AlmaLinux vs openSUSE Leap comparison

AlmaLinux and openSUSE are both solutions in the Operating Systems (OS) for Business category. AlmaLinux is ranked #17 with an average rating of 10.0, while openSUSE is ranked #11 with an average rating of 9.0. Additionally, 100% of AlmaLinux users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 100% of openSUSE users who would recommend it.

AlmaLinux

Read 4 AlmaLinux reviews

1,565 Views
1,487 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

openSUSE Leap

Read 6 openSUSE Leap reviews

5,454 Views
5,454 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

AlmaLinux

openSUSE Leap

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Jan 4, 2026

OpenSUSE Leap and AlmaLinux are competing products within the Linux distribution space. Data comparisons suggest that openSUSE Leap has an advantage in feature diversity, while AlmaLinux excels in deployment convenience.

Features: openSUSE Leap provides a powerful YaST configuration tool, robust package management, and extensive customization options, making it ideal for enterprises in need of comprehensive control. AlmaLinux offers binary compatibility with RHEL, ensuring a stable and consistent server environment that appeals to those seeking reliability.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: AlmaLinux provides seamless deployment due to its compatibility with CentOS and RHEL-based environments, supported by a reliable community-driven support structure. openSUSE Leap offers versatile deployment options with robust community support, although it may require more configuration, offering flexibility at the expense of a steeper learning curve.

Pricing and ROI: openSUSE Leap offers a low-cost setup with high potential ROI owing to its effective tools and open-source nature. AlmaLinux incurs negligible initial costs with its free usage model and community support. Both provide substantial ROIs, with openSUSE Leap's extensive features offering value for customization investments, while AlmaLinux focuses on cost-efficient deployment with stable performance.

To learn more, read our detailed Operating Systems (OS) for Business Report (Updated: January 2026).

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Operating Systems (OS) for Business

January 2026

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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

AlmaLinux

Ranking in Operating Systems (OS) for Business

17th

Average Rating

8.8

Reviews Sentiment

4.3

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

openSUSE Leap

Ranking in Operating Systems (OS) for Business

11th

Average Rating

9.2

Reviews Sentiment

7.8

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Featured Reviews

reviewer2797887

Owner

Reliable long-term hosting has reduced server migrations and lets me focus on projects

One area for improvement with AlmaLinux is the use of SELinux to secure and harden my server, which I find to be a complicated beast. Better documentation on that part could be useful, although there is a lot of material out there. I choose a nine because nothing is ever perfect. For example, coming from Ubuntu, I found their firewall software easy to use, while with AlmaLinux's entire ecosystem, I always have to look up how to use firewall-cmd. These are just little preferences. I cannot think of anything else AlmaLinux could improve; it serves me well, and I have not been missing anything.

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Nagendra Kavadi

Senior Manager at Cognizant

Provides BTRFS file system, which allows you to take snapshots

I only use the tool for testing purposes on my team, but multiple people use it. We don't make a team effort to install the solution. When it comes to maintenance, we ask our company to buy SUSE Linux Enterprise. My team consists of 13 people. We are currently integrating the solution with Ansible to do some coding. Although not a full-fledged automation, we are integrating the solution with Ansible and executing a couple of playbooks connected to openSUSE Leap. I would recommend the solution to other users looking for an open-source solution. Overall, I rate the solution a nine out of ten.

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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

"AlmaLinux provides free updates and security, unlike Red Hat, where support must be purchased separately."

"Positively, I can say that AlmaLinux has brought a sense of stability, and besides the security patches, we also noticed better virtualization for our use cases."

"The long-term support provided by AlmaLinux helps my business by ensuring that we do not have to renew our servers every four to five years."

"The most valuable feature I find in AlmaLinux is the binary compatibility with RHEL and the long-term stability, which makes it a predictable, rock-solid system behavior, while also having small and safe packaging for subsystems or systems that run twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week."

"The solution is easy for me to use because the backend is derived from FreeBSD and this is something I have been using for over 20 years."

"Stable - it just runs without the necessity to reboot."

"The most valuable feature by far has been the virtualization capabilities of the operating system."

"openSUSE Leap has helped me with using containers in Podman."

"The solution's most valuable feature is the BTRFS file system, which allows you to take snapshots."

"The solution is very stable after it is configured. It is hard to have a panel slow, a problem, misconfiguration, or any kind of loss function."

Cons

"One area for improvement with AlmaLinux is the use of SELinux to secure and harden my server, which I find to be a complicated beast."

"If AlmaLinux could provide ten to twenty years of fixes, that would be an improvement because I do not want to update the system all the time, as it becomes more challenging for me as a system administrator to track all the patches and everything I should patch on the system."

"After six months of migration, we ended up using more resources for the same websites, and that's not acceptable."

"It would be helpful if we could easily switch from openSUSE Leap for testing to SUSE Linux Enterprise for production."

"Like most Linux-based operating systems, the biggest challenge Leap faces is the GUI."

