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Oracle Linux vs SUSE Linux Enterprise comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Oct 5, 2025

Review summaries and opinions

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

ROI

Sentiment score
7.0
Oracle Linux reduces costs, saves time, boosts productivity, and offers reliability with seamless Oracle tools integration, enhancing business efficiency.
Sentiment score
4.8
SUSE Linux Enterprise provides better returns, cost savings, and increased project engagement compared to RHEL, enhancing revenue and efficiency.
Everything from Oracle tools to applications is well integrated within Oracle Linux.
Our team is comfortable using Oracle Linux as it integrates well with Oracle tools, making everything work seamlessly.
In terms of outcomes or benefits I've seen over the last year, we have more than 30 servers, and we only need to reboot one server while all other servers continue working fine, resulting in very low downtime, which is very helpful.
I have seen a return on investment by switching our clusters from on-prem to Azure public cloud, using our same Bring Your Own Licenses, which saved costs on licensing.
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
6.6
Oracle Linux's customer service is reliable and effective, though some users report high costs and slow first-level support.
Sentiment score
6.2
SUSE Linux Enterprise provides strong technical support and community forums, but varies in cost, complexity, and package availability.
Not all support engineers at Oracle are the same, so sometimes I experience good support that resolves issues quickly, while other times, it loops.
Oracle's technical support is excellent.
It is not as helpful or friendly as their application support.
SUSE Linux Enterprise provides a stable, secure, and well-supported platform for enterprise workloads, with powerful management tools and robust support for clustering, cloud, and containers.
The customer support is good; whenever we have opened a case, they have provided detailed explanations of the issues and resolutions.
I rate the customer service 10 out of 10 because SUSE has 24/7 availability support, extended support, security, multi-Linux distribution support, upgradation, and everything is user-friendly.
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
6.7
Oracle Linux offers high scalability and adaptability, though careful planning is needed, especially for non-Oracle platforms and new processors.
Sentiment score
6.6
SUSE Linux Enterprise offers scalability, ease of maintenance, and versatility, suitable for varied companies and global locations despite occasional issues.
It handles device performance well, automatically managing any issues that arise.
Oracle should make the process faster, as we sometimes have to use a previous processor model to ensure compatibility.
New processor models sometimes lack immediate compatibility with Oracle Linux, requiring the use of previous models until support is available.
Its scalability is quite good since we are using Azure, which allows us to easily scale up or down our resources as needed.
SUSE Linux Enterprise is widely recognized for its strong scalability, making it suitable for organizations of all sizes, from small businesses to global enterprises.
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
7.7
Oracle Linux is praised for its stability and reliability, making it ideal for enterprise environments with minimal bugs.
Sentiment score
8.0
SUSE Linux Enterprise is praised for its stable performance, with minor variability across versions and support models.
Testing determines stability, as continuous Linux use and installations reveal more bugs.
Oracle Linux is very stable.
Our environment is locally deployed, and there are no performance issues or latency problems.
When HANA is utilized by many applications, I notice that while utilization does increase, we have never faced lagging or server unresponsiveness.
 

Room For Improvement

Oracle Linux needs faster updates, better compatibility, improved usability, streamlined installation, enhanced documentation, and increased vendor certification.
SUSE Linux Enterprise needs improvements in package management, security, cloud integration, documentation, support services, pricing, and compatibility.
Having a user interface would make tasks easier, saving time by avoiding the need to remember command-line instructions.
There are significant limitations as we are not able to customize the system, and we are forced to use standard features which are not suitable for our business.
Oracle Linux's outage management can be improved to better handle outages.
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.
The software manager was different, making it challenging to install certain applications.
The license we subscribed to should carry over within the same instance family.
 

Setup Cost

Oracle Linux provides a free product with optional paid support, often more affordable than competitors, offering flexible licensing options.
SUSE Linux Enterprise offers flexible, affordable pricing with free usage options and paid support, aligning with open-source standards.
While ERP might be expensive, Oracle Linux and KVMs are not on the higher side.
The cost of Microsoft OS is pretty high, and switching to Oracle Linux, which is free, reduced our costs by about 20% to 25%.
Oracle Linux is affordable.
Upgrading an instance results in overlapping or double subscription fees.
The licensing cost is a bit high.
 

Valuable Features

Oracle Linux offers performance optimization, zero-downtime updates, robust security, and seamless Oracle Database integration with cost-effective alternatives.
SUSE Linux Enterprise is praised for ease of installation, stability, security, and robust tools, ideal for enterprise workloads.
Since it's from the same vendor as Oracle applications, it's easier to manage issues, making not just the solution cost-effective but also streamlined in management.
The updates are applied instantly once a CVE is identified, which makes it highly beneficial.
Oracle Linux provides fast updates, and the best aspect is that we can update our server without interrupting our service, which is very important for business continuity.
SUSE Linux had a clean user interface, which was a valuable feature for me.
It has a stable and reliable OS.
The LVM is very easy to configure, along with simple disk scanning compared to other systems.
 

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
SUSE Linux Enterprise
Ranking in Operating Systems (OS) for Business
6th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.6
Number of Reviews
35
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 SUSE Linux Enterprise is 6.4%, down from 8.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Operating Systems (OS) for Business Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Oracle Linux7.4%
SUSE Linux Enterprise6.4%
Other86.2%
Operating Systems (OS) for Business
 

Featured Reviews

Badhon Islam - PeerSpot reviewer
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.
MoezCHEBBI - PeerSpot reviewer
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.
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
13%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Government
8%
Computer Software Company
12%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Comms Service Provider
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business40
Midsize Enterprise17
Large Enterprise70
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business8
Midsize Enterprise11
Large Enterprise20
 

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 SUSE Linux Enterprise?
The initial setup is simple and takes five minutes for deployment and if you have automation in place, it will take four minutes.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for SUSE Linux Enterprise?
We are facing an issue with licensing usage. The subscription does not carry over within the same instance family, so upgrading an instance results in overlapping or double subscription fees.
What needs improvement with SUSE Linux Enterprise?
The functionality is good, but the licensing subscription model needs improvement. The license we subscribed to should carry over within the same instance family. Why are we required to re-subscrib...
 

Also Known As

Oracle Enterprise Linux
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications 12 SP3
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

See here
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 Oracle Linux vs. SUSE Linux Enterprise and other solutions. Updated: September 2025.
869,785 professionals have used our research since 2012.