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AlmaLinux vs Oracle Linux comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jan 4, 2026

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
5.5
Number of Reviews
5
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Oracle Linux
Ranking in Operating Systems (OS) for Business
4th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
129
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Featured Reviews

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.
DR
Manager, Information Technology at Gemini Equipment
Stable performance enhances operations, but improving interface and customization is necessary
Oracle Linux can be improved by making it more user-friendly. The interface and some features need improvement. The interface is very important. Sometimes, there is a very lengthy process to generate a single report. The customization also needs development. There should be more customization allowed for the system. There are some limitations as we cannot customize the system according to our needs. We have to use the standard features which are not always suitable for our business. Despite these limitations, we continue to use it.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"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."
"AlmaLinux provides free updates and security, unlike Red Hat, where support must be purchased separately."
"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."
"AlmaLinux has impacted our organization positively by providing a stable and reliable enterprise Linux platform without licensing cost."
"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."
"It's mostly reliable."
"The features that I have found to be the most valuable are the performance, stability, and support that Oracle offers for the solution."
"I find everything useful about Oracle Linux, as we are currently using Finance, Material Management, and Supply Chain."
"Once installed, the product is good, I like it. The core of the software is really good."
"The cost is a significant advantage of Oracle Linux."
"It provides for stable Oracle deployments."
"We find the consolidated support for this solution and other same vendor systems to be an extremely valuable feature. This allows for faster resolution of issues and consistency of support personnel."
"The user interface is comfortable and easy to use."
 

Cons

"After six months of migration, we ended up using more resources for the same websites, and that's not acceptable."
"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."
"It could be easier to reach a higher support level."
"Oracle Linux, needs to support more packages."
"Oracle Linux has many features, but it is sometimes heavy, and the response from my Oracle Linux is a little bit laggy."
"The product's support is expensive."
"Managing upgrades, especially moving from one version of Oracle Linux to another, can be challenging."
"The user interface for Oracle Linux could use improvement."
"The security and integration could improve."
"The GUI could be made more attractive."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

Information not available
"We are currently operating the solution using a license-based version. We get licenses per machine."
"We have a yearly license, and I think Oracle charges too much."
"The solution is free."
"We are not paying anything for the operating system."
"The price of Oracle Linux could be less expensive for those who are running a small freelance company, such as I do. We use the solution fully but the income that you're receiving is slow."
"This solution is very cost-effective, as it is essentially free, with charges only for support purposes."
"The licensing for this solution is based on the number of calls running Oracle databases, and are purchased either annually, or every three years."
"Low-cost solution."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Comms Service Provider
13%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Educational Organization
8%
Computer Software Company
10%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Comms Service Provider
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business44
Midsize Enterprise18
Large Enterprise75
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for AlmaLinux?
AlmaLinux is free, so there are no costs there. The open source licensing helps a lot, and the setup cost is just my own time invested in learning the platform.
What needs improvement with AlmaLinux?
I would like to see better tools in terms of memory consumption with AlmaLinux. I would like to know what processes exactly are consuming how much memory and have better core dumps or system core d...
What is your primary use case for AlmaLinux?
I provide hosting and email services for customers using AlmaLinux. Most of our customers are using Plesk for managing their domains, and some servers end up having 300 or 400 domains, while others...
How does Oracle Linux compare with Solaris?
When comparing Oracle Linux and Solaris, I believe that Linux is more secure and more flexible. It is also very suitable for enterprises that are already Oracle solution users. I found Linux to be ...
Which would you choose - Ubuntu Linux or Oracle Linux?
Ubunto Linux is a complete Linux operating system that is freely available with both community and professional support. This solution is suitable for both desktop and server use. It has a very app...
 

Comparisons

 

Also Known As

AlmaLinux OS 8 (x86_64), AlmaLinux OS 10 (x86_64)
Oracle Enterprise Linux
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Information Not Available
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Find out what your peers are saying about AlmaLinux vs. Oracle Linux and other solutions. Updated: February 2026.
881,707 professionals have used our research since 2012.