Rocky Linux vs openSUSE Leap comparison

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openSUSE Leap

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Nov 13, 2025

openSUSE Leap and Rocky Linux are competing in the enterprise Linux space. Data comparisons suggest Rocky Linux has an advantage in terms of community support and long-term stability, while openSUSE Leap focuses on integration with SUSE's enterprise services.

Features: openSUSE Leap provides advanced system management tools like YaST, compatibility with SUSE enterprise solutions, and a strong virtualization and containerization ecosystem. Rocky Linux offers a seamless Red Hat Enterprise Linux downstream experience with long-term support and community-driven development, emphasizing stability and continuity.

Room for Improvement: openSUSE Leap could enhance its documentation for easier setup and troubleshooting. Expanding third-party software support and refining update handling would benefit users. Rocky Linux may improve by extending its ecosystem to include diverse tools, optimizing user interfaces for non-expert users, and increasing its presence in cloud environments.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: openSUSE Leap provides efficient deployment with YaST and seamless SUSE infrastructure integration, supported by enterprise-level technical assistance. Rocky Linux aligns with RHEL standards for straightforward deployment, supported by a robust community, offering technical assistance and reducing costs while maintaining deployment efficiency.

Pricing and ROI: openSUSE Leap necessitates enterprise service investment for full utilization, justified by potential integration benefits. Rocky Linux is free, providing substantial ROI through its RHEL alignment, offering a cost-effective solution without vendor lock-in comparable performance outcomes. openSUSE Leap delivers enterprise-class benefits, but Rocky Linux tends to be more economical.

To learn more, read our detailed Rocky Linux vs. openSUSE Leap Report (Updated: December 2025).

Rocky Linux vs. openSUSE Leap

December 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

openSUSE Leap

Ranking in Operating Systems (OS) for Business

11th

Average Rating

9.2

Reviews Sentiment

7.8

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Rocky Linux

Ranking in Operating Systems (OS) for Business

2nd

Average Rating

8.6

Reviews Sentiment

5.6

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2026, in the Operating Systems (OS) for Business category, the mindshare of openSUSE Leap is 6.0%, up from 5.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Rocky Linux is 12.2%, down from 13.8% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Operating Systems (OS) for Business Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
Rocky Linux	12.2%
openSUSE Leap	6.0%
Other	81.8%

Operating Systems (OS) for Business

Featured Reviews

Nagendra Kavadi

Senior Manager at Cognizant

Provides BTRFS file system, which allows you to take snapshots

I only use the tool for testing purposes on my team, but multiple people use it. We don't make a team effort to install the solution. When it comes to maintenance, we ask our company to buy SUSE Linux Enterprise. My team consists of 13 people. We are currently integrating the solution with Ansible to do some coding. Although not a full-fledged automation, we are integrating the solution with Ansible and executing a couple of playbooks connected to openSUSE Leap. I would recommend the solution to other users looking for an open-source solution. Overall, I rate the solution a nine out of ten.

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Massimiliano Adamo

Linux architect at European Commission

Has supported seamless migrations and enabled running complex data workloads securely

The best features Rocky Linux offers include clustering and all the packages from Red Hat.Rocky Linux has impacted my organization very positively because we migrated everything from CentOS and Windows servers to Rocky Linux. Everything is clear, with good packaging, and now it's version 9.6, which is very important for us due to security problems since we are in Europe. Rocky Linux is very good for security and other aspects. Since migrating to Rocky Linux, I've seen specific outcomes such as improved security because CentOS stopped the project, and security patches aren't being released. We need to maintain a system similar to Red Hat, which is very stable and has many features such as file system, topology, and containers.

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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

"The solution is easy for me to use because the backend is derived from FreeBSD and this is something I have been using for over 20 years."

"The solution's most valuable feature is the BTRFS file system, which allows you to take snapshots."

"The most valuable feature by far has been the virtualization capabilities of the operating system."

"The solution is very stable after it is configured. It is hard to have a panel slow, a problem, misconfiguration, or any kind of loss function."

"Stable - it just runs without the necessity to reboot."

"openSUSE Leap has helped me with using containers in Podman."

"The experience of working with Rocky Linux is the same as with other Linux distributions; there was no difficulty for me in learning how to work with it."

"Rocky Linux has been a major driver for our cloud migration strategy and has proven to be one of the most cost-effective solutions for us, allowing us to save huge revenue while maintaining fantastic consistency with updates."

"Rocky Linux has impacted my organization very positively because we migrated everything from CentOS and Windows servers to Rocky Linux, everything is clear, with good packaging, and now it's version 9.6, which is very important for us due to security problems since we are in Europe."

"Rocky Linux has positively impacted my organization by making things simpler, especially with not having to escalate privileges all the time using sudo as compared to Ubuntu flavors."

"The solution is free and open source."

"Rocky Linux is best for someone who wants good scalability, enterprise-grade stability, substantial community engagement, compatibility with RHEL, and strong security."

"It helps us keep our workstations in sync and ensures consistent settings across most of our machines."

"The best features Rocky Linux offers, in my experience, are its simplicity, which helps us troubleshoot effectively, along with enhanced security features, security hardening capabilities, and the ability to perform regular patches."

More Rocky Linux pros

Cons

"Somehow the change from OS12.x via 13.x to Leap was a bit bumpy and some old issues seemed to reappear."

"I would like openSUSE Leap to have better link integration with Windows."

"There is room for improvement in the console."

"It would be helpful if we could easily switch from openSUSE Leap for testing to SUSE Linux Enterprise for production."

