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Amazon Linux vs openSUSE Leap comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

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
13th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.1
Number of Reviews
44
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
openSUSE Leap
Ranking in Operating Systems (OS) for Business
15th
Average Rating
9.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.8
Number of Reviews
6
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2026, in the Operating Systems (OS) for Business category, the mindshare of Amazon Linux is 1.2%, up from 0.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of openSUSE Leap is 5.2%, down from 6.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Operating Systems (OS) for Business Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Amazon Linux1.2%
openSUSE Leap5.2%
Other93.6%
Operating Systems (OS) for Business
 

Featured Reviews

SAURAB K GANGURDE - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior AWS Consultant at Quantum Integrators
“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.
NK
Senior Manager at Cognizant
Provides BTRFS file system, which allows you to take snapshots
I only use the tool for testing purposes on my team, but multiple people use it. We don't make a team effort to install the solution. When it comes to maintenance, we ask our company to buy SUSE Linux Enterprise. My team consists of 13 people. We are currently integrating the solution with Ansible to do some coding. Although not a full-fledged automation, we are integrating the solution with Ansible and executing a couple of playbooks connected to openSUSE Leap. I would recommend the solution to other users looking for an open-source solution. Overall, I rate the solution a nine out of ten.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The ecosystem of software packages in Amazon Linux has helped us keep up to date with the artificial intelligence trend, where people are using ChatGPT to code, and they are also using Amazon Developer Q to program applications much faster, and then also to meet requirements with the Google Play Store and Apple Store."
"Amazon Linux has impacted my organization positively because in any organization, the first priority is cost."
"Whenever I deploy solutions on Amazon Linux, I almost never have to worry about the operating system."
"Amazon Linux has positively impacted my organization because we are able to host our applications, mainly Kubernetes applications, our servers, and testing environments, while also being able to get lower cost servers."
"In my opinion, the best features of Amazon Linux include the stability and its standard Linux distribution, which in some cases is easier to deploy and manage than the Ubuntu distribution, but I feel comfortable with Ubuntu too."
"Amazon Linux has impacted my organization very positively."
"Amazon Linux cost is free to use, which provides significant cost optimization benefits that we always leverage."
"Overall, it offers a reliable, secure, and efficient platform for running production workloads in the cloud."
"openSUSE Leap has helped me with using containers in Podman."
"The solution's most valuable feature is the BTRFS file system, which allows you to take snapshots."
"The most valuable feature by far has been the virtualization capabilities of the operating system."
"This solution has helped my organization's security from the use of its firewall, and the features for blocking or allowing traffic are very effective and have worked well for us."
"The solution is very stable after it is configured. It is hard to have a panel slow, a problem, misconfiguration, or any kind of loss function."
"Leap has provided me with the ability to offer what I consider Enterprise class server O/S platforms to my smaller customers who are looking to improve their competitive stances without breaking the bank."
"Stable - it just runs without the necessity to reboot."
"Stable - it just runs without the necessity to reboot."
 

Cons

"With the support system for Amazon Linux, I feel there is a lack compared to Red Hat, which provides a stronger support system."
"Amazon Linux is not supported outside of EC2. You cannot install it on a local system, whereas you can install Ubuntu and Red Hat on your local system."
"Amazon Linux could be improved in the user interface part, as it is quite complicated for new users."
"Amazon Linux could be improved by including libraries for supervisor."
"The reason I would not give a full ten out of ten is mainly due to areas like package availability and community support, which can still be improved."
"I did not rate Amazon Linux as a perfect ten because of the upgrade path and standardizing the package behaviors."
"Amazon last provided some security patches that were not very fast, which was one reason I did not rate it higher, along with a few things, such as some particular versions of Python that are not readily available in Amazon Linux."
"I believe the response time and quality of support could be better, so I see quality as a single point of feedback."
"There is room for improvement in the console."
"In the future, the Active Directory could improve."
"Somehow the change from OS12.x via 13.x to Leap was a bit bumpy and some old issues seemed to reappear."
"I would like openSUSE Leap to have better link integration with Windows."
"It would be helpful if we could easily switch from openSUSE Leap for testing to SUSE Linux Enterprise for production."
"In the future, the Active Directory could improve."
"Like most Linux-based operating systems, the biggest challenge Leap faces is the GUI."
"Like most Linux-based operating systems, the biggest challenge Leap faces is the GUI."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

Information not available
"The solution is open-source."
"The cost of this solution was reasonable and it was within our budget."
"This is an open-source operating system that can be used free of charge."
"openSUSE Leap is an open-source solution that is free of cost."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Construction Company
12%
Educational Organization
11%
Computer Software Company
10%
Outsourcing Company
10%
Comms Service Provider
20%
Educational Organization
9%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Computer Software Company
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business20
Midsize Enterprise14
Large Enterprise19
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business2
Midsize Enterprise1
Large Enterprise4
 

Questions from the Community

What needs improvement with Amazon Linux?
I believe there is no need to improve Amazon Linux. It is definitely working in a very progressive and highly scalable way.
What is your primary use case for Amazon Linux?
My use case for Amazon Linux includes web and application hosting, microservices, container, database management, and virtual desktop services. I use Amazon Linux as a lightweight base image for Do...
What advice do you have for others considering Amazon Linux?
I will provide a rating of eight for Amazon Linux. I am using a long-term support version of Amazon Linux, so there is no need for any other features. Amazon Linux provides different types of servi...
What needs improvement with openSUSE Leap?
Both openSUSE Leap and the SUSE Enterprise version use the same kernel. Suppose I have a lower environment where I can run openSUSE to test all my products. It would be helpful if I could easily sw...
What is your primary use case for openSUSE Leap?
I use openSUSE Leap for testing purposes. Before officially using any server in our office, we test it using the solution. My office usually uses production servers on the SUSE Linux enterprise ver...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for openSUSE Leap?
openSUSE Leap is an open-source solution that is free of cost.
 

Comparisons

 

Overview

Find out what your peers are saying about Amazon Linux vs. openSUSE Leap and other solutions. Updated: April 2026.
894,738 professionals have used our research since 2012.