Flatcar Container Linux vs SUSE Linux Enterprise comparison

Kinvolk (acquired by Microsoft) and SUSE are both solutions in the Operating Systems (OS) for Business category. Kinvolk (acquired by Microsoft) is ranked #33, while SUSE is ranked #6 with an average rating of 8.6. Kinvolk (acquired by Microsoft) holds a 0.8% mindshare in OSB, compared to SUSE’s 5.8% mindshare. Additionally, 100% of Kinvolk (acquired by Microsoft) users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 94% of SUSE users who would recommend it.

Flatcar Container Linux

Read 1 Flatcar Container Linux review

676 Views
635 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

SUSE Linux Enterprise

Read 36 SUSE Linux Enterprise reviews

6,535 Views
6,339 Comparison Views

94% willing to recommend

Flatcar Container Linux

SUSE Linux Enterprise

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Oct 5, 2025

SUSE Linux Enterprise and Flatcar Container Linux target advanced infrastructure management. While SUSE offers favorable pricing and support, Flatcar might seem superior due to its streamlined features ideal for those seeking specific capabilities and cost-effectiveness.

Features: SUSE Linux Enterprise offers advanced security, scalable virtualization, and support for SAP applications, focusing on enterprise needs. Flatcar Container Linux is known for its lightweight, container-centric architecture, ideal for container deployment and management, appealing to environments needing minimal overhead and automated workflows.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: SUSE Linux Enterprise provides a robust deployment model with extensive support and documentation, fitting complex infrastructures. Flatcar Container Linux simplifies deployments with its immutable architecture and streamlined configuration, enhancing deployment speed and maintenance efficiency, aligning with agile technology stacks.

Pricing and ROI: SUSE Linux Enterprise offers a valuable proposition with its competitive pricing and comprehensive features, resulting in positive ROI for organizations utilizing its full capabilities. Flatcar Container Linux, with an open-source model, is attractive for minimizing initial setup costs while achieving high ROI through efficient container management.

To learn more, read our detailed Operating Systems (OS) for Business Report (Updated: December 2025).

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Operating Systems (OS) for Business

December 2025

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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

Flatcar Container Linux

Ranking in Operating Systems (OS) for Business

33rd

Average Rating

8.0

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

SUSE Linux Enterprise

Ranking in Operating Systems (OS) for Business

6th

Average Rating

8.6

Reviews Sentiment

6.4

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of December 2025, in the Operating Systems (OS) for Business category, the mindshare of Flatcar Container Linux is 0.8%, up from 0.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SUSE Linux Enterprise is 5.8%, down from 8.0% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Operating Systems (OS) for Business Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
SUSE Linux Enterprise	5.8%
Flatcar Container Linux	0.8%
Other	93.4%

Operating Systems (OS) for Business

Featured Reviews

Yogesh Deore

Senior Consultant at Capgemini

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…

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MoezCHEBBI

Senior Lead DevOps Engineer at Kyndryl

Has delivered expert training and enabled smooth migrations using automated deployment tools

SUSE Linux Enterprise is a mature and reliable platform, but there are areas where it can be improved. Modernizing the system management tools is important as many users appreciate YaST for its centralized management, but there is a growing demand for more modern, web-based, and modular tools. The introduction of tools such as Agama, a web-based installer, and Cockpit in newer releases is a step in the right direction.SUSE has made progress with multi-Linux support, allowing organizations to manage and support not just SUSE systems but also other distributions such as Red Hat and CentOS; continuing to expand these capabilities, especially for hybrid and multi-cloud environments, will help organizations manage diverse infrastructure more effectively. Security is a top concern, and further strengthening default security policies, simplifying compliance management, and integrating advanced vulnerability management tools would be a valuable improvement.

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Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Flatcar's support is good. The version I am using is stable and allows us to make needed changes."

"SUSE Linux Enterprise is easy to configure for those who are not hardcore command-line driven."

"It's easy to set up."

"The tool’s idempotency ensures all configurations are in place at all times."

"The initial setup is simple and takes five minutes for deployment and if you have automation in place, it will take four minutes."

"From a functionality perspective, the suite is quite rich. We like that."

"SUSE Linux's most valuable feature is the documentation - there is a lot of documentation about how to create custom servers."

"The main feature is that Linux is flexible to work with for most web-based applications."

"The most important feature is the automatic kernel lifecycle subscription, which is critical for us because the server cannot go down once we start offering any services on the cluster."

More SUSE Linux Enterprise pros

Cons

"The development teams could sharpen their skills. They should offer applications on the net."

"The software management side was a bit difficult, especially compared to Ubuntu."

"The platform doesn't support certain APMs."

"They should probably just make clustering a bit simpler and also provide more descriptive log files for cluster services."

"The need to register a system for updates and support can complicate deployment in an isolated environment."

"The software management side was a bit difficult, especially compared to Ubuntu."

"Red Hat has more packages that are available than SUSE does. I'd love to see more projects based on SUSE."

"The initial setup could be simplified."

"I have not seen an ROI with this solution."

More SUSE Linux Enterprise cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

Information not available

"There is a free tier and a paid support tier. If you do not need support, then the solution is free to use. If you need support then there is an option for that as well."

