Amazon Linux vs Windows Server comparison

Why PeerSpot?

Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Microsoft are both solutions in the Operating Systems (OS) for Business category. Amazon Web Services (AWS) is ranked #14 with an average rating of 8.5, while Microsoft is ranked #4 with an average rating of 8.6. Amazon Web Services (AWS) holds a 1.8% mindshare in OSB, compared to Microsoft’s 6.7% mindshare. Additionally, 98% of Amazon Web Services (AWS) users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 94% of Microsoft users who would recommend it.

Amazon Linux

Read 47 Amazon Linux reviews

6,189 Views
3,961 Comparison Views

98% willing to recommend

Windows Server

Read 197 Windows Server reviews

17,862 Views
17,862 Comparison Views

94% willing to recommend

Amazon Linux

Windows Server

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between Amazon Linux and Windows Server based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

Find out in this report how the two Operating Systems (OS) for Business solutions compare in terms of features, pricing, service and support, easy of deployment, and ROI.

To learn more, read our detailed Amazon Linux vs. Windows Server Report (Updated: September 2026).

Buyer's Guide

Amazon Linux vs. Windows Server

September 2026

Download the complete report

Helped 912,930 peers since 2012

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

4.8

Amazon Linux boosts ROI with cost savings, improved performance, scalability, rapid deployment, and enhanced AWS integration ensuring reliability.

Sentiment score

5.4

While complex, Windows Server offers efficiency, reliability, and integration benefits, enhancing competitiveness and delivering strong ROI through cost savings.

With Amazon Linux, selecting and launching instances on a public cloud provider means the machine spins up in fewer than ten seconds, making it efficient.

reviewer2797587

Cloud Solution Engineer at a outsourcing company with 10,001+ employees

By switching the compute fleet from a paid distribution to Amazon Linux, we have reduced our OS-related overhead cost by 100%.

BasilJiji

System engineer at a retailer with 10,001+ employees

Some wins commonly seen after switching, particularly when moving from general-purpose distributions such as Ubuntu, include approximately twenty to forty percent better price-performance ratio.

Janindra Janekumaradi

configuration and management deployment at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees

For more quotes and insights, download the Amazon Linux report

Overall, the gains in productivity, security, and operational efficiency have provided a strong return on investment.

reviewer2848875

IT at a retailer with 11-50 employees

You get a standard platform that is very secure and stable.

Gustavo Schleider

Manager, Information & Cloud Systems at a consultancy with 1,001-5,000 employees

The return on investment is evident as having efficient resources to manage our infrastructure means we are less dependent on costly external support from Microsoft.

Jai Prakash Sharma

Executive Vice President Technology at InfoEdge India Ltd

For more quotes and insights, download the Windows Server report

Customer Service

Sentiment score

6.3

Amazon Linux support is highly rated for its fast response, knowledgeable engineers, and comprehensive documentation and resources.

Sentiment score

6.3

Windows Server support varies, with some experiencing prompt service while others rely on forums and documentation for help.

Amazon has the best expertise and they are available 24/7.

Saurab Gnagurde

IT Analyst | Aws Cloud Ops | Dev Ops | Fin Ops at Tata Consultancy

Timely and helpful responses for performance, updates, or AWS integration issues.

Anastasiya Sousa

QA Engineer at a computer software company with 1,001-5,000 employees

It offers specific advantages and constraints depending on the use case.

reviewer2738745

Cloud Architect at a manufacturing company with 10,001+ employees

For more quotes and insights, download the Amazon Linux report

They resolved our problems within the defined SLA.

NirajSingh

Relationship Manager at Cognizant

When I had an issue with Hyper-V, the support was excellent.

Mustafa Farhat

Systems technician. IT Office at LNU

The technical support from Microsoft is one of the best, though there can be challenges when it comes to priority zero or critical issues, where the queue can be longer.

Jai Prakash Sharma

Executive Vice President Technology at InfoEdge India Ltd

For more quotes and insights, download the Windows Server report

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score

7.1

Amazon Linux efficiently scales workloads via AWS integration, offering reliable performance and quick response to traffic spikes.

Sentiment score

7.4

Windows Server is highly scalable, supports diverse user needs, but has resource demands and improvement potential in cloud environments.

Since it is tightly integrated with AWS services, I can easily scale instances up or down based on demand using EC2 auto-scaling and load balancing.

Vibin Thomas

Technical Team Lead - Content Security at Valuepoint Systems

Its real scalability comes from its seamless integration with AWS tools like CloudFormation, Auto Scaling, and user data scripts, which allow me to deploy and configure hundreds of identical ready-to-use instances automatically.

Leo Ladeira

Student at Unemployed at the moment

The beauty here is that we can scale it immediately, which also saves cost.

