--- title: Amazon Linux 2 Reviews meta_title: 'Amazon Linux 2 Reviews 2026: Details, Pricing, & Features | G2' meta_description: Filter 87 reviews by the users' company size, role or industry to find out how Amazon Linux 2 works for a business like yours. aggregate_rating: rating_value: 4.5 review_count: 87 scale: '5' date_modified: '2026-08-07' parent_category: name: IT Infrastructure url: https://www.g2.com/categories/it-infrastructure --- # Amazon Linux 2 Reviews **Vendor:** terracloudx **Category:** [Operating Systems](https://www.g2.com/categories/operating-system) **Average Rating:** 4.5/5.0 **Total Reviews:** 87 ## About Amazon Linux 2 Amazon Linux 2 is a Linux operating system developed by Amazon Web Services (AWS) to provide a secure, stable, and high-performance environment for cloud and enterprise applications. It is designed to integrate seamlessly with AWS services, offering a robust platform for developers and IT administrators. Amazon Linux 2 is available at no additional charge and includes long-term support with ongoing security and maintenance updates. Key Features and Functionality: - AWS Integration: Pre-installed packages and configurations facilitate tight integration with AWS services, simplifying the deployment and management of applications. - Long-Term Support: Provides five years of support, ensuring stability and predictability for enterprise applications. - Extras Repository: Offers access to the latest software packages through the Amazon Linux Extras repository, allowing users to install newer versions of popular software without compromising system stability. - On-Premises Use: Available as virtual machine images for VMware, Oracle VM VirtualBox, and Microsoft Hyper-V, enabling on-premises development and testing. - Systemd Support: Includes the systemd init system for efficient process management and service control. - Optimized Kernel and Toolchain: Features an LTS Kernel tuned for enhanced performance on Amazon EC2, along with updated compiler and build toolchain components. - Security Features: Implements default security measures such as limiting remote access, disabling remote root login, and reducing non-critical packages to minimize exposure to vulnerabilities. - Kernel Live Patching: Supports live patching of the Linux kernel, allowing critical and important security updates to be applied without rebooting or downtime. Primary Value and User Solutions: Amazon Linux 2 addresses the need for a secure, reliable, and high-performance operating system tailored for cloud environments. Its deep integration with AWS services streamlines application deployment and management, enhancing developer productivity. The long-term support and regular security updates provide peace of mind for enterprises, ensuring system stability and compliance. Additionally, the availability of virtual machine images for on-premises use allows for consistent development and testing environments, bridging the gap between local and cloud-based operations. ## Amazon Linux 2 Pros & Cons **What users like:** - Users value the **long-term support** of Amazon Linux 2, ensuring stability and confidence for production workloads. (3 reviews) - Users appreciate the **regular updates** of Amazon Linux 2, ensuring security and stability for production workloads. (3 reviews) - Users praise the **fast performance** of Amazon Linux 2, enjoying smooth and efficient operation on AWS cloud. (3 reviews) - Users appreciate the **user-friendly experience** of Amazon Linux 2, making setup and application management effortless and efficient. (3 reviews) - Users appreciate the **seamless integration with AWS services** of Amazon Linux 2 for efficient cloud-native application deployment. (2 reviews) - Users highlight the **easy setup** of Amazon Linux 2, making it accessible and efficient for seamless application use. (2 reviews) - Free/No Cost (2 reviews) - Lightweight Size (2 reviews) - Linux/Ubuntu OS (2 reviews) - Reliability (2 reviews) **What users dislike:** - Users experience **vendor lock-in** with Amazon Linux 2, facing limitations in package availability and ecosystem flexibility. (2 reviews) - Users face **limited apps and store options** with Amazon Linux 2, hindering software installation and flexibility. (1 reviews) - Users note that Amazon Linux 2 has **outdated technology** , often lacking newer packages and software versions compared to alternatives. (1 reviews) - Users find the **slow pace of updates** frustrating, as it limits access to the latest features and packages. (1 reviews) ## Amazon Linux 2 Reviews ### 1. Optimized Integration and Stability in AWS **Rating:** 4.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Lucas V. | IT Manager, Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** April 28, 2026 **What do you like best about Amazon Linux 2?** I use Amazon Linux 2 as the operating system on EC2 in AWS and I like that it is stable and lightweight. The stability gives us peace of mind because we don't have to restart servers or see strange errors. Since it is lightweight, small EC2 instances work well for simple apps without needing to pay more. Amazon Linux 2 is optimized for AWS, so it is easy to configure and there is no need to deal with licenses. Also, security updates arrive quickly and without breaking anything, and AWS repositories are very fast, which means I don't have to wait long to install or update something. Additionally, since it is made by AWS, it already has the agents pre-installed for use with CloudWatch or Systems Manager, which makes monitoring and management easier. **What do you dislike about Amazon Linux 2?