Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) vs openSUSE Leap comparison

openSUSE and Red Hat are both solutions in the Operating Systems (OS) for Business category. openSUSE is ranked #12 with an average rating of 9.5, while Red Hat is ranked #1 with an average rating of 8.8. openSUSE holds a 6.4% mindshare in OSB, compared to Red Hat’s 9.3% mindshare. Additionally, 100% of openSUSE users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 97% of Red Hat users who would recommend it.

openSUSE Leap

Read 6 openSUSE Leap reviews

6,613 Views
5,983 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

Red Hat Enterprise Linux (R...

Read 321 Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) reviews

28,080 Views
11,381 Comparison Views

97% willing to recommend

openSUSE Leap

Red Hat Enterprise Linux (R...

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Aug 7, 2024

Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) and openSUSE Leap are both popular Linux distributions. Users are generally happier with the pricing and support of RHEL, but openSUSE Leap is preferred for its feature set and perceived value.

Features: RHEL is praised for its robust security features, extensive documentation, and strong support network. openSUSE Leap, on the other hand, is valued for its advanced system administration tools, flexibility, and broad software repository. Users prefer openSUSE Leap's features due to its versatility and comprehensive toolset.

Room for Improvement: RHEL users indicate a need for improved user feedback mechanisms and simpler setup processes. openSUSE Leap users desire more frequent updates and streamlined package management. Both products have areas to improve, but openSUSE Leap's feedback focuses more on enhancement rather than fundamental issues.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: RHEL is recognized for its straightforward deployment and excellent customer service with prompt support responses. Conversely, openSUSE Leap is noted for its slightly steeper learning curve and community-driven support, which can be slower but often comprehensive. RHEL users find deployment easier, while openSUSE Leap users appreciate the community aspect.

Pricing and ROI: RHEL has a higher upfront cost which users feel is justified by its return on investment due to stable and secure operation. openSUSE Leap, being open-source and free, provides excellent ROI but may incur higher indirect costs through the need for customized support solutions. Users find RHEL's pricing more predictable, while openSUSE Leap offers more cost flexibility.

To learn more, read our detailed Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) vs. openSUSE Leap Report (Updated: June 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) vs. openSUSE Leap

June 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

openSUSE Leap

Ranking in Operating Systems (OS) for Business

12th

Average Rating

9.2

Reviews Sentiment

7.8

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Red Hat Enterprise Linux (R...

Ranking in Operating Systems (OS) for Business

1st

Average Rating

8.8

Reviews Sentiment

7.4

Number of Reviews

321

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of June 2025, in the Operating Systems (OS) for Business category, the mindshare of openSUSE Leap is 6.4%, up from 5.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) is 9.3%, down from 12.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Operating Systems (OS) for Business

Featured Reviews

NagendraKavadi

Systems Analyst at a retailer with 10,001+ employees

Provides BTRFS file system, which allows you to take snapshots

I only use the tool for testing purposes on my team, but multiple people use it. We don't make a team effort to install the solution. When it comes to maintenance, we ask our company to buy SUSE Linux Enterprise. My team consists of 13 people. We are currently integrating the solution with Ansible to do some coding. Although not a full-fledged automation, we are integrating the solution with Ansible and executing a couple of playbooks connected to openSUSE Leap. I would recommend the solution to other users looking for an open-source solution. Overall, I rate the solution a nine out of ten.

Read full review

Bruce Lundberg

Linux HPC Systems Administrator at a manufacturing company with 5,001-10,000 employees

Reliable patch management, high uptime, and incredible knowledge base

In terms of security, it does a lot of things that most people still turn off. SELinux is turned on by default. They have pretty good firewall rules in their defaults. The audit rules always take tweaking, but, overall, it comes out of the box not too bad. I used to write scripts to harden them from there. There are multiple ways to provision and patch. You have everything from local repositories to doing it by hand. Their knowledge base is incredible. There is so much information out there. It has never taken me longer than 30 minutes to find an answer to anything, even very tough ones. One company I worked for was a security company, and we did a lot of patching on everything. It was designed around security and email hosting, and uptime was pretty much whatever we wanted it to be. I have had a couple of times when the uptime was bad, but it was caused by a third-party solution. In fact, the Norton antivirus was definitely the worst. Red Hat had nothing to do with it.

