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Windows Server vs openSUSE Leap 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:
 

Categories and Ranking

openSUSE Leap
Ranking in Operating Systems (OS) for Business
25th
Average Rating
9.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.8
Number of Reviews
6
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Windows Server
Ranking in Operating Systems (OS) for Business
4th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.7
Number of Reviews
197
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2026, in the Operating Systems (OS) for Business category, the mindshare of openSUSE Leap is 4.6%, down from 6.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Windows Server is 6.7%, down from 9.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Operating Systems (OS) for Business Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Windows Server6.7%
openSUSE Leap4.6%
Other88.7%
Operating Systems (OS) for Business
 

Featured Reviews

NK
Senior Manager at Cognizant
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.
reviewer2848875 - PeerSpot reviewer
IT at a retailer with 11-50 employees
Centralized controls have improved security and simplify user management across our environment
One area where Windows Server could be improved is in simplifying administration and troubleshooting. While Windows Server is powerful, diagnosing issues related to group policy, DNS, replication, and authentication can sometimes be complex and time-consuming. I would prefer to see more intuitive management dashboards, better built-in monitoring and reporting tools, and integration with cloud service-enhanced automation features for routine administrative tasks. This would further reduce manual effort and improve efficiency. Overall, Windows Server is a reliable platform, but making management and troubleshooting more streamlined would help IT teams save time and improve productivity. Another area for improvement is documentation and update management. While Microsoft provides extensive documentation, finding the most relevant troubleshooting information can sometimes be challenging for complex issues involving Active Directory, DNS, or group policy. Updates are important for security, but some updates require careful testing and planning to avoid unexpected impacts on production environments. More detailed pre-update impact analysis and simplified rollback options would be beneficial. Overall, Windows Server is a robust platform, but improvements in documentation, troubleshooting guidance, update management, and administrative automation would further enhance the experience for IT professionals.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Leap has provided me with the ability to offer what I consider Enterprise class server O/S platforms to my smaller customers who are looking to improve their competitive stances without breaking the bank."
"This solution has helped my organization's security from the use of its firewall, and the features for blocking or allowing traffic are very effective and have worked well for us."
"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."
"The most valuable feature by far has been the virtualization capabilities of the operating system."
"openSUSE Leap has helped me with using containers in Podman."
"Stable - it just runs without the necessity to reboot."
"The solution's most valuable feature is the BTRFS file system, which allows you to take snapshots."
"What I like most about Windows Server is that it's easy to use."
"We moved from having more than twelve physical servers to only five, reducing costs and improving the infrastructure during the process."
"I find mutual authentication and the environment useful."
"The initial setup is easy and the deployment is fast."
"PowerShell is a great feature of the solution."
"Overall, this is a good product and I recommend it."
"My organization benefits from the use of the product since it is a tool that offers security while being user-friendly and easy to manage."
"If you look at Linux, for example, it's not really a viable option as very very applications run on Linux."
 

Cons

"In the future, the Active Directory could improve."
"There is room for improvement in the console."
"Somehow the change from OS12.x via 13.x to Leap was a bit bumpy and some old issues seemed to reappear."
"It would be helpful if we could easily switch from openSUSE Leap for testing to SUSE Linux Enterprise for production."
"Like most Linux-based operating systems, the biggest challenge Leap faces is the GUI."
"I would like openSUSE Leap to have better link integration with Windows."
"In the next release, I would like to see the administration simplified."
"The security needs to be improved."
"The licensing for the solution is expensive."
"The price of Microsoft products has become expensive over the last two years."
"The stability could be improved."
"The solution's licensing cost is expensive and could be improved."
"Better integration with more platforms would be useful."
"There's a short availability that could be much better."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The solution is open-source."
"This is an open-source operating system that can be used free of charge."
"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 product was quite expensive."
"Windows Server is expensive. We purchase its yearly license."
"Its price is fine. Its licensing is on a yearly basis."
"One of the problems with Microsoft is the price of licensing, and volume licensing for educational systems is a great option to bequeath licensing for small businesses."
"The Windows Server standard edition is affordable."
"The price of the solution could improve."
"It is not expensive. We have yearly basis licensing."
"It is an expensive solution."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Comms Service Provider
22%
Educational Organization
8%
Manufacturing Company
8%
University
8%
Comms Service Provider
11%
Construction Company
9%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Financial Services Firm
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business2
Midsize Enterprise1
Large Enterprise4
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business79
Midsize Enterprise41
Large Enterprise89
 

Questions from the Community

Ask a question
Earn 20 points
What needs improvement with Windows Server?
One area where Windows Server could be improved is in simplifying administration and troubleshooting. While Windows Server is powerful, diagnosing issues related to group policy, DNS, replication, ...
What is your primary use case for Windows Server?
Windows Server serves the primary use case of Active Directory administrator, user and groups management, file and print service, management service, maintenance, and IT infrastructure support.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Windows Server?
I think the licensing model of Microsoft products, including Windows Server, is not cheap. Microsoft has been guiding us for all the products toward a subscription model instead of a buying model. ...
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Information Not Available
Rakuten, Rackspace, Tyco
Find out what your peers are saying about Windows Server vs. openSUSE Leap and other solutions. Updated: August 2026.
908,858 professionals have used our research since 2012.