Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) vs. Ubuntu

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL)
Score 9.2 out of 10
N/A
Red Hat Enterprise Linux is a Linux distribution mainly used in commercial data centers.N/A
Ubuntu
Score 8.7 out of 10
N/A
Ubuntu Linux is a Linux-based operating system for personal computers, tablets and smartphones. There is also a Server version which is used on physical or virtual servers in the data center.N/A
Pricing
Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL)Ubuntu
Editions & Modules
No answers on this topic
No answers on this topic
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL)Ubuntu
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
Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL)Ubuntu
Considered Both Products
Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL)
Chose Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL)
stable from a CMD perspective, but, in my opinion, Ubuntu offers better GUI alternatives
Chose Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL)
RHEL Enterprise support is better than Ubuntu.
Chose Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL)
Ubuntu ssa. Most other Linux platforms I've used. It's better in some areas. It's not as good in the sum.
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)
due to support options, long term experience and as certified os for sap
Chose Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL)
RHEL because of more wide adoption, stability, general knowledge on the platform and less nonsensical approach to various platform functionalities
Chose Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL)
There isn't a big difference but they do not have the same level of support. Linux overall has come a long way
Chose Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL)
I prefer to use Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) as my host os while using something like debian as a container image
Chose Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL)
supporting case, patching and updates solution
Chose Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL)
Easier to use and more stable, industry wide support.
Chose Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL)
It is more reliable than CentOS Stream and others. Also Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) has a convinent support.
Ubuntu
Chose Ubuntu
RHEL was licensed product which was denied by lot of our clients as it was increasing the infra cost. With fedora and debian we had lot of issues related to other supporting tools that we were supposed to use for application deployment. Fedora is also consuming lot of memory …
Chose Ubuntu
So the main reason behind selecting Ubuntu among others was the easy implementation of services in it. Apart from that, as compared to other Linux its GUI is far more better to use and learn. The support of Debian packages and other software implementations are also great in it.
Chose Ubuntu
A viable, free, widely used alternative to any modern operating systems on the market. Ubuntu [Linux] is constantly improved, has an enormous user base, a very good community. It's one of the most advanced Linux distributions of today, and can be highly customized to the point …
Chose Ubuntu
We chose Ubuntu largely because of the large user base and because desktop setups can be easy to learn for people used to Windows computers and, of course, other distributions of Linux. Not a single one of the people we work with has had formal education or training with …
Chose Ubuntu
We mainly chose Ubuntu Linux for its broad compatibility and package availability. Where we have a choice we prefer to deploy software on a Linux platform rather than Windows. Ubuntu is supported by our backup software and we find that updates typically complete without errors. …
Chose Ubuntu
We chose Ubuntu because it has lower licensing fees and better free support. We like Debian-based distributions in general, and Ubuntu in particular. Other Debian-based distros we use include Kali and Mint. We've also done trials on Fedora on the desktop, but found that Ubuntu …
Chose Ubuntu
While the major Linux releases are all fairly mature and stable, I find Ubuntu to be the release I turn to the most. It has a consistent look and feel that spans across the various versions of Ubuntu, which I really like. It is easy to install and configure, and updates are easy.
Chose Ubuntu
Historically Ubuntu has been one step forward from Red Hat and CentOS distributions about software versions and tools usability. In the last years they've caught up and it's very comparable, but at this point, my decision was already made and I will continue choosing Ubuntu, …
Chose Ubuntu
For the size and scale of the applications and integrations being developed, it just didn't make sense to go into our existing Red Hat infrastructure. Functionally, you're not really missing anything aside from an existing support contract (which you can get through Canonical, …
Chose Ubuntu
All operating systems are very similar, but for the purposes of web services development, testing environments and facilities for administration within a graphics environment, Ubuntu offers us greater ease to work.
Chose Ubuntu
Ubuntu is geared for one real market: Users who are searching for a way to experience Linux, without having to "experience" Linux (i.e. the various package formats, Kernel compiling, etc).
Chose Ubuntu
We also have a server than runs RHEL. I do not have a strong preference of one over the other. There is no GUI in our version of RHEL, and sometimes it is nice to look at files and folders, download packages, and do other tasks via a GUI rather than the command line. However, I …
Chose Ubuntu
Ubuntu server products offer more customization and are easier to replicate and use in a virtualized environment than Microsoft Windows Server 2012 or 2016, and are more cost-effective than both Red Hat Enterprise Linux and Microsoft Windows Server. The ease of setting up …
Chose Ubuntu
The Ubuntu software repository is the best, bar none, except maybe Debian. However, Ubuntu has a much wider user audience.
Features
Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL)Ubuntu
Operating System
Comparison of Operating System features of Product A and Product B
Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL)
8.8
1 Ratings
1% above category average
Ubuntu
-
Ratings
File Management8.01 Ratings00 Ratings
Software Application Management9.01 Ratings00 Ratings
System Update Frequency8.01 Ratings00 Ratings
Operating System Security10.01 Ratings00 Ratings
Best Alternatives
Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL)Ubuntu
Small Businesses
Ubuntu
Ubuntu
Score 8.7 out of 10
Android
Android
Score 8.8 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
Ubuntu
Ubuntu
Score 8.7 out of 10
Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL)
Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL)
Score 9.2 out of 10
Enterprises
Ubuntu
Ubuntu
Score 8.7 out of 10
Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL)
Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL)
Score 9.2 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL)Ubuntu
Likelihood to Recommend
9.2
(187 ratings)
9.2
(47 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
9.1
(3 ratings)
6.0
(2 ratings)
Usability
8.7
(79 ratings)
9.5
(2 ratings)
Availability
8.2
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Performance
7.3
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Support Rating
8.2
(9 ratings)
8.6
(6 ratings)
Implementation Rating
9.1
(2 ratings)
9.0
(1 ratings)
Configurability
10.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Product Scalability
7.3
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL)Ubuntu
Likelihood to Recommend
Red Hat
Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) is well suited for cloud environments, fast deployments and to run non-intensive apps/tools (with low memory and low cpu consumption).Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) might not be suited for really huge databases and intensive CPU processing.
