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Kali Linux vs Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Aug 7, 2024

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

Kali Linux
Ranking in Operating Systems (OS) for Business
11th
Average Rating
8.8
Reviews Sentiment
7.7
Number of Reviews
13
Ranking in other categories
AWS Marketplace (5th)
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 Kali Linux is 2.4%, up from 0.4% 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

Rohit Srivastava - PeerSpot reviewer
SQLmap for web application testing and good for web application penetration testing, network testing, vulnerability assessment of any devices or domains
Sometimes, I do face challenges. There's an issue where sometimes during the initial installation, it doesn't install properly. It gives multiple errors like packages not installing, so we have to install those tools separately. For instance, if we want to install a network or other tools, we have to install those complete toolkits manually. So, the challenge is with the initial setup, where I sometimes get errors. Regarding wireless attacks, OS attacks, and social engineering... the tools should be easier to learn because I know everything very well, but some people in my team struggle to understand. If there were GUI interfaces for the tools, it would help me guide my team in using them step-by-step. Command lines are very difficult for other team members who know the tool's purpose but not the Linux commands. GUI interfaces need more improvement. So, the UI interface needs improvement to make it more visible and easier for users. Expert users can do everything without any issues, but new users will struggle.
Bruce Lundberg - PeerSpot reviewer
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.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Additionally, it now includes comprehensive migration analytics and reporting capabilities."
"In general, Kali Linux is used for hosting applications, developing new applications, and operating systems. It's also used in containers and nodes. The tool offers a smaller footprint than Windows because it lacks the functionality of graphical user interfaces. One advantage of Kali Linux is its lower maintenance requirements than Windows, with slower update cycles and easier maintenance procedures."
"The tools available in Kali Linux are incredibly effective for conducting security assessments."
"I'm mostly using for the web security web application, so end map and the troubleshoot will it's my price, and it's available in ColliNX."
"The most valuable feature of Kali Linux is the attack it performs using a CVE script that's already on the internet."
"The solution's stability is very good."
"The interface is good and straightforward to use."
"Kali Linux is much better than other OS because it gives you a good set of tools. It is preferred for vulnerability assessments and cybersecurity."
"I prefer it to Windows because of the level of configuration, level of control, and the ability to see the performance of processes on a given system. I prefer the control over logging and the ability that logging gives you to investigate a problem."
"The security features are the most valuable."
"RHEL'S built in security features have helped us reduce risk and maintenance compliance."
"We also use Ansible. Ansible is a wonderful tool for automation. We use it to automate our patching. We use Ansible to get playbooks to take care of anything that's manual."
"Reliability is the most valuable feature."
"I would rate Red Hat Enterprise Linux a ten out of ten."
"I like most of the features. I like its stability. I like its views. It provides a very stable environment."
"Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) helps us solve pain points."
 

Cons

"The product should integrate AI and GPT capabilities."
"There can be some lagging issues because the product gets stuck at times, making it an area of concern where improvements are required."
"Unfortunately, my current tool runs on Windows 10, and its use is restricted to enterprise versions. Integrating this tool or similar functionalities into Kali Linux for non-enterprise users would be incredibly valuable."
"The product should improve its security features."
"From an improvement perspective, it should be made possible for users to learn about the product easily."
"I would like to have automation in Kali Linux instead of manually configuring or setting up something in case of an upgrade."
"From an improvement perspective, Kali Linux could include more ML to help with academic literature, as it is one of the areas where there are shortcomings in the solution."
"Any new user or someone without deep expertise won't be able to understand how to scale or manage it"
"The DNF package manager could be improved."
"I'm also using IBM AIX, which supports a tool called Smitty. You just put Smitty, and you can do anything. At the backend, the command will run automatically. It is not exactly like a GUI, but you just give the input and it will give you the output. That is something that Red Hat should work on. That would be an added advantage with Red Hat."
"In the Asia Pacific region, where cost-optimization is highly valued, Red Hat's support and subscription costs are perceived as high and could be reduced."
"The area of improvement is patch management, specifically isolating kernel and operating system patching to prevent downtime for enterprise applications."
"Cheaper pricing would definitely be beneficial."
"Red Hat should improve its support services, specifically the responsiveness and expertise of its India-based team."
"Although the price is reasonable, there is room for improvement in order to stand out from other open-source solutions."
"Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) could be improved by incorporating some of the third-party repositories, as different repos might show more options than one would get with a base builder for Red Hat, so having the choice to include those during install would be beneficial."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"I have used the free version."
"It is an open-source tool."
"I use it free of charge."
"The tool is open-source."
"The licensing fee is expensive compared to other products."
"There is no need to make any payments towards the licensing costs since it is a solution that is available for free."
"Kali Linux offers a perpetual license, meaning you pay for it once and can use it. While free versions of Linux are available, Kali Linux, being an enterprise edition, usually comes with a perpetual license. I rate its pricing a five out of ten."
"Kali Linux is a free product, and you don't have to pay for a license."
"Its pricing and licensing are reasonable."
"I am not involved in the budgetary aspect, but from what I understand, the pricing is competitive, similar to what we paid for SUSE."
"Their licensing is quite okay. It isn't expensive, and it's slightly cheaper than Microsoft. Taking into account its features, its price is okay."
"Red Hat is stable, and we always opt for the lower-tier subscription, which is affordable."
"Switching to Red Hat Enterprise Linux due to subscription costs can be a significant financial step."
"Licensing is the most attractive part of it. With Red Hat Insights and Ansible, we now know that it was done with the intention of simplifying the licensing so that you get the support for what you have and not necessarily what you want to have."
"From a management point of view, it's quite good, but everyone is complaining that it's more expensive than the other operating systems."
"The tool is getting expensive."
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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
Comms Service Provider
14%
Computer Software Company
13%
University
12%
Educational Organization
11%
Computer Software Company
15%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Government
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Kali Linux?
I use the tool with Nmap to perform network audits. We use it to find vulnerabilities in our network through attacks. It's for those who want to launch or create viruses or perform attacks on syste...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Kali Linux?
Kali Linux offers a perpetual license, meaning you pay for it once and can use it. While free versions of Linux are available, Kali Linux, being an enterprise edition, usually comes with a perpetua...
What needs improvement with Kali Linux?
The tool is already stable and well-developed, so there's minimal feedback for enhancement or change. However, it should improve security, which is crucial, especially with the increasing use of Ka...
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 Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL)?
It is open source. We can customize it as per our requirements.
 

Also Known As

No data available
Red Hat Enterprise Linux, RHEL
 

Overview

 

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
Find out what your peers are saying about Kali Linux vs. Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) and other solutions. Updated: June 2025.
860,168 professionals have used our research since 2012.