Saurab Gnagurde

IT Analyst | Aws Cloud Ops | Dev Ops | Fin Ops at Tata Consultancy

For more quotes and insights, download the Amazon Linux report

I've worked in companies with 20,000 to 100,000 users, and it scales beautifully without issues.

Gustavo Schleider

Manager, Information & Cloud Systems at a consultancy with 1,001-5,000 employees

Active Directory and Group Policy make it easy to manage a growing number of users and systems from a centralized platform.

reviewer2848875

IT at a retailer with 11-50 employees

We use it everywhere, and it serves approximately two thousand users in our company as a backend service.

Khalid Mgahed

System Engineer at Alnajat charity

For more quotes and insights, download the Windows Server report

Stability Issues

Sentiment score

8.5

Amazon Linux offers exceptional stability, reliability, and security, seamlessly integrating with AWS services for highly available, resilient performance.

Sentiment score

7.5

Windows Server is highly stable and reliable, praised for seamless performance and improvements over previous versions, despite update concerns.

Combined with AWS managed infrastructure, it provides enterprise-grade reliability suitable for production workloads.

Deva Rugved

Software Engineer at INSTITUTE OF AERONAUTICAL ENGINEERING

Since it is purpose-built for the cloud, it lacks the bloat of traditional desktop-focused distributions, which leads to fewer crashes and higher uptime.

BasilJiji

System engineer at a retailer with 10,001+ employees

Compared to other Linux distributions, Amazon Linux is significantly more stable for AWS workloads because it is pre-optimized for EC2 hypervisor and includes integrated AWS tools out of the box.

Hussain Gagan

FullStack Developer at EnactOn Technologies

For more quotes and insights, download the Amazon Linux report

It provides reliable performance for critical services such as Active Directory, file service, DNS, and user authentication.

reviewer2848875

IT at a retailer with 11-50 employees

The stability is better with the newer versions like 2019.

Khalid Mgahed

System Engineer at Alnajat charity

Very rarely do I see any blue screens or crashes.

SrikanthSubramanian

Senior Consutant at HCLSoftware

For more quotes and insights, download the Windows Server report

Room For Improvement

Amazon Linux enhancements focus on documentation, package availability, migration support, and improved usability for broader adoption and engagement.

Windows Server needs improved security, stability, cloud integration, simpler UI, better pricing, easier configuration, and broader compatibility support.

Documentation explaining the differences between Ubuntu and Amazon Linux would be valuable.

Tim Robles

full stack developer at 71Lbs

Since we are working in a real-time manner and need to scale things immediately, the time it takes to boot an instance and then deploy things is preventing me from giving it a perfect rating.

reviewer2785038

Senior Data Engineer at a transportation company with 501-1,000 employees

My advice for others looking into using Amazon Linux is to make sure the command line is easy and that Amazon Linux has more performance than other Linux environments and is more secure than other Linux environments as well.

Arjun Parmar

DevOps Engineer at Wissen infotech

For more quotes and insights, download the Amazon Linux report

The support team is getting worse in terms of expertise.

Harry Murdani

Manager, IT Security at Averis Sdn Bhd

We can work with both virtual and physical setups.

reviewer1217346

AVP at a financial services firm with 1,001-5,000 employees

The current diagnostic logs have not seen much improvement in the last ten years and aren't very helpful in addressing network-related issues specific to individual customer locations.

VIJAY RAGAVAN

Team Manager at Waters Corporation

For more quotes and insights, download the Windows Server report

Setup Cost

Amazon Linux offers cost-effective, scalable solutions without licensing fees, making it a budget-friendly choice for enterprises.

Enterprise users find Windows Server costly and complex to license, preferring simpler, more competitive pricing compared to Linux.

With Amazon Linux itself, there is no cost associated with using it, so I would say it is very good from a pricing perspective.

reviewer2795433

Cloud Ops Lead at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees

If I am a new AWS customer, the AWS Free Tier typically includes, for the first six months, micro instances such as t2.micro or t3.micro for free.

Deva Rugved

Software Engineer at INSTITUTE OF AERONAUTICAL ENGINEERING

I only pay for the EC2 instance and any other AWS resources I use, but the operating system itself has no licensing fees, which is a significant advantage over commercial operating systems like Red Hat Enterprise Linux or Windows servers, which incur extra hourly charges.

Leo Ladeira

Student at Unemployed at the moment

For more quotes and insights, download the Amazon Linux report

On a scale of one to ten, with ten being the most expensive, I rate it ten out of ten.

Harry Murdani

Manager, IT Security at Averis Sdn Bhd

Microsoft offers product pricing with licenses per processor and CAL licenses for accessing.

Gustavo Schleider

Manager, Information & Cloud Systems at a consultancy with 1,001-5,000 employees

The cost associated with Windows Server—considering pricing, licensing, and setup—is expensive, no doubt.