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Canonical Ltd
If somebody whishes to be an IT professional, learning the basics of Linux is amust. Ubuntu [Linux] is one of the most beginner-friendly, widely supported, easy-to-use-relative-to-the-fact-that-its-still-linux OS on the market. As somebody who learned the basics of UNIX/LINUX on Ubuntu, it was a very good experience. It is customizable, has a lot of improvements over the years, and live up to be a viable alternative to any modern OS in 2021 as well.
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Pros
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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Canonical Ltd
  • PACKAGE MANAGEMENT. You can update everything - OS installed software, you name it with either a few clicks in a GUI or a single command.
  • No bloatware.
  • No need for antivirus software.
  • Certainly the price is right.
  • My 83 year old grandmother has been using it - and because of this I rarely need to provide tech support. But I still visit my grandmother.
  • You can choose from a variety of user interfaces or rock it in the terminal.
  • Generally speaking, Ubuntu is as polished an OS as any you might pay for.
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Cons
Red Hat
  • In the LEAP process. The upgrading process, which I'm hearing, like I said it before, prior that I was on rail seven, eight, and nine. Trying to get all of that to rail nine and stay current. The LEAP process from seven to eight is a little bit less than desired. I've talked to some people that from once you get on eight from eight to nine to nine to 10 is a breeze. So I'm looking forward to that.
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Canonical Ltd
  • The repository system could be a little better, as some of the software needed is not easily available there.
  • Ubuntu sometimes does not play nicely or easily with some modern firmwares.
  • Some people report slow responses with newer versions of Ubuntu, although we have not experienced any.
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Likelihood to Renew
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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Canonical Ltd
While it works, we're finding that SNAP is getting more and more annoying, so we're probably going to migrate to Debian.
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Usability
Red Hat
The Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) distro is the simplest enterprise version of Red Hat that is enterprise supported and when you deploy as many VMs as we do, it is vital to have that enterprise support. On top of the enterprise support, having access to a commercially supported backbone for updates and upgrades is a huge plus.
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Canonical Ltd
I gave it 10 out of 10 because it allows me to do the work I need on a server, such as running a website and database, and making developments. In addition, thanks to its easy and useful interface during installation, it can be easily installed. In addition, thanks to its easily accessible documents, when a problem occurs, it can be solved easily and quickly.
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Reliability and Availability
Red Hat
Product support and regular patches.
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Canonical Ltd
No answers on this topic
Performance
Red Hat
As with any OS enhanced testing will need to be done prior to application integration.
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Canonical Ltd
No answers on this topic
Support Rating
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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Canonical Ltd
We did not use the managed commercial support, but instead relied on community forums and official documentation. Ubuntu is very well documented across both instructional documentation from the developers themselves as well as informal support forums [ServerFault, YCombinator, Reddit]. It's easy enough to find an answer to any question you may have
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Implementation Rating
Red Hat
Don't be afraid of it, its easy to install and configure for the tasks needed.
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Canonical Ltd
It was all pretty much automatic for our use cases. It integrates nicely with Laravel Forge, which is our primary use case.
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Alternatives Considered
Red Hat
So we in our company have used Ubuntu as well. Sometimes we have to use that because a certain application installer requires that we use that operating system, but we really don't prefer it just because it doesn't come with the same Add-on features that make Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) really great, like Red Hat Insights or Red Hat satellite, things like that. They come package with it. So that would be the main one. I've also used things like FreeBSD, but I think that's just too old at this point to care.
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Canonical Ltd
Windows 10: Expensive, with more security problems, more difficult to keep updated and less variety of free / open source applications. Its use encourages bad information security practices. OpenSuse Linux: A different distribution at source (Suse Linux), use of rpm packages (with fewer repositories and incompatible with Ubuntu Linux dpkg packages), and whose main objective is to be a "testing ground" for its paid version / professional, SUSE enterprise Linux.
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Scalability
Red Hat
Operational ease of use backed by support
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Canonical Ltd
No answers on this topic
Return on Investment
Red Hat
  • RHEL provides a good base OS and additional tool sets for various deployments.
  • We are able to use Satellite to manage hundreds of OS's behind our corporate firewall. No other OS provides the level that RHEL does.
  • It is a known good quantity. Their support for the OS is amazing.
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Canonical Ltd
  • Systems administration with Ubuntu is easy with little deep knowledge about it. Docs and community publications are great resources for any task you need to perform on any Ubuntu server and the organization can save several salaries of specialized sys admins in favor of more active roles.
  • Having been an Ubuntu user for many years personally, setting up new Ubuntu servers on my organization came with zero cost for me. I just deployed one instance from my hosting/cloud provider and started working right after it was running, no need to ask support or hire new staff for these tasks.
  • Replacing paid options with Ubuntu have also saved thousands of dollars on Windows Server licenses. I've migrated Windows/SQL Server based systems to Ubuntu/MySQL/PostgreSQL several times during my career and saved about USD 5000/year in licenses to many of them.
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ScreenShots