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SUSE Linux Enterprise vs openSUSE Leap comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jun 3, 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

openSUSE Leap
Ranking in Operating Systems (OS) for Business
25th
Average Rating
9.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.8
Number of Reviews
6
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
SUSE Linux Enterprise
Ranking in Operating Systems (OS) for Business
13th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.4
Number of Reviews
36
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2026, in the Operating Systems (OS) for Business category, the mindshare of openSUSE Leap is 4.6%, down from 6.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SUSE Linux Enterprise is 4.2%, down from 6.8% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Operating Systems (OS) for Business Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
SUSE Linux Enterprise4.2%
openSUSE Leap4.6%
Other91.2%
Operating Systems (OS) for Business
 

Featured Reviews

NK
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.
MoezCHEBBI - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Lead DevOps Engineer at Kyndryl
Has delivered expert training and enabled smooth migrations using automated deployment tools
SUSE Linux Enterprise is a mature and reliable platform, but there are areas where it can be improved. Modernizing the system management tools is important as many users appreciate YaST for its centralized management, but there is a growing demand for more modern, web-based, and modular tools. The introduction of tools such as Agama, a web-based installer, and Cockpit in newer releases is a step in the right direction.SUSE has made progress with multi-Linux support, allowing organizations to manage and support not just SUSE systems but also other distributions such as Red Hat and CentOS; continuing to expand these capabilities, especially for hybrid and multi-cloud environments, will help organizations manage diverse infrastructure more effectively. Security is a top concern, and further strengthening default security policies, simplifying compliance management, and integrating advanced vulnerability management tools would be a valuable improvement.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Stable - it just runs without the necessity to reboot."
"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."
"openSUSE Leap has helped me with using containers in Podman."
"The solution's most valuable feature is the BTRFS file system, which allows you to take snapshots."
"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."
"Leap has provided me with the ability to offer what I consider Enterprise class server O/S platforms to my smaller customers who are looking to improve their competitive stances without breaking the bank."
"This solution has helped my organization's security from the use of its firewall, and the features for blocking or allowing traffic are very effective and have worked well for us."
"YaST simplifies the server management of SUSE allowing for a centralized utility to control most of the server functions."
"Out-of-the-box SLES supported all of our HBAs and hardware specific components."
"The main feature is that Linux is flexible to work with for most web-based applications."
"SAP HANA and SUSE Linux Enterprise are the best to run the SAP business."
"The operating system is efficient in terms of security."
"My customers are happy with the features and the stability of the code."
"The initial setup is very straightforward."
"Linux Enterprise is quite stable."
 

Cons

"It would be helpful if we could easily switch from openSUSE Leap for testing to SUSE Linux Enterprise for production."
"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."
"Like most Linux-based operating systems, the biggest challenge Leap faces is the GUI."
"There is room for improvement in the console."
"In the future, the Active Directory could improve."
"Red Hat has more packages that are available than SUSE does. I'd love to see more projects based on SUSE."
"They should probably just make clustering a bit simpler and also provide more descriptive log files for cluster services."
"The only stability issues that I can recall encountering with SUSE would be with KDE. However, that is limited to just the desktop environment as I have not had stability issues with ​most server functions."
"I have not seen an ROI with this solution."
"If SUSE Linux Enterprise could have more documentation related to the operating system or open-source code, then I believe it would definitely be beneficial."
"The quality of support offered by SUSE Linux Enterprise is not that great, making it an area where improvements are required."
"We previously had trouble integrating Autodesk with the SUSE Manager, but the issue was resolved and improved."
"The initial setup could be simplified."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The solution is open-source."
"This is an open-source operating system that can be used free of charge."
"The cost of this solution was reasonable and it was within our budget."
"openSUSE Leap is an open-source solution that is free of cost."
"The price is reasonable."
"SUSE Linux Enterprise is reasonably priced compared to other operating systems. I find it's a much better option for us than Oracle, for example, because of the pricing structure. The pricing is easier to explain to clients and makes it easier to get clients' commitment. The licensing is also simpler to manage and keep track of. Their responsiveness is great - they give feedback very quickly when we ask questions about licensing or other aspects. This helps ensure we're always at the gold standard regarding licensing and everything related to SUSE Linux Enterprise."
"Regarding pricing, everybody would want it to be cheaper."
"Anyone can use Linux because it is open-source."
"The tool is expensive compared to Red Hat. I rate its pricing a nine out of ten."
"When we first implemented this product, we had licenses for support."
"I have to pay for a license in order to get support."
"As far as licensing goes, there is nothing unusual here. The price and model have worked fine for my organization."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Comms Service Provider
22%
Educational Organization
8%
Manufacturing Company
8%
University
8%
Comms Service Provider
10%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Construction Company
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business2
Midsize Enterprise1
Large Enterprise4
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business9
Midsize Enterprise11
Large Enterprise23
 

Questions from the Community

Ask a question
Earn 20 points
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for SUSE Linux Enterprise?
I would rate pricing for SUSE Linux Enterprise considering one is a high price and ten is a low price.
What needs improvement with SUSE Linux Enterprise?
SUSE can make improvements to SUSE Linux Enterprise. I have suggestions about what they can add to the product to simplify users' lives. They need to intensely work on their marketing strategy.
What is your primary use case for SUSE Linux Enterprise?
I understand your point regarding my current use case for SUSE Linux Enterprise. I want to know if the purchase process is mostly directly from SUSE or through the AWS Marketplace, and what ways I ...
 

Also Known As

No data available
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications 12 SP3
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Information Not Available
Air India, Akademicki Szpital Kliniczny (ASK), Allone, Altran, Apollo, ARCHIVA, Asia Innovatory Management School, ATLAS ELEKTRONIK GmbH, AutoData Norge AS, Baldor Electric, Business Connexion, CASIO, Ciclum Farma, Delta Lloyd, Edumate , HPE,  SAP SE,  Lenovo, BMW, T-Systems, UCX, Turners & Growers, Shenzhen Development Bank, Bosch Group, JK Tyres & Industries, IOCL, European Space Agency, Daimler AG, China Minsheng Banking Corp, Café Coffee Day, Unisys,  Petrochina Company Ltd, Fitch Ratings, ABeam Consulting Co Ltd, Tyro Payments, Rackspace, Pacific Textiles, ...
Find out what your peers are saying about SUSE Linux Enterprise vs. openSUSE Leap and other solutions. Updated: June 2026.
908,800 professionals have used our research since 2012.