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CentOS vs Windows 10 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
Windows 10
Ranking in Operating Systems (OS) for Business
8th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
4.8
Number of Reviews
280
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 8.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Windows 10 is 2.7%, down from 4.3% 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.
Deboprio Dutta - PeerSpot reviewer
Improved security features with gaming enhancements while supporting various features
I understand that Windows 11 supports quite a bit of additional features for people who are, for example, into high-end gaming and the features that support that kind of utility. It's not personally much of a thing for me, however, I've heard about differences between the two operating system versions. To the best of my knowledge, I think Windows 11 brings some AI features for Microsoft Copilot, which probably weren't as integrated into the previous version. There are the occasional bugs and issues that pop up, yet none are significant enough for me to consider a major update. Overall, it's a smooth experience.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Setting up CentOS is straightforward, and you simply boot from a CD to get started."
"CentOS' best feature is that it's the standard product for Linux, so it's well-supported."
"The open architecture is useful for us. That's why we're using CentOS."
"It’s scalable."
"The most valuable feature of CentOS is the speed and it is very easy to use."
"CentOS's most valuable features are that it's cost-saving and helps to scale down your usage."
"CentOS is very easy to use, and all the commands are user-friendly."
"The solution is stable and reliable."
"What I like about Windows 10 most is its stability."
"The tool is user-friendly."
"Stability-wise, it's fine."
"I have found the product to be scalable."
"The performance, overall, has been excellent."
"One of the most valuable features is the ease of multitasking. It's easy to switch over different applications and multitasking is very free and flawless. Another useful feature is the ability to recover any data from a crash. Multiple benchmarking applications are supported by Windows, which isn't the case with Linux. So in case you need an application, you can Google it, find it, and easily install it. The user experience is also good. If you have the SSD installed in the laptop or machine, it will start like a boom. Windows is always ahead."
"The ease of use has been great. It feels quicker and smoother."
"Windows 10 is stable. Its performance is good."
 

Cons

"There could be more integration features included in the product."
"Integration with Open Stack could be improved."
"It would be useful if reporting were included as part of the basic license."
"The solution could improve by making the management tools better for the DevOps teams. For example, WebEX and Webstacks."
"The tool has no official support."
"The server system is a little bit tough to manage."
"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."
"CentOS could improve by having troubleshooting logs."
"The solution could improve by adding more dashboards."
"Patch management could be improved."
"I would like to see less space taken by the installation."
"Windows 10 could improve the performance of the interface, it was faster in Windows 8."
"They have a lot of updates, and most of these updates don't have a major feature. We do an update, and we usually don't see any new features from the end-user perspective, which is quite unlike phone updates, where after the update, we usually see something really new. We should be required to update Windows 10 only for major changes. The updates also take a lot of time. When the updates are going on, the PC becomes a bit slow."
"We had some issues deploying Windows 10 for our clients."
"The product is exposed to more threats compared to Mac."
"The solution could improve by being more user-friendly and limiting the security patches to once every quarter instead of weekly."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The product is free."
"The solution is not subscription-based, unlike Red Hat."
"It's freeware, so we can use it without worrying about licensing."
"The solution is free of cost to use."
"This is an open source solution."
"The solution is open source so is free."
"We have a CentOS license that we pay for on a yearly basis."
"CentOS is an open-source tool."
"The solution's price is affordable."
"I do not have to pay for the license, it was included in the initial cost."
"There is a licensing for the solution and they could improve on it."
"All Microsoft products are expensive."
"The licensing fees could be more flexible."
"We are classified as an enterprise and have an enterprise license."
"For my home computer it's a lifetime license, only purchased once."
"Licensing fees are paid on a yearly basis."
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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%
Financial Services Firm
7%
Government
7%
Computer Software Company
12%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Financial Services Firm
9%
University
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?
CentOS is a free product with free updates. There are third-party companies available for support, but they charge varying amounts for their services.
What needs improvement with Windows 10?
The only annoyance is the frequent updates that come almost every month or couple of months. A couple of updates could enhance the experience overall.
What is your primary use case for Windows 10?
I use Windows 10 ( /products/windows-10-reviews ) as my main operating system for daily business. It is part of a couple of different systems that I use, including Linux.
 

Comparisons

 

Overview

Find out what your peers are saying about CentOS vs. Windows 10 and other solutions. Updated: June 2025.
859,687 professionals have used our research since 2012.