Windows Server vs openSUSE Leap comparison

openSUSE and Microsoft are both solutions in the Operating Systems (OS) for Business category. openSUSE is ranked #12 with an average rating of 9.0, while Microsoft is ranked #5 with an average rating of 8.4. openSUSE holds a 6.2% mindshare in OSB, compared to Microsoft’s 9.8% mindshare. Additionally, 100% of openSUSE users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 94% of Microsoft users who would recommend it.

openSUSE Leap

Read 6 openSUSE Leap reviews

5,348 Views
5,348 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

Windows Server

Read 195 Windows Server reviews

10,109 Views
10,109 Comparison Views

94% willing to recommend

openSUSE Leap

Windows Server

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Download the report

Executive SummaryUpdated on Aug 7, 2024

Windows Server and openSUSE Leap compete mainly in enterprise server environments. Windows Server has an upper hand due to its robust support and seamless integration with other Microsoft products.

Features: Windows Server is known for its comprehensive Active Directory, smooth virtualization capabilities, and strong enterprise support. openSUSE Leap is valued for its open-source flexibility, advanced configuration options, and rich repository of software packages.

Room for Improvement: Windows Server users highlight licensing complexity, high resource consumption, and the need for performance optimizations. openSUSE Leap users point to occasional hardware compatibility issues, a steeper learning curve, and the desire for enhanced hardware support.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Windows Server is easier to deploy due to comprehensive documentation and widespread support resources, including extensive customer service. openSUSE Leap offers complex deployment but benefits from robust documentation and an active community for support.

Pricing and ROI: Windows Server incurs higher setup costs due to licensing fees but provides substantial ROI through reliable enterprise features. openSUSE Leap is a cost-effective solution with no initial licensing fees, attractive for budget-conscious users seeking strong value via low-cost implementation and community support.

To learn more, read our detailed Windows Server vs. openSUSE Leap Report (Updated: December 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Windows Server vs. openSUSE Leap

December 2025

Download the complete report

Helped 879,259 peers since 2012

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

Windows Server

Ranking in Operating Systems (OS) for Business

5th

Average Rating

8.2

Reviews Sentiment

6.8

Number of Reviews

195

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of December 2025, in the Operating Systems (OS) for Business category, the mindshare of openSUSE Leap is 6.2%, up from 5.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Windows Server is 9.8%, up from 8.9% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Operating Systems (OS) for Business Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
Windows Server	9.8%
openSUSE Leap	6.2%
Other	84.0%

Operating Systems (OS) for Business

Featured Reviews

Nagendra Kavadi

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.

Read full review

Gustavo Schleider

Manager, Information & Cloud Systems at a consultancy with 1,001-5,000 employees

Long-standing experience improves reliability and security, making it a trusted platform

It's difficult to see improvements when using it daily. They improved compatibility with other platforms, such as Linux. One improvement I was thinking about some years ago was the ability to manage an on-premises server from Azure. Now, they have created Azure Arc, and we are using it as a very good way of managing on-premises servers. What can be improved is on the Azure side. With Active Directory on the server side and Entra ID on the Azure side in our hybrid environment, we find issues with data syncing to Entra ID. In Entra ID, Microsoft omitted some parameters. In Active Directory, you can put an expiring date to an account, but you cannot do that in Entra ID. We have other means of doing that, but it's common to have consultants working for six months, requiring account expiration or renewal processes. The Entra ID Connect syncing tool could be improved. Though they moved the service to Azure and use an agent instead of having a dedicated server, it remains cumbersome to set up due to the differences between Entra ID and Active Directory.

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

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

"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 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."

"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."

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

"The most valuable feature is the performance."

"The performance of Windows Server is good."

"The solution is very easy to configure."

"The support that Microsoft provides for this is very good."

"Windows Server is very easy to use."

"This is quite a stable product."

"The scalability is okay."

"What I like about Windows Server is that it is an effective and useful solution for my needs."

More Windows Server pros

Cons

"There is room for improvement in the console."

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

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

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

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

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

"The performance from time to time can be a bit suspect."

"There's a short availability that could be much better."

"There should be the ability to add other databases to be installed and configured instead of going to other virtual machines. They should be better integrated so they are all in one place."

"The scalability of Windows Server is okay, but it could be better."

"It is not fast and is very slow. Versions before 2002 are not stable."

"Windows Server should lower pricing."

"The solution could have better security features."

"The solution is not easy to use and could be simplified. Additionally, the solution could have better integration."

More Windows Server 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."

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

"The solution is open-source."

