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Aakash Sharma - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Technical Architect at HCL Technologies
Real User
Jun 6, 2022
Cost-saving solution that helps to scale down usage
Pros and Cons
  • "CentOS's most valuable features are that it's cost-saving and helps to scale down your usage."
  • "CentOS's most valuable features are that it's cost-saving and helps to scale down your usage."
  • "CentOS could be improved with more user-friendly monitoring."
  • "CentOS could be improved with more user-friendly monitoring."

What is our primary use case?

CentOS is mainly used for server installations and VMs.

What is most valuable?

CentOS's most valuable features are that it's cost-saving and helps to scale down your usage.

What needs improvement?

CentOS could be improved with more user-friendly monitoring.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

CentOS is stable.

Buyer's Guide
CentOS
March 2026
Learn what your peers think about CentOS. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: March 2026.
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What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

We use CentOS on a VM, so it's fixed usage.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

I've also used Debian and Ubuntu.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup was straightforward as it's a managed service, so we just needed to spin up the VM. Deployment took around four to five months.

What about the implementation team?

We used an in-house team.

What other advice do I have?

I would give CentOS a rating of eight out of ten.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

Public Cloud
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
PeerSpot user
VivekSaini - PeerSpot reviewer
IT Consultant at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
Real User
Top 5Leaderboard
Apr 9, 2022
Open-source with good performance and is the equivalent to Red Hat
Pros and Cons
  • "It's less expensive than Red Hat."
  • "If a company cannot afford Red Hat, they should use this product."
  • "As an open-source solution, there isn't much technical support."
  • "As an open-source solution, there isn't much technical support."

What is our primary use case?

The solution is the equivalent to Red Hat, so everything is good and very equivalent. If you can't afford to have Red Hat, you can use CentOS. I primarily use the solution for testing purposes. 

What is most valuable?

The product is stable.

The scalability is good.

It's less expensive than Red Hat. The product is open-source.

What needs improvement?

As an open-source solution, there isn't much technical support. 

For how long have I used the solution?

I've used the solution for a few years now. It's been a while. 

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The solution is stable. There are no bugs or glitches. It doesn't crash or freeze. Its performance is good.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

I've never scaled it or tried to. That said, it must be. It is just a replica of Red Hat, and therefore it must be.

I use the solution myself, for personal use. My business unit is using this product and we may expand it to one or two more people. We wouldn't scale up to more than that.

How are customer service and support?

I've never directly dealt with technical support. I cannot speak to how helpful or responsive they would be.

The product is kind of open-source. I am not sure of the support model for this one.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

We also use Red Hat.

How was the initial setup?

The solution is not complicated. It is straightforward in terms of the setup process.

What about the implementation team?

I'm able to handle the installation process myself. I do not need the help of any integrators or consultants. 

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

If a company cannot afford Red Hat, they should use this product.

It's an open-source solution.

What other advice do I have?

I'm dealing with version seven or eight at this time. I can't remember which one. 

I'd recommend the solution to others.

I'd rate the solution a seven out of ten. If there was more support available to users, it would get a higher rating.

Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
PeerSpot user
Buyer's Guide
CentOS
March 2026
Learn what your peers think about CentOS. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: March 2026.
885,264 professionals have used our research since 2012.
HetulPatel - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior data engineer at Tiger Analytics
Real User
Jan 24, 2022
High performance, good interface, and simple implementation
Pros and Cons
  • "The user interface of CentOS is intuitive, we can also use the command prompt."
  • "We successfully installed MicroStrategy 10, Composer for PSP, Laravel, and many PSP libraries on CentOS."
  • "When comparing the GUI of CentOS to Microsoft Windows or Mac, it could improve."
  • "When comparing the GUI of CentOS to Microsoft Windows or Mac, it could improve."

What is our primary use case?

We use CentOS for our transactions and our data warehouse server. We established a replication between those servers.

What is most valuable?

The user interface of CentOS is intuitive, we can also use the command prompt. 

What needs improvement?

When comparing the GUI of CentOS to Microsoft Windows or Mac, it could improve.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using CentOS for approximately eight years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

CentOS is open-source has good performance and is stable.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

CentOS is a scalable solution.

How are customer service and support?

I have not needed to contact technical support.

How was the initial setup?

The installation of CentOS is simple, The solution can be used on servers and on personal computers. You are always able to pick what packages you would like to use with the installation.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

There are no costs for CentOS, it is open-source.