** Sometimes the packages come older than in other distros, you have to resort to extra yum repos or compile manually. And it doesn't run outside of AWS, so if you want to replicate the environment locally, it's somewhat tedious. It also doesn't have as much community documentation as Ubuntu or RHEL. The versions of Python or Node sometimes come old and we have to install with nvm or pyenv. Also, Postgres comes in a version that is no longer used as much. That forces you to add extra steps to the setup, it's not serious but it's noise. **What problems is Amazon Linux 2 solving and how is that benefiting you?** Amazon Linux 2 saves me from dealing with licenses and configurations. It is optimized for AWS, stable, lightweight, and with fast updates. It includes pre-installed agents for AWS, which facilitates integrations with CloudWatch and Systems Manager. ### 2. Stable and AWS-Optimized, but Limited Beyond the Ecosystem **Rating:** 3.5/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Verified User in Computer Software | Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** May 06, 2026 **What do you like best about Amazon Linux 2?** What I like most about Amazon Linux 2 is its stability and seamless integration with Amazon Web Services. It’s reliable, lightweight, and well-optimized for cloud environments, making it great for production use. **What do you dislike about Amazon Linux 2?** One downside of Amazon Linux 2 is that it can feel a bit limited outside the Amazon Web Services ecosystem. Package versions are often older due to its stability focus, and the software repositories aren’t as extensive as some other distributions. **What problems is Amazon Linux 2 solving and how is that benefiting you?** Amazon Linux 2 solves the problem of running Linux on AWS in a stable, secure, and low-maintenance way. It gives: A consistent environment across servers (less “works on one, breaks on another”) Long-term security updates without major system changes Better integration with AWS services out of the box Less effort in setup, patching, and maintenance ### 3. Reliable OS for AWS Work **Rating:** 4.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Veniprasad Y. | software Developer, Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** May 05, 2026 **What do you like best about Amazon Linux 2?** What i like most about Amazon Linux 2 is that it is stable and works well for server and development use. It runs smoothly and integrates nicely with AWS service, which makes deployment easier. Overall, it feels reliable for daily work. **What do you dislike about Amazon Linux 2?** One thing I do not like is that it can be a bit difficult for beginners, especially if you are not used to Linux. Sometimes setting things up takes extra time, and documentation can feel limited for some use cases. **What problems is Amazon Linux 2 solving and how is that benefiting you?** Amazon Linux 2 helps solve the problem of having a stable and reliable system for running applications and servers. It makes deployment easier, especially with AWS, and reduces downtime. Because of this, I can manage my work more smoothly and focus on development instead of system issues. ### 4. Worked Well for Everyday Use **Rating:** 4.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Verified User in Computer Software | Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** June 01, 2026 **What do you like best about Amazon Linux 2?** I like that it is stable and easy to manage once everything is setup. it runs reliably for day-to-day work, updates are straightforward, and we didn't run into many issues during regular use. **What do you dislike about Amazon Linux 2?** The setup took a little time to get used to, especially in the beginning. Some packages and tools I wanted were not always available by default, so a few extra steps were needed **What problems is Amazon Linux 2 solving and how is that benefiting you?** It gave us a stable environment to run applications and services. We spent less time dealing with system issues and managing services became a bit easier for the team ### 5. Regular Vulnerability Updates and Security Patches You Can Rely On **Rating:** 4.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Kaushal Y. | Platform engineer, Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** April 17, 2026 **What do you like best about Amazon Linux 2?** It’s one of the best because it provides regular updates on vulnerabilities and security patches. **What do you dislike about Amazon Linux 2?** limited support on third pary application **What problems is Amazon Linux 2 solving and how is that benefiting you?** It provides better security, and behind the scenes it uses a Linux kernel version. ### 6. Ready-to-Use Distribution That Shines in Cloud Deployments **Rating:** 4.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Verified User in Individual & Family Services | Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** February 09, 2026 **What do you like best about Amazon Linux 2?** A ready-to-use distribution that works well for cloud deployments. **What do you dislike about Amazon Linux 2?** Some utility features do not come pre-installed. **What problems is Amazon Linux 2 solving and how is that benefiting you?** Deploy and CI/CD pipeline. ### 7. Amazon Linux Cloud OS **Rating:** 3.5/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Lokesh S. | Senior Database Administrator, Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** April 22, 2022 **What do you like best about Amazon Linux 2?** I like the easy and minimal time to implement this on new infrastructure. **What do you dislike about Amazon Linux 2?** Cronscheduler does not seem good with the last version. **What problems is Amazon Linux 2 solving and how is that benefiting you?** I just use this as OS to host my database which is working well. ### 8. Govern servers in the AWS environment **Rating:** 4.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Nuri K. | Senior Sales Associate, Health, Wellness and Fitness, Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** July 18, 2024 **What do you like best about Amazon Linux 2?