"Like most Linux-based operating systems, the biggest challenge Leap faces is the GUI."

"In the future, the Active Directory could improve."

"The only drawback we have seen is that even though there are timely deliveries of security patches and vulnerability fixes, the Rocky Linux Security Advisor or RLSA updates via the DNF utilities are broken or delayed."

"In terms of scalability, you need to have automation tools."

"Rocky Linux could be improved by having more integration with Kubernetes."

"To be honest, Rocky Linux is almost similar to each Linux distribution, so I have no specific reason why it should offer me its features."

"I chose a rating of eight out of ten because Rocky Linux must grow more; it is not as comparable to Red Hat, which is why I took off those two points."

"The package versions can be quite older compared to other distributions such as Ubuntu."

"Rocky Linux could be improved with API-based tools that would help our streaming environment be monitored using DataMiner."

"To improve Rocky Linux, providing releases for each package, firmware, and kernel more quickly would be beneficial."

More Rocky Linux cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The solution is open-source."

"openSUSE Leap is an open-source solution that is free of cost."

"The cost of this solution was reasonable and it was within our budget."

"This is an open-source operating system that can be used free of charge."

"The product is expensive. I rate the pricing a three."

"Compared to the market prices of other tools, the solution has a very competitive pricing."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Comms Service Provider

20%

Educational Organization

Computer Software Company

Manufacturing Company

Comms Service Provider

14%

University

11%

Computer Software Company

11%

Manufacturing Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	2
Midsize Enterprise	1
Large Enterprise	4

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	5
Large Enterprise	14

Questions from the Community

What needs improvement with openSUSE Leap?

Both openSUSE Leap and the SUSE Enterprise version use the same kernel. Suppose I have a lower environment where I can run openSUSE to test all my products. It would be helpful if I could easily sw...

What is your primary use case for openSUSE Leap?

I use openSUSE Leap for testing purposes. Before officially using any server in our office, we test it using the solution. My office usually uses production servers on the SUSE Linux enterprise ver...

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for openSUSE Leap?

openSUSE Leap is an open-source solution that is free of cost.

What do you like most about Rocky Linux?

It's very simple to work with, easy to learn, and know where things are.

What needs improvement with Rocky Linux?

I am not an expert on Rocky Linux, but I do not have anything to say regarding improvements; I think it is doing better. I chose a rating of eight out of ten because Rocky Linux must grow more; it ...

What is your primary use case for Rocky Linux?

My main use case for Rocky Linux is for the Nutanix environment, where we have a data center and everything is hosted there, including all the services and systems. Rocky Linux is the main OS of th...

SUSE Linux Enterprise vs openSUSE Leap

Comparisons

Compared 22% of the time

Ubuntu Linux vs openSUSE Leap

Compared 16% of the time

Debian vs openSUSE Leap

Compared 11% of the time

Fedora Linux vs openSUSE Leap

Compared 10% of the time

Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) vs openSUSE Leap

Compared 7% of the time

More openSUSE Leap Competitors

Fedora Linux vs Rocky Linux

Compared 23% of the time

Debian vs Rocky Linux

Compared 22% of the time

Ubuntu Linux vs Rocky Linux

Compared 11% of the time

Oracle Linux vs Rocky Linux

Compared 10% of the time

Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) vs Rocky Linux

Compared 7% of the time

More Rocky Linux Competitors

Product Reports

Operating Systems (OS) for Business

January 2026

Download openSUSE Leap product report

Download Rocky Linux product report

January 2026

Overview

openSUSE Leap is a brand new way of building openSUSE and is new type of hybrid Linux distribution. Leap uses source from SUSE Linux Enterprise (SLE), which gives Leap a level of stability unmatched by other Linux distributions, and combines that with community developments to give users, developers and sysadmins the best stable Linux experience available. Contributor and enterprise efforts for Leap bridge a gap between matured packages and newer packages found in openSUSE’s other distribution Tumbleweed.

openSUSE

Rocky Linux provides enterprise-grade stability and seamless Red Hat compatibility, coupled with extensive community support. Known for easy setup and minimal maintenance, its open-source nature ensures cost-effectiveness, making it ideal for critical systems.

Rocky Linux is an open-source operating system valued for its compatibility with Red Hat Enterprise Linux, making it an attractive choice for organizations migrating from CentOS. It focuses on stability, security, and long-term support, crucial for critical systems. Users benefit from seamless integration with automation tools and its strong community backing. While it offers ease of setup and package availability, areas like software availability and faster updates need enhancement. The system's UX design supports productivity, with potential improvements in documentation and security integration helping to maintain competitive advantages.

What Are the Key Features?

Enterprise-Grade Stability: Designed for reliability in mission-critical environments.
Red Hat Compatibility: Ensures seamless integration with existing Red Hat setups.
Community Support: Backed by a strong, active community providing assistance.
Ease of Setup: User-friendly installation process for quick deployment.
Minimal Maintenance: Requires reduced effort for upkeep.
Security and Clustering: Advanced features for enhanced system security.

What Benefits Should Users Expect?

Cost-Effectiveness: Open-source status reduces overall costs.
Improved Productivity: UX design and package availability streamline workflows.
Scalability: Supports growing business needs with long-term support.
Seamless Integration: Compatible with automation and monitoring tools.
Migration Ease: Smooth transition for CentOS users.

Rocky Linux is widely implemented across numerous industries as a server platform and backend OS, supporting web hosting, big data projects, and cloud infrastructure. Companies in IT environments like Nutanix data centers and high-performance computing choose it for its compatibility with open-source tools, making it favored for automation with Ansible and monitoring through Prometheus.