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.
"The solution is stable and reliable."
"There's lots of great documentation available."
"A valuable features of CentOS is that it's quite stable and doesn't crash often. It's also quite intuitive."
"CentOS is very easy to use, and all the commands are user-friendly."
"You can work with the UI or in command line, if you prefer."
"The product's initial setup phase was straightforward and not complex, especially if you are familiar with CLI."
"The solution is productive."
"It has all the features of Red Hat, but you don't have to pay for the subscription."
"The features that I have found most valuable are that it is quick with an easy installation and has good troubleshooting compared to Linux or any other operating system."
"The solution is invaluable, we need it for file and emails servers."
"It is very stable and easy to install."
"The simplicity of the solution is the most valuable aspect."
"The product’s performance is good."
"The solution is easy to use and it has good performance."
"Microsoft is a trusted brand and I enjoy working with it."
"It's easy to set up and deploy."
"It would be ideal if Red Hat would continue the CentOS versions in an open-source format. They seem to be moving away from that. Now only paid versions are available."
"Updates are going to a streaming version."
"Integration with Open Stack could be improved."
"The interface could be improved."
"We occasionally have issues with software installation."
"GUI could be merged and expansion simplified."
"It would be useful if reporting were included as part of the basic license."
"This solution is no longer supported and will not receive any updates going forward."
"If it had more integration capabilities, that would be ideal."
"It would help if Microsoft made it lighter to run on the servers and made troubleshooting much easier."
"In the future, there should be better protection for this solution."
"The security could be improved."
"The scalability could be better."
"The stability is not very good because you have to restart the system to keep the stability."
"Support for direct USB recognition for the virtual machines would improve this solution."
"Windows Server should lower pricing."
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 SUSE Linux Enterprise. 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.
