Try our new research platform with insights from 80,000+ expert users

Oracle Linux vs Windows Server 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
6.7
Organizations saved costs with Oracle Linux through reduced maintenance, high uptime, enhanced efficiency, and improved user satisfaction.
Sentiment score
5.0
Windows Server enhances efficiency, reducing support costs by 10-70%, valued for virtualization, integration, security, and operational stability.
Everything from Oracle tools to applications is well integrated within Oracle Linux.
IT Department Manager at DHA Lahore
Our team is comfortable using Oracle Linux as it integrates well with Oracle tools, making everything work seamlessly.
Director of Provisioning Services at MRP ELITE
In terms of outcomes or benefits I've seen over the last year, we have more than 30 servers, and we only need to reboot one server while all other servers continue working fine, resulting in very low downtime, which is very helpful.
System Engineer at Reve Systems
Windows Server offers excellent value for money, particularly when compared to alternatives.
Security Engineer at ProVision
The tool supports many applications.
Agile Consultant at MSOLdigi
You get a standard platform that is very secure and stable.
Manager, Information & Cloud Systems at a consultancy with 1,001-5,000 employees
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
6.4
Oracle Linux support is mixed; valued for expertise and resources but criticized for costs and response inconsistencies.
Sentiment score
6.3
Windows Server support is praised for expertise and responsiveness but experiences vary, with some users finding delays and inconsistencies.
Not all support engineers at Oracle are the same, so sometimes I experience good support that resolves issues quickly, while other times, it loops.
Senior Infrastructure Specialist at a financial services firm with 11-50 employees
Oracle's technical support is excellent.
IT Department Manager at DHA Lahore
The customer support for Oracle Linux, coming from an AWS perspective, is absolute garbage.
Cloud Solutions Engineer at a computer software company with 1,001-5,000 employees
Microsoft's technical support for Windows Server has been lacking, with rare responses even with premium support.
Security Engineer at ProVision
They resolved our problems within the defined SLA.
Relationship Manager at Cognizant
When I had an issue with Hyper-V, the support was excellent.
Systems technician. IT Office at LNU
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.4
Oracle Linux offers scalable, stable performance for diverse environments, supporting both large and small server implementations with adaptability.
Sentiment score
7.4
Windows Server efficiently scales from small to large user bases, supporting resource adjustments for smooth organizational growth.
It handles device performance well, automatically managing any issues that arise.
Software Engineer at Trianz
Oracle should make the process faster, as we sometimes have to use a previous processor model to ensure compatibility.
Director of Provisioning Services at MRP ELITE
We run a thousand-node cluster with around 8,000 to 9,000 pods running in a cluster, and we have 10 to 15 clusters that we are already running.
Cloud Solutions Engineer at a computer software company with 1,001-5,000 employees
I've worked in companies with 20,000 to 100,000 users, and it scales beautifully without issues.
Manager, Information & Cloud Systems at a consultancy with 1,001-5,000 employees
We use it everywhere, and it serves approximately two thousand users in our company as a backend service.
System Engineer at Alnajat charity
Windows Server is highly scalable; I can upgrade the hardware capacity or storage capacity smoothly.
Senior Consutant at HCLSoftware
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
8.2
Oracle Linux is renowned for its stability, performance, and integration, maintaining high uptime and handling heavy workloads efficiently.
Sentiment score
7.4
Windows Server is praised for its stability, with recent versions highly reliable despite occasional update challenges.
Avoids reboot-related instability through live kernel patching
Staff SecOps Engineer at a educational organization with 201-500 employees
Testing determines stability, as continuous Linux use and installations reveal more bugs.
Senior Infrastructure Specialist at a financial services firm with 11-50 employees
Oracle Linux is very stable.
IT Department Manager at DHA Lahore
We have experienced no blue screens or crashes and often achieved an uptime of 2,000 to 3,000 days without any issues whatsoever.
Security Engineer at ProVision
Stability-wise, I rate the solution a ten out of ten.
Manager at Accenture company
I rate the stability a 9 out of 10.
Connectivity Platform Cyber Security Specialist at BASF Business Services GmbH
 

Room For Improvement

Users seek improved Oracle Linux with better performance, security updates, integration, community support, scalability, and competitive pricing.
Windows Server users cite security, performance, integration issues, setup complexity, high cost, and frequent maintenance as key concerns.
Having a user interface would make tasks easier, saving time by avoiding the need to remember command-line instructions.
IT Admin at Rosy Blue NV
There are significant limitations as we are not able to customize the system, and we are forced to use standard features which are not suitable for our business.
Manager, Information Technology at Gemini Equipment
Oracle Linux's outage management can be improved to better handle outages.
Software Engineer at Trianz
Deploying antivirus and firewall software on the server is advisable, but having an external firewall adds an extra layer of security.
Project and Service Delivery Manager Cloud at MANAPPURAM COMPTECH AND CONSULTANTS LIMITED
People don't want to know about complex commands and want everything to be available in just a few clicks on the dashboard, where they can see the top trends, what commands are being used, how many logins, and other such related information.
Senior Manager - SBR Technical Services at Reliance Industries Ltd
There has been an increase in the tool's licensing costs, especially the ones required for virtualization.
Head of IT at a manufacturing company with 501-1,000 employees
 

