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Oracle Linux vs Oracle Solaris 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:
 

ROI

Sentiment score
8.8
Oracle Linux enhances ROI through cost savings, reliability, security resources, and integration with Oracle applications, reducing operational costs.
Sentiment score
8.5
Oracle Solaris offers strong integration and troubleshooting ease, but cost-effectiveness and complexity vary, impacting adoption and ROI.
Everything from Oracle tools to applications is well integrated within Oracle Linux.
Our team is comfortable using Oracle Linux as it integrates well with Oracle tools, making everything work seamlessly.
Oracle Linux contributed to reducing our operational costs by about ten percent by saving us from the operating system and license costs we would have had to pay Microsoft.
In terms of ROI, there have been performance improvements because Oracle Solaris is lighter.
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
7.1
Oracle Linux support varies in quality, praised for knowledgeable staff but criticized for responsiveness and inconsistency across service tiers.
Sentiment score
7.3
Oracle Solaris offers global 24/7 support with knowledgeable staff but faces regional quality variance and sometimes scripted interactions.
Not all support engineers at Oracle are the same, so sometimes I experience good support that resolves issues quickly, while other times, it loops.
Oracle's technical support is excellent.
It is not as helpful or friendly as their application support.
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.4
Oracle Linux excels in scalability, handling diverse workloads effectively in varied environments with reliable performance and flexibility.
Sentiment score
8.1
Oracle Solaris excels in scalability and adaptability, efficiently handling workloads across diverse IT environments and supporting extensive storage.
It handles device performance well, automatically managing any issues that arise.
Oracle should make the process faster, as we sometimes have to use a previous processor model to ensure compatibility.
New processor models sometimes lack immediate compatibility with Oracle Linux, requiring the use of previous models until support is available.
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
8.1
Oracle Linux is praised for its stability, robustness, and performance, making it a trusted choice for diverse enterprise environments.
Sentiment score
8.2
Oracle Solaris is praised for its stability, with minimal issues, high reliability, and strong support enhancing user satisfaction.
Testing determines stability, as continuous Linux use and installations reveal more bugs.
Oracle Linux is very stable.
Our environment is locally deployed, and there are no performance issues or latency problems.
 

Room For Improvement

Oracle Linux needs improvements in security, usability, compatibility, cloud capabilities, and support to compete with Red Hat.
Oracle Solaris needs better hardware certification, easier configuration, enhanced GUI, and broader software support for improved adoption.
Having a user interface would make tasks easier, saving time by avoiding the need to remember command-line instructions.
Oracle Linux's outage management can be improved to better handle outages.
The learning curve is significant, and certain processor models take time for compatibility testing.
Oracle Solaris needs to improve its compatibility with office tools like Excel.
 

Setup Cost

Oracle Linux is free and open-source, but paid support is cost-effective with negotiable prices compared to competitors.
Oracle Solaris offers significant savings and robust integration, despite complex licensing and higher costs versus alternatives like Linux.
While ERP might be expensive, Oracle Linux and KVMs are not on the higher side.
The cost of Microsoft OS is pretty high, and switching to Oracle Linux, which is free, reduced our costs by about 20% to 25%.
Oracle Linux is affordable.
I find the pricing of Oracle Solaris to be affordable compared to competitors like Windows.
 

Valuable Features

Oracle Linux offers stability, integration with Oracle products, cost-effectiveness, security, and seamless migration, optimized for enterprise environments.
Oracle Solaris offers virtualization, data management, stability, and integration features, ensuring high availability and performance for enterprises.
Since it's from the same vendor as Oracle applications, it's easier to manage issues, making not just the solution cost-effective but also streamlined in management.
Oracle Linux offers an unbreakable system.
Oracle Linux has American Standard levels of security, which I consider to be quite good.
The operating system is lightweight, which makes it easier to use on an average computer compared to systems like Windows.
 

Categories and Ranking

Oracle Linux
Ranking in Operating Systems (OS) for Business
3rd
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.7
Number of Reviews
118
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Oracle Solaris
Ranking in Operating Systems (OS) for Business
9th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.7
Number of Reviews
50
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of June 2025, in the Operating Systems (OS) for Business category, the mindshare of Oracle Linux is 9.4%, down from 15.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Oracle Solaris is 2.2%, down from 3.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Operating Systems (OS) for Business
 

Featured Reviews

Thomas Waltair - PeerSpot reviewer
Provides outstanding performance and resource savings with effective customer service
The solution works closely with the operating system kernel, which gives better performance in terms of multi-threading and a distributed database. We work based on Oracle specifications, and whenever there are critical patches and vulnerability tests, we update with the latest security patches. The collaboration with Oracle WebLogic and other Oracle tools enhances performance as well.
Erick Kathurima - PeerSpot reviewer
Has enabled a user-friendly and lightweight installation with improved performance
I installed Oracle Solaris on a normal PC to test its functionality. It is comfortable to use and provides a good test environment, especially because it is not commonly known or recognized in the market Oracle Solaris has a graphical interface that is user-friendly, especially with its use of…
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
14%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Government
8%
Financial Services Firm
14%
Computer Software Company
12%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Government
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

How does Oracle Linux compare with Solaris?
When comparing Oracle Linux and Solaris, I believe that Linux is more secure and more flexible. It is also very suitable for enterprises that are already Oracle solution users. I found Linux to be ...
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 support. This solution is suitable for both desktop and server use. It has a very app...
What do you like most about Oracle Solaris?
We use the solution as an internal operating system.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Oracle Solaris?
I find the pricing of Oracle Solaris to be affordable compared to competitors like Windows.
What needs improvement with Oracle Solaris?
Oracle Solaris needs to improve its compatibility with office tools like Excel.
 

Also Known As

Oracle Enterprise Linux
Solaris 11, Solaris
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

See here
Siemens, IVV
Find out what your peers are saying about Oracle Linux vs. Oracle Solaris and other solutions. Updated: June 2025.
856,873 professionals have used our research since 2012.