"I have to pay for a license in order to get support."

"The license we pay is for Oracle. We make use of the community edition."

"The price of SUSE Linux Enterprise could be cheaper. Other solutions, such as"

"I rate the product price an eight on a scale of one to ten, where one is a low price, and ten is a high price."

"As far as licensing goes, there is nothing unusual here. The price and model have worked fine for my organization."

"The product is expensive. We purchase its yearly license."

"I would advise others to download the free or strictly open source versions, then test them in their environment before committing to a purchase. This will allow for testing suitability for applications that they want to run."

More SUSE Linux Enterprise pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Manufacturing Company

16%

Computer Software Company

16%

Comms Service Provider

13%

University

Manufacturing Company

11%

Computer Software Company

11%

Financial Services Firm

University

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

No data available

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	8
Midsize Enterprise	11
Large Enterprise	22

Questions from the Community

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What do you like most about SUSE Linux Enterprise?

The initial setup is simple and takes five minutes for deployment and if you have automation in place, it will take four minutes.

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What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for SUSE Linux Enterprise?

I would rate pricing for SUSE Linux Enterprise considering one is a high price and ten is a low price.

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What needs improvement with SUSE Linux Enterprise?

SUSE can make improvements to SUSE Linux Enterprise. I have suggestions about what they can add to the product to simplify users' lives. They need to intensely work on their marketing strategy.

See all answers

Comparisons

Ubuntu Linux vs Flatcar Container Linux

Compared 39% of the time

Alpine Linux vs Flatcar Container Linux

Compared 22% of the time

CentOS vs Flatcar Container Linux

Compared 11% of the time

Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) vs Flatcar Container Linux

Compared 10% of the time

Amazon FreeRTOS vs Flatcar Container Linux

Compared 3% of the time

More Flatcar Container Linux Competitors

openSUSE Leap vs SUSE Linux Enterprise

Compared 26% of the time

Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) vs SUSE Linux Enterprise

Compared 23% of the time

Ubuntu Linux vs SUSE Linux Enterprise

Compared 19% of the time

Oracle Linux vs SUSE Linux Enterprise

Compared 7% of the time

More SUSE Linux Enterprise Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Operating Systems (OS) for Business

December 2025

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Buyer's Guide

SUSE Linux Enterprise

December 2025

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Also Known As

No data available

SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications 12 SP3

Overview

Flatcar Container Linux is a lightweight, secure, and reliable operating system designed for running containers at scale with automatic updates and a minimal attack surface. The solution is easy to use and manage and has a simple and intuitive command-line interface and a powerful set of tools for managing containers and clusters.

It supports various container runtimes, including Docker, Kubernetes, and Mesos. It can be deployed on various infrastructure platforms, including bare metal, virtual machines, and cloud environments. Flatcar Container Linux is an ideal choice for organizations deploying containerized applications in production environments.

Kinvolk (acquired by Microsoft)

SUSE Linux Enterprise offers features like YaST for server management, seamless integration with Oracle and SAP, and a robust security setup. Renowned for stability, it efficiently supports workstations, SAP workloads, and cloud migrations across diverse industries.

SUSE Linux Enterprise is known for its lightweight design, high performance, and ease of installation. Its flexible architecture supports extensive documentation and efficient patching. The system uses the BTRFS file system for effective virtualization, and community support is significant. However, challenges include package updates causing conflicts, difficult initial setup and software management, high pricing, and support response times. Improvements in security compliance, cloud integration, hardware compatibility, and documentation are also needed.

What are SUSE Linux Enterprise's important features?

YaST Server Management: Simplifies server setup and configurations.
Oracle & SAP Integration: Enhances performance with major enterprise applications.
HANA Firewall: Provides robust security measures.
BTRFS File System: Supports advanced storage management and snapshots.
Virtualization: Efficiently runs multiple operating systems on a single machine.

What benefits should users expect from using SUSE Linux Enterprise?

Stability & Performance: Reliability for critical applications and workloads.
Lightweight Design: Reduces resource consumption while maintaining efficiency.
Community Support: Access to extensive user and developer collaboration.
Automated Upgrades: Simplifies system maintenance and updates.

Industries like healthcare and banking use SUSE Linux Enterprise for secure transactions and structured application deployment. It is also a choice for organizations involved in testing, automation, and web development, offering support for SAP HANA integration and facilitating cloud migrations.

SUSE

Sample Customers

CISCO, mettle, Microsoft, Upguard, GMX

Air India, Akademicki Szpital Kliniczny (ASK), Allone, Altran, Apollo, ARCHIVA, Asia Innovatory Management School, ATLAS ELEKTRONIK GmbH, AutoData Norge AS, Baldor Electric, Business Connexion, CASIO, Ciclum Farma, Delta Lloyd, Edumate , HPE, SAP SE, Lenovo, BMW, T-Systems, UCX, Turners & Growers, Shenzhen Development Bank, Bosch Group, JK Tyres & Industries, IOCL, European Space Agency, Daimler AG, China Minsheng Banking Corp, Café Coffee Day, Unisys, Petrochina Company Ltd, Fitch Ratings, ABeam Consulting Co Ltd, Tyro Payments, Rackspace, Pacific Textiles, ...

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