Microsoft Windows vs. Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL)

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Microsoft Windows
Score 8.2 out of 10
N/A
Windows is an operating system with editions to support business workstations.N/A
Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL)
Score 9.1 out of 10
N/A
Red Hat Enterprise Linux is a Linux distribution mainly used in commercial data centers.N/A
Pricing
Microsoft WindowsRed Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL)
Editions & Modules
No answers on this topic
No answers on this topic
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
Microsoft WindowsRed Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL)
Free Trial
NoNo
Free/Freemium Version
NoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional Details
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
Microsoft WindowsRed Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL)
Considered Both Products
Microsoft Windows
Chose Microsoft Windows
Windows runs literally every piece of software I need to work. Installations are usually quick and uncomplicated, and configuration is usually quite simple, rarely requiring finding config files and editing them manually.

I chose Windows only because I had no other choice, …
Chose Microsoft Windows
Windows is fundamentally different from Linux, each shines in their own spots and has cons as well.
Chose Microsoft Windows
Because of its compatibility with third-party software requirements.
Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL)
Chose Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL)
Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) is better than all of the operating systems I've used, except for macOS. macOS gives the best of both worlds, smooth and clean GUI with tabs for everything you could possibly need, along with the strengths of Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) with …
Chose Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL)
In our experience, Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) support structure is highly stable and dependable.
Chose Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL)
Sun Microsystems was the best but a decades ago and since then I have used Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) for few of the production deployments and so have found this to be best. As mentioned earlier, the best is the security of Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) and the light …
Chose Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL)
RHEL provides more support and has a bigger community, RHEL is a more mature product and has Fedora and Centos as upstream products to help make it more stable.
Chose Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL)
Windows 11 has more stability and great functionality compared to older windows versions, and the gap between windows and Linux has shortened. You can pick from different OS’s to build enterprise level software on nowadays. But Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) is still among the …
Chose Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL)
I much prefer Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) over Windows. There is way more customization and flexibility, and being able to use Linux as the OS over Windows gives additional flexibility for various use cases. I prefer the intuitive use cases of Mac, but the lack of …
Chose Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL)
Easy to customize. Open source
Chose Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL)
supporting case, patching and updates solution
Chose Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL)
We also still have older Unix systems like Solaris. But Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) is much easier to use.
Chose Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL)
RHEL is the most reliable and what our organization prefers
Chose Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL)
Dependable product and easy access to support.
Chose Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL)
Me are migrating to Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) from AIX
Chose Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL)
RHEL is easier to use and more configurable.
Chose Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL)
They work well together and we use both of them.
Chose Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL)
We selected RHEL because it is a supported platform from our ISVs, because of the Enterprise-level support, and because of the long history of Open Source involved and community contributions.
Chose Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL)
RHEL provides the customization and open source that we need to keep our end users on the bleeding edge.
Features
Microsoft WindowsRed Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL)
Operating System
Comparison of Operating System features of Product A and Product B
Microsoft Windows
-
Ratings
Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL)
8.4
78 Ratings
4% below category average
File Management00 Ratings8.073 Ratings
Software Application Management00 Ratings8.075 Ratings
System Update Frequency00 Ratings8.276 Ratings
Operating System Security00 Ratings9.378 Ratings
Best Alternatives
Microsoft WindowsRed Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL)
Small Businesses
Ubuntu
Ubuntu
Score 8.2 out of 10
Ubuntu
Ubuntu
Score 8.2 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL)
Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL)
Score 9.1 out of 10
Ubuntu
Ubuntu
Score 8.2 out of 10
Enterprises
Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL)
Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL)
Score 9.1 out of 10
Ubuntu
Ubuntu
Score 8.2 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
Microsoft WindowsRed Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL)
Likelihood to Recommend
9.1
(10 ratings)
8.9
(302 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
10.0
(1 ratings)
9.1
(3 ratings)
Usability
8.4
(7 ratings)
8.5
(194 ratings)
Availability
-
(0 ratings)
8.2
(1 ratings)
Performance
-
(0 ratings)
7.3
(1 ratings)
Support Rating
8.0
(1 ratings)
8.2
(9 ratings)
Implementation Rating
8.0
(1 ratings)
9.1
(3 ratings)
Configurability
-
(0 ratings)
10.0
(1 ratings)
Product Scalability
-
(0 ratings)
7.3
(1 ratings)
User Testimonials
Microsoft WindowsRed Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL)
Likelihood to Recommend
Microsoft
I think for every business in the world Microsoft Windows is a good use as standard OS system. It’s easy to use and a lot of other company's use it which make it very appealing for user to learn more about Microsoft Windows. The Office 365 suite is really good as a free feature and used a lot by every user of Microsoft Windows. If you got a designer business I would recommend other brands that are specialized in that kind of work. I feel Windows will come short on that end.
