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Kali Linux vs Oracle Linux 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:
 

ROI

Sentiment score
8.5
Kali Linux provided cost-effective vulnerability testing, enhancing system security and efficiency, while integrating with DevOps and facilitating faster learning.
Sentiment score
7.0
Oracle Linux reduces costs, saves time, boosts productivity, and offers reliability with seamless Oracle tools integration, enhancing business efficiency.
Integrating Kali Linux with DevOps tools has resulted in reduced operational costs due to automated test cases, making it a worthwhile investment with significant returns by decreasing the attack surface area and the frequency of attack incidents.
I have saved time by avoiding the lag I sometimes face on the TryHackMe in-built machine, and I have learned more efficiently.
Everything from Oracle tools to applications is well integrated within Oracle Linux.
Our team is comfortable using Oracle Linux as it integrates well with Oracle tools, making everything work seamlessly.
In terms of outcomes or benefits I've seen over the last year, we have more than 30 servers, and we only need to reboot one server while all other servers continue working fine, resulting in very low downtime, which is very helpful.
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
4.6
Kali Linux support relies on active community forums, offering reliable guidance and documentation, with limited traditional support.
Sentiment score
6.6
Oracle Linux's customer service is reliable and effective, though some users report high costs and slow first-level support.
Not all support engineers at Oracle are the same, so sometimes I experience good support that resolves issues quickly, while other times, it loops.
Oracle's technical support is excellent.
It is not as helpful or friendly as their application support.
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.0
Kali Linux offers strong scalability, efficiently supporting single to multiple users for both personal and professional environments.
Sentiment score
6.7
Oracle Linux offers high scalability and adaptability, though careful planning is needed, especially for non-Oracle platforms and new processors.
It handles device performance well, automatically managing any issues that arise.
Oracle should make the process faster, as we sometimes have to use a previous processor model to ensure compatibility.
New processor models sometimes lack immediate compatibility with Oracle Linux, requiring the use of previous models until support is available.
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
7.8
Kali Linux is highly praised for its stability and reliability, particularly in virtualization, despite occasional system-specific issues.
Sentiment score
7.7
Oracle Linux is praised for its stability and reliability, making it ideal for enterprise environments with minimal bugs.
Testing determines stability, as continuous Linux use and installations reveal more bugs.
Oracle Linux is very stable.
Our environment is locally deployed, and there are no performance issues or latency problems.
 

Room For Improvement

Kali Linux needs better automation, AI integration, user interfaces, security, and community engagement for improved user experience and compatibility.
Oracle Linux needs faster updates, better compatibility, improved usability, streamlined installation, enhanced documentation, and increased vendor certification.
If real-time customized port scanning can be added, for example, instead of a default port such as 8080 or 443, if we can use a customized port such as 9876, that capability would be great.
Making Kali Linux more customizable would allow users to personalize it to their style.
Enhancing user-friendliness through more GUI-based tools and better integration could be beneficial.
Having a user interface would make tasks easier, saving time by avoiding the need to remember command-line instructions.
There are significant limitations as we are not able to customize the system, and we are forced to use standard features which are not suitable for our business.
Oracle Linux's outage management can be improved to better handle outages.
 

Setup Cost

Kali Linux is free and open-source, offering cost-effective tools without licensing fees, except for potential setup costs.
Oracle Linux provides a free product with optional paid support, often more affordable than competitors, offering flexible licensing options.
Kali Linux is free software, an operating system that's available to download without any cost or licensing fees.
My experience with pricing, setup costs, and licensing for Kali Linux has been positive, as it operates under an open-source model.
While ERP might be expensive, Oracle Linux and KVMs are not on the higher side.
The cost of Microsoft OS is pretty high, and switching to Oracle Linux, which is free, reduced our costs by about 20% to 25%.
Oracle Linux is affordable.
 

