I run my personal applications on CentOS.
Storage Engineer at a tech services company with 201-500 employees
Reliable, and simple to install, but it is it confusing, and difficult to use
Pros and Cons
- "The technical support is good."
- "CentOS is not easy."
What is our primary use case?
What needs improvement?
CentOS is not easy.
I have searched the command center, but I cannot switch the accounts.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been working with CentOS for four years.
I am working with the latest version of CentOS.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
CentOS is a stable product.
Buyer's Guide
CentOS
January 2026
Learn what your peers think about CentOS. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: January 2026.
879,853 professionals have used our research since 2012.
How are customer service and support?
The technical support is good.
YouTube contains a wealth of information. YouTube is an excellent source of information.
The CentOS website provides useful information and allows you to download the PPS, which is a benefit.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
Approximately two years ago, I worked with Google Drive.
I also work with Kali Linux.
How was the initial setup?
CentOS can be easily installed in VMWare and VirtualBox. The installation is straightforward. However, on the server, it is difficult for me to detect errors and check other applications.
It took seven months to complete the installation.
What about the implementation team?
I completed the installation myself.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
I'm not required to pay a licensing fee.
What other advice do I have?
If you are an IT technician or an apprentice, I would recommend this solution, however, if you are a regular user, I cannot recommend it because I find it confusing and difficult to use.
I will continue to use this solution.
I would rate CentOS a seven out of ten.
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
Sr Manager - Information Security & Researcher at a tech services company with 1,001-5,000 employees
A good and productive solution which is straightforward and scalable
Pros and Cons
- "The solution is productive."
- "The performance could stand improvement."
What is our primary use case?
We use CentOS Seven.
The solution allows us to run our personal and business applications.
What needs improvement?
Going forward, it would be nice to see how the container orchestration technologies are incorporated into this particular operating system baseline. I know that such platforms as OpenShift exist, but containers would basically be the norm. I want to see how CentOS can take it at the ground level up.
The performance could stand improvement.
While the solution is already secure, this could be improved.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using CentOS for ten years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The solution is productive. It is good and is not buggy. While I have been using it for 25 years, I feel that it would be a mistake for me to get too attached to any specific operating system, as I come from a security domain background.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The solution is scalable.
How was the initial setup?
The installation is straightforward.
It takes less than an hour.
What about the implementation team?
One can handle the installation on his own.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The solution is not subscription-based, unlike Red Hat. It involves recompiled binaries, so it does not come with a subscription fee.
What other advice do I have?
My role involves the management of security tools.
I would always recommend the solution to others.
Our support involves 50,000 servers, 90 percent of these being linux-based.
I rate CentOS as a nine out of ten.
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
Buyer's Guide
CentOS
January 2026
Learn what your peers think about CentOS. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: January 2026.
879,853 professionals have used our research since 2012.
Information Security Officer at a financial services firm with 1,001-5,000 employees
A stable open source Linux distribution platform that's user-friendly
Pros and Cons
- "I like its stability, performance, and usability."
- "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.
Managing Partner at a tech services company with 1-10 employees
Easy on resources, free to use, and highly stable
Pros and Cons
- "The most valuable feature is the limited resources the solution uses in operation."
- "The solution could improve by making the management tools better for the DevOps teams. For example, WebEX and Webstacks."
What is our primary use case?
We have been using CentOS for web-based applications, containers, and OpenStack.
What is most valuable?
The most valuable feature is the limited resources the solution uses in operation.
What needs improvement?
The solution could improve by making the management tools better for the DevOps teams. For example, WebEX and Webstacks.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using CentOS for approximately 10 years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
CentOS is highly stable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The solution is scalable but not at the operating system level.
Web-based applications are using this solution in my organization which many users could be using them.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
CentOS is a free solution.
What other advice do I have?
I would recommend this solution for the server-side.
I rate CentOS a nine 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.
Manager Tech. & Support (Information Technology) at a tech services company with 51-200 employees
Highly stable, easy to use, but could be more scalable
Pros and Cons
- "The solution is easy to use but not as easy as Windows."
- "The solution could improve by being more user-friendly."
What is our primary use case?
We are using CentOS for some of our applications on one single server.
What is most valuable?
The solution is easy to use but not as easy as Windows.
What needs improvement?
The solution could improve by being more user-friendly.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using CentOS for approximately five years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The solution is highly stable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The solution needs to improve on its scalability.
How are customer service and technical support?
We have not needed to contact technical support.
How was the initial setup?
The installation is a little difficult.
What about the implementation team?
We have one engineer that does the implementation of this solution.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
We are using a subscription-based license option for CentOS.
