CentOS vs Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide
Executive Summary
Updated on Mar 31, 2022

We performed a comparison between CentOS and Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) based on our users’ reviews in four categories. After reading all of the collected data, you can find our conclusion below.

  • Ease of Deployment: CentOS users feel deployment of CentOS is very simple. There are a wizard and templates, which make deployment fast, straightforward, and super easy. RHEL users also indicate that setup and deployment is straightforward.
  • Features: CentOS users like that it is easy to use and very productive. The solution is very robust and stable. Users tell us the UI is very intuitive and also offers a command prompt option. CentOS users would like to see improved security, additional coding tools, and better integration.

    RHEL users relate that the solution is very robust and easy to manage: it just works. The RHEL GUI makes it very easy for users coming from other ecosystems to understand and implement. RHEL integrates well, is mature, stable, and performs very well. Users tell us documentation could be better, and that vulnerability assessment needs to be updated.

  • Pricing: CentOS is a community-driven free software solution. RHEL users tell us that although the pricing option can be quite expensive, it is on par with what other providers are offering. RHEL users feel the price is a good value for what they receive.
  • Service and Support: CentOS’s support is community-based. Users relate that the knowledge base is trustworthy and it is very easy to get issues resolved quickly. RHEL users tell us that although they pay for support and it can get costly, the service they receive is very good and they are satisfied.

Comparison Results: Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) finishes ahead of CentOS in this comparison. Users feel that RHEL offers better stability, control, and consistent value-added updates. Additionally, the improved integration with RHEL provides for a better TCO, allowing resources to be distributed elsewhere in the organization, further enhancing productivity and profitability.

To learn more, read our detailed CentOS vs. Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) Report (Updated: March 2024).
765,234 professionals have used our research since 2012.
Featured Review
Quotes From Members
We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use.
Here are some excerpts of what they said:
Pros
"Its performance is most valuable. There is a performance boost as compared to when the applications are run on Windows OS.""It has all the features of Red Hat, but you don't have to pay for the subscription.""A valuable features of CentOS is that it's quite stable and doesn't crash often. It's also quite intuitive.""You can work with the UI or in command line, if you prefer.""CentOS is very efficient and very powerful with many capabilities.""The initial setup is very easy.""The solution is easy to troubleshoot.""It is better than Ubuntu Linux."

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"Red Hat Enterprise Linux's most valuable feature is its stability.""Red Hat Enterprise Linux's most valuable attribute is its stability.""The knowledge base is excellent.""Red Hat Enterprise Linunx's most valuable feature is patching.""There are some nice integrations with scanning for vulnerabilities. That is the feature I have enjoyed the most because I am a security person, and that is my bread and butter.""The most valuable feature is the package management. It helps a lot. I also like the support.""Errata is the most valuable feature, which is supported by Red Hat.""One of the most valuable aspects is the ease of installing packages on the server."

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Cons
"The GUI interface could always be better.""Integration with other platforms could be improved.""They could build more options into the wizard.""In terms of commands, it's all CLI and there isn't any GUI which can make it challenging to use for some people.""Integration with Open Stack could be improved.""CentOS is very close to the end of life.""There could be more integration features included in the product.""The tool has no official support."

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"When there is downtime from a system admin perspective, this solution could improve how they communicate why this down time is happening.""In the past and with older versions, you couldn't expand the root file system without rebooting the server or restarting the operating system. That is something that they have actually corrected now, which is great. They corrected that issue somewhere around RHEL 7.""The graphical user interface should be more user-friendly. It's a concern because the command line is perfectly fine.""I would like to see the GNOME system monitor feature, which shows CPU usage and other aspects. It will help to save time.""Although the price is reasonable, there is room for improvement in order to stand out from other open-source solutions.""The solution should provide demos so that users can learn to use it and improve their environments.""The DNF package manager could be improved.""The cost of this solution could be improved."

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Pricing and Cost Advice
  • "There are no licensing costs for CentOS."
  • "It is open-source, which means it is a free product. It has a one-time deployment cost."
  • "There is no license required for this solution."
  • "There is no price or licensing required — it's open-source."
  • "There are no licensing fees. CentOS is a free solution."
  • "There are no licensing fees for CentOS."
  • "We are using a subscription-based license option for CentOS."
  • "CentOS is a free solution."
  • More CentOS Pricing and Cost Advice →

