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NethServer vs Windows Server comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Mar 29, 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

NethServer
Ranking in Operating Systems (OS) for Business
30th
Average Rating
9.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.3
Number of Reviews
1
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
196
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2026, in the Operating Systems (OS) for Business category, the mindshare of NethServer is 0.4%, up from 0.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Windows Server is 7.5%, down from 9.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Operating Systems (OS) for Business Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Windows Server7.5%
NethServer0.4%
Other92.1%
Operating Systems (OS) for Business
 

Featured Reviews

Raj Ashish - PeerSpot reviewer
Founder - Director (Technology Business) at a tech services company with 1-10 employees
Use of NethServer as DNS and DHCP along with Domain controller and multiple NIC cards
Few of the pointers marked below on the products improvement(s).. - A separate documentation section should be there for custom/DIY application installations and how to make it a part of hosted menu. - More work needs to be done on UI. - Some work would be required to allow systems integrators to configure LVMs and RAID with ease. - Preparing the HDD/SSD to ready to be used and to create Partition takes hell-lot-of time, this needs more work to be done. - NethServer 7.9.xxx is EOL, 8 is already in making, hope for the best! - CAPTCHA security code - capabilities should be added.
GS
Manager, Information & Cloud Systems at a consultancy with 1,001-5,000 employees
Long-standing experience improves reliability and security, making it a trusted platform
It's difficult to see improvements when using it daily. They improved compatibility with other platforms, such as Linux. One improvement I was thinking about some years ago was the ability to manage an on-premises server from Azure. Now, they have created Azure Arc, and we are using it as a very good way of managing on-premises servers. What can be improved is on the Azure side. With Active Directory on the server side and Entra ID on the Azure side in our hybrid environment, we find issues with data syncing to Entra ID. In Entra ID, Microsoft omitted some parameters. In Active Directory, you can put an expiring date to an account, but you cannot do that in Entra ID. We have other means of doing that, but it's common to have consultants working for six months, requiring account expiration or renewal processes. The Entra ID Connect syncing tool could be improved. Though they moved the service to Azure and use an agent instead of having a dedicated server, it remains cumbersome to set up due to the differences between Entra ID and Active Directory.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Most important advantage of NethServer is - it gives "one-stop-solution" for SMB's, MsMe's and Startup businesses all-at-one place with virtually no cost other than the setup cost and the quality of the product is appreciable and acceptable with no vendor-lock-in."
"The stability and performance are great."
"Windows Server is easy to use."
"We like the ease of use, stability and performance of Windows Server."
"The main feature of the solution is the ease of use."
"We haven't had any issues with the server whatsoever. It's been very reliable."
"The solution is easy to use."
"Most applications are compatible with this operating system."
"Windows Server performance is very good for backups."
 

Cons

"Preparing the HDD/SSD to ready to be used and to create Partition takes hell-lot-of time, this needs more work to be done."
"The technical support could improve."
"It would help if there was a possibility to postpone some updates. If some are not required, it could speed up the process of starting up the operating system."
"Windows Server could be improved with cheaper licensing costs."
"The system needs to offer better integration capabilities."
"The solution needs more integration capabilities."
"The solution could improve by being more user-friendly."
"The performance is good but we have had some issues when we use virtual machines."
"When it comes to the performance of this solution others are slightly better such as Linux."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

Information not available
"There is a license needed for this solution."
"My company has an enterprise agreement with Microsoft. I feel that the price of the product is okay."
"I rate the product's pricing an eight out of ten."
"I'm not involved much in the payment part, but I believe that we pay a yearly subscription for licensing."
"There is a license required for Windows Server and Microsoft the cost is based on the number of ports that you have on the production server."
"The price of the solution is expensive, and there are many price options available, such as monthly or perpetual licenses."
"Windows Server is expensive. We purchase its yearly license."
"It could be cheaper. Its licensing is on a yearly basis."
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893,221 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
No data available
Comms Service Provider
11%
University
8%
Computer Software Company
7%
Financial Services Firm
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business78
Midsize Enterprise41
Large Enterprise89
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for NethServer?
Very important! This you need to connect with us :), as it is highly depended on complexity of business needs, availability of associated Hardware's and how scalable you want the solution would be ...
What needs improvement with NethServer?
Few of the pointers marked below on the products improvement(s).. - A separate documentation section should be there for custom/DIY application installations and how to make it a part of hosted men...
What is your primary use case for NethServer?
Since last four years we have used NethServer 7.9.xxxx { by Nethesis SRL} (community editions...). Which is basically based on Rocky Linux. A well architected with web user interface and also suppo...
What needs improvement with Windows Server?
I cannot answer regarding which metrics I use to measure the effectiveness of Microsoft Defender for IoT because I have to check with my technical team. I have been fulfilling a role as IT manager ...
What is your primary use case for Windows Server?
What suits me the most is that for all my OT environment, I can manage all those devices in one secure portal from Microsoft.
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. ...
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Information Not Available
Rakuten, Rackspace, Tyco
Find out what your peers are saying about Red Hat, Rocky Linux, Canonical and others in Operating Systems (OS) for Business. Updated: May 2026.
893,221 professionals have used our research since 2012.