Amazon Linux vs CentOS comparison

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94% willing to recommend

Amazon Linux

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Feb 15, 2026

CentOS and Amazon Linux are leading competitors in the server operating system category, with CentOS offering robustness suited for traditional environments and Amazon Linux providing enhanced performance for cloud-centric operations. Amazon Linux appears to have the upper hand due to its seamless integration with AWS services and optimizations tailored for cloud infrastructure.

Features: CentOS is known for its stability, compatibility with RHEL, and cost-effectiveness due to its open-source model. It is customizable and provides long-term support, making it a reliable choice for enterprises. Amazon Linux is designed for the cloud, offering tight integration with AWS, built-in security features, and optimizations for EC2 instances that enhance network performance and scalability. It also excels in streamlined deployment processes, making it ideal for cloud-based operations.

Room for Improvement: CentOS users often point out the need for better documentation, a more user-friendly experience, and improved long-term support following its transition to CentOS Stream. Concerns about future compatibility with RHEL also arise. Amazon Linux faces challenges with limited third-party ecosystem support and community resources. Users seek more comprehensive tutorials, expanded software compatibility, and enhanced integration with non-AWS environments to increase its adaptability.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: CentOS is versatile in deployment environments ranging from on-premises to hybrid clouds, though its community-driven support relies heavily on forums and documentation. In contrast, Amazon Linux benefits from its seamless integration with AWS infrastructure, providing users with an efficient cloud deployment experience. It receives generally positive feedback for its customer service embedded within AWS, though it may lack extensive external community resources.

Pricing and ROI: CentOS is favored by cost-conscious users due to its free, open-source nature, eliminating licensing fees and making it attractive to startups and enterprises focused on budget solutions. It allows for additional savings through its community support model. Amazon Linux offers pricing benefits within the AWS framework, with costs linked primarily to the infrastructure rather than the OS. Both systems deliver substantial ROI, though Amazon Linux stands out for its AWS-optimized efficiencies.

To learn more, read our detailed Amazon Linux vs. CentOS Report (Updated: June 2026).

Amazon Linux vs. CentOS

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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:

ROI

Sentiment score

5.0

Amazon Linux offers cost savings, efficiency, and scalability through zero licensing fees, seamless AWS integration, and ARM optimization.

Sentiment score

6.0

CentOS offers significant ROI through cost savings on servers, time efficiency, and community support, benefiting IT budgets.

With Amazon Linux, selecting and launching instances on a public cloud provider means the machine spins up in fewer than ten seconds, making it efficient.

reviewer2797587

Cloud Solution Engineer at a outsourcing company with 10,001+ employees

By switching the compute fleet from a paid distribution to Amazon Linux, we have reduced our OS-related overhead cost by 100%.

BasilJiji

System engineer at a retailer with 10,001+ employees

Some wins commonly seen after switching, particularly when moving from general-purpose distributions such as Ubuntu, include approximately twenty to forty percent better price-performance ratio.

Janindra Janekumaradi

configuration and management deployment at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees

For more quotes and insights, download the Amazon Linux report

I have seen a return on investment, particularly in terms of money saved because I do not pay for the servers.

reviewer2778354

Technical Lead InfraOps at a tech services company with 501-1,000 employees

The money saved was significant, approximately fifteen percent of our IT budget.

Thiago Pallaro

Senior Support Engineer at a computer software company with 201-500 employees

It saved a lot of time through troubleshooting, which gives us substantial room for improvement in terms of fixing things.

For more quotes and insights, download the CentOS report

Senior Technical Support Engineer at a tech vendor with 11-50 employees

Customer Service

Sentiment score

6.2

Amazon Linux support is highly rated for fast responses, knowledgeable engineers, and excellent problem-solving, ensuring user satisfaction.

Sentiment score

5.5

CentOS depends on community support and internet resources for issue resolution, contrasting with Red Hat's commercial support model.

Amazon has the best expertise and they are available 24/7.