Read full review

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The solution's most valuable feature is the BTRFS file system, which allows you to take snapshots."

"The most valuable feature by far has been the virtualization capabilities of the operating system."

"The solution is easy for me to use because the backend is derived from FreeBSD and this is something I have been using for over 20 years."

"The solution is very stable after it is configured. It is hard to have a panel slow, a problem, misconfiguration, or any kind of loss function."

"Stable - it just runs without the necessity to reboot."

"openSUSE Leap has helped me with using containers in Podman."

"RHEL's robustness and support provide the biggest return on investment. It ensures stability and security for critical applications and helps deliver IT services effectively. The support behind it is excellent."

"The most valuable features of Red Hat Enterprise Linux are the mobile applications and getting real-time notifications."

"We can initiate 20 deployments, and they get configured automatically, which is efficient."

"Red Hat Enterprise Linux has a good file system type and good kernels."

"The benefits I get from this operating system are that it's secure, easy to use, and stable."

"The most valuable feature of the solution is its stability."

"Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) helps me solve pain points."

"The most valuable aspect of Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) is its reliability."

More Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) pros

Cons

"In the future, the Active Directory could improve."

"It would be helpful if we could easily switch from openSUSE Leap for testing to SUSE Linux Enterprise for production."

"There is room for improvement in the console."

"I would like openSUSE Leap to have better link integration with Windows."

"Somehow the change from OS12.x via 13.x to Leap was a bit bumpy and some old issues seemed to reappear."

"Like most Linux-based operating systems, the biggest challenge Leap faces is the GUI."

"Considering an area where the solution lacks, I think we can look into a lot more automation and integrations with Red Hat Enterprise Linux and other products."

"It is a bit on the pricier side. However, due to the stability and support that they provide to my management and me, we really don't see a reason to choose another way to go. It is hard to get good support."

"The high cost of Red Hat Enterprise Linux has room for improvement."

"I would like Red Hat to focus on continuous improvement."

"I would like to see improvements made to the subscriptions and management of them."

"We're hoping that they continue to onboard open-source products into their operating system."

"The patching process with Red Hat is disruptive and not very cost-effective."

"One challenge we've faced is with databases. Configuring and implementing DBs is much easier in non-Red Hat Enterprise Linux systems, especially in Microsoft."

More Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The cost of this solution was reasonable and it was within our budget."

"openSUSE Leap is an open-source solution that is free of cost."

"The solution is open-source."

"This is an open-source operating system that can be used free of charge."

"The setup cost is non-existent. With licensing, there was a little snafu because I misread something. There was a slight learning curve because we use virtual data center licensing. We had to understand how it all maps. We had to understand how that mapping works when the hypervisors are Red Hat or VMware. There is a slight learning curve, but it worked out. It ends up being easy."

"My company has acquired five to ten licenses from Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL)."

"Pricing is sometimes an issue for our clients because it's not a cheap solution. The different licenses have a high cost, and perhaps they could improve by offering different kinds of discounts or lowering the price to make this solution more appealing compared to other cloud providers."

"I do not know enough to give a comprehensive answer, but other operating systems are in use at my company because they have more favorable licensing terms."

"The cost is based on each organization's budget and infrastructure."

"The pricing is great for virtual systems."

"If you don't buy the Red Hat subscription, you don't get technical support, and you don't have all the updates. To have everything working like a charm, the cost that you pay for it is worth it. In Bolivia, we don't have the best internet connection. Therefore, we have a local service with all the packages, repositories, etc. We manage them locally, and because we have a subscription, we can update them. So, we have local repositories with all the packages and other things to make it easy for us to update all the servers. Without the Red Hat subscription, we cannot update anything."

"The pricing is suitable for midsize to large companies, though small enterprises might struggle. It is comparable to Windows licensing."

More Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) pricing and cost advice

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Comparison Review

it_user281973

Storage and VMware Expert at a comms service provider with 1,001-5,000 employees

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…

Read full review

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

16%

Comms Service Provider

15%

Educational Organization

Manufacturing Company

Computer Software Company

15%

Manufacturing Company

11%

Financial Services Firm

10%

Government

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about openSUSE Leap?

openSUSE Leap has helped me with using containers in Podman.

