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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 July 2025, in the Operating Systems (OS) for Business category, the mindshare of openSUSE Leap is 6.4%, up from 5.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) is 9.1%, down from 12.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Ubuntu Linux is 12.5%, down from 20.8% 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.
PrashantSharma - PeerSpot reviewer
Performs efficiently but requires overcoming a learning curve
There are many differences between Ubuntu Linux and Windows as they are totally different systems. You need to have more knowledge about Linux before using Ubuntu Linux. Although it is designed as a desktop system, basic knowledge is still required. Windows can be used by any layman, which is the main difference. I do not know much about security breaches or potential issues. The Wi-Fi and wireless capabilities work perfectly fine. Excluding the learning curve, I would rate it a 10. However, considering the learning curve, I would give it a six or seven. My advice would be to have patience. Overall rating: 10 out of 10.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"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."
"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 most valuable feature of Red Hat Enterprise Linux is its command-line capabilities, which allow you to execute large operations quickly. For example, let's say you want to create a hundred files or directories. In Windows, you need to create each one by hand, which is difficult and time-consuming. Linux has multiple commands to create files in a few seconds. It also has the "top" command that gives you all the processes running and their utilization of resources like CPU, RAM, etc. That isn't possible with a management console or GUI."
"Customer support is valuable."
"Its security is the most valuable. It is very stable and has many features. It also has good performance. Some of our clients were using Windows servers and products. I suggested Red Hat Linux to them and described the features. They switched to it, and they really loved it. There were around 50 servers in my last company, and they switched all those servers from Windows to Red Hat. I used to manage those servers."
"Red Hat Enterprise Linux is most valued for its reliability, as evidenced by my daily use."
"The most significant advantage is that it is more stable and secure than other operating systems."
"RHEL makes patching and scripting much easier, and it provides all the features I need for patching and VM updates."
"I find the most valuable aspect of Red Hat Enterprise Linux to be its comprehensive support, encompassing both technical and security issues."
"The technical support is very helpful."
"The solution is free to use and open-source."
"The system works great with perfect stability."
"The solution is user-friendly."
"One of the best features of Ubuntu Linux is that if I need something, I just download it."
"Windows needs a refresh option to refresh its screen, but Ubuntu doesn't need that. It refreshes automatically and works well."
"The trifecta comprising the solution's most valuable features consists of its stability, security and performance."
"Open source with a fast OS."
"The solution is stable, fast and free."
 

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."
"In the future, the Active Directory could improve."
"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."
"There is room for improvement in the console."
"Red Hat, known for its secure distribution, sometimes delays critical security patches for certain packages compared to other Linux communities like AlmaLinux or Rocky Linux."
"Though the product has many features, the tool's virtualization area has certain shortcomings that require improvement."
"The price for Red Hat Enterprise Linux is more expensive than other operating systems, especially when compared to other cloud versions."
"The labor required to maintain the on-premises storage systems has room for improvement."
"Red Hat's standard deployment is with Satellite and Kickstart, but we're looking at other options to help speed it along. We do have a mix of bare metal and virtualized servers and it's easier to spin up in the virtualized world versus bare metal. That's why we're looking at some options outside of Red Hat, for the bare metal."
"Their support needs improvement. It should be faster for priority tickets."
"The support can be lackluster sometimes, especially in our disconnected space where we have specific requirements."
"The product lags a bit behind in the market."
"The user interface must be more user-friendly for non-technicians."
"When you talk of some of the flexibility, like you want to install from scratch, Windows is more user-friendly compared to Linux."
"The migration part when migrating an application or one version of Ubuntu Linux to another is quite hectic. During the process, one or many applications might crash."
"When installing software, an online interface has to be used and commands written to run the installation. The solution could be improved if it was possible to click twice in an icon for the installation process to begin."
"The installation of Ubuntu is somewhat complicated, requires better documentation."
"I think Ubuntu is not that secure."
"They can make it user-friendly. It is not totally user-friendly."
"The solution could be better integrated with Microsoft."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The cost of this solution was reasonable and it was within our budget."
"This is an open-source operating system that can be used free of charge."
"The solution is open-source."
"openSUSE Leap is an open-source solution that is free of cost."
"It is cost-efficient."
"We get our licenses directly through Red Hat."
"Because it is a subscription, you can go elastic. This means you can buy a year, then you can skip a year. It is not like when you buy something. You don't buy it. You are paying for the support on something, and if you don't pay for the support on something, there is no shame because there are no upfront costs. It changes the equation. However, we have such growth right now on the Linux platform that we are reusing and scavenging these licenses. From a business standpoint, not having to buy, but just having to pay for maintenance, changes a lot of the calculations."
"The pricing and licensing are a bit higher for Red Hat Enterprise because we're able to get 70% of its features with the CentOS version. For the 30% of features that Red Hat provides, I think they need to reduce the licensing fee."
"We have a site license on a yearly basis. Generally, we're okay with its price, but everything could be cheaper."
"It is pretty expensive, but it is worth it. Generally, in an enterprise environment, there is no cheap solution. This is coming from someone who is working with a company that provides a lot of solutions a bit cheaper than the industry standard. In the enterprise environment, I believe no solution is inexpensive, but RHEL is still pretty expensive. Additional costs that I am aware of are usually for support and setup."
"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."
"Its licensing is pretty confusing. There are a lot of subscriptions, and it isn't always clear which subscription is the best, but with their support, it's easy to find the right one."
"Ubuntu is an open-source Linux operating system that can be used free of charge."
"We do not incur a licensing fee for the solution, as we make use of the free version."
"Ubuntu Linux is an open-source product."
"The solution is free."
"I am using the free version. There is no subscription."
"There are no payments to be made towards any licensing costs attached to the solution."
"We don't pay a licensing fee for the solution."
"It is open source, so it is free. There is no licensing fee."
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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%
Comms Service Provider
16%
Educational Organization
9%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Computer Software Company
15%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Government
8%
Computer Software Company
13%
University
10%
Comms Service Provider
9%
Manufacturing Company
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.
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.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Ubuntu Linux?
The cost is not much, and I am not sure about the licensing cost because a separate team handles it.
 

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: June 2025.
860,168 professionals have used our research since 2012.