  • "The pricing is a bit on the expensive side, mainly because of the support they provide. However, it is quite affordable if you are an organization. If, as a small company or individual, this is an expensive option, I would recommend CentOS, which is an exact replica of RHEL, minus the customer support."
  • "In terms of the solution’s single subscription and install repository for all types of systems, we can have as many RHEL installations as we want because we have a specific subscription that entitles us to have as many RHEL services as we want. We pay for a subscription and with that we get RHEL and Satellite as well."
  • "Red Hat Linux is inexpensive. Linux solutions are generally inexpensive."
  • "RHEL is expensive."
  • "Because it is a subscription, you can go elastic. This means you can buy a year, then you can skip a year. It is not like when you buy something. You don't buy it. You are paying for the support on something, and if you don't pay for the support on something, there is no shame because there are no upfront costs. It changes the equation. However, we have such growth right now on the Linux platform that we are reusing and scavenging these licenses. From a business standpoint, not having to buy, but just having to pay for maintenance, changes a lot of the calculations."
  • "We have a site license on a yearly basis. Generally, we're okay with its price, but everything could be cheaper."
  • "The licensing with Red Hat is on par with other organizations like Microsoft. We have a site license, which gives us a certain number of servers, perhaps 25,000, for the type of license that we have. That works really well for us."
  • "We are an educational institution and as such, what we pay is less than the average company."
  • More Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) Pricing and Cost Advice →

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    Comparison Review
    Anonymous User
    Questions from the Community
    Top Answer:Red Hat Enterprise Linux is fantastic. It is an inexpensive solution that has excellent security, performance, and stability, and also lots of features. I specifically like that the solution has… more »
    Top Answer:CentOS is very easy to use, and all the commands are user-friendly.
    Top Answer:My company has acquired five to ten licenses from Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL).
    Top Answer:I have seen that the upgrade from RHEL 7 to RHEL 8 can be a bit problematic since I have seen some issues during the upgrade of libraries, along with some conflicts with the other libraries in the… more »
    Ranking
    Views
    14,347
    Comparisons
    14,093
    Reviews
    33
    Average Words per Review
    349
    Rating
    8.4
    Views
    59,469
    Comparisons
    18,108
    Reviews
    145
    Average Words per Review
    793
    Rating
    8.8
    Comparisons
    Also Known As
    Red Hat Enterprise Linux, RHEL
    Learn More
    Overview

    CentOS is a versatile operating system with many use cases, including virtual spaces, scientific computing, data center servers, web-based applications, and more. Its valuable features include customization options, low memory consumption, performance, scalability, open-source nature, cost-saving, and compatibility with Red Hat packages. 

    The solution has helped organizations save money on licensing and improve testing capabilities for new implementations without spending additional resources. CentOS is a stable, reliable, and efficient operating system that is easy to use and integrate with other applications and services.

    Red Hat Enterprise Linux is a stable and reliable open-source operating system for running application servers, databases, web servers, and production systems. It is also used for cloud infrastructure services, BI, and disaster assistance. Its valuable features include support and subscription, ease of management and troubleshooting, integration with existing infrastructure, security updates and hardening tools, scalability, and flexibility. 

    Red Hat has helped organizations accelerate deployment, provide stability, control, and reliable updates, and enable the deployment of current applications and emerging workloads across different environments.

    Sample Customers
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    Travel Channel, Mohawk Industries, Hilti, Molecular Health, Exolgan, Hotelplan Group, Emory University, BlueCross BlueShield of North Carolina, HCA Healthcare, Paychex, UPS, Intermountain Healthcare, Brinker International, TransUnion, Union Bank, CA Technologies
    Top Industries
    REVIEWERS
    Computer Software Company21%
    Financial Services Firm18%
    Government12%
    Comms Service Provider12%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Computer Software Company16%
    Manufacturing Company9%
    Government9%
    Comms Service Provider8%
    REVIEWERS
    Financial Services Firm27%
    Government14%
    Computer Software Company12%
    Manufacturing Company8%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Computer Software Company14%
    Manufacturing Company10%
    Government9%
    Financial Services Firm9%
    Company Size
    REVIEWERS
    Small Business39%
    Midsize Enterprise28%
    Large Enterprise33%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Small Business24%
    Midsize Enterprise14%
    Large Enterprise63%
    REVIEWERS
    Small Business22%
    Midsize Enterprise11%
    Large Enterprise66%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Small Business19%
    Midsize Enterprise14%
    Large Enterprise67%
    Buyer's Guide
    CentOS vs. Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL)
    March 2024
    Find out what your peers are saying about CentOS vs. Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) and other solutions. Updated: March 2024.
    765,234 professionals have used our research since 2012.

    CentOS is ranked 4th in Operating Systems (OS) for Business with 63 reviews while Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) is ranked 1st in Operating Systems (OS) for Business with 167 reviews. CentOS is rated 8.4, while Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) is rated 8.8. 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 Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) writes "Highly stable, good knowledge base, and reasonable price". CentOS is most compared with Oracle Linux, Ubuntu Linux, openSUSE Leap, Windows Server and SUSE Linux Enterprise, whereas Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) is most compared with Ubuntu Linux, Windows Server, SUSE Linux Enterprise, Windows 10 and Rocky Linux. See our CentOS vs. Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) 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.