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Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) Logo

Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) pros and cons

Vendor: Red Hat
4.4 out of 5
Badge Ranked 1

Pros & Cons summary

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Prominent pros & cons

PROS

Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) is praised for its stability, allowing it to function without issues, improving uptime and reliability in various environments.
RHEL offers robust security features, which are considered superior to other operating systems, enhancing compliance and reducing vulnerabilities.
The support provided by Red Hat is highly valued, offering fast response times and helping to resolve technical challenges efficiently.
RHEL's comprehensive documentation and knowledge base make it easier for users to manage and implement the system effectively.
Integration with tools like Ansible and Satellite enhances automation and management capabilities, adding significant value to IT operations.

CONS

RHEL has a high cost, making it less attractive for individuals or small businesses compared to other options.
The pricing model may not provide immediate ROI for small to medium-sized organizations, and licensing can be confusing.
There are challenges with customer service and technical support, as responses can be slow and vary in quality.
Some improvements in patches and updates are needed, as inconsistencies can lead to challenges in managing components effectively.
Migration between RHEL versions can be complex, requiring manual intervention, which complicates the upgrade process.
 

Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) Pros review quotes

RO
Server administrator at Northrop Grumman
May 21, 2025
The GUI is really interactive, and it's really easy to build from scratch.
TH
Vice President at a financial services firm with 10,001+ employees
Aug 27, 2025
Red Hat Enterprise Linux offers long-term stability and security, allowing for prolonged periods without reboots, and we are promptly notified by Red Hat whenever any zero-day security vulnerabilities or loopholes are discovered.
SD
Solutions Architect at a transportation company with 10,001+ employees
May 19, 2025
The feature of Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) I appreciate the most is the ability to build images from the Red Hat pipeline, which is very effective.
Learn what your peers think about Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL). Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: April 2026.
893,244 professionals have used our research since 2012.
CJ
Senior System Engineer at a manufacturing company with 10,001+ employees
May 19, 2025
Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) is stable and secure; these are the two biggest factors that drive our usage.
TH
Solutions Architect at a healthcare company with 10,001+ employees
May 19, 2025
The features of Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) that I appreciate the most include the most recent iterations such as no-downtime patching, live patching, and the ability to snapshot or snapshot LVM's; these features are more of a Linux capability, however, they have been really beneficial to us.
AV
Specialist Cloud and Infrastructure at LTI - Larsen & Toubro Infotech
May 21, 2025
More applications are adopting a Red Hat way of operating. I personally observed many application teams port their applications to Red Hat due to these vulnerability considerations.
JC
Senior software engineer at a financial services firm with 10,001+ employees
May 19, 2025
It's the flexibility, almost the one-stop-shop nature, that Red Hat provides, that really creates an administrative-friendly environment.
Akash Chaudhary - PeerSpot reviewer
Hpc Engineer Ai Workload & Infrastructure at a outsourcing company with 51-200 employees
Feb 11, 2026
I always prefer recommending Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) to my customers because it is very stable.
Geetha D - PeerSpot reviewer
DevOps and infrastructure work at Societe Generale
Sep 1, 2025
By using Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL), our team saves approximately 10 hours per week on routine patching and monitoring housekeeping tasks, which allows us to focus more on innovation topics.
CP
Systems administrator at a retailer with 501-1,000 employees
May 20, 2025
The command line feature of Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) specifically helps me find ways to address problems. If there's a bottleneck, something slowing us down, or a manual process that we're spending significant time with, I can determine ways to either script around it or use an Ansible playbook. Having these different tools at our disposal is particularly useful.
 

Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) Cons review quotes

RO
Server administrator at Northrop Grumman
May 21, 2025
We have many Windows users that use Outlook and Skype or Teams to collaborate on our network. They want Linux desktops due to the fact that they want to use containers. Their biggest complaint is, 'I need two workstations to do my container work and one to collaborate.'
TH
Vice President at a financial services firm with 10,001+ employees
Aug 27, 2025
We wish we could upgrade from version 6 to 9 directly instead of having to go from 6 to 7, then 7 to 8, and finally 8 to 9.
SD
Solutions Architect at a transportation company with 10,001+ employees
May 19, 2025
As for how Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) can be improved, besides being cheaper, I am uncertain.
Learn what your peers think about Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL). Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: April 2026.
893,244 professionals have used our research since 2012.
CJ
Senior System Engineer at a manufacturing company with 10,001+ employees
May 19, 2025
Reducing the frequency of changes would help.
TH
Solutions Architect at a healthcare company with 10,001+ employees
May 19, 2025
If I had to suggest one improvement for Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL), it would be clearer licensing information.
AV
Specialist Cloud and Infrastructure at LTI - Larsen & Toubro Infotech
May 21, 2025
When considering ways Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) could improve, I often hear from the SUSE side that Red Hat isn't certified quickly enough with the SAP workloads. This is something Red Hat should start considering.
JC
Senior software engineer at a financial services firm with 10,001+ employees
May 19, 2025
My number one request for improvement would be better Kickstart functionality, as I feel the Kickstart notation is outdated and it's not programmatic, so that would be my focus point, based on what I do.
Akash Chaudhary - PeerSpot reviewer
Hpc Engineer Ai Workload & Infrastructure at a outsourcing company with 51-200 employees
Feb 11, 2026
Adding patches from these repositories is very painful because Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) 9 does not easily support these older package versions.
Geetha D - PeerSpot reviewer
DevOps and infrastructure work at Societe Generale
Sep 1, 2025
Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) is stable and secure, but I think one area for improvement is that licensing should be automatically updated, particularly in multiple environments.
CP
Systems administrator at a retailer with 501-1,000 employees
May 20, 2025
Regarding areas for improvement, I can suggest streamlining SELinux, which currently feels heavy-handed in its approach to security. It's a system that requires deep immersion to understand. While there's probably justification for its current implementation, making the security component less intimidating for users would be beneficial.