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Red Hat
There's a lot of things that can and can't be discussed. But as I mentioned earlier, cloud computing and on-prem, and very much like in the cloud, having a standard image ISO, deploying that, the configurations with Ansible or packages installed via Ansible, instead of just a Kickstart script, you have a set of scripts that run in a pipeline that deploy Red Hat. So I'd say the environments, every time I've used Red Hat Enterprise Linux as a computing solution has been, like I mentioned, reusable, scalable, positive. And I don't think I've ever found any situations where I wish I were using something other than Red Hat Enterprise Linux, because the support is not there for anything else as much as it is for Red Hat Enterprise Linux.
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Pros
Microsoft
  • It is very easy to use, can be picked up by a novice in minutes.
  • It is aesthetically pleasing, and appears clean and modern.
  • Most programs that people use in their day to day run on windows natively.
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Red Hat
  • Virtualization, like the operating system level task. I see this product is very good and it blends very well with the middleware components like all the JBoss and other things. And other than that, either you install it or a virtual machine or physical servers, it works seamlessly anywhere. And if you want to go further, like Red Hat OpenShift or those things also work very nice with it.
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Cons
Microsoft
  • Forced updates occasionally have bad timing when ignored for too long
  • Microsoft Edge Web Browser is a bit clunky
  • The 3D desktop still needs some improvement
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Red Hat
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) needs better built-in developer-centric tooling.
  • The desktop experience is too barebones, which makes it less attractive for developer workstations.
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) needs to be integrated and available in GItHub Actions as a supported platform so code developed on GitHub can be tested and qualified there.
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Likelihood to Renew
Microsoft
No answers on this topic
Red Hat
We find RHEL to be a superior OS with stable operations and long life. It is also easier to use and fix then most other OS's.
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Usability
Microsoft
It's easy to use, very straightforward, and user-friendly. It has improved over the years, but you still need to be careful not to shut it down improperly because that may lead to corruption and Windows being unable to boot. There is plenty of software available that covers most needs.
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Red Hat
It's pretty intuitive and easy to use. Everything is adjustable; everything is customizable through a set of yaml's and everything can be undone and re-done. Doing items such a modification and restarting the single app doesnt take down the whole operating system like one of the more popular GUI based operating systems. We can work on live production systems without breaking into a sweat.
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Reliability and Availability
Microsoft
No answers on this topic
Red Hat
Product support and regular patches.
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Performance
Microsoft
No answers on this topic
Red Hat
As with any OS enhanced testing will need to be done prior to application integration.
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Support Rating
Microsoft
support remains spotty, researching online articles are a pain
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Red Hat
Red Hat support has really come a long way in the last 10 years, The general support is great, and the specialized product support teams are extremely knowledgeable about their specific products. Response time is good and you never need to escalate.
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Implementation Rating
Microsoft
MDT helped deploy OS to users machines via PXE boot.
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Red Hat
Don't be afraid of it, its easy to install and configure for the tasks needed.
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Alternatives Considered
Microsoft
Microsoft Windows and macOS are both useful operating systems. There are businesses who much prefer macOS and some that prefer Windows. Businesses that revolve around industries such as game design, art design, graphic design may opt to use macOS due to its optimization with programs that revolve around these topics. Other businesses that are more focused towards Data or text processing may opt to use Windows due to its familiarity across the world and ease of access.
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Red Hat
Windows Server can take a long time to patch, waiting for the patch to install, then waiting to apply, after the OS is rebooted it can also take additional time to apply the update. Often times Windows Server patches can fail, leading to long troubleshooting times and application outages. Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) Patching is extremely quick, I've honestly not seen a Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) update fail to install in many years of Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) patching.
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Scalability
Microsoft
No answers on this topic
Red Hat
Operational ease of use backed by support
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Return on Investment
Microsoft
  • Positively effects our easy of use of other programs
  • Take it for granted because it is so transparent in use
  • Definitely worth the price.
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Red Hat
  • It has done wonders for my career because I come from a Linux background, HPUX, Solaris and AIX. So made this transition to Linux 20 years ago. So it has really put my career at the forefront of what we do in the company. We're still primarily a window shop, but with Red Hat and what they're doing with the Kubernetes integration with OpenShift, with the East Satellite Management, the Ansible stuff, all based on Red Hat. It's taken off at my company and we're very happy about it.
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ScreenShots