What other advice do I have?

We successfully installed MicroStrategy 10, Composer for PSP, Laravel, and many PSP libraries on CentOS. 

I would recommend CentOS to others if the users want to have an open-source solution.

I rate CentOS an eight out of ten.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
PeerSpot user
Senior Unix System Administrator at a manufacturing company with 1,001-5,000 employees
Real User
Nov 29, 2021
Easy to install and manage
Pros and Cons
  • "It's easy to install."
  • "It's easy to install, it's easy to manage, it's free."
  • "Updates are going to a streaming version."
  • "They're changing how they're working, and I really enjoy the easy updates. Now they're going to a streaming version, which I don't like."

What is our primary use case?

We have very varied, different uses. Mostly it's an appliance for applications.

How has it helped my organization?

It's required for some of the applications we have. In order to run those applications, we have to have CentOS.

What is most valuable?

It's easy to install.

What needs improvement?

They're changing how they're working, and I really enjoy the easy updates. Now they're going to a streaming version, which I don't like. We want to control the updates manually. We have an application that we don't want to be updated without our knowledge.

If you want to do something special on install, you can. But when they have 68 questions about how you want to install, you answer each one of them. A very simple, default install would be nice.

For how long have I used the solution?

I've been using CentOS for more than 12 months.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The solution is extremely scalable. We have about 200 people using it at this point, mostly engineers or database guys.

We'll probably have a minor increase in usage, but not a huge increase in how many nodes we'll have.

How are customer service and support?

CentOS has no technical support. You just look it up if you have a problem.

Red Hat is the paid version of Linux. They take out all the Red Hat stuff and make CentOS Linux with no support. But a lot of people use it, and a lot of people post. So if you have a problem, you just look online and it's fine.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

I did use Red Hat a long time ago, and I switched because they couldn't seem to decide how they wanted to charge for their service. I was perfectly happy to just pay them, but it would range by huge amounts. I couldn't maintain that.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup is in between straightforward and complex. It could be easier. There are too many options, and I'd like a lot less.

What about the implementation team?

Deployment takes a half-hour, and we did it in-house. One person, myself, takes care of deployment and maintenance.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

There are zero licensing costs for the solution. 

There are admin costs. We run it on VMware, so there has to be VMware cost.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

There were a few other options, but CentOS is heavily used and that helps.

What other advice do I have?

Just be aware of the changes they're about to make, which is from the regular updates to streaming. That's major.

I would rate the solution nine out of ten. It's easy to install, it's easy to manage, it's free.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
PeerSpot user
reviewer930072 - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Engineer at a tech services company with 10,001+ employees
Real User
Oct 23, 2021
Mostly stable and has a free community version but could be even more stable
Pros and Cons
  • "The product offers a free community-based version."
  • "The solution is stable and the performance is good."
  • "The stability could always be improved."
  • "The stability could always be improved."

What is our primary use case?

We primarily use the solution to build our applications. 

What is most valuable?

The solution is stable.

The product offers a free community-based version. You can also buy a license if you need to.

What needs improvement?

The platform already provides pretty great services. I'm not sure if it is missing any features.

The stability could always be improved.

For how long have I used the solution?

I occasionally use the solution. 

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The solution is stable and the performance is good. There are no bugs or glitches. It doesn't crash or freeze. 

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The solution is scalable, however, if you would like to expand, you may need to pay for a business license. 

in terms of administration, 20 to 30 people use the solution.

How are customer service and support?

I've never used technical support. If I need help, I can Google information to help troubleshoot. 

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

We did not previously use another operating system. 

How was the initial setup?

The solution was very easy to install. The implementation process wasn't a problem at all. 

The deployment was fast. It maybe took one hour. 

I and another engineer handled the implementation together. You need two to three people to deploy the product.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

We are using the community version, which is free. 

What other advice do I have?

I'd rate the solution at a seven out of ten. For the most part, it's a good solution. I'd recommend it to others.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
PeerSpot user
Octavian Enache - PeerSpot reviewer
Information Security Officer at TBI Bank
Real User
Sep 30, 2021
A stable open source Linux distribution platform that's user-friendly
Pros and Cons
  • "I like its stability, performance, and usability."
  • "I like its stability, performance, and usability."
  • "Like every operating system, it could be more secure."
  • "Like every operating system, it could be more secure."

