Oracle Linux vs Rocky Linux comparison

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Oracle Linux

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Jul 27, 2025

Oracle Linux and Rocky Linux are both robust enterprise Linux distributions. Rocky Linux seems to have the upper hand due to its open-source, community-driven model offering greater flexibility and cost-effectiveness compared to Oracle Linux’s strong support and comprehensive tool suite.

Features: Oracle Linux provides comprehensive support for Oracle Database, Unbreakable Enterprise Kernel for optimized Oracle software performance, and zero-downtime updates with Ksplice. Rocky Linux focuses on stability with long-term support, maintains compatibility with Red Hat Enterprise Linux, and enjoys community-driven enhancements and support.

Room for Improvement: Oracle Linux could expand support for non-Oracle hardware and enhance documentation for broader usability. The subscription model might be more transparent in pricing. Rocky Linux would benefit from more extensive enterprise-level third-party support, improved out-of-the-box tools, and a more robust patch management system.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Oracle Linux is favorable for Oracle-dependent environments with seamless integration and 24/7 professional support. This support structure aids in intensive deployment needs. Rocky Linux emphasizes ease of installation, with community forums and third-party vendors supporting its deployment, focusing on simplicity and adaptability over structured support services.

Pricing and ROI: Oracle Linux may involve higher costs due to licensing fees but provides significant ROI within an Oracle ecosystem, benefiting from integrated updates and support mechanisms. Rocky Linux offers a free-to-use model with lower initial costs and optional voluntary support fees, appealing to budget-conscious users seeking cost-efficiency and open-source advantages.

To learn more, read our detailed Oracle Linux vs. Rocky Linux Report (Updated: September 2025).

Oracle Linux vs. Rocky Linux

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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

Oracle Linux

Ranking in Operating Systems (OS) for Business

3rd

Average Rating

8.4

Reviews Sentiment

7.4

Number of Reviews

122

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Rocky Linux

Ranking in Operating Systems (OS) for Business

4th

Average Rating

8.6

Reviews Sentiment

5.3

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of October 2025, in the Operating Systems (OS) for Business category, the mindshare of Oracle Linux is 7.4%, down from 15.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Rocky Linux is 14.3%, up from 12.2% 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 (%)
Oracle Linux	7.4%
Rocky Linux	14.3%
Other	78.3%

Operating Systems (OS) for Business

Featured Reviews

Badhon Islam

System Engineer at Reve Systems

Has improved security and reduced downtime through built-in tools and a reliable kernel

In my experience, the best features Oracle Linux offers include its unbreakable kernel system and security, along with reliability and stability. The unbreakable kernel and the security features stand out for me because, in big data, anyone from outside cannot break my kernel, and we have a lot of inbuilt security, which has helped me with different things. Oracle Linux provides many more features that I need to consider further. Oracle Linux has positively impacted my organization because of its numerous features. It's a stable version that I use in an inter-cloud network, so I don't need to regularly update anything, and I don't need to expose my OS to the outside world, making this very positive.

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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

"It is very compatible because it's from the same product family, so it makes the work very easy."

"It is good for web, network, and file management."

"Ultimately, Oracle Linux as a product rates nine out of ten."

"It helps us to create users and groups. We can also plan on the access that will be given to them. I use it for identity management during the installment and configuration process. We use it to start or stop processes and services. Another use case of the solution is post-opening."

"It is a good solution, and the performance is good."

"Oracle Linux is a secure solution."

"I have not had any stability issues with Oracle Linux."

"It is secure in terms of the network, the viruses, etc."

More Oracle Linux pros

"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."

"The most valuable feature of the solution is its stability."

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

"The solution is free and open source."

"In my opinion, the best features Rocky Linux offers are stability, compatibility, and community support, all of which I think are extremely necessary and essential for the distribution, and I find that all three pillars are very supported by Rocky Linux."

"I haven't needed to use customer service or support, which speaks volumes about their product's reliability and ease of use."

"Rocky Linux provides us with extended maintenance, security patches, and support lifecycle aligned with RHEL, making it highly reliable for critical systems."

"The custom install scripts streamline the setup process, making it straightforward."

More Rocky Linux pros

Cons

"I think Oracle Linux's outage management can be improved to better handle outages."

"Kernel updates need improvement."

"Some applications supported by other operating systems are not supported, which is a pain."

"I think the pricing could be improved to be more competitive."

"The solution could be less costly."

"I rate it a 9 because for some cases, the response time is not very high. They are a little slow to respond when we have problems; however, everything else was very good."

"The area of Oracle Linux that needs improvement is related to updates. If they have updates, it should update itself without logging out your services."

"The solution could improve by giving the client or customer more control."

More Oracle Linux cons

"One of the potential issues is that if you don't pay for support, you may need to manage certain aspects on your own and rely on the community for assistance."

"The solution's audio integration for virtual machines could be improved."

"I have certain problems with the tool's DNS part, making it an area where improvements are required."

"Improved integration with Windows, particularly Active Directory, would be beneficial for the product. Currently, this aspect requires additional effort."

"In terms of improvement, Rocky Linux needs to clarify its identity and target audience."

"I see some performance-related issues, but we are still checking on that, and we don't know if it is related to the OS or the resource; that is something still to be checked from our end."

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

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

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It is an expensive solution for us."

"The product's pricing is cheap. The tool's pricing is yearly."

"The price of Oracle Linux could be less expensive for those who are running a small freelance company, such as I do. We use the solution fully but the income that you're receiving is slow."

"The licensing is expensive."

"We pay a monthly subscription fee."