Valuable Features

Kali Linux offers robust tools, security, scalability, and efficiency, enhancing penetration testing and reducing cybersecurity threats effectively.
Oracle Linux offers performance optimization, zero-downtime updates, robust security, and seamless Oracle Database integration with cost-effective alternatives.
Kali Linux has positively impacted my organization by improving efficiency in penetration testing; its open-source nature permits extensive customization and inclusion of numerous comprehensive pre-installed tools, contributing to a secure network environment with effective monitoring of network applications.
Kali Linux has the capability of real-time data scanning for vulnerability assessment for backend services.
The overall focus on security in Kali Linux is what I find most useful.
Since it's from the same vendor as Oracle applications, it's easier to manage issues, making not just the solution cost-effective but also streamlined in management.
The updates are applied instantly once a CVE is identified, which makes it highly beneficial.
Oracle Linux provides fast updates, and the best aspect is that we can update our server without interrupting our service, which is very important for business continuity.
 

Categories and Ranking

Kali Linux
Ranking in Operating Systems (OS) for Business
11th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
16
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Oracle Linux
Ranking in Operating Systems (OS) for Business
3rd
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.4
Number of Reviews
122
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of October 2025, in the Operating Systems (OS) for Business category, the mindshare of Kali Linux is 3.0%, up from 0.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Oracle Linux is 7.4%, down from 15.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Operating Systems (OS) for Business Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Oracle Linux7.4%
Kali Linux3.0%
Other89.6%
Operating Systems (OS) for Business
 

Featured Reviews

Aditya Pillai - PeerSpot reviewer
Has helped me learn penetration testing through hands-on tasks and faster workflows
It would be helpful if Kali Linux could be involved in more systems or laptops. Windows is a standard for many laptops and comes pre-installed on many devices available in the market. If Kali Linux could do the same and increase their reach to better areas, it would be beneficial. They could improve Kali Linux's UI/UX. They have been following a standard UI/UX. They could add more options, similar to how CachyOS distro of Arch Linux has many different UI options to select from. Making Kali Linux more customizable would allow users to personalize it to their style. Many users utilize Kali Linux through virtual machines. Sometimes Kali Linux has issues detecting hardware such as inbuilt or external Wi-Fi adapters. Improving device detection would be beneficial.
Badhon Islam - PeerSpot reviewer
Has improved security and reduced downtime through built-in tools and a reliable kernel
In my experience, the best features Oracle Linux offers include its unbreakable kernel system and security, along with reliability and stability. The unbreakable kernel and the security features stand out for me because, in big data, anyone from outside cannot break my kernel, and we have a lot of inbuilt security, which has helped me with different things. Oracle Linux provides many more features that I need to consider further. Oracle Linux has positively impacted my organization because of its numerous features. It's a stable version that I use in an inter-cloud network, so I don't need to regularly update anything, and I don't need to expose my OS to the outside world, making this very positive.
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Comms Service Provider
13%
University
12%
Computer Software Company
12%
Educational Organization
11%
Computer Software Company
13%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Government
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business9
Midsize Enterprise1
Large Enterprise7
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business40
Midsize Enterprise17
Large Enterprise70
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Kali Linux?
I use the tool with Nmap to perform network audits. We use it to find vulnerabilities in our network through attacks. It's for those who want to launch or create viruses or perform attacks on syste...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Kali Linux?
Kali Linux offers a perpetual license, meaning you pay for it once and can use it. While free versions of Linux are available, Kali Linux, being an enterprise edition, usually comes with a perpetua...
What needs improvement with Kali Linux?
We don't know if Kali Linux has the port scanning capability yet, but that is an area of improvement because we are working with DMZ zones and customized ports. If we can add featured customized po...
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 ...
Which would you choose - Ubuntu Linux or Oracle Linux?
Ubunto Linux is a complete Linux operating system that is freely available with both community and professional support. This solution is suitable for both desktop and server use. It has a very app...
 

Comparisons

 

Also Known As

No data available
Oracle Enterprise Linux
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Information Not Available
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Find out what your peers are saying about Kali Linux vs. Oracle Linux and other solutions. Updated: September 2025.
869,202 professionals have used our research since 2012.