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CentOS vs Windows Server comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Aug 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

CentOS
Ranking in Operating Systems (OS) for Business
9th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
69
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Windows Server
Ranking in Operating Systems (OS) for Business
5th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
194
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of October 2025, in the Operating Systems (OS) for Business category, the mindshare of CentOS is 4.5%, down from 7.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Windows Server is 10.0%, up from 8.8% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Operating Systems (OS) for Business Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Windows Server10.0%
CentOS4.5%
Other85.5%
Operating Systems (OS) for Business
 

Featured Reviews

Mahender Nirwan - PeerSpot reviewer
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.
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

"The solution is extremely stable."
"The scalability of CentOS is good. We can deploy the operating system in many hardware, laptops, and servers."
"The solution is stable and reliable."
"The most valuable feature is performance."
"The initial setup is very easy."
"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"
"CentOS is very easy to use, and all the commands are user-friendly."
"Very robust and easy to work with."
"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."
"The most valuable feature of this solution is the ability to be used in a virtualized environment."
"The main features that we are using are active directory, domain, and DNS."
"We have been using this solution for a long time and it has been stable."
"Setting up Windows Server is pretty straightforward. It takes anywhere from a few hours to a day. One person can do it if it's not a complex environment."
"I like that Windows Server is easy to use."
"The most valuable features of this solution are its performance, flexibility, and functionality."
"It's user-friendly."
 

Cons

"Previous versions were unstable."
"The support could be a bit better."
"Integration with Open Stack could be improved."
"CentOS could be improved by being more secure. Of course, we use a firewall, but security is always a concern."
"I would like the integration to be more secure."
"The price could be better. They could add more drivers in terms of peripherals and other things. Add more drivers for the Linux specifications in the next release. Right now, they are just pushing to have more drivers for Windows instead of Linux."
"If a proper GUI-based tool was connected remotely or on the machine, it could be a great addition to CentOS."
"It could be more secure."
"The security needs to be improved."
"One area that needs improvement is the protection against ransomware attacks. A mechanism similar to what Linux offers for preventing ransomware attacks would be beneficial."
"We've had a few minor compatibility issues."
"I believe the solution needs to be more secure in the future."
"The solution could offer higher availability."
"The solution could improve by increasing security."
"As I have already paid for a license, I should have the option of requesting the containerized functionality from the OS to reduce the Windows Server OS footprint."
"Rebooting is sometimes required to resolve issues, although we don't know the root cause."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"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."
"There are no costs for CentOS, it is open-source."
"There are no licensing costs for CentOS."
"The solution is free of cost to use."
"This is an open-source solution, so there are no licensing costs involved."
"There are no licensing fees. CentOS is a free solution."
"One must pay for a license for the solution."
"One of the problems with Microsoft is the price of licensing, and volume licensing for educational systems is a great option to bequeath licensing for small businesses."
"It could be cheaper. Its licensing is on a yearly basis."
"If you're buying an instance in the cloud, then you'll pay for it monthly. Otherwise, a normal purchase is always upfront; there is no subscription model with Microsoft, at least for the Windows Server licenses."
"It is important to have the cheapest price for all of the material and licenses."
"There is not a license required for this solution."
"We have perpetual licenses."
"The price of the solution should be less expensive. There is an annual subscription to use the solution."
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Comparison Review

it_user281973 - PeerSpot reviewer
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…
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
15%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Comms Service Provider
8%
Educational Organization
7%
Computer Software Company
12%
Comms Service Provider
10%
Government
8%
Financial Services Firm
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business29
Midsize Enterprise19
Large Enterprise23
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business77
Midsize Enterprise41
Large Enterprise88
 

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...
What do you like most about CentOS?
CentOS is very easy to use, and all the commands are user-friendly.
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.
What needs improvement with Windows Server?
I don't have experience with Windows Server containers and Kubernetes for deploying cloud-native applications. I cannot provide specific improvements for Windows Server because I don't have extensi...
What is your primary use case for Windows Server?
At the office, the main use case for Windows Server involves different functions, for example, file server or firewall and the IIS server, Microsoft Internet Server, Internet Information Services. ...
 

Comparisons

 

Also Known As

CentOS 7 (x86_64) - with Updates HVM
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Information Not Available
Rakuten, Rackspace, Tyco
Find out what your peers are saying about CentOS vs. Windows Server and other solutions. Updated: September 2025.
868,759 professionals have used our research since 2012.