"The solution is free to use with a support subscription rather than having to buy licenses."

"The cost is relatively affordable."

"We pay an annual subscription."

More Oracle Linux pricing and cost advice

"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

Computer Software Company

13%

Manufacturing Company

Financial Services Firm

Government

Computer Software Company

14%

Comms Service Provider

11%

University

11%

Educational Organization

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	40
Midsize Enterprise	17
Large Enterprise	70

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	4
Large Enterprise	7

Questions from the Community

How does Oracle Linux compare with Solaris?

When comparing Oracle Linux and Solaris, I believe that Linux is more secure and more flexible. It is also very suitable for enterprises that are already Oracle solution users. I found Linux to be ...

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...

What do you like most about Oracle Linux?

The product is 99.99% stable.

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?

If I find something which is strong with virtualization with Rocky Linux, it's an alternative that I can study and spend time learning about, trying it, making tests, validating, and perhaps ultima...

What is your primary use case for Rocky Linux?

I am responsible for virtualization and networking, and other services related to the systems including Linux and Windows, but the security part is actually the responsibility of the French team in...

Ubuntu Linux vs Oracle Linux

Comparisons

Compared 21% of the time

CentOS vs Oracle Linux

Compared 18% of the time

Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) vs Oracle Linux

Compared 10% of the time

Oracle Solaris vs Oracle Linux

Compared 9% of the time

SUSE Linux Enterprise vs Oracle Linux

Compared 6% of the time

More Oracle Linux Competitors

Fedora Linux vs Rocky Linux

Compared 26% of the time

Debian vs Rocky Linux

Compared 17% of the time

Ubuntu Linux vs Rocky Linux

Compared 17% of the time

Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) vs Rocky Linux

Compared 7% of the time

openSUSE Leap vs Rocky Linux

Compared 7% of the time

More Rocky Linux Competitors

Product Reports

Oracle Linux

Download Oracle Linux product report

Download Rocky Linux product report

Also Known As

Oracle Enterprise Linux

No data available

Overview

Oracle Linux is a stable, reliable, and scalable operating system primarily used for deploying and running Oracle databases. It is also suitable for various other functions, including managing operating systems and web servers, supporting traffic surveillance, and identity management.

Oracle Linux is highly valued for its stability, reliability, scalability, good technical support, and ease of use. It has helped organizations to achieve faster DNS queries, stable development environments, reduced vulnerability issues, good performance for Oracle applications, and improved ability to run test scenarios and parallel queries across massive databases.

Oracle Linux Features

Oracle Linux has many valuable key features. Some of the most useful ones include:

The software is 100% free (no cost) to use, distribute, and update

Ksplice allows for zero-downtime kernel and user-space upgrades

DTrace provides comprehensive kernel and application tracing

For Oracle Linux Support clients, Linux management and high availability are available at no additional cost

It's Oracle-optimized and works well with Oracle Database and Oracle Applications
New workload optimizations:
- Enhanced memory performance by attempting to better locate a process near its memory and better placement of tasks that do not fit on a single NUMA node
- SPECjbb's performance has been improved by up to 3.6 times thanks to optimizations that help reduce lock contention.
- With bcache, it's simple to employ SSDs as a block cache for slower block devices. A new, scaled block layer subsystem supports many millions of IOps on NVM-Express and high-end PCI-E devices.
Oracle Linux has three deployment options:

Linux in the cloud: Oracle Linux Premier Support is included in all Oracle Cloud Infrastructure subscriptions at no additional cost.
Linux on premises: This is the industry's most comprehensive and open Linux distribution.
Embedded Linux design: Embedding a feature-rich Linux distribution is an optimized, cost-effective solution for your business.

Oracle Linux Benefits

There are many benefits to implementing Oracle Linux. Some of the biggest advantages the solution offers include:

Save money by only paying for support for the systems you need
Improve security by applying patches faster and spending less time troubleshooting and updating
Improve Oracle software and hardware performance

Reviews from Real Users

Oracle Linux stands out among its competitors for a number of reasons. Two major ones are its stability and scalability. PeerSpot users take note of the advantages of these features in their reviews:

One PeerSpot reviewer, an IT Manager, reports, “I find the virtualization the most valuable.” He adds, “Oracle Linux is the best Linux operating system that I have ever known. It is very stable and strong.”

An Enterprise Architect at a financial services firm writes of the solution, “You also don't have memory issues, especially when it is engineered with platforms like Exadata and Oracle Cluster. These give you the most throughput and performance.” He adds, “It is very scalable, especially on platforms like Oracle Cluster and Exadata.”

Oracle

Rocky Linux is a robust and secure enterprise-grade operating system designed as a drop-in replacement for CentOS. Its primary use case is to provide a stable and reliable platform for organizations to run their critical workloads and applications.

The most valuable functionality of Rocky Linux lies in its compatibility with CentOS, ensuring a seamless transition for organizations already using CentOS. It offers long-term support, regular security updates, and a predictable release cycle, providing stability and reliability for mission-critical systems.

Rocky Linux helps organizations by offering a free and open-source alternative to CentOS, which was discontinued by Red Hat. It allows businesses to continue using their existing CentOS-based infrastructure without the need for costly migrations or vendor lock-in. With its strong community support and active development, Rocky Linux ensures a sustainable and community-driven future for CentOS users.

Moreover, Rocky Linux is built with security in mind, providing robust features like SELinux and secure defaults. This helps organizations protect their data and systems from potential threats and vulnerabilities.

Sample Customers

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Information Not Available

Oracle Linux vs. Rocky Linux