Alpine Linux vs Rocky Linux comparison

Alpine Linux and Rocky Linux are both solutions in the Operating Systems (OS) for Business category. Alpine Linux is ranked #31, while Rocky Linux is ranked #2 with an average rating of 8.8. Alpine Linux holds a 2.6% mindshare in OSB, compared to Rocky Linux’s 13.0% mindshare. Additionally, 100% of Rocky Linux users are willing to recommend the solution.

Alpine Linux

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Rocky Linux

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100% willing to recommend

Alpine Linux

Rocky Linux

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Nov 13, 2025

Rocky Linux and Alpine Linux are key players in the Linux distribution market, each designed for different needs. Rocky Linux often takes the lead due to its comprehensive community support and enterprise-grade solutions.

Features: Rocky Linux provides robust support for enterprise environments, compatibility with Red Hat solutions, and a comprehensive set of enterprise-ready tools. Alpine Linux boasts superior security measures, a minimalistic design, and is tailored for containerization, making it efficient for lightweight applications.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Rocky Linux offers an easy deployment process, especially for CentOS workloads, reinforced by strong community support. Alpine Linux is efficient for lightweight and container-heavy environments but may introduce a learning curve for traditional scenarios. Rocky benefits from a wider support network, whereas Alpine focuses on an agile setup.

Pricing and ROI: Rocky Linux provides extensive features at a low cost or for free under a community-supported model, offering a promising return on investment in enterprise settings. Alpine Linux minimizes costs due to its small footprint, offering a cost-effective solution for performance-focused use cases.

To learn more, read our detailed Operating Systems (OS) for Business Report (Updated: December 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Operating Systems (OS) for Business

December 2025

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Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

Categories and Ranking

Alpine Linux

Ranking in Operating Systems (OS) for Business

31st

Average Rating

0.0

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Rocky Linux

Ranking in Operating Systems (OS) for Business

2nd

Average Rating

8.6

Reviews Sentiment

5.6

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of December 2025, in the Operating Systems (OS) for Business category, the mindshare of Alpine Linux is 2.6%, up from 0.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Rocky Linux is 13.0%, up from 13.0% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Operating Systems (OS) for Business Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
Rocky Linux	13.0%
Alpine Linux	2.6%
Other	84.4%

Operating Systems (OS) for Business

Featured Reviews

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Massimiliano Adamo

Linux architect at European Commission

Has supported seamless migrations and enabled running complex data workloads securely

The best features Rocky Linux offers include clustering and all the packages from Red Hat.Rocky Linux has impacted my organization very positively because we migrated everything from CentOS and Windows servers to Rocky Linux. Everything is clear, with good packaging, and now it's version 9.6, which is very important for us due to security problems since we are in Europe. Rocky Linux is very good for security and other aspects. Since migrating to Rocky Linux, I've seen specific outcomes such as improved security because CentOS stopped the project, and security patches aren't being released. We need to maintain a system similar to Red Hat, which is very stable and has many features such as file system, topology, and containers.

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Comms Service Provider

14%

Computer Software Company

13%

Financial Services Firm

13%

Manufacturing Company

Computer Software Company

13%

Comms Service Provider

13%

University

11%

Manufacturing Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

No data available

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	5
Large Enterprise	14

Questions from the Community

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What do you like most about Rocky Linux?

It's very simple to work with, easy to learn, and know where things are.

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What needs improvement with Rocky Linux?

I am not an expert on Rocky Linux, but I do not have anything to say regarding improvements; I think it is doing better. I chose a rating of eight out of ten because Rocky Linux must grow more; it ...

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What is your primary use case for Rocky Linux?

My main use case for Rocky Linux is for the Nutanix environment, where we have a data center and everything is hosted there, including all the services and systems. Rocky Linux is the main OS of th...

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Comparisons

Debian vs Alpine Linux

Compared 20% of the time

AlmaLinux vs Alpine Linux

Compared 10% of the time

Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) vs Alpine Linux

Compared 8% of the time

Ubuntu Linux vs Alpine Linux

Compared 7% of the time

Flatcar Container Linux vs Alpine Linux

Compared 7% of the time

More Alpine Linux Competitors

Fedora Linux vs Rocky Linux

Compared 24% of the time

Debian vs Rocky Linux

Compared 22% of the time

Ubuntu Linux vs Rocky Linux

Compared 12% of the time

Oracle Linux vs Rocky Linux

Compared 11% of the time

SUSE Linux Enterprise vs Rocky Linux

Compared 2% of the time

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Product Reports

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Operating Systems (OS) for Business

December 2025

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Rocky Linux

December 2025

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Overview

Alpine Linux is an independent, non-commercial, general purpose Linux distribution designed for power users who appreciate security, simplicity and resource efficiency.
Alpine Linux is built around musl libc and busybox. This makes it small and very resource efficient. A container requires no more than 8 MB and a minimal installation to disk requires around 130 MB of storage. Not only do you get a fully-fledged Linux environment but a large selection of packages from the repository.

Alpine Linux

Rocky Linux provides enterprise-grade stability and seamless Red Hat compatibility, coupled with extensive community support. Known for easy setup and minimal maintenance, its open-source nature ensures cost-effectiveness, making it ideal for critical systems.

Rocky Linux is an open-source operating system valued for its compatibility with Red Hat Enterprise Linux, making it an attractive choice for organizations migrating from CentOS. It focuses on stability, security, and long-term support, crucial for critical systems. Users benefit from seamless integration with automation tools and its strong community backing. While it offers ease of setup and package availability, areas like software availability and faster updates need enhancement. The system's UX design supports productivity, with potential improvements in documentation and security integration helping to maintain competitive advantages.

What Are the Key Features?

Enterprise-Grade Stability: Designed for reliability in mission-critical environments.
Red Hat Compatibility: Ensures seamless integration with existing Red Hat setups.
Community Support: Backed by a strong, active community providing assistance.
Ease of Setup: User-friendly installation process for quick deployment.
Minimal Maintenance: Requires reduced effort for upkeep.
Security and Clustering: Advanced features for enhanced system security.

What Benefits Should Users Expect?

Cost-Effectiveness: Open-source status reduces overall costs.
Improved Productivity: UX design and package availability streamline workflows.
Scalability: Supports growing business needs with long-term support.
Seamless Integration: Compatible with automation and monitoring tools.
Migration Ease: Smooth transition for CentOS users.

Rocky Linux is widely implemented across numerous industries as a server platform and backend OS, supporting web hosting, big data projects, and cloud infrastructure. Companies in IT environments like Nutanix data centers and high-performance computing choose it for its compatibility with open-source tools, making it favored for automation with Ansible and monitoring through Prometheus.

Rocky Linux

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Operating Systems (OS) for Business

December 2025

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