Jai Prakash Sharma

Executive Vice President Technology at InfoEdge India Ltd

For more quotes and insights, download the Windows Server report

Valuable Features

Amazon Linux, optimized for AWS, offers robust security, cost-effectiveness, and seamless integration, enhancing deployment confidence and reducing overhead.

Windows Server excels in integration, ease of use, security, scalability, and supports enterprise applications with features like Hyper-V and PowerShell.

Amazon Linux handles this automatically. It is optimized for EC2, AWS hardware and software, mostly secure and stable, and there is no additional cost.

Saurab Gnagurde

IT Analyst | Aws Cloud Ops | Dev Ops | Fin Ops at Tata Consultancy

In terms of service security, there are many constraint security protocols and policies that help me create our own networks, security groups, and inline policies.

Jagadeesh J

Software Engineer at a tech services company with 501-1,000 employees

Amazon Linux's security updates have been helpful in general because I have had to be more specific in using the Identity Access Management (IAM) service so that we can have role-based permissions in preference to just keeping it open.

Steven Alila

Fullstack Developer at a computer software company with 1,001-5,000 employees

For more quotes and insights, download the Amazon Linux report

I can manage the firewalls on the server easily, open or close ports to manage security traffic, and use encryption on the hard disk to keep data secure.

Mustafa Farhat

Systems technician. IT Office at LNU

If you need to include an email server, you can't ask about features individually since all features are necessary.

Harry Murdani

Manager, IT Security at Averis Sdn Bhd

We use it to connect to client systems and are happy with the performance and its features.

NirajSingh

Relationship Manager at Cognizant

For more quotes and insights, download the Windows Server report

Categories and Ranking

Amazon Linux

Ranking in Operating Systems (OS) for Business

14th

Average Rating

8.6

Reviews Sentiment

6.1

Number of Reviews

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

6.7

Number of Reviews

197

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of September 2026, in the Operating Systems (OS) for Business category, the mindshare of Amazon Linux is 1.8%, up from 0.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Windows Server is 6.7%, down from 9.8% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Operating Systems (OS) for Business Mindshare Distribution
Product	Mindshare (%)
Windows Server	6.7%
Amazon Linux	1.8%
Other	91.5%

Operating Systems (OS) for Business

Featured Reviews

Saurab Gnagurde

IT Analyst | Aws Cloud Ops | Dev Ops | Fin Ops at Tata Consultancy

“Amazon Linux delivers automated security updates— including live kernel patching in AL2023—ensuring protected workloads with minimal manual effort and zero-downtime patching.”

One improvement for Amazon Linux would be stronger support for running it outside AWS. Although Amazon provides local VM images for VirtualBox and VMware, they are intended mainly for development and testing. Unlike Ubuntu, Debian, or Red Hat, Amazon Linux is not designed or fully supported as a production OS in on-prem or hybrid environments. Expanding official support outside AWS would offer more flexibility for teams that maintain mixed infrastructure. Another area for improvement is the community ecosystem. Compared to Ubuntu or Red Hat, Amazon Linux has a smaller community and fewer third-party resources or tutorials. A larger ecosystem would make troubleshooting and adoption easier. Finally, improving backward compatibility between Amazon Linux 2 and Amazon Linux 2023—especially around package management (DNF vs yum) and updated toolchains—would simplify upgrades for teams managing large fleets.

Read full review

reviewer2848875

IT at a retailer with 11-50 employees

Centralized controls have improved security and simplify user management across our environment

One area where Windows Server could be improved is in simplifying administration and troubleshooting. While Windows Server is powerful, diagnosing issues related to group policy, DNS, replication, and authentication can sometimes be complex and time-consuming. I would prefer to see more intuitive management dashboards, better built-in monitoring and reporting tools, and integration with cloud service-enhanced automation features for routine administrative tasks. This would further reduce manual effort and improve efficiency. Overall, Windows Server is a reliable platform, but making management and troubleshooting more streamlined would help IT teams save time and improve productivity. Another area for improvement is documentation and update management. While Microsoft provides extensive documentation, finding the most relevant troubleshooting information can sometimes be challenging for complex issues involving Active Directory, DNS, or group policy. Updates are important for security, but some updates require careful testing and planning to avoid unexpected impacts on production environments. More detailed pre-update impact analysis and simplified rollback options would be beneficial. Overall, Windows Server is a robust platform, but improvements in documentation, troubleshooting guidance, update management, and administrative automation would further enhance the experience for IT professionals.

Read full review

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Construction Company

12%

Outsourcing Company

11%

Computer Software Company

11%

Educational Organization

10%

Comms Service Provider

11%

Construction Company

Manufacturing Company

University

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	20
Midsize Enterprise	15
Large Enterprise	20

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	79
Midsize Enterprise	41
Large Enterprise	89

Questions from the Community

What needs improvement with Amazon Linux?

