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SUSE Linux Enterprise vs Windows Server comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jul 3, 2025

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

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
Windows Server
Ranking in Operating Systems (OS) for Business
4th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
193
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of July 2025, in the Operating Systems (OS) for Business category, the mindshare of SUSE Linux Enterprise is 6.9%, down from 8.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Windows Server is 9.3%, up from 8.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Operating Systems (OS) for Business
 

Featured Reviews

Naveen Venugopal - PeerSpot reviewer
Efficient IT management with crucial automatic updates but needs developer-friendly configuration
Sometimes it is a bit of work for developers to change the configurations. Some kernels will not fit with some packages, and this aspect could be improved. Furthermore, the system's rigidity when updating packages and services needs improvement. Additionally, there should be more loosely bound functionalities to improve developer experience.
Jai Prakash Sharma - PeerSpot reviewer
Efficient Management Achieved with Internal Resources and Reliable Technical Support
Maintenance of Windows Server varies by organization, but for us, it's not very difficult as we have in-house resources managing these tasks. However, it can become a bit tricky when we want to see a collated view of our security posture. Regarding AI integrations with Windows Server, Copilot adoption is progressing, though I have only experienced it on endpoints and not on the server side. We operate significant workloads on AI, but we consume those primarily on Linux rather than Windows Server. I don't have much experience regarding integration capabilities in Windows Server for AI workloads, so I may not be the right person to provide insights on that. Overall, I am quite happy with my experience using Windows Server. I don't have many constraints or concerns, so I would rate it eight out of ten.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"YaST simplifies the server management of SUSE allowing for a centralized utility to control most of the server functions."
"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."
"The most valuable features of the solution are patching and the BTRFS file system."
"The solution offers a secure operation system."
"The initial setup is very straightforward."
"It's a flexible solution."
"It is a stable platform."
"The product's initial setup phase was easy."
"The setup is easy."
"The scalability it offers is great."
"The most valuable features of Windows Server for us are scalability, hardware compatibility, and support for various hardware interfaces like communication boards."
"As I said, it was the the simplicity of the solution. It's easy to use or easy to identify what company's been what beneficial for the company, would be I guess it was easy to distinguish what we needed or what Perfect."
"This product works well for the applications that we have hosted on it."
"We find the initial implementation process to be quick and easy."
"Within 10 or 15 minutes, you can build a single Windows Server and put it on production."
"Nothing is required for the maintenance of the solution, Microsoft does everything. It is very good and robust."
 

Cons

"The free version sometimes has security holes."
"The quality of support offered by SUSE Linux Enterprise is not that great, making it an area where improvements are required."
"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."
"They should provide chatbot support for customers to open the troubleshooting cases directly."
"I would like to see better functionality for interacting with cloud-based systems."
"I have not been overly impressed with their technical support."
"All distributions of Linux could use some improvement."
"The only stability issues that I can recall encountering with SUSE would be with KDE. However, that is limited to just the desktop environment as I have not had stability issues with ​most server functions."
"In terms of improvement, performance could be enhanced."
"The technical support could improve."
"The security could be improved."
"The integration and monitoring could be improved."
"Perhaps the scalability could be better."
"While the solution is stable, it could be more so."
"The security is not good."
"As for additional features, we are very interested in the new feature released by Windows: Azure Virtual Desktop. We are currently exploring it so that instead of people depending on their own desktop, we could work on Azure Virtual Desktop. Integration with Azure Virtual Desktop would be cool."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The tool is expensive compared to Red Hat. I rate its pricing a nine out of ten."
"The platform is affordable."
"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."
"Anyone can use Linux because it is open-source."
"There is no license for this solution, there is only a subscription of support available."
"As far as licensing goes, there is nothing unusual here. The price and model have worked fine for my organization."
"The price is reasonable."
"The product is expensive. We purchase its yearly license."
"There is an annual license required for this solution."
"We had to purchase the solution and also the licenses to go on each computer system."
"We pay yearly for a license. If you ask any vendor they will tell you that it could be cheaper."
"To use Windows Server, we pay for licensing yearly. The licensing cost should be cheaper—it is expensive and should not cost that much."
"There is not a license required for this solution."
"Our customers prefer lifetime licenses."
"We have an enterprise agreement with Microsoft and the price for the license is bundled together. The solution is expensive but for the bank that is using it, the price is fine. We pay for a license every three years."
"I rate the product's pricing an eight out of ten."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
13%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Government
8%
Computer Software Company
13%
Government
9%
Comms Service Provider
8%
Financial Services Firm
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

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...
What needs improvement with Windows Server?
We haven't utilized Windows containers and Kubernetes for deploying any applications. I'm trying to learn it and have started to watch YouTube content for my understanding. I cannot tell if the sec...
What is your primary use case for Windows Server?
The main use cases for Windows Server involve file sharing, such as file server and network shares. We are not a big organization using Windows Server. We are in the transportation industry, and we...
 

Also Known As

SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications 12 SP3
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

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, ...
Rakuten, Rackspace, Tyco
Find out what your peers are saying about SUSE Linux Enterprise vs. Windows Server and other solutions. Updated: July 2025.
861,524 professionals have used our research since 2012.