Saurab Gnagurde

IT Analyst | Aws Cloud Ops | Dev Ops | Fin Ops at Tata Consultancy

Timely and helpful responses for performance, updates, or AWS integration issues.

Anastasiya Sousa

QA Engineer at a computer software company with 1,001-5,000 employees

It offers specific advantages and constraints depending on the use case.

reviewer2738745

Cloud Architect at a manufacturing company with 10,001+ employees

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I would rate the customer support for CentOS a 10 on a scale of 1 to 10.

Senior Technical Support Engineer at a tech vendor with 11-50 employees

I've seen many people across the globe interacting, and when users encounter issues, the community provides solutions.

Presales Engineer at Crayon AS

I would rate the documentation about eight in terms of usefulness.

For more quotes and insights, download the CentOS report

Technical Operations Manager at a wholesaler/distributor with 10,001+ employees

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score

7.1

Amazon Linux boasts high scalability, seamless AWS integration, and consistent reliability for efficient vertical and horizontal scaling across regions.

Sentiment score

7.1

CentOS is scalable, cost-effective, and adaptable, excelling in both small and large deployments across diverse applications.

Since it is tightly integrated with AWS services, I can easily scale instances up or down based on demand using EC2 auto-scaling and load balancing.

Vibin Thomas

Technical Team Lead - Content Security at Valuepoint Systems

The compatibility of container scalability with Amazon ECS and Amazon EKS, along with performance optimizations and low latency for workloads.

Vishal Kayande

Technical Trainer at DIEMS Chh.Sambhajinagar

Its real scalability comes from its seamless integration with AWS tools like CloudFormation, Auto Scaling, and user data scripts, which allow me to deploy and configure hundreds of identical ready-to-use instances automatically.

Leo Ladeira

Student at Unemployed at the moment

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CentOS is scalable and user-friendly without requiring complex configurations.

Presales Engineer at Crayon AS

It allows users to scale resources vertically for upgrading hardware and horizontally by adding more servers, making it suitable for modern web hosting and containerized applications.

IT Infrastructure Engineer at Trigyn Technology

CentOS's scalability for my organization has handled growth and changing needs smoothly.

For more quotes and insights, download the CentOS report

Senior Technical Support Engineer at a tech vendor with 11-50 employees

Stability Issues

Sentiment score

8.5

Amazon Linux ensures reliability and security with stable performance, seamless updates, and AWS integration, ideal for high-availability architectures.

Sentiment score

8.0

CentOS is highly stable and reliable, with excellent performance and continuous uptime, making it ideal for stable environments.

Combined with AWS managed infrastructure, it provides enterprise-grade reliability suitable for production workloads.

Deva Rugved

Software Engineer at INSTITUTE OF AERONAUTICAL ENGINEERING

Since it is purpose-built for the cloud, it lacks the bloat of traditional desktop-focused distributions, which leads to fewer crashes and higher uptime.

BasilJiji

System engineer at a retailer with 10,001+ employees

Compared to other Linux distributions, Amazon Linux is significantly more stable for AWS workloads because it is pre-optimized for EC2 hypervisor and includes integrated AWS tools out of the box.

Hussain Gagan

FullStack Developer at EnactOn Technologies

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CentOS is stable, reliable, flexible, and very useful.

IT Infrastructure Engineer at Trigyn Technology

CentOS's simplicity and stability make it easy to use.

Presales Engineer at Crayon AS

I believe CentOS is stable, but we are gradually moving away from it.

For more quotes and insights, download the CentOS report

Technical Operations Manager at a wholesaler/distributor with 10,001+ employees

Room For Improvement

Migrating to Amazon Linux 2023 faces challenges with package availability, unclear documentation, lacking third-party support, and integration issues.

CentOS users seek better support, security, stability, and user interface due to recent changes, prompting interest in alternatives.

Documentation explaining the differences between Ubuntu and Amazon Linux would be valuable.

