Rocky Linux vs SUSE Linux Enterprise comparison

Rocky Linux and SUSE are both solutions in the Operating Systems (OS) for Business category. Rocky Linux is ranked #5 with an average rating of 8.4, while SUSE is ranked #7 with an average rating of 8.2. Rocky Linux holds a 15.5% mindshare in OSB, compared to SUSE’s 7.1% mindshare. Additionally, 100% of Rocky Linux users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 93% of SUSE users who would recommend it.

Rocky Linux

Read 5 Rocky Linux reviews

14,433 Views
13,505 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

SUSE Linux Enterprise

Read 32 SUSE Linux Enterprise reviews

10,390 Views
9,260 Comparison Views

93% willing to recommend

Rocky Linux

SUSE Linux Enterprise

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Aug 7, 2024

SUSE Linux Enterprise and Rocky Linux cater to enterprise environments with a focus on stability and performance. SUSE Linux Enterprise holds the upper hand due to its more established support and documentation, making it attractive for organizations seeking comprehensive resources.

Features: SUSE Linux Enterprise is known for extensive support for enterprise applications, robust security features, and high reliability. Rocky Linux offers compatibility with Red Hat Enterprise Linux, flexibility, and an emphasis on community engagement.

Room For Improvement: SUSE Linux Enterprise could improve in user interface intuitiveness and better licensing options. Rocky Linux could enhance documentation and expand its support infrastructure.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: SUSE Linux Enterprise provides a straightforward deployment process and comprehensive customer service. Rocky Linux is simple to deploy but relies heavily on community support for troubleshooting.

Pricing and ROI: SUSE Linux Enterprise has higher initial setup costs with good return on investment. Rocky Linux offers lower setup costs and an attractive ROI for minimizing expenses.

To learn more, read our detailed Rocky Linux vs. SUSE Linux Enterprise Report (Updated: April 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Rocky Linux vs. SUSE Linux Enterprise

April 2025

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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

Rocky Linux

Ranking in Operating Systems (OS) for Business

5th

Average Rating

8.4

Reviews Sentiment

7.8

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

SUSE Linux Enterprise

Ranking in Operating Systems (OS) for Business

7th

Average Rating

8.6

Reviews Sentiment

7.3

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2025, in the Operating Systems (OS) for Business category, the mindshare of Rocky Linux is 15.5%, up from 9.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SUSE Linux Enterprise is 7.1%, down from 8.7% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Operating Systems (OS) for Business

Featured Reviews

Dominique Locksley

Linux System Administrator at Adapt IT

Very simple to work with, easy to learn, and has a competitive pricing

The UX design, the user front end, and the user GUI are very well done on the GNOME and KDE platform side. It's very simple to work with, easy to learn, and know where things are. I have worked with a lot of different solutions like Debian, Ubuntu, Red Hat, and CentOS. Rocky Linux is very easy, and if you switch from one to the other, you can easily detect your tools in the front end. Since it is very similar to the file system breakdown of downloads and documents, it's very easy to show users where things will be.

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Dominique Locksley

Linux System Administrator at Adapt IT

Has good kernel modules and upgrades

I like how the tool handles kernel modules and upgrades - we rarely have issues after upgrades, unlike with other Linux distributions like Oracle Linux or Ubuntu. The kernel module management is excellent. Changes made in one version typically work the same in other versions too, which isn't always the case with other distributions. There's also lots of information and community support available if you run into any problems, both on the official website and in forums and user groups. I know many people who use it specifically, so it's easy to get independent support if needed. I've been working with the tool for a long time, since 2003, before they became SUSE Linux Enterprise. It's always been one of the most admin-friendly Linux versions.

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Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"It's very simple to work with, easy to learn, and know where things are."

"It helps us keep our workstations in sync and ensures consistent settings across most of our machines."

"The most valuable feature of the solution is its stability."

"The custom install scripts streamline the setup process, making it straightforward."

"I haven't needed to use customer service or support, which speaks volumes about their product's reliability and ease of use."

"The technical support services are good."

"It's easy to set up."

"It is a stable platform."

"The initial setup for most modern Linux distributions is normally straightforward. Most of the common distributions use an ncurses or GUI install."

"The operating system is efficient in terms of security."

"Some of the functionalities I like the most are the security features. This includes security restrictions on specific folders and secure communication for SFTP. These features are more secure and reliable. The tool also makes compliance possible."

"From a functionality perspective, the suite is quite rich. We like that."

"The main feature is that Linux is flexible to work with for most web-based applications."

More SUSE Linux Enterprise pros

Cons

"I have certain problems with the tool's DNS part, making it an area where improvements are required."

"One of the potential issues is that if you don't pay for support, you may need to manage certain aspects on your own and rely on the community for assistance."

"Improved integration with Windows, particularly Active Directory, would be beneficial for the product. Currently, this aspect requires additional effort."

"The solution's audio integration for virtual machines could be improved."

"In terms of improvement, Rocky Linux needs to clarify its identity and target audience."

"Sometimes it is a bit of work for developers to change the configurations."

"Additionally, error handling needs improvement. The system should be more transparent when there's an error, rather than just declaring a generic error. It would be helpful if it could provide more specific information about the problem on that particular system. As it stands, you can waste a lot of time trying to troubleshoot these vague errors."

"The quality of support offered by SUSE Linux Enterprise is not that great, making it an area where improvements are required."

"The price of SUSE Linux Enterprise could improve, it is too expensive."