What is our primary use case?

I use CentOS for business applications and personal use.

What is most valuable?

I like its stability, performance, and usability. 

What needs improvement?

Like every operating system, it could be more secure.

For how long have I used the solution?

I've been using CentOS for several years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

CentOS is a stable solution. 

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup was straightforward. It took me about 15 to 20 minutes to implement this solution.

What about the implementation team?

I installed this solution by myself.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

I use the free version.

What other advice do I have?

I would recommend this solution to potential users.

On a scale from one to ten, I would give CentOS a nine.

Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
PeerSpot user
reviewer1053252 - PeerSpot reviewer
Technical Presales Consultant/ Engineer at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
MSP
Aug 5, 2021
Relegated to a test bench, and therefore is no longer stable
Pros and Cons
  • "CentOS is very efficient and very powerful with many capabilities."
  • "CentOS was one of the best Linux distributions out there."
  • "I was using CentOS because it was very stable, and now it's not."
  • "For the time being, I would not recommend this solution to others."

What is our primary use case?

It can be used for data centers to run the servers.

CentOS is a test bench for Red Hat. When Red Hat is testing new software, they will test it out in CentOS and Fedora. They will give it to the public, the public will complain about all the issues, then they will fix it, and include it in Red Hat.

I am not using it for the organization. However, I am using it in the business. For example, I help many clients back up Linux servers or protect Linux servers. But I am a Linux user at home, and I have been implementing products that revolve around Linux.

What is most valuable?

CentOS was one of the best Linux distributions out there. There was no community-based operating system like CentOS, except for Red Hat.

CentOS is very efficient and very powerful with many capabilities.

Anyone who has been using CentOs from the beginning of time has been using it because it has been a stable platform. Many companies have made solutions based on CentOS because it was a stable platform.

What needs improvement?

Unfortunately, Red Hat has changed the direction of the project.

The community is shocked that CentOS is no longer that stable branch, it's that development branch. 

They have now started a new project that some vendors are involved with, which is called Rocky Linux. 

Rocky Linux is a new Linux distribution that continues with what the community started with CentOS. The community now is making creating their own CentOS, because of Red Hat's decision to make this CentOS a test bench.

Most of the vendors in the market right now are making appliances, whether it be a firewall or a storage appliance, and most of them are using CentOS. Imagine the impact this will have on the vendors, on an international level, because they are relying on CentOS to be the most stable Linux distribution, and they chose the solution based on stability.

Red Hat made the decision of making CentOS a test bench, which means it will no longer be stable. Vendors will either push the new unstable update to customers, which is not something they would likely do or they would need to change to another Linux distribution.

It's a major decision for many companies to make. Because it is now a test bench many people are forced to change.

I was using CentOS because it was very stable, and now it's not. Will I use it? No. 

The main reason people use CentOS was because of its stability. Now that the stability has been compromised, no one will use it, unless they are Red Hat developers. The people who are learning Red Hat will also like it. But for us, the community, who might have been relying on CentOS as being a very stable platform, we will discard it.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using CentOS for five years.

We used version CentOS 6, and CentOS 7, but the latest one is CentOS 8.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

CentOS had proven to be very stable, but now with the updates, CentOS is not the stable operating system that it used to be. 

How are customer service and technical support?

CentOS is not supported commercially. CentOS is a community project. If you have any issue, you open the forums online, you post about it, and they solve it for you. 

Red Hat is the one that is charging for it. You can buy Red Hat and purchase support from them and they'll support you.

How was the initial setup?

If you know your way around Linux, then it is easy to install CentOS.

Most of it is the command line. There is a graphical user interface installation, but if you know CentOS, you don't want to do anything with the graphics. Instead, you will want to do everything with the command line, otherwise, you should consider Ubuntu.

What about the implementation team?

I can install any Linux on my own, with no worries.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

There are no licensing fees for CentOS. It's a DPL project, there is no licensing cost.

What other advice do I have?

CentOS, Red Hat, Oracle Linux, and Fedora all share the same binaries, they have the exact same distribution, with very minor differences. 

CentOS started as a community project, a community enterprise operating system. It's basically free Red Hat. Red Hat was rebranded and called CentOS and released to the public.

I have had a really good experience with CentOS 6 or CentOS 7, but I have abandoned CentOS completely since Red Hat has made its position of CentOS very clear. CentOS now is discontinued. 

