Ubuntu Linux vs openSUSE Leap comparison

openSUSE and Canonical are both solutions in the Operating Systems (OS) for Business category. openSUSE is ranked #12 with an average rating of 9.0, while Canonical is ranked #2 with an average rating of 8.9. openSUSE holds a 6.1% mindshare in OSB, compared to Canonical’s 11.5% mindshare. Additionally, 100% of openSUSE users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 95% of Canonical users who would recommend it.

openSUSE Leap

Read 6 openSUSE Leap reviews

5,486 Views
5,486 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

Ubuntu Linux

Read 149 Ubuntu Linux reviews

13,939 Views
13,660 Comparison Views

95% willing to recommend

openSUSE Leap

Ubuntu Linux

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Jul 16, 2025

Ubuntu Linux and openSUSE Leap compete in the open-source operating system category. Ubuntu seems to have the upper hand due to its extensive community support and versatility across various environments.

Features: Ubuntu emphasizes security, speed, and open-source availability, offering advanced security features, fast boot times, and extensive package repositories. Its LTS releases ensure stability with five years of support. openSUSE Leap features a robust BTRFS file system for reliable snapshots, virtualization capabilities for stable multi-guest environments, and strong system management tools.

Room for Improvement: Ubuntu struggles with Windows software compatibility and lacks system management tools found in rpm-based distributions. Enhancing the user interface for better accessibility could be beneficial. openSUSE Leap could improve its graphical user interfaces and provide better documentation for hardware integrations. Facilitating easier migration to SUSE Linux Enterprise could enhance user experience.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Ubuntu is widely deployed across private, public, and hybrid clouds, and its community-driven support is highly effective. openSUSE Leap is predominantly deployed on-premises, lacking the extensive documentation and community support seen with Ubuntu.

Pricing and ROI: Both Ubuntu and openSUSE Leap are open-source and free, promoting accessibility. Ubuntu offers optional paid enterprise support, suitable for SMEs, while openSUSE Leap provides cost-free usage with significant hardware savings. Both solutions deliver a high ROI by lowering operational costs compared to commercial alternatives.

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

Buyer's Guide

Ubuntu Linux vs. openSUSE Leap

September 2025

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Helped 868,759 peers since 2012

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

12th

Average Rating

9.2

Reviews Sentiment

7.8

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Ubuntu Linux

Ranking in Operating Systems (OS) for Business

2nd

Average Rating

8.6

Reviews Sentiment

7.6

Number of Reviews

149

Ranking in other categories

OpenStack (1st)

Mindshare comparison

As of October 2025, in the Operating Systems (OS) for Business category, the mindshare of openSUSE Leap is 6.1%, up from 5.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Ubuntu Linux is 11.5%, down from 18.1% 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 (%)
Ubuntu Linux	11.5%
openSUSE Leap	6.1%
Other	82.4%

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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PrashantSharma

BA at a computer software company with 11-50 employees

Performs efficiently but requires overcoming a learning curve

There are many differences between Ubuntu Linux and Windows as they are totally different systems. You need to have more knowledge about Linux before using Ubuntu Linux. Although it is designed as a desktop system, basic knowledge is still required. Windows can be used by any layman, which is the main difference. I do not know much about security breaches or potential issues. The Wi-Fi and wireless capabilities work perfectly fine. Excluding the learning curve, I would rate it a 10. However, considering the learning curve, I would give it a six or seven. My advice would be to have patience. Overall rating: 10 out of 10.

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

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

"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."

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

"There is a lot of freedom and flexibility to install it really quickly. It is just very powerful in the sense that it doesn't take up as many resources to run as some of the other operating systems. It is open source, so it is free. There is no licensing fee. There is flexibility and freedom to do whatever you need to do. If you are familiar with the command line, you can jump on the command line and configure almost any part of the operating system that you want. If you are not comfortable with the command line, the graphical user interface has really improved ever since I started using Linux back in high school. It is really very simple to manage your settings and other things. You can also try out multiple desktop environments. As a matter of fact, on one of my laptops, I have installed five different desktop environments, and I can switch between them. If you don't like one, you can easily just install another one with a few commands, and you have got a whole new desktop right there, whereas, in Microsoft Windows or a Mac, you are just stuck with whatever they give you, and you have to wait until they sell you something else."

"It is a widely used and stable solution. Community members can offer support and technical guidance."

"Ubuntu is very easy to use and you can manage it on your own."

"The initial setup is simple."

"I like its computation speed compared to Windows and other similar features."

"Overall, I rate this solution ten out of ten."

"The product’s stability is valuable."

"The most valuable features are stability and updates. We are not using the interface, the interface of the OS, we are using it as the server. We actually sync it through SSH and we deploy our application, so we don't have access to do it. The updates are very helpful and the way they update their OS is very helpful."

More Ubuntu Linux pros

Cons

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

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

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

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

"There is room for improvement in the console."

