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Windows Server vs openSUSE Leap 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

openSUSE Leap
Ranking in Operating Systems (OS) for Business
13th
Average Rating
9.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.8
Number of Reviews
6
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
7.1
Number of Reviews
191
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2025, in the Operating Systems (OS) for Business category, the mindshare of openSUSE Leap is 6.3%, up from 5.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Windows Server is 9.1%, up from 8.4% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Operating Systems (OS) for Business
 

Featured Reviews

NK
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.
VIJAY RAGAVAN - PeerSpot reviewer
Facilitate fast deployment and seamless network management in global enterprise environments
Network configuration and management in Windows Server is very easy, providing fast deployment, plug and play capability, and simplified partition creation. This ease is crucial for us as we operate in analytical sciences with multiple laboratories. Additionally, backup work is facilitated by our own backup deployment managers, enhancing our management capabilities.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The most valuable feature by far has been the virtualization capabilities of the operating system."
"Stable - it just runs without the necessity to reboot."
"openSUSE Leap has helped me with using containers in Podman."
"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 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."
"I like the views in the user interface."
"We chose Windows Server because it is easy to use, and easy to maintain."
"The product is easy to use and adapt. It is known for GUI."
"The product is scalable."
"Several years of improvements have been made to the software itself."
"I have found Windows Server to be easy to use and the performance to be good."
"It's quite stable."
"We use this solution for hosting applications on the server."
 

Cons

"Like most Linux-based operating systems, the biggest challenge Leap faces is the GUI."
"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."
"There is room for improvement in the console."
"I would like openSUSE Leap to have better link integration with Windows."
"Somehow the change from OS12.x via 13.x to Leap was a bit bumpy and some old issues seemed to reappear."
"The security suffers the same issues as our Windows 10 for endpoint deployments. It could be more secure."
"We are waiting for the solution to be more secure and more stable."
"It would be nice if it was more user-friendly."
"They could make it more company-specific to some of the tools that we use."
"I would like to see better performance and more integration options in the next release of Windows Server."
"In the next release, I would like to see better pricing."
"The customer support team is not satisfactory. Their expertise has diminished. I rate them two out of ten."
"The security could be improved."
 

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."
"We pay these on an annual basis."
"We pay yearly for a license. If you ask any vendor they will tell you that it could be cheaper."
"We have perpetual licenses."
"We have an enterprise agreement."
"If you're buying an instance in the cloud, then you'll pay for it monthly. Otherwise, a normal purchase is always upfront; there is no subscription model with Microsoft, at least for the Windows Server licenses."
"One of the problems with Microsoft is the price of licensing, and volume licensing for educational systems is a great option to bequeath licensing for small businesses."
"There is a license needed for this solution."
"Windows Server is highly priced."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
16%
Comms Service Provider
15%
Educational Organization
9%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Computer Software Company
13%
Government
9%
Financial Services Firm
9%
University
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about openSUSE Leap?
openSUSE Leap has helped me with using containers in Podman.
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 needs improvement with Windows Server?
I don't know exactly how to enhance Windows Server, but it meets our requirements. We can work with both virtual and physical setups. If there are new features from Microsoft, we are happy to test ...
What is your primary use case for Windows Server?
All our IT infrastructure is Windows. We run our banking applications on Windows Server ( /products/windows-server-reviews ), along with Oracle databases. In addition, our digital banking section u...
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Information Not Available
Rakuten, Rackspace, Tyco
Find out what your peers are saying about Windows Server vs. openSUSE Leap and other solutions. Updated: April 2025.
851,604 professionals have used our research since 2012.