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CentOS vs Oracle Solaris comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Aug 7, 2024

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
Oracle Solaris
Ranking in Operating Systems (OS) for Business
10th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.7
Number of Reviews
50
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of July 2025, in the Operating Systems (OS) for Business category, the mindshare of CentOS is 4.6%, down from 8.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Oracle Solaris is 2.0%, down from 3.5% 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.
Erick Kathurima - PeerSpot reviewer
Has enabled a user-friendly and lightweight installation with improved performance
I installed Oracle Solaris on a normal PC to test its functionality. It is comfortable to use and provides a good test environment, especially because it is not commonly known or recognized in the market Oracle Solaris has a graphical interface that is user-friendly, especially with its use of…

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"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."
"We particularly like that we can remove the graphic user interface to minimize attack settings for the operating system."
"The most valuable feature of this solution is that it is free."
"You can work with the UI or in command line, if you prefer."
"The most valuable feature is performance."
"CentOS's most valuable features are that it's cost-saving and helps to scale down your usage."
"It helps us install and deploy our applications."
"The product is free to use."
"The product's most valuable feature is partitioning resources and optimizing hardware utilization effectively."
"The backup capabilities are quite good."
"We like that the virtualization is built in, so you don't have to spend extra money on buying licenses for a hypervisor."
"Oracle Solaris is pre-installed in our environment. Thus, it is simple to customize."
"Stability-wise, I rate the solution a ten out of ten since we haven't faced any issues."
"Solaris is scalable because they have their own file system, like CFS."
"Oracle Solaris has a graphical interface that is user-friendly, especially with its use of dark colors."
"Oracle Solaris's operating system is good."
 

Cons

"It could be more secure."
"As an open-source solution, there isn't much technical support."
"The solution could be more scalable."
"In the future, CentOS will no longer be compatible with Red Hat."
"The solution’s stability could be improved."
"There is no notification before updates are applied to the solution, which occasionally means that new functionality isn't compatible with how the product is currently being used, and causes issues."
"The server system is a little bit tough to manage."
"The solution is stable, however, it could always be even more stable if possible."
"The tool is quite complex and difficult for anyone trying to use or study it."
"I believe before Oracle was using Oracle Linux, they were using Oracle Solaris for their customers who are using Oracle databases. This was because it was more optimized for the hardware built for it. It has good performance for the database only. However, if you take it out of the Oracle applications, it will not do well compared to other operating systems, such as Linux or even Windows can have better performance."
"The challenge arises from the differences in commands and configurations compared to more common systems like Linux."
"If it could support other file systems, it would be better."
"When we switch over to Solaris it was not easy because we had some troubles with the performance. Solaris is from Oracle and you would expect that it would run flawlessly, but we had some issues in sizing the previous Linux environment to the Solaris environment."
"Oracle Solaris can improve by supporting all the recent features that are in the market from other competitors."
"There is an issue where Solaris doesn't give the correct figures for memory use when checked."
"It would be helpful if the solution offered backend management. In the 11.4 version, Oracle added a management console. It would be great if we maybe had a user management tool to go with it."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"CentOS is an open source that is free of cost."
"We have a CentOS license that we pay for on a yearly basis."
"The solution is free of cost to use."
"CentOS is an expensive solution. There are other solutions that are rated at the top that are not expensive, such as Red Hat."
"It is open-source, which means it is a free product. It has a one-time deployment cost."
"There are no licensing fees for CentOS."
"There are no licensing fees. CentOS is a free solution."
"There are no licensing costs for CentOS."
"It is a very expensive product."
"Its licensing is on a yearly basis."
"The price of Oracle Solaris could be less expensive."
"As a private user or individual, I wouldn't recommend it to others, considering it is a costly product."
"We don't use an authorized license."
"Solaris is highly priced compared to other solutions, but since it's a niche product, this is to be expected."
"The current setup with hardware devices involves a higher cost, but the performance is top-notch."
"This solution needs a license to use it."
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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
16%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Comms Service Provider
7%
Financial Services Firm
7%
Financial Services Firm
12%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Computer Software Company
10%
University
9%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

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?
CentOS is a free product with free updates. There are third-party companies available for support, but they charge varying amounts for their services.
How does Oracle Linux compare with Solaris?
When comparing Oracle Linux and Solaris, I believe that Linux is more secure and more flexible. It is also very suitable for enterprises that are already Oracle solution users. I found Linux to be ...
What do you like most about Oracle Solaris?
We use the solution as an internal operating system.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Oracle Solaris?
I find the pricing of Oracle Solaris to be affordable compared to competitors like Windows.
 

Comparisons

 

Also Known As

No data available
Solaris 11, Solaris
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Information Not Available
Siemens, IVV
Find out what your peers are saying about CentOS vs. Oracle Solaris and other solutions. Updated: July 2025.
863,901 professionals have used our research since 2012.