"When working in a Department of Defense environment, Security Technical Implementation Guides (STIGs) have to be followed. SLES is not really addressed directly here. It did make following security policy difficult."

"Red Hat has more packages that are available than SUSE does. I'd love to see more projects based on SUSE."

"The software management side was a bit difficult, especially compared to Ubuntu."

"The only stability issues that I can recall encountering with SUSE would be with KDE. However, that is limited to just the desktop environment as I have not had stability issues with most server functions."

More SUSE Linux Enterprise cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Compared to the market prices of other tools, the solution has a very competitive pricing."

"The product is expensive. I rate the pricing a three."

"I have to pay for a license in order to get support."

"The license we pay is for Oracle. We make use of the community edition."

"The platform is affordable."

"As far as licensing goes, there is nothing unusual here. The price and model have worked fine for my organization."

"I would advise others to download the free or strictly open source versions, then test them in their environment before committing to a purchase. This will allow for testing suitability for applications that they want to run."

"The product's licensing options align well with the evolving landscape of Linux variants."

"Regarding pricing, everybody would want it to be cheaper."

"When we first implemented this product, we had licenses for support."

More SUSE Linux Enterprise pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

14%

University

12%

Educational Organization

10%

Comms Service Provider

10%

Computer Software Company

15%

Manufacturing Company

12%

Government

Financial Services Firm

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

No data available

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Rocky Linux?

It's very simple to work with, easy to learn, and know where things are.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Rocky Linux?

Improved integration with Windows, particularly Active Directory, would be beneficial for the product. Currently, this aspect requires additional effort.

See all answers

What is your primary use case for Rocky Linux?

I use the solution in my company to do some automation stuff to run Ansible, and it has an administration server to provide all the Linux control like a client node can be connected to that master ...

See all answers

What do you like most about SUSE Linux Enterprise?

The initial setup is simple and takes five minutes for deployment and if you have automation in place, it will take four minutes.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for SUSE Linux Enterprise?

I used the open-source version, so there were no setup costs.

See all answers

What needs improvement with SUSE Linux Enterprise?

The software management side was a bit difficult, especially compared to Ubuntu. The software manager was different, making it challenging to install certain applications. Additionally, I encounter...

See all answers

Comparisons

Ubuntu Linux vs Rocky Linux

Compared 27% of the time

Fedora Linux vs Rocky Linux

Compared 24% of the time

Oracle Linux vs Rocky Linux

Compared 14% of the time

Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) vs Rocky Linux

Compared 8% of the time

Kali Linux vs Rocky Linux

Compared 2% of the time

More Rocky Linux Competitors

Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) vs SUSE Linux Enterprise

Compared 31% of the time

openSUSE Leap vs SUSE Linux Enterprise

Compared 25% of the time

Ubuntu Linux vs SUSE Linux Enterprise

Compared 18% of the time

Oracle Linux vs SUSE Linux Enterprise

Compared 6% of the time

CentOS vs SUSE Linux Enterprise

Compared 5% of the time

More SUSE Linux Enterprise Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Operating Systems (OS) for Business

April 2025

Download Rocky Linux product report

Buyer's Guide

SUSE Linux Enterprise

April 2025

Download SUSE Linux Enterprise product report

Overview

Rocky Linux is a robust and secure enterprise-grade operating system designed as a drop-in replacement for CentOS. Its primary use case is to provide a stable and reliable platform for organizations to run their critical workloads and applications.

The most valuable functionality of Rocky Linux lies in its compatibility with CentOS, ensuring a seamless transition for organizations already using CentOS. It offers long-term support, regular security updates, and a predictable release cycle, providing stability and reliability for mission-critical systems.

Rocky Linux helps organizations by offering a free and open-source alternative to CentOS, which was discontinued by Red Hat. It allows businesses to continue using their existing CentOS-based infrastructure without the need for costly migrations or vendor lock-in. With its strong community support and active development, Rocky Linux ensures a sustainable and community-driven future for CentOS users.

Moreover, Rocky Linux is built with security in mind, providing robust features like SELinux and secure defaults. This helps organizations protect their data and systems from potential threats and vulnerabilities.

Rocky Linux

SUSE Linux Enterprise is a versatile operating system ideal for deploying solutions, managing applications, and running certain applications. It is also used for migrating SAP workloads to the cloud, integrating with SAP HANA solutions and products, and as an operating system for application servers.

The solution is praised for its YaST tool for easier server administration, compatibility with Oracle and SAP, stability, scalability, ease of use, extensive documentation, pacemaker cluster, and SUSE Manager for patching. SUSE Linux offers extended support for each version and a special edition for SAP applications.

SUSE

Sample Customers

Information Not Available

Air India, Akademicki Szpital Kliniczny (ASK), Allone, Altran, Apollo, ARCHIVA, Asia Innovatory Management School, ATLAS ELEKTRONIK GmbH, AutoData Norge AS, Baldor Electric, Business Connexion, CASIO, Ciclum Farma, Delta Lloyd, Edumate , HPE, SAP SE, Lenovo, BMW, T-Systems, UCX, Turners & Growers, Shenzhen Development Bank, Bosch Group, JK Tyres & Industries, IOCL, European Space Agency, Daimler AG, China Minsheng Banking Corp, Café Coffee Day, Unisys, Petrochina Company Ltd, Fitch Ratings, ABeam Consulting Co Ltd, Tyro Payments, Rackspace, Pacific Textiles, ...

Buyer's Guide

Rocky Linux vs. SUSE Linux Enterprise

April 2025

Free Report: Rocky Linux vs. SUSE Linux Enterprise

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