What other advice do I have?
I would recommend this solution for applications that you want to have high stability.
I rate CentOS a seven 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.
Consultant at a educational organization with 11-50 employees
Stable, easy to set up, and free to use
Pros and Cons
- "The product is free to use."
- "Previous versions were unstable."
What is our primary use case?
The solution has many types of use cases.
What is most valuable?
The configuration is very good. It is very easy to configure any application, et cetera.
The current version is stable.
The initial implementation is straightforward.
The product is free to use.
What needs improvement?
Previous versions were unstable.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've been using the solution for close to four years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The solution is stable in its current form. This wasn't always the case. In earlier versions, it wasn't as stable as it is now. Currently, there are no bugs or glitches and it doesn't crash or freeze. However, you do occasionally do still get some unstable packages.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The solution is only really scalable if you handle on-premises versions. However, you can scale it up and down as you need.
We have close to 300 users using the product right now.
How are customer service and technical support?
I've never had to use technical support as everything is pretty straightforward. I can't speak to how helpful or responsive they are.
How was the initial setup?
The installation is very straightforward. It's not overly complex or difficult. A company shouldn't have too much trouble handling it.
The deployment is very quick. It's up and running in a matter of minutes.
What about the implementation team?
I've always handled the implementations myself. I've never used a consultant or integrator. It's easy to handle in-house.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
This product is free to use. It's great for companies with small budgets.
What other advice do I have?
I have a hybrid setup. On the cloud, I'm using version 7.5. On-premise I'm on 8.3.
I'd rate the solution at a nine out of ten. If it was more reliable in terms of dealing with stability, it would be excellent.
I'd recommend the solution to other users and companies.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Hybrid Cloud
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
Technical Support Specialist at a tech services company with 501-1,000 employees
Very robust with good monitoring; GUI could be merged and expansion simplified
Pros and Cons
- "Very robust and easy to work with."
- "GUI could be merged and expansion simplified."
What is most valuable?
This solution is a very robust operating system, particularly when compared to Windows. It's informative and easy to work with and there's no extra cost involved in installation which reduces our overheads. The monitoring is good.
What needs improvement?
I think the GUI could be merged and expansion simplified; both those things would be an improvement. Upgrading servers could be simplified because increasing the hard disk is quite complex.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've been using this solution for close to 12 years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
This is a solid solution.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The solution is scalable and flexible. Even after installing CentOS, it can be expanded.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup is very straightforward.
What other advice do I have?
I recommend CentOS 8 if you're okay with the command line then there's no better option and it's open source.
I rate this product a seven out of 10.
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
High performance, stable, and easy installation
Pros and Cons
- "The most valuable feature is performance."
- "The solution might be discontinued but I hope that IBM will continue to develop it and improve on the functionally and features."
What is our primary use case?
We are using this solution as an operating system for scientific computing.
What is most valuable?
The most valuable feature is performance.
What needs improvement?
The solution might be discontinued but I hope that IBM will continue to develop it and improve on the functionally and features.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using this solution for approximately 10 years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The solution is stable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
We have more than 20 customers that use this solution scientific computing.
How was the initial setup?
The installation easy and takes approximately 20 minutes.
What about the implementation team?
We did the implementation ourselves and we have a team of seven engineers that do the implementation and maintenance.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
There is no license required for this solution.
What other advice do I have?
I would recommend this solution to others.
I rate CentOS a nine out of ten.
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer. Integrator
Buyer's Guide
Download our free CentOS Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros
sharing their opinions.
Updated: January 2026
Product Categories
Operating Systems (OS) for BusinessPopular Comparisons
Rocky Linux
Ubuntu Linux
Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL)
Oracle Linux
Windows Server
SUSE Linux Enterprise
openSUSE Leap
Fedora Linux
Windows 10
Kali Linux
Debian
Oracle Solaris
Alpine Linux
Flatcar Container Linux
Amazon Linux
Buyer's Guide
Download our free CentOS Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros
sharing their opinions.
Quick Links
Learn More: Questions:
- Which would you choose - RHEL (Red Hat Enterprise Linux) or CentOS?
- Oracle Linux or RHEL; Which Would You Recommend?
- What change management solution do you recommend for users to adapt to Windows 10 updates?
- What operating system do you use in your business?
- When evaluating Enterprise Linux, what aspect do you think is the most important to look for?
- What is the best Windows MSI installer?
- Which operative system would be a good alternative for DevOps?
- What features do you look for in an operating system?
- What operating system will be a good alternative for SLES?
- Why is Operating Systems (OS) for Business important for companies?
















