement with SUSE Linux Enterprise?
The software management side was a bit difficult, especially compared to Ubuntu. The software manager was different, making it challenging to install certain applications. Additionally, I encounter...
 

Also Known As

Red Hat Enterprise Linux, RHEL
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
Air India, Akademicki Szpital Kliniczny (ASK), Allone, Altran, Apollo, ARCHIVA, Asia Innovatory Management School, ATLAS ELEKTRONIK GmbH, AutoData Norge AS, Baldor Electric, Business Connexion, CASIO, Ciclum Farma, Delta Lloyd, Edumate , HPE,  SAP SE,  Lenovo, BMW, T-Systems, UCX, Turners & Growers, Shenzhen Development Bank, Bosch Group, JK Tyres & Industries, IOCL, European Space Agency, Daimler AG, China Minsheng Banking Corp, Café Coffee Day, Unisys,  Petrochina Company Ltd, Fitch Ratings, ABeam Consulting Co Ltd, Tyro Payments, Rackspace, Pacific Textiles, ...
Find out what your peers are saying about Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) vs. SUSE Linux Enterprise and other solutions. Updated: February 2025.
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