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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
9th
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 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 Oracle Solaris is 2.4%, down from 3.6% 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

"The most valuable feature is performance."
"The solution is easy to use but not as easy as Windows."
"There's lots of great documentation available."
"It's a good and stable system. It provides everything you need for web servers and database servers."
"It is better than Ubuntu Linux."
"Setup is straightforward. You can complete it in about 30 minutes."
"CentOS's most valuable features are that it's cost-saving and helps to scale down your usage."
"It has minimal updates compared to other distributions."
"We use the solution as an internal operating system."
"Solaris is scalable because they have their own file system, like CFS."
"We are able to deploy new environments very quickly and securely. Using the virtualization features, we can migrate the environments very flexibly between our servers."
"The product's most valuable feature is partitioning resources and optimizing hardware utilization effectively."
"One of the main features of this solution is the ease of use."
"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's operating system is good."
"Solaris Zones and Containers are my favorite features."
 

Cons

"CentOS should extend the support of the solution. The solution is set to have no update support in 2023."
"This solution is no longer suited to our business following the change they have made to the release process. It is no longer an enterprise solution."
"We occasionally have issues with software installation."
"In terms of commands, it's all CLI and there isn't any GUI which can make it challenging to use for some people."
"If a proper GUI-based tool was connected remotely or on the machine, it could be a great addition to CentOS."
"The support could be a bit better."
"The YUM install manager can be improved. It is below average as compared to the other install managers. This is the only major problem that I see with CentOS. They should reduce dependency on the YUM manager."
"It would be useful if reporting were included as part of the basic license."
"Solaris' package management could be improved, especially in comparison to Linux."
"Oracle Solaris can improve by supporting all the recent features that are in the market from other competitors."
"Patching without downtime would be nice."
"Oracle Solaris needs to improve its compatibility with office tools like Excel."
"The scalability of the solution can be improved."
"This product is not as flexible as other similar solutions on the market today."
"Currently, there are two variants, there's SPARC and there's x86. I would have wanted a scenario where they're all just one product."
"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."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"There are no costs for CentOS, it is open-source."
"The solution is not subscription-based, unlike Red Hat."
"There are no licensing costs for CentOS."
"We don’t have to pay for the system’s licenses."
"The solution is open-source and does not have any costs or licensing fees."
"It's freeware, so we can use it without worrying about licensing."
"The solution is open source."
"I use the free version."
"The product is inexpensive."
"If you buy Oracle hardware it's supported free with the hardware. If you're putting it on non-Oracle hardware, that is when you buy the support license, which is also very reasonable. It is $1000 dollars per year, so it's not overly expensive."
"It is an expensive product. I rate the pricing a ten out of ten."
"Its licensing is on a yearly basis."
"There is no OS licensing cost if you use their hardware and purchase hardware maintenance."
"It is more expensive, but very complete and worth enacting."
"We don't use an authorized license."
"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
17%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Government
8%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Financial Services Firm
14%
Computer Software Company
12%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Government
8%
 

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?
I am not responsible for the setup cost in my company, so I am unsure about the cost of the license.
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: April 2025.
849,600 professionals have used our research since 2012.