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CentOS vs Flatcar Container Linux 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

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
Flatcar Container Linux
Ranking in Operating Systems (OS) for Business
17th
Average Rating
8.0
Number of Reviews
1
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of April 2025, in the Operating Systems (OS) for Business category, the mindshare of CentOS is 5.5%, down from 8.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Flatcar Container Linux is 0.5%, up from 0.4% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Operating Systems (OS) for Business
 

Featured Reviews

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.
YD
The solution is stable and allows us to make needed changes
The development teams could sharpen their skills.  They should offer applications on the net I have eight years of experience with Flatcar Container Linux. The version of Flatcar Container Linux that I am using is stable. The scalability of this product is fine. It allows us to make the needed…

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The most valuable feature of CentOS is that it is easy to use."
"Offers useful information and has good compatibility."
"Very robust and easy to work with."
"I like the command prompt of CentOS. It's very simple."
"CentOS adapts well to many software and applications, providing good compatibility."
"The product's initial setup phase was straightforward and not complex, especially if you are familiar with CLI."
"The solution is productive."
"The stability of this solution is its most useful feature. It is a high quality product and you know what you're getting. You also receive wide support from the community."
"Flatcar's support is good. The version I am using is stable and allows us to make needed changes."
 

Cons

"There could be more integration features included in the product."
"The tool has no official support."
"It is challenging to scale the solution when we have to increase the storage capacity from one end."
"I would like to see more frequent updates."
"Integration with Open Stack could be improved."
"The solution could improve by being more user-friendly."
"In the future, CentOS will no longer be compatible with Red Hat."
"I would like the integration to be more secure."
"The development teams could sharpen their skills. They should offer applications on the net."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"There is no license required for this solution."
"This is an open-source solution, so there are no licensing costs involved."
"We use the free, open-source solution because we cannot afford the price for Linux."
"The solution is free of cost to use."
"It is open-source, which means it is a free product. It has a one-time deployment cost."
"There are no costs for CentOS, it is open-source."
"CentOS is free."
"CentOS is an open source that is free of cost."
Information not available
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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
Computer Software Company
17%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Government
8%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Computer Software Company
23%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Manufacturing Company
10%
University
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

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?
I am not responsible for the setup cost in my company, so I am unsure about the cost of the license.
Ask a question
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Overview

 

Sample Customers

Information Not Available
CISCO, mettle, Microsoft, Upguard, GMX
Find out what your peers are saying about Red Hat, Canonical, Oracle and others in Operating Systems (OS) for Business. Updated: April 2025.
849,600 professionals have used our research since 2012.