See all answers

What needs improvement with openSUSE Leap?

Both openSUSE Leap and the SUSE Enterprise version use the same kernel. Suppose I have a lower environment where I can run openSUSE to test all my products. It would be helpful if I could easily sw...

See all answers

What is your primary use case for openSUSE Leap?

I use openSUSE Leap for testing purposes. Before officially using any server in our office, we test it using the solution. My office usually uses production servers on the SUSE Linux enterprise ver...

See all answers

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...

See all answers

What do you like most about Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL)?

It is open source. We can customize it as per our requirements.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL)?

Pricing is sometimes an issue for our clients because it's not a cheap solution. The different licenses have a high cost, and perhaps they could improve by offering different kinds of discounts or ...

See all answers

Comparisons

SUSE Linux Enterprise vs openSUSE Leap

Compared 28% of the time

Ubuntu Linux vs openSUSE Leap

Compared 20% of the time

Rocky Linux vs openSUSE Leap

Compared 18% of the time

Fedora Linux vs openSUSE Leap

Compared 10% of the time

Debian vs openSUSE Leap

Compared 4% of the time

More openSUSE Leap Competitors

SUSE Linux Enterprise vs Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL)

Compared 23% of the time

Windows Server vs Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL)

Compared 15% of the time

Rocky Linux vs Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL)

Compared 14% of the time

Oracle Linux vs Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL)

Compared 9% of the time

Windows 11 vs Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL)

Compared 2% of the time

More Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Operating Systems (OS) for Business

June 2025

Download openSUSE Leap product report

Buyer's Guide

Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL)

May 2025

Download Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) product report

Also Known As

No data available

Red Hat Enterprise Linux, RHEL

Overview

openSUSE Leap is a brand new way of building openSUSE and is new type of hybrid Linux distribution. Leap uses source from SUSE Linux Enterprise (SLE), which gives Leap a level of stability unmatched by other Linux distributions, and combines that with community developments to give users, developers and sysadmins the best stable Linux experience available. Contributor and enterprise efforts for Leap bridge a gap between matured packages and newer packages found in openSUSE’s other distribution Tumbleweed.

openSUSE

Red Hat Enterprise Linux is recognized for its stability, security, and performance, serving diverse industries with its robust support and seamless cloud deployment capabilities.

Red Hat Enterprise Linux provides comprehensive server applications across cloud environments, featuring tools like Ansible for enhanced user experience. It integrates OpenShift, Identity Management, and automation, supported by extensive documentation. Users seek easier upgrades, enhanced network virtualization support, and improved live patching.

What are the key features of Red Hat Enterprise Linux?

Stability and Security: RHEL is designed to provide a stable and secure environment, backed by consistent updates.
Cloud Deployment: Easily deployable across cloud platforms, enhancing flexibility.
Integration with Ansible: Enhances operational efficiency with powerful automation tools.
OpenShift and Containerization: Supports modern app development with integrated OpenShift features.
Extensive Documentation: Offers comprehensive resources for users to troubleshoot and optimize.

What are the benefits of using Red Hat Enterprise Linux?

Reliable Support: Benefit from extensive support options for seamless operation.
Enhanced Security: Built-in features ensure data integrity and protection.
Increased Flexibility: Suitable for diverse deployment environments, including on-premises and cloud.
Operational Efficiency: Tools like automation and cloud navigation improve productivity.
Training and Resources: Access to comprehensive training contributes to smoother implementations.

In sectors like finance, telecommunications, and education, Red Hat Enterprise Linux is crucial for running stable, secure systems. Its application spans web servers, data management, and containerization through tools like Kubernetes. Organizations adopt it for on-premises, virtualized, and cloud environments, ensuring robust infrastructure management.

Red Hat

Sample Customers

Information Not Available

Travel Channel, Mohawk Industries, Hilti, Molecular Health, Exolgan, Hotelplan Group, Emory University, BlueCross BlueShield of North Carolina, HCA Healthcare, Paychex, UPS, Intermountain Healthcare, Brinker International, TransUnion, Union Bank, CA Technologies

Buyer's Guide

Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) vs. openSUSE Leap

June 2025

Free Report: Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) vs. openSUSE Leap

Find out what your peers are saying about Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) vs. openSUSE Leap and other solutions. Updated: June 2025.

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