Setup Cost

Oracle Linux is valued for cost-effective licensing and support, offering flexibility and discounts that appeal to enterprises.
Windows Server licensing is complex and costly, but it's popular for its features despite pricing concerns compared to alternatives.
While ERP might be expensive, Oracle Linux and KVMs are not on the higher side.
Director of Provisioning Services at MRP ELITE
Oracle is way too cheap compared to them.
Cloud Solutions Engineer at a computer software company with 1,001-5,000 employees
The cost of Microsoft OS is pretty high, and switching to Oracle Linux, which is free, reduced our costs by about 20% to 25%.
IT Admin at Rosy Blue NV
Previously, a Windows Server with two processors cost around two 154 euros annually, but now it is estimated to be around 3,000 to 4,000 euros for the same configuration.
Security Engineer at ProVision
On a scale of one to ten, with ten being the most expensive, I rate it ten out of ten.
Manager, IT Security at Averis Sdn Bhd
Microsoft offers product pricing with licenses per processor and CAL licenses for accessing.
Manager, Information & Cloud Systems at a consultancy with 1,001-5,000 employees
 

Valuable Features

Oracle Linux offers zero-downtime patching, strong security, and Red Hat compatibility, making it cost-effective, stable, and efficient for enterprises.
Windows Server excels with Active Directory, Hyper-V, integration, security, and usability, making it ideal for enterprise solutions.
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.
IT Admin at Rosy Blue NV
The updates are applied instantly once a CVE is identified, which makes it highly beneficial.
Consultant at a outsourcing company with 1,001-5,000 employees
Oracle Linux provides fast updates, and the best aspect is that we can update our server without interrupting our service, which is very important for business continuity.
Superbly mistaken at Banco Nacional de Investimento S.A.
The IP directory is the most valuable feature.
Connectivity Platform Cyber Security Specialist at BASF Business Services GmbH
I can manage the firewalls on the server easily, open or close ports to manage security traffic, and use encryption on the hard disk to keep data secure.
Systems technician. IT Office at LNU
When we deploy this operating system, we're primarily focused on managing virtual environments.
Project and Service Delivery Manager Cloud at MANAPPURAM COMPTECH AND CONSULTANTS LIMITED
 

Categories and Ranking

Oracle Linux
Ranking in Operating Systems (OS) for Business
4th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
131
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
6.7
Number of Reviews
196
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of February 2026, in the Operating Systems (OS) for Business category, the mindshare of Oracle Linux is 6.1%, down from 12.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Windows Server is 9.0%, up from 9.0% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Operating Systems (OS) for Business Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Oracle Linux6.1%
Windows Server9.0%
Other84.9%
Operating Systems (OS) for Business
 

Featured Reviews

LM
Cloud Solutions Engineer at a computer software company with 1,001-5,000 employees
Managed platform has reduced our operations workload and delivers faster cluster startups
I wouldn't say it's specifically an Oracle Linux pro, but when using Oracle Linux with a Kubernetes engine, it provides you with all the necessary libraries that it needs for a startup. This means quicker startup time and quicker joining to the cluster. It's just fast when you use Oracle Linux because it's optimized for your OKE engine. When I mention quicker startup time and easier joining to the cluster, it means you have a pretty good startup when you want to scale, you don't have to wait longer times just for your nodes to come up. When you have your traffic spiking, you don't want to wait that two to three minutes extra for a node to join the cluster, so that's where you have that advantage. And even for the customers when we give them access, it's a better startup since it's optimized and has all the necessary libraries. When I mention our workload is reduced because it's managed and optimized, it is approximately 80 to 90 percent of our workload is reduced because Kubernetes also releases frequent updates. You don't have to migrate to a new one; when you're migrating, it's pretty quick. All the security patches are handled by Oracle. The newer updates are provided by Oracle, and you don't have to test it. You will need to do some rounds of testing, but way less than managing your own Linux.
GS
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.
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Operating Systems (OS) for Business solutions are best for your needs.
882,594 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
10%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Comms Service Provider
7%
Comms Service Provider
11%
Computer Software Company
9%
University
7%
Manufacturing Company
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business44
Midsize Enterprise18
Large Enterprise75
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business78
Midsize Enterprise41
Large Enterprise89
 

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 needs improvement with Windows Server?
I cannot answer regarding which metrics I use to measure the effectiveness of Microsoft Defender for IoT because I have to check with my technical team. I have been fulfilling a role as IT manager ...
What is your primary use case for Windows Server?
What suits me the most is that for all my OT environment, I can manage all those devices in one secure portal from Microsoft.
 

Comparisons

 

Also Known As

Oracle Enterprise Linux
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

See here
Rakuten, Rackspace, Tyco
Find out what your peers are saying about Oracle Linux vs. Windows Server and other solutions. Updated: February 2026.
882,594 professionals have used our research since 2012.