** The one I could use for running instances on EC2 is a bang for the buck that amazed me and loved using them in cost-sensitive projects. It is also quite easy to configure and other AWS services to work closely with it, because this service is an AWS member. **What do you dislike about Amazon Linux 2?** The package repositories have less number and depth and often take time to get the latest classes for software. But for projects where state-of-art tools are needed it might not be a recommendable solution. **What problems is Amazon Linux 2 solving and how is that benefiting you?** As simple Internet hosts or for internal applications on EC2 Amazon Linux 2 is one of the best choices. It is free, very simple to implement and install and is fully compatible with the AWS ecosystem. ### 9. Super easy solution for AWS usage **Rating:** 4.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Verified User in Entertainment | Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** August 13, 2024 **What do you like best about Amazon Linux 2?** It's really zero effort to boot up an instance using Amazon Linux 2. Just create a new EC2 image, choose the AMI, and forget about the OS. Amazon will be creating updated images when necessary, and all the integrations with AWS are already done **What do you dislike about Amazon Linux 2?** Not really much to complain about. It's what it is, a basic Linux image configured to integrate easily with AWS services. **What problems is Amazon Linux 2 solving and how is that benefiting you?** Componentes running on EC2, our default OS ad there's no big reason to pick another one ### 10. Good to use **Rating:** 3.5/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Ofentse M. | Mr, Information Technology and Services, Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** August 28, 2023 **What do you like best about Amazon Linux 2?** Performance and Optimization: Amazon Linux 2 is optimized for the Amazon Web Services (AWS) environment. It's designed to provide high performance on AWS infrastructure, enabling efficient use of resources and improved overall system performance. Long-Term Support (LTS): Amazon Linux 2 offers a long-term support lifecycle, which means it receives regular updates, security patches, and bug fixes for an extended period. This stability is particularly useful for production environments where reliability is crucial. Security: Amazon Linux 2 includes enhanced security features like the integration of Security-Enhanced Linux (SELinux) and a minimal attack surface. It's built with security in mind and provides tools to help you secure your applications and data. Container Support: Amazon Linux 2 comes with Docker and the Amazon ECS and EKS optimized Amazon Linux 2 AMIs, making it a suitable choice for containerized applications and microservices architectures. Compatibility with CentOS: Amazon Linux 2 includes compatibility packages that allow you to run applications built for CentOS on Amazon Linux 2 without major modifications. This was a deliberate move by AWS to help CentOS users transition smoothly. Systemd: Amazon Linux 2 uses the systemd init system, which offers benefits like improved boot times, efficient process management, and better control over system services. Open Source and Customizability: Amazon Linux 2 is open source, which means you have the freedom to inspect, modify, and customize the distribution to meet your specific requirements. This can be particularly valuable for businesses with unique needs. AWS Integration: The integration between Amazon Linux 2 and AWS services is seamless. It includes tools like AWS CLI and AWS Systems Manager Agent for easy management of AWS resources and instances. Wide Software Repository: Amazon Linux 2 provides a wide range of packages available through the official repository, making it easier to install and manage various software applications and libraries. Cost-Effectiveness: Since Amazon Linux 2 is optimized for AWS, it can help minimize resource usage and costs associated with running applications on AWS infrastructure. **What do you dislike about Amazon Linux 2?** Learning Curve: If you're accustomed to using other Linux distributions, transitioning to Amazon Linux 2 might involve a learning curve due to differences in package management, configuration, and system components. Limited Desktop Environment: Amazon Linux 2 is primarily designed for server and cloud environments, so it doesn't come with a pre-configured desktop environment. If you need a desktop Linux distribution, you might need to look elsewhere **What problems is Amazon Linux 2 solving and how is that benefiting you?** Security: Amazon Linux 2 includes enhanced security features like the integration of Security-Enhanced Linux (SELinux) and a minimal attack surface. It's built with security in mind and provides tools to help you secure your applications and data. Container Support: Amazon Linux 2 comes with Docker and the Amazon ECS and EKS optimized Amazon Linux 2 AMIs, making it a suitable choice for containerized applications and microservices architectures ### 11. linux 2 OS systems **Rating:** 3.5/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Monte J. | Principal Supply Chain Architect, Enterprise (> 1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** November 29, 2023 **What do you like best about Amazon Linux 2?** Linux is great common open system OS and secure and priced less than other OS infrastructure **What do you dislike about Amazon Linux 2?** Linux admin experience is different from a windows admin -- need to have appropriate skillset **What problems is Amazon Linux 2 solving and how is that benefiting you?** Leverage AWS Linux and common OS for standard AMI template for all AWS development and software ### 12. Amazon Linux 2 from AWS cloud **Rating:** 4.