We performed a comparison between CentOS and Windows Server based on our users’ reviews in four categories. After reading all of the collected data, you can find our conclusion below.
Comparison Results: In this comparison, CentOS has a slight edge over Windows Server because it is free whereas Windows Server is considered expensive. Users also favor the technical support they receive from CentOS.
"I like its stability, performance, and usability."
"I like how you can alternate certain things and minimize admin features on there and just let it run on specific scripts. It's nice. Even if I had to put it in a container, I'd still do it. I prefer Linux over Windows any day."
"It helps us install and deploy our applications."
"Its performance is most valuable. There is a performance boost as compared to when the applications are run on Windows OS."
"The most valuable features of CentOS are it is built from Linux, has good performance, and can we can create scripts. The scripts are you to do minor work automatically."
"CentOS is very efficient and very powerful with many capabilities."
"It’s scalable."
"The solution is easy to troubleshoot."
"It's easy to use."
"The solution is stable. The performance has been great over the years."
"The only thing that is extremely valuable about the solution is that most applications run on it. That's where it brings the value in as we have the server to run our applications."
"A valuable feature of Windows Server has been the performance. We have done all the redundancy and fault tolerance things to protect our servers and, so far, so good."
"The simplicity of the solution is the most valuable aspect."
"The biggest advantage of Windows Server is the services. It offers the ability to configure services, so your application can run on a Windows Server."
"The product is scalable."
"We find the solution to be easy to use and simple to navigate."
"The server system is a little bit tough to manage."
"Like every operating system, it could be more secure."
"The GUI interface could always be better."
"The tool has no official support."
"I would like the integration to be more secure."
"When comparing the GUI of CentOS to Microsoft Windows or Mac, it could improve."
"The main issue is the End of Support. For that reason, we will switch to another operating system."
"This solution is no longer suited to our business following the change they have made to the release process. It is no longer an enterprise solution."
"The licensing for the solution is expensive."
"I find ethernet configuration and implementation difficult."
"The solution would be better by implementing more security and integration."
"The initial setup is simple for some but difficult for others."
"As I have already paid for a license, I should have the option of requesting the containerized functionality from the OS to reduce the Windows Server OS footprint."
"If it had more integration capabilities, that would be ideal."
"There's always room for improvement. However, I'm not in the main IT department, and therefore, I'm not as close to the product as others on my team."
"The performance is good but we have had some issues when we use virtual machines."
CentOS is ranked 5th in Operating Systems (OS) for Business with 63 reviews while Windows Server is ranked 4th in Operating Systems (OS) for Business with 180 reviews. CentOS is rated 8.2, while Windows Server is rated 8.0. The top reviewer of CentOS writes "Allows you to securely store data, and command prompts make it simple to use". On the other hand, the top reviewer of Windows Server writes "Easy to setup, stable and caters to my wide range of use cases but lacks user-friendly interface". CentOS is most compared with Oracle Linux, Ubuntu Linux, Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL), SUSE Linux Enterprise and openSUSE Leap, whereas Windows Server is most compared with Ubuntu Linux, Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL), Windows 10, Oracle Linux and Oracle Solaris. See our CentOS vs. Windows Server report.
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We monitor all Operating Systems (OS) for Business reviews to prevent fraudulent reviews and keep review quality high. We do not post reviews by company employees or direct competitors. We validate each review for authenticity via cross-reference with LinkedIn, and personal follow-up with the reviewer when necessary.