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Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) vs Ubuntu Linux vs openSUSE Leap comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

Review summaries and opinions

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

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2025, in the Operating Systems (OS) for Business category, the mindshare of openSUSE Leap is 6.3%, up from 5.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) is 9.6%, down from 12.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Ubuntu Linux is 13.4%, down from 22.0% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Operating Systems (OS) for Business
 

Featured Reviews

NK
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.
Bruce Lundberg - PeerSpot reviewer
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.
Kevin Haury - PeerSpot reviewer
Linux's advanced terminal empowers versatile usage and ongoing secure development
Initially, there was nothing complicated. It's easy since I have many years of experience with it. However, if I were a beginner with Linux, it could be completely disruptive compared to Windows. So, I would have to spend some time practicing with Linux to understand how it works and how I can accomplish the same tasks compared to Windows. Maybe one month, at least.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Stable - it just runs without the necessity to reboot."
"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."
"openSUSE Leap has helped me with using containers in Podman."
"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 very stable after it is configured. It is hard to have a panel slow, a problem, misconfiguration, or any kind of loss function."
"One of the most beneficial aspects of Red Hat Enterprise Linux is its performance, combined with the flexibility to install a wide range of available packages online."
"It is a very stable operating system. We are not afraid to upgrade it."
"Red Hat's greatest asset is its extensive community, which provides valuable support and advice when issues arise."
"Release updates are the most valued feature because Red Hat's rigorously tested release update pipeline sets it apart from other distributions."
"Their support is valuable. Whenever I had a problem, I could get on a phone call with somebody. I did not have to go to some random forum or send an email and wait forever. I could call somebody."
"The security features are better than many other solutions offer."
"The systems are just bulletproof. We do not have problems with it. Support for file system differences and migrations has been solid."
"We also use Ansible. Ansible is a wonderful tool for automation. We use it to automate our patching. We use Ansible to get playbooks to take care of anything that's manual."
"Ubuntu Linux is flexible because it has a lot of new features, so you can use it without any problems."
"I like the flexibility."
"I find the Linux community very valuable and the fact it is open source. So it's free and I use it without any problems."
"There are many good automation features in Ubuntu."
"It's offered as open-source, and therefore does not cost anything to use."
"The product’s stability is valuable."
"Ubuntu Linux's most valuable feature is its open-source nature."
"The solution has a very good graphical user interface."
 

Cons

"It would be helpful if we could easily switch from openSUSE Leap for testing to SUSE Linux Enterprise for production."
"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."
"In the future, the Active Directory could improve."
"Like most Linux-based operating systems, the biggest challenge Leap faces is the GUI."
"There is room for improvement in the console."
"Upgrading between versions needs to be easier."
"It could be simplified. I'd like to see them introduce PDFs or documents to better explain technicalities to new users."
"The only issue for us was the cost. RHEL is expensive."
"Its pricing is good and competitive."
"When we first deploy Red Hat Enterprise Linux, it is very challenging to determine which security features have been deployed. It would be beneficial to have more insight into this."
"A lot of it is related to communication. They are building solid products, and quite often, people do not find out about them until two or three years have passed."
"Some of the documentation that I have run into or encountered appeared to be a bit outdated. That would be an area for improvement."
"There was a reduction in the amount of detail provided in backlog messages between Red Hat Enterprise Linux versions six and seven, compared to versions eight and nine."
"The solution could improve by being more secure."
"An easier to configure firewall would be a good add-on."
"Lack of integration with other operating systems."
"There is not a lot of support for applications in Ubuntu Linux. In the industry, most of the applications work for Windows and Mac. There should be better integration with applications in the future."
"Lacks the ability for disk expansion."
"They can improve the interface and give it an appearance similar to the Windows 11 operating system."
"The config file can be changed in many ways, but with other solutions, there is only one way to configure the system."
"On the gaming side, things are happening but there are some games that should be ported to Ubuntu."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"This is an open-source operating system that can be used free of charge."
"openSUSE Leap is an open-source solution that is free of cost."
"The solution is open-source."
"The cost of this solution was reasonable and it was within our budget."
"When you are running your infrastructure on this, you can always find some discounts with local support, etc. There are always some discounts to match your budget. It is definitely affordable."
"One Red Hat license costs USD 131, which I find reasonable."
"The combined cost of implementing in hybrid and cloud environments to fulfill all our client's needs can be considerable."
"RHEL's price seems to be consistently changing, depending on what you're after. We might need a more extended license to lock in a price if it keeps changing. It would be nicer if it stayed steady within a specific range, but it's negotiable. We try to negotiate, and maybe a more extended contract would be better."
"As a developer, I pay around 10,000 Yen, which is around $100 per annum for support. SUSE and Red Hat are typically the same without standard support. The pricing is not a big deal. Enterprise customers will pay for the support."
"The licensing makes perfect sense for the amount of stuff you get with the operating system."
"Switching to Red Hat Enterprise Linux due to subscription costs can be a significant financial step."
"Red Hat Enterprise Linux is a more cost-effective solution than Windows Servers."
"Ubuntu Linux is open-source and available to use free of charge."
"Ubuntu is a free product."
"There are no licensing fees, it's an open-source solution."
"It is also manageable and financially affordable."
"I don't need to pay for the license."
"We do not incur a licensing fee for the solution, as we make use of the free version."
"Ubuntu pricing is reasonable."
"​Old equipment works for at least two or three years more, which means a significant savings.​"
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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
15%
Comms Service Provider
15%
Educational Organization
9%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Computer Software Company
16%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Government
9%
Computer Software Company
14%
University
11%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Educational Organization
8%
 

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.
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 ca...
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 solu...
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 st...
What do you like most about Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL)?
It is open source. We can customize it as per our requirements.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL)?
Though a bit expensive compared to competitors, Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) is still recommended because it works...
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 suppo...
What do you like most about Ubuntu Linux?
It has a good support system for loading databases.
 

Also Known As

No data available
Red Hat Enterprise Linux, RHEL
Ubuntu
 

Overview

 

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
Samsung, eBay, AT&T, Walmart, Cisco, Time Warner Cable, Bloomberg, Best Buy, Dell, Intel, Microsoft, Ericsson, Orange, Wells Fargo
Find out what your peers are saying about Red Hat, Canonical, Oracle and others in Operating Systems (OS) for Business. Updated: May 2025.
851,174 professionals have used our research since 2012.