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Amazon Linux vs Windows Server 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:
 

ROI

Sentiment score
3.9
Amazon Linux enhances ROI by reducing costs, increasing efficiency, and simplifying AWS integration, resulting in significant savings and productivity.
Sentiment score
5.5
Windows Server boosts efficiency and resource management, with users reporting significant cost reductions and improved virtualization and Azure services.
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.
Cloud Solution Engineer at a outsourcing company with 10,001+ employees
One great feature is LTS, which is long-term support provided by Amazon itself.
Senior AWS Consultant at Quantum Integrators
We saved 30% in terms of the cloud infrastructure.
Level 2 Software Engineer at a computer software company with 201-500 employees
Windows Server offers excellent value for money, particularly when compared to alternatives.
Security Engineer at ProVision
The tool supports many applications.
Agile Consultant at MSOLdigi
You get a standard platform that is very secure and stable.
Manager, Information & Cloud Systems at a consultancy with 1,001-5,000 employees
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
6.4
Amazon Linux support is praised for prompt, knowledgeable service, 24/7 availability, and effective response, influenced by support plans.
Sentiment score
6.2
Customer service is generally effective, but technical support quality varies, and experiences with Microsoft are mixed.
Amazon has the best expertise and they are available 24/7.
Senior AWS Consultant at Quantum Integrators
Timely and helpful responses for performance, updates, or AWS integration issues.
QA Engineer at a computer software company with 1,001-5,000 employees
It offers specific advantages and constraints depending on the use case.
Cloud Architect at a manufacturing company with 10,001+ employees
If you go through a partner who sells or supports Windows, the support could be around seven out of ten, because Windows relies on these partners for assistance.
Head of Major Account Sales Operation 1 at a manufacturing company with 1,001-5,000 employees
Microsoft's technical support for Windows Server has been lacking, with rare responses even with premium support.
Security Engineer at ProVision
They resolved our problems within the defined SLA.
Relationship Manager at Cognizant
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
6.3
Amazon Linux excels in scalability, optimizing AWS integration for efficient, reliable performance and cost-effective dynamic scaling events.
Sentiment score
7.6
Windows Server is flexible and scalable, efficiently adapting to varying organizational sizes despite some management complexity.
The beauty here is that we can scale it immediately, which also saves cost.
Senior AWS Consultant at Quantum Integrators
The scalability of Amazon Linux is very good; we run it on top of scalable EC2 instances, and we do not find any issues there.
Senior Software Engineer at a financial services firm with 10,001+ employees
Amazon Linux is highly scalable because it allows for EC2 instances to scale up and down based on what you want.
Enterprise Cloud Operations Lead at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
I've worked in companies with 20,000 to 100,000 users, and it scales beautifully without issues.
Manager, Information & Cloud Systems at a consultancy with 1,001-5,000 employees
The solution is used extensively in our organization, and we have plans to increase the usage.
Project Engineer at CDAC
We use it everywhere, and it serves approximately two thousand users in our company as a backend service.
System Engineer at Alnajat charity
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
8.3
Amazon Linux is praised for reliability, stability, and security, ensuring minimal issues and no downtime in production environments.
Sentiment score
7.5
Windows Server is highly stable and reliable, with improvements since 2012, often rated 8-10 out of 10 by users.
My applications had a high availability (HA) environment, so even when one availability zone was down, traffic moved to a different availability zone without any issues.
Senior AWS Consultant at Quantum Integrators
We evaluated Amazon Linux, and it is very stable.
Senior Software Engineer at a financial services firm with 10,001+ employees
Amazon Linux is very stable and is continually maintained by Amazon.
Enterprise Cloud Operations Lead at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
We have experienced no blue screens or crashes and often achieved an uptime of 2,000 to 3,000 days without any issues whatsoever.
Security Engineer at ProVision
Stability-wise, I rate the solution a ten out of ten.
Manager at Accenture company
I rate the stability a 9 out of 10.
Connectivity Platform Cyber Security Specialist at BASF Business Services GmbH
 

Room For Improvement

Amazon Linux requires improvements in vendor integration, community support, GUI, documentation, flexibility, and package management for enhanced usability.
Windows Server users seek improved security, better integration, usability, optimization, pricing, automation, documentation, patching, and technical support.
Documentation explaining the differences between Ubuntu and Amazon Linux would be valuable.
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.
Level 2 Software Engineer at a computer software company with 201-500 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.
DevOps Engineer at Wissen infotech
From a security perspective, sometimes, malware attacks and hackers take advantage of the tool's vulnerabilities.
Manager, Strategic Alliances at Softcell Technologies Limited
Deploying antivirus and firewall software on the server is advisable, but having an external firewall adds an extra layer of security.
Project and Service Delivery Manager Cloud at MANAPPURAM COMPTECH AND CONSULTANTS LIMITED
Windows Server needs to improve its speed and stability.
Oracle business analyst at Sensience
 