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

"It would be nice to see more compatibility with certain Microsoft solutions, such as OneDrive."

"Ubuntu should create some specific features, like Red Hat. Red Hat has provided many features for open-source, like FreeIPA."

"Limited application support compared with Windows and MacOS."

"Ubuntu might work for a bigger company, but I don't think so. Again, you would have to get the right people to do it. You need somebody technical. If you have a bunch of people who aren't technical, then it is just going to be a headache trying to get a feel for it or teach them."

"They can make it user-friendly. It is not totally user-friendly."

"In general, Windows is easier to use and friendlier to deal with than Ubuntu."

"At times, it can be complex when we are trying to integrate or when we are trying to set up some features."

"They can keep improving the solution's ability to be adopted by users by adding features, such as better tutorials and integration into the system."

More Ubuntu Linux cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

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

"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."

"The solution is open-source."

"I am using the free version. There is no subscription."

"There is no licensing cost for the product."

"There is an annual subscription for this solution."

"The product is cheap compared to Windows."

"The solution is free."

"Ubuntu Linux is more affordable than its competitors."

"It is not a very expensive solution."

"There are no payments to be made towards any licensing costs attached to the solution."

More Ubuntu Linux pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Comms Service Provider

17%

Computer Software Company

15%

Educational Organization

Manufacturing Company

Computer Software Company

13%

University

10%

Comms Service Provider

Educational Organization

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	83
Midsize Enterprise	20
Large Enterprise	53

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...

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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...

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

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

See all answers

Which would you choose - Ubuntu Linux or Oracle Linux?

Ubunto Linux is a complete Linux operating system that is freely available with both community and professional support. This solution is suitable for both desktop and server use. It has a very app...

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What do you like most about Ubuntu Linux?

It has a good support system for loading databases.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Ubuntu Linux?

My experience with the pricing for Ubuntu Linux is that I always use the free version, so I never paid for any installations or support.

See all answers

Comparisons

SUSE Linux Enterprise vs openSUSE Leap

Compared 26% of the time

Rocky Linux vs openSUSE Leap

Compared 16% of the time

Fedora Linux vs openSUSE Leap

Compared 11% of the time

Debian vs openSUSE Leap

Compared 7% of the time

Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) vs openSUSE Leap

Compared 6% of the time

More openSUSE Leap Competitors

Rocky Linux vs Ubuntu Linux

Compared 21% of the time

Oracle Linux vs Ubuntu Linux

Compared 14% of the time

SUSE Linux Enterprise vs Ubuntu Linux

Compared 10% of the time

Windows Server vs Ubuntu Linux

Compared 9% of the time

Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) vs Ubuntu Linux

Compared 7% of the time

More Ubuntu Linux Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Operating Systems (OS) for Business

September 2025

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Buyer's Guide

Ubuntu Linux

September 2025

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Also Known As

No data available

Ubuntu

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

Ubuntu Linux is an open-source platform known for its robust security, ease of use, and rapid performance. Its lightweight design and comprehensive support system make it ideal for diverse IT environments, providing seamless management and scalability options.

Ubuntu Linux stands out with its open-source nature that allows extensive customization and access to a broad range of free software. It is widely praised for its stability and a vast package repository offering regular updates, enhancing its usefulness across different sectors. The platform is equipped with a lightweight design and excellent community support, making it scalable and easy to manage. While it could improve in areas like Windows software compatibility and user interface refinement, its benefits in enterprise management and development projects are undeniable. Improved documentation, better hardware integration, and enhanced third-party application compatibility are additional focal points to consider.

What are the key features of Ubuntu Linux?

Robust Security: Offers strong security protocols to protect user data.
Rapid Performance: Delivers fast and efficient processing speeds.
Open-source Customization: Provides extensive customization options.
Vast Package Repository: Features frequent updates and diverse software choices.
Lightweight Design: Ensures optimal performance even on limited resources.
Community Support: Backed by excellent community resources for assistance.

What benefits should be considered from reviews?

Resource Efficiency: Efficient utilization of system resources for enhanced performance.
Development Flexibility: Supports a wide range of programming and development tasks.
Enterprise Compatibility: Suited for large-scale enterprise solutions and cloud computing.
Scalability: Capable of managing and scaling across different environments.
Troubleshooting Support: Comprehensive community support for troubleshooting issues.

Ubuntu Linux is prominently implemented in industries for tasks such as server management, application deployment, and software development. Its resource efficiency and open-source tool compatibility make it a favorite for programming, research, and cybersecurity. Companies frequently use it for web hosting, cloud services, and managing multi-user enterprise solutions.

Canonical

Sample Customers

Information Not Available

Samsung, eBay, AT&T, Walmart, Cisco, Time Warner Cable, Bloomberg, Best Buy, Dell, Intel, Microsoft, Ericsson, Orange, Wells Fargo

Buyer's Guide

Ubuntu Linux vs. openSUSE Leap

September 2025

Free Report: Ubuntu Linux vs. openSUSE Leap

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