Tim Robles

full stack developer at 71Lbs

Since we are working in a real-time manner and need to scale things immediately, the time it takes to boot an instance and then deploy things is preventing me from giving it a perfect rating.

reviewer2785038

Senior Data Engineer at a transportation company with 501-1,000 employees

My advice for others looking into using Amazon Linux is to make sure the command line is easy and that Amazon Linux has more performance than other Linux environments and is more secure than other Linux environments as well.

Arjun Parmar

DevOps Engineer at Wissen infotech

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The documentation and support could be improved, along with compatibility with newer hardware as hardware continually evolves over time.

Presales Engineer at Crayon AS

Kernel parameters, sysctl config details, tuned profiles, process prioritization, optimized disk, and input scheduler choice are all points for performance optimization.

For more quotes and insights, download the CentOS report

IT Infrastructure Engineer at Trigyn Technology

CentOS RADIUS server handles sensitive authentication data, so improving security is the priority.

R Kirishikaran

Technical person at a university with 1,001-5,000 employees

Setup Cost

Amazon Linux offers cost-effective deployment with no license fees, enhancing appeal for enterprises seeking budget-friendly alternatives.

CentOS is seen as a cost-effective enterprise solution, due to its open-source nature, eliminating licensing fees.

With Amazon Linux itself, there is no cost associated with using it, so I would say it is very good from a pricing perspective.

reviewer2795433

Cloud Ops Lead at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees

If I am a new AWS customer, the AWS Free Tier typically includes, for the first six months, micro instances such as t2.micro or t3.micro for free.

Deva Rugved

Software Engineer at INSTITUTE OF AERONAUTICAL ENGINEERING

I only pay for the EC2 instance and any other AWS resources I use, but the operating system itself has no licensing fees, which is a significant advantage over commercial operating systems like Red Hat Enterprise Linux or Windows servers, which incur extra hourly charges.

Leo Ladeira

Student at Unemployed at the moment

For more quotes and insights, download the Amazon Linux report

There was no cost in terms of deploying it or getting the license for it.

Senior Technical Support Engineer at a tech vendor with 11-50 employees

Regarding pricing, setup cost, and licensing for CentOS, there is no cost for licensing or setup pricing.

AnilKumar13

Devops Engineer at EDAG

CentOS is a free product with free updates.

For more quotes and insights, download the CentOS report

Technical Operations Manager at a wholesaler/distributor with 10,001+ employees

Valuable Features

Amazon Linux offers cost-effective, reliable performance with AWS integration, security features, and documentation for enhanced productivity and deployment efficiency.

CentOS is favored for enterprise use due to its stability, ease of use, scalability, and strong community support.

Amazon Linux handles this automatically. It is optimized for EC2, AWS hardware and software, mostly secure and stable, and there is no additional cost.

Saurab Gnagurde

IT Analyst | Aws Cloud Ops | Dev Ops | Fin Ops at Tata Consultancy

In terms of service security, there are many constraint security protocols and policies that help me create our own networks, security groups, and inline policies.

Jagadeesh J

Software Engineer at a tech services company with 501-1,000 employees

Amazon Linux's security updates have been helpful in general because I have had to be more specific in using the Identity Access Management (IAM) service so that we can have role-based permissions in preference to just keeping it open.

Steven Alila

Fullstack Developer at a computer software company with 1,001-5,000 employees

For more quotes and insights, download the Amazon Linux report

CentOS has helped me most through its enterprise-level stability.

R Kirishikaran

Technical person at a university with 1,001-5,000 employees

The update cycle changed when CentOS was prioritized for updates, causing stability issues.

Technical Operations Manager at a wholesaler/distributor with 10,001+ employees

In my experience, the best feature that CentOS offers is the network configuration of a device from the command-line interface, which is exceptionally clean.