"In the future, the Active Directory could improve."

"There is room for improvement in the console."

"Somehow the change from OS12.x via 13.x to Leap was a bit bumpy and some old issues seemed to reappear."

"I would like openSUSE Leap to have better link integration with Windows."

Pricing and Cost Advice

Information not available

"This is an open-source operating system that can be used free of charge."

"openSUSE Leap is an open-source solution that is free of cost."

"The cost of this solution was reasonable and it was within our budget."

"The solution is open-source."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Comms Service Provider

14%

Manufacturing Company

12%

Financial Services Firm

10%

University

Comms Service Provider

20%

Educational Organization

Computer Software Company

Manufacturing Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

No data available

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	2
Midsize Enterprise	1
Large Enterprise	4

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for AlmaLinux?

AlmaLinux is free of charge, which is why I chose this distribution. It offers an alternative to Red Hat, which is free only without support and updates. AlmaLinux provides free updates and securit...

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What needs improvement with AlmaLinux?

It is hard to say what needs improvement because I am on the operations side and focus on installing servers and running our software.

See all answers

What is your primary use case for AlmaLinux?

I use AlmaLinux as the base operating system for all of our Linux servers. Our environment includes use cases that range from a load balancer on the NGINX platform to our monitoring software, Check...

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What needs improvement with openSUSE Leap?

Both openSUSE Leap and the SUSE Enterprise version use the same kernel. Suppose I have a lower environment where I can run openSUSE to test all my products. It would be helpful if I could easily sw...

See all answers

What is your primary use case for openSUSE Leap?

I use openSUSE Leap for testing purposes. Before officially using any server in our office, we test it using the solution. My office usually uses production servers on the SUSE Linux enterprise ver...

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for openSUSE Leap?

openSUSE Leap is an open-source solution that is free of cost.

See all answers

Comparisons

Oracle Linux vs AlmaLinux

Compared 19% of the time

Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) vs AlmaLinux

Compared 18% of the time

Debian vs AlmaLinux

Compared 14% of the time

Alpine Linux vs AlmaLinux

Compared 11% of the time

SUSE Linux Enterprise vs AlmaLinux

Compared 7% of the time

More AlmaLinux Competitors

SUSE Linux Enterprise vs openSUSE Leap

Compared 22% of the time

Ubuntu Linux vs openSUSE Leap

Compared 16% of the time

Rocky Linux vs openSUSE Leap

Compared 15% of the time

Debian vs openSUSE Leap

Compared 11% of the time

Windows 10 vs openSUSE Leap

Compared 3% of the time

More openSUSE Leap Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Operating Systems (OS) for Business

January 2026

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Buyer's Guide

Operating Systems (OS) for Business

January 2026

Download openSUSE Leap product report

Also Known As

AlmaLinux OS 8 (x86_64), AlmaLinux OS 10 (x86_64)

No data available

Overview

AlmaLinux is an open-source, enterprise-level Linux distribution designed to provide stability, high performance, and community-driven support. It offers compatibility with RHEL, making it a reliable option for businesses seeking robust OS alternatives.

Built by CloudLinux, AlmaLinux serves enterprises looking for a powerful Linux distribution. It boasts seamless transitions from CentOS, providing a familiar environment for IT teams. With its open-source nature, AlmaLinux empowers organizations by offering control over their workflows. It supports diverse workloads, making it suitable for handling anything from basic setups to complex architectures. AlmaLinux stands out due to its strong security features, which focus on protecting sensitive data and maintaining secure server environments.

What are AlmaLinux's most important features?

Compatibility with RHEL: Ensures a seamless transition for users familiar with Red Hat Enterprise Linux.
Long-Term Support: Offers extended support periods, ensuring stability for enterprise systems.
Rich Community Support: Backed by an active community and regular updates.
Security Enhancements: Integrated security improvements for protecting business data.
Open-Source Nature: Provides flexibility and customization through a transparent codebase.

What benefits or ROI should users look for?

Cost Efficiency: Free to use, reducing operational expenses.
Reliable Performance: Consistent updates and support for enterprise needs.
Reduced Vendor Lock-in: Allows migration from other enterprise Linux systems with ease.
Security Assurance: Continuous security patches protect corporate assets.

AlmaLinux has been implemented across industries like finance, healthcare, and technology due to its reliability and adaptability. In finance, it ensures secure transactions and data integrity. Healthcare organizations rely on it for managing sensitive patient data. Tech companies use it for its stability and community-driven enhancements, making it a versatile choice for diverse applications.

AlmaLinux

openSUSE Leap is a brand new way of building openSUSE and is new type of hybrid Linux distribution. Leap uses source from SUSE Linux Enterprise (SLE), which gives Leap a level of stability unmatched by other Linux distributions, and combines that with community developments to give users, developers and sysadmins the best stable Linux experience available. Contributor and enterprise efforts for Leap bridge a gap between matured packages and newer packages found in openSUSE’s other distribution Tumbleweed.

openSUSE

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January 2026

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