CentOS vs Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) comparison

CentOS and Red Hat are both solutions in the Operating Systems (OS) for Business category. CentOS is ranked #6 with an average rating of 8.9, while Red Hat is ranked #1 with an average rating of 8.8. CentOS holds a 4.6% mindshare in OSB, compared to Red Hat’s 9.1% mindshare. Additionally, 95% of CentOS users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 97% of Red Hat users who would recommend it.

CentOS

Read 69 CentOS reviews

6,682 Views
6,570 Comparison Views

95% willing to recommend

Red Hat Enterprise Linux (R...

Read 327 Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) reviews

25,218 Views
10,449 Comparison Views

97% willing to recommend

CentOS

Red Hat Enterprise Linux (R...

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Aug 7, 2024

Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) and CentOS both provide robust operating systems but cater to slightly different markets. Users often prefer CentOS for its no-cost offering and identical features, while RHEL is favored for its pricing and comprehensive support.

Features: RHEL offers advanced security features, enterprise-level support, and consistent updates. CentOS provides identical features to RHEL, extensive documentation, and high reliability but lacks official support.

Room for Improvement: RHEL could improve its update process, reduce licensing costs, and offer more flexibility in licensing. CentOS could benefit from better community support, more frequent updates, and improved support mechanisms provided by the community.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: RHEL is known for its straightforward deployment process and excellent customer service with round-the-clock support. CentOS deployment is seamless but lacks official customer service, relying on community forums and user contributions.

Pricing and ROI: RHEL has higher setup costs due to licensing fees but offers significant ROI through enhanced security and management features. CentOS, being free, presents zero setup costs and attracts users seeking lower total cost of ownership.

To learn more, read our detailed CentOS vs. Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) Report (Updated: June 2025).

Buyer's Guide

CentOS vs. Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL)

June 2025

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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

CentOS

Ranking in Operating Systems (OS) for Business

6th

Average Rating

8.4

Reviews Sentiment

7.1

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Red Hat Enterprise Linux (R...

Ranking in Operating Systems (OS) for Business

1st

Average Rating

8.8

Reviews Sentiment

7.4

Number of Reviews

327

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 CentOS is 4.6%, down from 8.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) is 9.1%, down from 12.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Operating Systems (OS) for Business

Featured Reviews

Mahender Nirwan

Software developer at TAIGLE LLC

In-depth documentation available and command-line utility works well

One issue I recently faced, but I think it was due to my IT support guys, was that when the server storage gets full, the service crashes. It's very difficult to regain access and stability in that situation. That could be improved. So, the stability might be improved. But I don't think it's a CentOS-level issue. The system administrators need to come up with a solution for that, but I don't think it's CentOS's fault. I haven't done any research [R&D] on this issue. There's one thing for sure. We recently migrated from CentOS 7 to CentOS 9, and it was a bit difficult. For example, updating Windows is simple; you just download it, and it takes about 15-20 minutes. But that's not the case with migrating from CentOS 7 to 9. We had to back up the entire server, launch a new server, and then restore the backup to the new server. We couldn't directly migrate. I think that was a bit of a problem. The setup and updates are not that new in CentOS.

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Bruce Lundberg

Linux HPC Systems Administrator at a manufacturing company with 5,001-10,000 employees

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.

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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

"There are a lot of sources on the internet that you can use to solve any issues, and people share their experiences. It's not a closed system"

"The most valuable features of CentOS are it is built from Linux, has good performance, and can we can create scripts. The scripts are you to do minor work automatically."

"It's less expensive than Red Hat."

"It is better than Ubuntu Linux."

"The community and knowledge base are very robust."

"The vendor updates the tool regularly to solve vulnerabilities."

"CentOS is very efficient and very powerful with many capabilities."

"The product is free to use."

More CentOS pros

"Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) helps me solve pain points related to reliability, stability, and security mainly."

"It is a reliable system that I can depend on more than anything else."

"The package manager of Red Hat is very convenient and efficient to use. With other Linux versions, such as Arch Linux and Ubuntu, package managers might not always be stable. When installing any software, the dependencies can vary, and there can be conflicts, whereas Red Hat has efficiently managed all of that so that users can install packages without any conflicts."

"When it comes to security, scalability, and robustness, Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) excels in all aspects. That's why we rely on this operating system."

"The biggest thing that I have found valuable is stability."

"The most valuable features of RHEL are security, performance tuning, storage management, and OS-level automation."

"We find the Red Hat Satellite deployments very useful. It integrates well with other solutions."

"We have used many of the Linux-based operating systems for production purposes, but this is the only solution that guarantees performance and scalability. When we run industry servers, they demand high performance."

More Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) pros

Cons

"They could build more options into the wizard."

"CentOS could be improved with more user-friendly monitoring."

"Continuous deployment is the only thing that can be improved."

"The tool has no official support."

"CentOS can be somewhat difficult for beginners, as it has a complex UI, especially for those not in the IT field."

"We are aware that the licensing has shifted, and it's not a change we've liked."

"The solution might be discontinued but I hope that IBM will continue to develop it and improve on the functionally and features."

"The solution’s stability could be improved."

More CentOS cons

"I agree that, when first downloading it, it makes sense that I have to provide my information. But when I want to update, it shouldn't be necessary. Sometimes, I'm just doing a proof of concept and once I'm finished, the server is gone... If Red Hat would remove that requirement, that would be great."

"Red Hat could offer a containerized version of the operating system, potentially moving towards a more containerized ecosystem."

"I am not happy with the tool's support. It is difficult to find knowledgeable people. It's hard to troubleshoot."

