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Amazon Linux vs CentOS comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Aug 3, 2025

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

Amazon Linux
Ranking in Operating Systems (OS) for Business
16th
Average Rating
9.0
Number of Reviews
3
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
CentOS
Ranking in Operating Systems (OS) for Business
6th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
69
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Featured Reviews

Henry Rivera - PeerSpot reviewer
Reliable documentation and support streamline deployment and troubleshooting
The best features with Amazon Linux include the integration with AWS and other services. It is an operating system that AWS manages, and I feel I can trust it regarding the updates without interfering with or interrupting services. The performance of Amazon Linux with AWS services is perfectly fine. I use it and change the instance type to give it more resources at times, and for the sandbox, I give it less, and it satisfies what we want. Amazon Linux reduces the time it would take for setup or deployment because I rely on the documentation for AWS since it's streamlined, and the commands I need to run are easily accessible whenever I need to look up anything. We've used the application load balancers with Amazon Linux, and that's the main one I can think of regarding advanced networking capabilities. That feature has definitely helped us enhance the scalability and reliability of our cloud applications by easing administration, as the application load balancer is managed by AWS and ties in with Amazon Certificate Manager, ensuring I do not have to concern myself with scalability and any updates. The main positive impact of Amazon Linux on my company has been no interruptions of services. The public website is up and running, which allows us to monetize with virtually no staff hours for downtime or service interruptions.
Mahender Nirwan - PeerSpot reviewer
In-depth documentation available and command-line utility works well
One issue I recently faced, but I think it was due to my IT support guys, was that when the server storage gets full, the service crashes. It's very difficult to regain access and stability in that situation. That could be improved. So, the stability might be improved. But I don't think it's a CentOS-level issue. The system administrators need to come up with a solution for that, but I don't think it's CentOS's fault. I haven't done any research [R&D] on this issue. There's one thing for sure. We recently migrated from CentOS 7 to CentOS 9, and it was a bit difficult. For example, updating Windows is simple; you just download it, and it takes about 15-20 minutes. But that's not the case with migrating from CentOS 7 to 9. We had to back up the entire server, launch a new server, and then restore the backup to the new server. We couldn't directly migrate. I think that was a bit of a problem. The setup and updates are not that new in CentOS.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Whenever I deploy solutions on Amazon Linux, I almost never have to worry about the operating system."
"There are a lot of sources on the internet that you can use to solve any issues, and people share their experiences. It's not a closed system"
"You can work with the UI or in command line, if you prefer."
"The product's initial setup phase is very straightforward."
"It’s scalable."
"It is a stable soultion."
"CentOS's most valuable features are that it's cost-saving and helps to scale down your usage."
"CentOS is very easy to use, and all the commands are user-friendly."
"If I need to install a feature or fix a server issue, I can easily find answers online. The CentOS community is also vast and helpful."
 

Cons

"I have honestly never had any problems with Amazon Linux, aside from disk space issues."
"The solution is stable, however, it could always be even more stable if possible."
"CentOS can be somewhat difficult for beginners, as it has a complex UI, especially for those not in the IT field."
"CentOS should extend the support of the solution. The solution is set to have no update support in 2023."
"In the future, CentOS will no longer be compatible with Red Hat."
"CentOS could be improved with more user-friendly monitoring."
"The solution must improve its security."
"Updates are going to a streaming version."
"Like every operating system, it could be more secure."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

Information not available
"This is an open-source solution, so there are no licensing costs involved."
"It's free."
"For the enterprise version of CentOS, there is a license required. However, for personal use, I do not need a license."
"CentOS is free."
"The price could be better. The cost depends on how the organization or a specific person licenses it. If you want the free version, there's Ubuntu which is supported by forums. You can pay for the license yearly or pay for a specific version."
"There are no costs for CentOS, it is open-source."
"CentOS is an expensive solution. There are other solutions that are rated at the top that are not expensive, such as Red Hat."
"We have a CentOS license that we pay for on a yearly basis."
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Comparison Review

it_user281973 - PeerSpot reviewer
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…
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
No data available
Computer Software Company
16%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Financial Services Firm
7%
Educational Organization
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

What needs improvement with Amazon Linux?
In my opinion, for improvement, Amazon Linux could make better integration with third-party vendors, perhaps enhance user experience or lower the price compared to other Linux solutions. For the fu...
What is your primary use case for Amazon Linux?
My use case for Amazon Linux is mostly for running containers. I am using SELinux for enhanced security in Amazon Linux, and it is helpful for me.
What advice do you have for others considering Amazon Linux?
I am not using IPv6 and I'm okay with that. On a scale of one to ten, I rate Amazon Linux an eight.
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 do you like most about CentOS?
CentOS is very easy to use, and all the commands are user-friendly.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for CentOS?
CentOS is a free product with free updates. There are third-party companies available for support, but they charge varying amounts for their services.
 

Comparisons

 

Also Known As

No data available
CentOS 7 (x86_64) - with Updates HVM
 

Overview

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