For more quotes and insights, download the CentOS report

Senior Technical Support Engineer at a tech vendor with 11-50 employees

Categories and Ranking

Amazon Linux

Ranking in Operating Systems (OS) for Business

14th

Average Rating

8.4

Reviews Sentiment

6.1

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

CentOS

Ranking in Operating Systems (OS) for Business

7th

Average Rating

8.4

Reviews Sentiment

6.6

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of June 2026, in the Operating Systems (OS) for Business category, the mindshare of Amazon Linux is 1.5%, up from 0.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of CentOS is 4.9%, up from 4.8% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Operating Systems (OS) for Business Mindshare Distribution
Product	Mindshare (%)
CentOS	4.9%
Amazon Linux	1.5%
Other	93.6%

Operating Systems (OS) for Business

Featured Reviews

Saurab Gnagurde

IT Analyst | Aws Cloud Ops | Dev Ops | Fin Ops at Tata Consultancy

“Amazon Linux delivers automated security updates— including live kernel patching in AL2023—ensuring protected workloads with minimal manual effort and zero-downtime patching.”

One improvement for Amazon Linux would be stronger support for running it outside AWS. Although Amazon provides local VM images for VirtualBox and VMware, they are intended mainly for development and testing. Unlike Ubuntu, Debian, or Red Hat, Amazon Linux is not designed or fully supported as a production OS in on-prem or hybrid environments. Expanding official support outside AWS would offer more flexibility for teams that maintain mixed infrastructure. Another area for improvement is the community ecosystem. Compared to Ubuntu or Red Hat, Amazon Linux has a smaller community and fewer third-party resources or tutorials. A larger ecosystem would make troubleshooting and adoption easier. Finally, improving backward compatibility between Amazon Linux 2 and Amazon Linux 2023—especially around package management (DNF vs yum) and updated toolchains—would simplify upgrades for teams managing large fleets.

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Has supported reliable deployments and simplified issue resolution in complex environments

IT Infrastructure Engineer at Trigyn Technology

The most suitable feature of CentOS is its exceptional stability, security, and long-term support, which make it a popular choice for enterprise and server environments. CentOS is widely recognized for providing a stable and secure platform, especially suited for server and mission-critical workloads. Whenever we face critical work, it is easy for our team to handle. For long-term support, each CentOS release generally guarantees long-term updates, ensuring reliability for extended periods. For package management, we use YUM and DNF in the new version for flexible and efficient software management. It depends on our users' requirements for installing CentOS. Licensing for CentOS is above my management details, so I am not aware of this information. CentOS always provides good feedback, is easy to handle, and easy to troubleshoot. The experience with CentOS OS has been very good over the last two months. I rate CentOS nine out of ten.

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Comparison Review

it_user281973

Storage and VMware Expert at a comms service provider with 1,001-5,000 employees

Aug 24, 2017

It's improved our company's system environments that run Oracle databases.

Red Hat is mission critical to our environment Red Hat has improved the mission critical environments running Oracle databases, while CentOS has improved our web environment and MySQL. Oracle and SAP Environment and all HPC environments. 10 years No issues Very stable i don´t find any problem…

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Construction Company

13%

Educational Organization

11%

Computer Software Company

10%

Outsourcing Company

10%

Manufacturing Company

10%

Financial Services Firm

Comms Service Provider

Computer Software Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	20
Midsize Enterprise	14
Large Enterprise	20

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	30
Midsize Enterprise	22
Large Enterprise	30

Questions from the Community

What needs improvement with Amazon Linux?

Amazon Linux made a great change with the last version and made some features incompatible with the old version, so I did not like the new version and still prefer not to use Amazon Linux. Some opt...

What is your primary use case for Amazon Linux?

I use Amazon Linux on EC2 machines for different kinds of servers. I typically run automation scripts, deploy fast web servers, and use Docker machines for testing purposes and any other proprietar...

What advice do you have for others considering Amazon Linux?

All Linux distributions have stability and security. The only advantage of Amazon Linux is the package system. I did not see any other great advantage. I prefer to use Ubuntu as my main option when...

Which would you choose - RHEL (Red Hat Enterprise Linux) or CentOS?

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 fe...

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for CentOS?

Regarding pricing, setup cost, and licensing for CentOS, there is no cost for licensing or setup pricing, so it is easy to set up and scale up the server.

What needs improvement with CentOS?

CentOS can be improved, but I have not yet faced any kind of issue or hectic problem.

Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) vs Amazon Linux

Comparisons

Compared 16% of the time

Debian vs Amazon Linux

Compared 15% of the time

AlmaLinux vs Amazon Linux

Compared 13% of the time

Alpine Linux vs Amazon Linux

Compared 8% of the time

Kali Linux vs Amazon Linux

Compared 6% of the time

More Amazon Linux Competitors

Kali Linux vs CentOS

Compared 10% of the time

Oracle Linux vs CentOS

Compared 9% of the time

Ubuntu Linux vs CentOS

Compared 7% of the time

Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) vs CentOS

Compared 7% of the time

SUSE Linux Enterprise vs CentOS

Compared 7% of the time

More CentOS Competitors

Product Reports

Amazon Linux

Download Amazon Linux product report

Download CentOS product report

Also Known As

No data available

CentOS 7 (x86_64) - with Updates HVM

Overview

Amazon Linux is a secure and stable distribution for cloud environments, optimized for AWS performance. It is widely adopted by developers seeking minimal disruption in deployment and management, offering a seamless operational experience.

Developed by Amazon Web Services, Amazon Linux provides an environment streamlined for performance on AWS infrastructure. By offering long-term support and regular security updates, it ensures crucial security and reliability. It is tailored to enhance cloud-centric application development, making it a preferred choice for developers needing efficient resource management. Its compatibility with a wide range of AWS tools and services makes it highly adaptable for cloud-native solutions.

What are the key features of Amazon Linux?

Security: Offers frequent updates and security patches for a reliable operating environment.
Performance: Optimized for AWS, improving speed and efficiency.
Flexibility: Easily customizable to meet specific application needs.
Long-term Support: Provides extended software support to reduce maintenance overhead.

What benefits or ROI should users look for in Amazon Linux reviews?

Integrated AWS Tools: Improves workflow efficiency by seamless integration with AWS ecosystem.
Regular Updates: Ensures up-to-date security and performance features.
Cost Efficiency: Reduces operational costs with optimized cloud resources.
Developer Satisfaction: Enhances developer productivity with streamlined resource management.

In industries such as finance and healthcare, Amazon Linux is used to develop cloud applications that require secure data handling and robust performance. Media companies appreciate its flexibility and speed in managing high-demand scenarios, ensuring scalable content delivery and reliable performance.

Amazon Web Services (AWS)

CentOS offers a stable, secure, and compatible environment with Red Hat packages, providing robust performance and cost efficiency. Its lightweight, scalable design and strong community support make it ideal for handling heavy workloads with limited resources.

CentOS is a popular choice for organizations seeking reliable server and virtualization solutions. Known for its robust stability and security, it offers seamless integration and maintenance. However, after a shift from Red Hat, some challenges emerged, including weak NFS client performance and a more complex interface, which beginners find challenging alongside insufficient documentation. Despite these, CentOS remains a favored option for deploying web applications, server installations, and supporting cloud solutions, thanks to its efficient use in monitoring, databases, and telecommunications.

What are CentOS's key features?

Stability: Maintains a consistent performance, essential for mission-critical environments.
Security: Offers robust safeguards, aligning with Red Hat's trusted security packages.
Compatibility: Seamlessly integrates with Red Hat ecosystems, enhancing versatility.
Cost Efficiency: Open-source approach reduces expenses compared to proprietary systems.
Community Support: Access to extensive resources and assistance from a dedicated user base.

What benefits should users look for in reviews?

Performance: Efficient resource management even under heavy workloads.
Integration Ease: Smooth integration with existing IT infrastructures.
Scalability: Ability to grow with changing requirements, supporting diverse applications.
Flexibility: Adaptable to a wide range of industries and use cases.
Reliability: Trusted for critical operations and consistent service delivery.

CentOS is widely used in industries requiring robust infrastructure, such as web hosting, scientific computing, and telecommunications. In data centers, companies deploy it to support virtual environments, testing, and development. The OS powers business applications, email servers, and cloud solutions, offering a cost-effective alternative to Red Hat.

Amazon Linux vs. CentOS