"The price of the solution could be reduced and there is a license required."

"In our case, we primarily use Microsoft, so the cost is a lot less. But some of our customers have spent approximately $12,000 a year on the operating system license."

"It's expensive, but we have a need for it and have to purchase it."

"There is not a license required for this solution."

"There is a licensing fee."

"We had to purchase the solution and also the licenses to go on each computer system."

"If I look into the tasks my company does with the product, I would say that the tool is not that expensive."

"The license model needs improvement."

More Windows Server pricing and cost advice

See which vendors are best for you

Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Operating Systems (OS) for Business solutions are best for your needs.

See recommendations

879,259 professionals have used our research since 2012.

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Comms Service Provider

18%

Computer Software Company

13%

Educational Organization

Manufacturing Company

Computer Software Company

11%

Comms Service Provider

10%

Manufacturing Company

University

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	2
Midsize Enterprise	1
Large Enterprise	4

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	78
Midsize Enterprise	41
Large Enterprise	88

Questions from the Community

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

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for openSUSE Leap?

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

See all answers

What do you like most about Windows Server?

The tool supports many applications.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Windows Server?

The user interface of Windows Server needs improvement, especially when working with users, user accounts, and groups. There are multiple ways to accomplish tasks that do not align completely, so t...

See all answers

What is your primary use case for Windows Server?

I integrated Windows Server in my infrastructure. We use Hyper-V technology extensively, as it is very important for us, and it functions quite well.

See all answers

Comparisons

SUSE Linux Enterprise vs openSUSE Leap

Compared 23% of the time

Rocky Linux vs openSUSE Leap

Compared 16% of the time

Ubuntu Linux vs openSUSE Leap

Compared 16% of the time

Fedora Linux vs openSUSE Leap

Compared 10% of the time

More openSUSE Leap Competitors

Windows 11 vs Windows Server

Compared 62% of the time

Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) vs Windows Server

Compared 11% of the time

Ubuntu Linux vs Windows Server

Compared 9% of the time

Windows 10 vs Windows Server

Compared 5% of the time

Debian vs Windows Server

Compared 1% of the time

More Windows Server Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Operating Systems (OS) for Business

December 2025

Download openSUSE Leap product report

Buyer's Guide

Windows Server

December 2025

Download Windows Server product report

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

Windows Server offers enterprise-grade solutions with Active Directory, Hyper-V, and Azure integration. Known for its user-friendliness and stability, it is ideal for hosting applications and managing domains, promising scalability and seamless network management across environments.

Windows Server is integral for businesses needing reliable infrastructure for server virtualization and enterprise application deployment. It excels in integrating with Microsoft applications, providing robust support for database hosting, Active Directory management, and remote access. Users benefit from its comprehensive features supporting intense workloads, virtual setups, and efficient domain management. However, it could improve its port security, vulnerability monitoring, and interface intuitiveness. Pricing models also require adjustments to be competitive, and better integration with Linux would enhance system compatibility. Regular updates can impact stability, and the command-line interface could be more efficient compared to Linux.

What are Windows Server's key features?

Active Directory: Facilitates user and resource management.
Hyper-V: Enables server virtualization for enhanced efficiency.
Azure Integration: Connects with cloud services for scalability.
Work Folder Synchronization: Supports seamless data access across devices.
Security: Offers robust measures for protecting enterprise data.

What benefits should users look for?

Ease of Use: Intuitive design simplifies administration.
Stability: Reliable performance across demanding environments.
Integration: Seamlessly connects with Microsoft services.
Scalability: Grows alongside business needs.

Windows Server is implemented across industries for virtual server hosting, enterprise application deployment, and managing complex IT infrastructures. Organizations use it for database hosting, Active Directory management, and leveraging Microsoft's ecosystem, supporting backend operations and enhancing communication security.

Microsoft

Sample Customers

Information Not Available

Rakuten, Rackspace, Tyco

Buyer's Guide

Windows Server vs. openSUSE Leap

December 2025

Free Report: Windows Server vs. openSUSE Leap

Find out what your peers are saying about Windows Server vs. openSUSE Leap and other solutions. Updated: December 2025.

DOWNLOAD NOW

879,259 professionals have used our research since 2012.

See our Windows Server vs. openSUSE Leap report.

See our list of best Operating Systems (OS) for Business vendors.

We monitor all Operating Systems (OS) for Business reviews to prevent fraudulent reviews and keep review quality high. We do not post reviews by company employees or direct competitors. We validate each review for authenticity via cross-reference with LinkedIn, and personal follow-up with the reviewer when necessary.