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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
12th
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
5th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
194
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of September 2025, in the Operating Systems (OS) for Business category, the mindshare of openSUSE Leap is 6.2%, up from 5.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Windows Server is 9.8%, up from 8.8% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Operating Systems (OS) for Business Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Windows Server9.8%
openSUSE Leap6.2%
Other84.0%
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.
Jai Prakash Sharma - PeerSpot reviewer
Efficient Management Achieved with Internal Resources and Reliable Technical Support
Maintenance of Windows Server varies by organization, but for us, it's not very difficult as we have in-house resources managing these tasks. However, it can become a bit tricky when we want to see a collated view of our security posture. Regarding AI integrations with Windows Server, Copilot adoption is progressing, though I have only experienced it on endpoints and not on the server side. We operate significant workloads on AI, but we consume those primarily on Linux rather than Windows Server. I don't have much experience regarding integration capabilities in Windows Server for AI workloads, so I may not be the right person to provide insights on that. Overall, I am quite happy with my experience using Windows Server. I don't have many constraints or concerns, so I would rate it eight out of ten.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"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."
"Stable - it just runs without the necessity to reboot."
"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."
"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."
"It's user-friendly."
"I like that Windows Server is easy to use."
"The most valuable features are the ease of access and maintaining the solution."
"The installation of the solution is becoming easier every year after new releases. The first installation can take an hour but you can use templates to make the installation very quick."
"Windows Server is easy to use."
"We have had no problems with Windows Server and we plan to continue using it in the future."
"Windows Server is very scalable."
"The tool is easy to access and manage. You don't have to take any backups."
 

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."
"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."
"I would like openSUSE Leap to have better link integration with Windows."
"The security needs to be improved."
"As for additional features, we are very interested in the new feature released by Windows: Azure Virtual Desktop. We are currently exploring it so that instead of people depending on their own desktop, we could work on Azure Virtual Desktop. Integration with Azure Virtual Desktop would be cool."
"More security features would be great."
"The product's pricing needs improvement."
"The security policies need improvement."
"It would be nice if it was more user-friendly."
"The price could be better and the licensing model could be easier to understand."
"I believe that Windows Server can be somewhat vulnerable compared to other options, but its security can be improved. I also think that the setup process can be somewhat complex, depending on the applications involved. Regarding the security features of Windows Server, while it offers some built-in security measures, it's not sufficient to solely rely on them. Additional external devices such as firewalls may be needed for comprehensive protection. Deploying antivirus and firewall software on the server is advisable, but having an external firewall adds an extra layer of security. When migrating to Windows Server from previous versions or other platforms, noticeable improvements were observed, particularly in the utilization of graphical interfaces. Windows offers robust graphical guidance, especially compared to Linux or other systems like Acronis, making it easier to navigate and manage various functionalities."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"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 cost of this solution was reasonable and it was within our budget."
"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."
"The solution requires licencing."
"Our current license is an enterprise license agreement which gives you a whole lot of possibility, especially when you go through an R&D process. For example, you can provision everything, spread the service use over six months, and then wrap it up. It gives you a lot of flexibility."
"If I look into the tasks my company does with the product, I would say that the tool is not that expensive."
"To use Windows Server, we pay for licensing yearly. The licensing cost should be cheaper—it is expensive and should not cost that much."
"I'm not involved much in the payment part, but I believe that we pay a yearly subscription for licensing."
"Its price is fine. Its licensing is on a yearly basis."
"The Windows Server standard edition is affordable."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Comms Service Provider
17%
Computer Software Company
15%
Educational Organization
8%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Computer Software Company
13%
Comms Service Provider
10%
Government
8%
University
8%
 

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 Business77
Midsize Enterprise41
Large Enterprise88
 

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...
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...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for openSUSE Leap?
openSUSE Leap is an open-source solution that is free of cost.
What needs improvement with Windows Server?
I don't have experience with Windows Server containers and Kubernetes for deploying cloud-native applications. I cannot provide specific improvements for Windows Server because I don't have extensi...
What is your primary use case for Windows Server?
At the office, the main use case for Windows Server involves different functions, for example, file server or firewall and the IIS server, Microsoft Internet Server, Internet Information Services. ...
 

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: September 2025.
867,370 professionals have used our research since 2012.