I do not feel there are any major improvements needed for Amazon Linux at this time.

See all answers

What is your primary use case for Amazon Linux?

Amazon Linux is primarily used for development and operating services. I operated a real estate transaction site and also ran a used car parts sales website on this platform.

See all answers

What advice do you have for others considering Amazon Linux?

I give Amazon Linux an overall rating of 9 on a scale from 1 to 10. The reason for that score is that it is comparable to general Linux distributions, and in addition, it can be used in good integr...

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What needs improvement with Windows Server?

See all answers

What is your primary use case for Windows Server?

Windows Server serves the primary use case of Active Directory administrator, user and groups management, file and print service, management service, maintenance, and IT infrastructure support.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Windows Server?

I think the licensing model of Microsoft products, including Windows Server, is not cheap. Microsoft has been guiding us for all the products toward a subscription model instead of a buying model. ...

See all answers

Comparisons

Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) vs Amazon Linux

Compared 16% of the time

Debian vs Amazon Linux

Compared 14% of the time

AlmaLinux vs Amazon Linux

Compared 11% of the time

Alpine Linux vs Amazon Linux

Compared 8% of the time

Rocky Linux vs Amazon Linux

Compared 7% of the time

More Amazon Linux Competitors

Windows 11 vs Windows Server

Compared 46% of the time

Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) vs Windows Server

Compared 8% of the time

Ubuntu Linux vs Windows Server

Compared 7% of the time

Debian vs Windows Server

Compared 5% of the time

Windows 10 vs Windows Server

Compared 4% of the time

More Windows Server Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Amazon Linux

September 2026

Download Amazon Linux product report

Buyer's Guide

Windows Server

August 2026

Download Windows Server product report

Overview

Amazon Linux is a secure and stable distribution for cloud environments, optimized for AWS performance. It is widely adopted by developers seeking minimal disruption in deployment and management, offering a seamless operational experience.

Developed by Amazon Web Services, Amazon Linux provides an environment streamlined for performance on AWS infrastructure. By offering long-term support and regular security updates, it ensures crucial security and reliability. It is tailored to enhance cloud-centric application development, making it a preferred choice for developers needing efficient resource management. Its compatibility with a wide range of AWS tools and services makes it highly adaptable for cloud-native solutions.

What are the key features of Amazon Linux?

Security: Offers frequent updates and security patches for a reliable operating environment.
Performance: Optimized for AWS, improving speed and efficiency.
Flexibility: Easily customizable to meet specific application needs.
Long-term Support: Provides extended software support to reduce maintenance overhead.

What benefits or ROI should users look for in Amazon Linux reviews?

Integrated AWS Tools: Improves workflow efficiency by seamless integration with AWS ecosystem.
Regular Updates: Ensures up-to-date security and performance features.
Cost Efficiency: Reduces operational costs with optimized cloud resources.
Developer Satisfaction: Enhances developer productivity with streamlined resource management.

In industries such as finance and healthcare, Amazon Linux is used to develop cloud applications that require secure data handling and robust performance. Media companies appreciate its flexibility and speed in managing high-demand scenarios, ensuring scalable content delivery and reliable performance.

Amazon Web Services (AWS)

Windows Server offers enterprise-grade solutions with Active Directory, Hyper-V, and Azure integration. Known for its user-friendliness and stability, it is ideal for hosting applications and managing domains, promising scalability and seamless network management across environments.

Windows Server is integral for businesses needing reliable infrastructure for server virtualization and enterprise application deployment. It excels in integrating with Microsoft applications, providing robust support for database hosting, Active Directory management, and remote access. Users benefit from its comprehensive features supporting intense workloads, virtual setups, and efficient domain management. However, it could improve its port security, vulnerability monitoring, and interface intuitiveness. Pricing models also require adjustments to be competitive, and better integration with Linux would enhance system compatibility. Regular updates can impact stability, and the command-line interface could be more efficient compared to Linux.

What are Windows Server's key features?

Active Directory: Facilitates user and resource management.
Hyper-V: Enables server virtualization for enhanced efficiency.
Azure Integration: Connects with cloud services for scalability.
Work Folder Synchronization: Supports seamless data access across devices.
Security: Offers robust measures for protecting enterprise data.

What benefits should users look for?

Ease of Use: Intuitive design simplifies administration.
Stability: Reliable performance across demanding environments.
Integration: Seamlessly connects with Microsoft services.
Scalability: Grows alongside business needs.

Windows Server is implemented across industries for virtual server hosting, enterprise application deployment, and managing complex IT infrastructures. Organizations use it for database hosting, Active Directory management, and leveraging Microsoft's ecosystem, supporting backend operations and enhancing communication security.

Microsoft

Sample Customers

Information Not Available

Rakuten, Rackspace, Tyco

Buyer's Guide

Amazon Linux vs. Windows Server

September 2026

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