"When we started using RHEL, it was a struggle to install CoreOS because we were used to using a Satellite server with Red Hat. The people in charge of setting up OpenShift and installing RHEL on the nodes had a hard time. I don't know why, but I think it was because the OpenShift cluster included VMs and bare metal machines."

"With Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL), there's a lot of fragmentation in the documentation across different versions, and ensuring that the right version is being read can be challenging."

"Identity management could be simpler. Red Hat Enterprise Linux has Identity Manager, but it is not as simple to use as Microsoft Windows Active Directory."

"What is lacking is better FS support natively in Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL)."

"I'm not sure how the support is being changed in terms of needing to pay for it. That's an area that can be improved. They should offer support without charging users for it."

More Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"For the enterprise version of CentOS, there is a license required. However, for personal use, I do not need a license."

"CentOS is an open source that is free of cost."

"The price could be better. The cost depends on how the organization or a specific person licenses it. If you want the free version, there's Ubuntu which is supported by forums. You can pay for the license yearly or pay for a specific version."

"There is no price or licensing required — it's open-source."

"This is an open-source solution, so there are no licensing costs involved."

"The product is free."

"CentOS is an open-source tool."

"It's free."

More CentOS pricing and cost advice

"It's been good, but I don't really get involved with that."

"It seems to be fair. It is not overpriced."

"This is not a cheap solution but it gets you the support if you ever need it."

"It is cost-effective."

"It is not fairly priced. If they can reduce the price, it would be nice."

"If you don't buy the Red Hat subscription, you don't get technical support, and you don't have all the updates. To have everything working like a charm, the cost that you pay for it is worth it. In Bolivia, we don't have the best internet connection. Therefore, we have a local service with all the packages, repositories, etc. We manage them locally, and because we have a subscription, we can update them. So, we have local repositories with all the packages and other things to make it easy for us to update all the servers. Without the Red Hat subscription, we cannot update anything."

"The pricing is suitable for midsize to large companies, though small enterprises might struggle. It is comparable to Windows licensing."

"The pricing is great for virtual systems."

More Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) pricing and cost advice

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Comparison Review

it_user281973

Storage and VMware Expert at a comms service provider with 1,001-5,000 employees

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…

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

16%

Manufacturing Company

Financial Services Firm

Government

Computer Software Company

15%

Manufacturing Company

11%

Financial Services Firm

10%

Government

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...

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What do you like most about CentOS?

CentOS is very easy to use, and all the commands are user-friendly.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for CentOS?

CentOS is a free product with free updates. There are third-party companies available for support, but they charge varying amounts for their services.

See all answers

What do you like most about Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL)?

It is open source. We can customize it as per our requirements.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL)?

It's expensive.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL)?

The main concern is the price.

See all answers

Comparisons

Oracle Linux vs CentOS

Compared 36% of the time

Ubuntu Linux vs CentOS

Compared 11% of the time

Windows Server vs CentOS

Compared 8% of the time

SUSE Linux Enterprise vs CentOS

Compared 8% of the time

Rocky Linux vs CentOS

Compared 4% of the time

More CentOS Competitors

SUSE Linux Enterprise vs Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL)

Compared 22% of the time

Windows Server vs Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL)

Compared 15% of the time

Rocky Linux vs Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL)

Compared 14% of the time

Oracle Linux vs Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL)

Compared 9% of the time

Windows 11 vs Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL)

Compared 2% of the time

More Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

CentOS

June 2025

Download CentOS product report

Buyer's Guide

Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL)

June 2025

Download Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) product report

Also Known As

No data available

Red Hat Enterprise Linux, RHEL

Overview

CentOS is a versatile operating system with many use cases, including virtual spaces, scientific computing, data center servers, web-based applications, and more. Its valuable features include customization options, low memory consumption, performance, scalability, open-source nature, cost-saving, and compatibility with Red Hat packages.

The solution has helped organizations save money on licensing and improve testing capabilities for new implementations without spending additional resources. CentOS is a stable, reliable, and efficient operating system that is easy to use and integrate with other applications and services.

CentOS

Red Hat Enterprise Linux is recognized for its stability, security, and performance, serving diverse industries with its robust support and seamless cloud deployment capabilities.

Red Hat Enterprise Linux provides comprehensive server applications across cloud environments, featuring tools like Ansible for enhanced user experience. It integrates OpenShift, Identity Management, and automation, supported by extensive documentation. Users seek easier upgrades, enhanced network virtualization support, and improved live patching.

What are the key features of Red Hat Enterprise Linux?

Stability and Security: RHEL is designed to provide a stable and secure environment, backed by consistent updates.
Cloud Deployment: Easily deployable across cloud platforms, enhancing flexibility.
Integration with Ansible: Enhances operational efficiency with powerful automation tools.
OpenShift and Containerization: Supports modern app development with integrated OpenShift features.
Extensive Documentation: Offers comprehensive resources for users to troubleshoot and optimize.

What are the benefits of using Red Hat Enterprise Linux?

Reliable Support: Benefit from extensive support options for seamless operation.
Enhanced Security: Built-in features ensure data integrity and protection.
Increased Flexibility: Suitable for diverse deployment environments, including on-premises and cloud.
Operational Efficiency: Tools like automation and cloud navigation improve productivity.
Training and Resources: Access to comprehensive training contributes to smoother implementations.

In sectors like finance, telecommunications, and education, Red Hat Enterprise Linux is crucial for running stable, secure systems. Its application spans web servers, data management, and containerization through tools like Kubernetes. Organizations adopt it for on-premises, virtualized, and cloud environments, ensuring robust infrastructure management.

Red Hat

Sample Customers

Information Not Available

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

Buyer's Guide

CentOS vs. Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL)

June 2025

Free Report: CentOS vs. Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL)

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