Red Hat is releasing CentOS Stream, which is new. Before, what used to be the situation? Red Hat would release the Red Hat Linux distribution online version six, for example, at the same time, Red Hat would release CentOS 6. Red Hat and CentOS 6 had no differences, except the fact that with Red Hat you can actually get a support contract, whereas, with CentOS 6, you cannot get a support contract. 

CentOS and Red Hat are the same. There's no difference between CentOS and Red Hat.

There used to be no difference between CentOS and Red Hat, but now CentOS is like Fedora.

There's no difference, it's just a test bench, with the latest updates, but it is not as stable as it is before.

Now, there was something called Fedora. Fedora is a Linux-based distribution. Usually, you have the latest updates, the brand new technologies, everything is in the Fedora, but it's not stable. Fedora is not stable.

Red Hat is the one controlling CentOS. Whenever Red Hat would release a version, they would release the same CentOS to the public. The only difference was that CentOS is supported by the community, and Red Hat is supported by Red Hat, the enterprise by the business. They used to have a test bench, which is Fedora. Fedora is a distribution based both on Red Hat or CentOS, but packages are very up to date, which is not stable. Now, Red Hat made a decision to stop CentOS and make something new called CentOS Stream. This CentOS Stream is just like Fedora.

It's not as stable as Red Hat. Before Red Hat was releasing a free version and a paid version. Both the free and the paid were the exact, same, they were identical, there were no differences. 

It has the same stability and the same everything. Now, CentOS is a test bench in which Red Hat releases the newest and latest code so that they can try it out on the community, to ensure that it is fine before they include it in Red Hat. CentOS is like Fedora. Good for testing, not for production, and not for servers.

For the time being, I would not recommend this solution to others. 

At one time CentOS was definitely a nine out of ten, but now with these recent updates, I would rate CentOS a zero out of ten. Imagine if you would create something for a specific purpose, but then in the middle, you would change it and make it the exact opposite. That would make any person who chose it, hate it.

I am very frustrated with the way the CentOS project has gone. I would rate it a Zero out of ten.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
PeerSpot user
Group DWH and BI Senior Manager at Virgin Mobile Middle East and Africa
Real User
Jul 9, 2021
All of the features of Red Hat without the subscription fee
Pros and Cons
  • "It has all the features of Red Hat, but you don't have to pay for the subscription."
  • "It's free — it's an open-source solution; it has all the features of Red Hat, but you don't have to pay for the subscription, and otherwise, it's pretty much the same as Red Hat Linux."
  • "Integration with other platforms could be improved."
  • "Integration with other platforms could be improved. There should also be more repositories."

What is our primary use case?

We use CentOS in conjunction with our applications and databases.

What is most valuable?

It's free — it's an open-source solution. It has all the features of Red Hat, but you don't have to pay for the subscription. Otherwise, it's pretty much the same as Red Hat Linux. It uses all of the same repositories, the only difference is that it's open-source.

What needs improvement?

Integration with other platforms could be improved. There should also be more repositories. There are ways to get data from the repositories, but it could be enhanced.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using CentOS since 2019.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

Version 7 is stable — not the recent versions; I believe they have some issues. We are using a stable version as of now. We haven't faced any issues so far.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

CentOS is scalable.

How are customer service and technical support?

I have contacted their support, but it's not commercial technical support. On their website, there are blogs and other users that help. They have a large community that can answer most questions.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

Before CentOS, we used Red Hat Enterprise Linux. The reason why we approached CentOS is that it has the same flavor, but there is no subscription. Earlier, we were paying for Red Hat Linux on a yearly subscription. In order to minimize the cost, especially for some of the applications, it didn't make sense to pay on a yearly basis. 

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup is not very straightforward — it's intermediate. Linux is not an easy thing to install. If you don't have the knowledge, it can be a little difficult.

I believe there is a desktop version available that has a UI but we haven't tried it. That might be a little easier to install; but since it's on a server, we needed to use the command prompt.

What about the implementation team?

We installed it ourselves.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

There is no price or licensing required — it's open-source. 

What other advice do I have?

Overall, on a scale from one to ten, I would give this solution a rating of nine. 

I would definitely recommend this solution to others. Not the desktop version — I don't have experience with it. On a server level, I would definitely recommend it.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
PeerSpot user
Buyer's Guide
Download our free CentOS Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.
Updated: March 2026
Buyer's Guide
Download our free CentOS Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.