Setup Cost

Enterprise buyers favor Amazon Linux for its cost efficiency, free-tier usage, and reduced expenses with Graviton instances.
Enterprise buyers struggle with Windows Server licensing due to its complexity, varied pricing, and high costs compared to Linux.
With Amazon Linux itself, there is no cost associated with using it, so I would say it is very good from a pricing perspective.
Enterprise Cloud Operations Lead at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
I am paying around $300 to $400 per month because I use many services.
Software Engineer at a tech services company with 501-1,000 employees
The pricing is free compared to many other operating systems that charge.
Cloud Solution Engineer at a outsourcing company with 10,001+ employees
It is quite expensive.
Head of Major Account Sales Operation 1 at a manufacturing company with 1,001-5,000 employees
Previously, a Windows Server with two processors cost around two 154 euros annually, but now it is estimated to be around 3,000 to 4,000 euros for the same configuration.
Security Engineer at ProVision
On a scale of one to ten, with ten being the most expensive, I rate it ten out of ten.
Manager, IT Security at Averis Sdn Bhd
 

Valuable Features

Amazon Linux excels in AWS integration, security, and performance, featuring fast boot, auto-scaling, and efficient resource management.
Windows Server excels in scalability, security, and integration, offering features like Active Directory and seamless Microsoft tool compatibility.
Amazon Linux handles this automatically. It is optimized for EC2, AWS hardware and software, mostly secure and stable, and there is no additional cost.
Senior AWS Consultant at Quantum Integrators
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.
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.
Independent Contractor at a computer software company with 1,001-5,000 employees
The most valuable features of the solution stem from the fact that every Microsoft product is scalable, flexible, secure, and available on a certain budget.
Manager, Strategic Alliances at Softcell Technologies Limited
The IP directory is the most valuable feature.
Connectivity Platform Cyber Security Specialist at BASF Business Services GmbH
I can manage the firewalls on the server easily, open or close ports to manage security traffic, and use encryption on the hard disk to keep data secure.
Systems technician. IT Office at LNU
 

Categories and Ranking

Amazon Linux
Ranking in Operating Systems (OS) for Business
16th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
5.7
Number of Reviews
22
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Windows Server
Ranking in Operating Systems (OS) for Business
5th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
195
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2026, in the Operating Systems (OS) for Business category, the mindshare of Amazon Linux is 0.5%, up from 0.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Windows Server is 9.3%, up from 8.9% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Operating Systems (OS) for Business Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Windows Server9.3%
Amazon Linux0.5%
Other90.2%
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.
GS
Manager, Information & Cloud Systems at a consultancy with 1,001-5,000 employees
Long-standing experience improves reliability and security, making it a trusted platform
It's difficult to see improvements when using it daily. They improved compatibility with other platforms, such as Linux. One improvement I was thinking about some years ago was the ability to manage an on-premises server from Azure. Now, they have created Azure Arc, and we are using it as a very good way of managing on-premises servers. What can be improved is on the Azure side. With Active Directory on the server side and Entra ID on the Azure side in our hybrid environment, we find issues with data syncing to Entra ID. In Entra ID, Microsoft omitted some parameters. In Active Directory, you can put an expiring date to an account, but you cannot do that in Entra ID. We have other means of doing that, but it's common to have consultants working for six months, requiring account expiration or renewal processes. The Entra ID Connect syncing tool could be improved. Though they moved the service to Azure and use an agent instead of having a dedicated server, it remains cumbersome to set up due to the differences between Entra ID and Active Directory.
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Outsourcing Company
15%
Government
11%
Comms Service Provider
10%
Computer Software Company
9%
Comms Service Provider
11%
Computer Software Company
9%
Manufacturing Company
8%
University
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business7
Midsize Enterprise4
Large Enterprise15
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business78
Midsize Enterprise41
Large Enterprise88
 

Questions from the Community

What needs improvement with Amazon Linux?
Right now, I don't think there are any specific areas to improve in Amazon Linux.
What is your primary use case for Amazon Linux?
The use cases for this in our company is that we have a customer that internally uses it for several applications, and they are a telecommunications company that has virtual machines and Linux mach...
What advice do you have for others considering Amazon Linux?
I use AWS, Azure, and I'm starting to use GCP, Google Cloud Platform. I have also used ZoomInfo. I have been using the product since its creation. I have not used the ZoomInfo product. With Amazon,...
What needs improvement with Windows Server?
The user interface of Windows Server needs improvement, especially when working with users, user accounts, and groups. There are multiple ways to accomplish tasks that do not align completely, so t...
What is your primary use case for Windows Server?
I integrated Windows Server in my infrastructure. We use Hyper-V technology extensively, as it is very important for us, and it functions quite well.
 

Comparisons

 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Information Not Available
Rakuten, Rackspace, Tyco
Find out what your peers are saying about Amazon Linux vs. Windows Server and other solutions. Updated: December 2025.
881,114 professionals have used our research since 2012.