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Verified User in Information Technology and Services | Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** December 23, 2022 **What do you like best about Amazon Linux 2?** Amazon Linux 2 is the Linux platform provided by AWS cloud and it is secure and stable for devops task and execution of scripts. It is fast and stable in comparison to others. **What do you dislike about Amazon Linux 2?** It's process sometimes get stuck and daemon doesn't respond well and finally we have to restart the systems to get this working. This hinders the ongoing active sessions to applications. **What problems is Amazon Linux 2 solving and how is that benefiting you?** We can use Amazon Linux 2 on windows platform as a windows subsystem for Linux. Amazon Linux 2 is used for execution of scripts and quite stable and aws provides it at no addition cost. ### 13. A Great tool for server management! **Rating:** 4.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** SM Iftekhar S. | Management Trainee, Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** November 22, 2021 **What do you like best about Amazon Linux 2?** Amazon EC2 is an AWS-managed computing service. Ec2 offers instances for Windows, Linux, and Mac. I appreciate that Ec2 provides several price choices for different purposes, including spot instances and on-demand instances. Our app runs well on EC2. AWS EC2 offers a 12-month free trial. I like its stability, scalability, and security. As the finest cloud service provider, AWS EC2 has numerous cloud servers with various hardware and software. Its prices are also reasonable. **What do you dislike about Amazon Linux 2?** Overall, Ec2 has got no major issues. Although the connection might fail with invalid or unknown errors, making it difficult to reuse the same instance instead of creating a new one. Also, once lost, the login key pair is unrecoverable. Everything else works fine. AWS EC2 offers free essential assistance. However, it is slow to reply. Intuitive automation and networking setup Every kind of instance has service restrictions set by the AWS service team. **What problems is Amazon Linux 2 solving and how is that benefiting you?** We fix UI bugs. For newcomers, it is easy to learn using documentation and videos. Most of our cloud server needs are met by AWS EC2. It is quick, efficient, and dependable, with >99.99 percent uptime. ### 14. Best Enterprise OS **Rating:** 4.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Verified User in Computer & Network Security | Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** December 08, 2021 **What do you like best about Amazon Linux 2?** It is easy to use with AWS EC2 as some tools are available only on the Amazon Linux 2 makes it easier to use it. The long-term support and added security hardening are very appreciated features. AWS support also supports the OS, so it's easier to troubleshoot and fix things. **What do you dislike about Amazon Linux 2?** The update servers do not support IPv6, which caused some issues in our deployments. It does not have an ISO release for local workstations, which makes it hard to test locally. **What problems is Amazon Linux 2 solving and how is that benefiting you?** We are hosting our production and developments workloads which use Java and Nextjs. We also use it for our docker nodoes and our database nodes. ### 15. One of the best linux OS **Rating:** 4.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Tejas G. | Senior Software Engineer, Enterprise (> 1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** December 14, 2021 **What do you like best about Amazon Linux 2?** One of the best Linux OS, Seemless Integration with EC2, helps quickly scale up and down computing resources to meet our project needs. **What do you dislike about Amazon Linux 2?** As it is standalone distro only available in EC2 environment **Recommendations to others considering Amazon Linux 2:** Go for it if you are not looking for standalone distribution **What problems is Amazon Linux 2 solving and how is that benefiting you?** The main benefits are with integration to EC2, for easy scaling and seem more stable and easy to use. ### 16. Loads of progress scope for the most loved DeepLens **Rating:** 4.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** shahidul i. | Senior Executive, Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** March 21, 2022 **What do you like best about Amazon Linux 2?** Object noticing is an awesome and novel component of DeepLens **What do you dislike about Amazon Linux 2?** The edge slack is an exceptionally disheartening component and it needs an overhaul **What problems is Amazon Linux 2 solving and how is that benefiting you?** We cultivate top-tier ordinary language dealing with models using significant learning AMI and AWS cloud makes it possible to encourage cutting-edge contraptions ### 17. Solid, reliable Linux distribution **Rating:** 4.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Verified User in Health, Wellness and Fitness | Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** February 15, 2022 **What do you like best about Amazon Linux 2?** It's free to use, is Red Hat compatible, and has timely security updates. **What do you dislike about Amazon Linux 2?** Some enterprise software distributions still do not offer official support for it, and require using RHEL instead. **What problems is Amazon Linux 2 solving and how is that benefiting you?** We use this software platform for many of our business software applications. It's stable, and free of licensing fees. ### 18. Amazon Linux 2 **Rating:** 4.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Ketan S. | Software Engineer, Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** December 16, 2021 **What do you like best about Amazon Linux 2?** It's support for Amazon EC2 which is the best thing in Amazon Linux 2 **What do you dislike about Amazon Linux 2?** It can be much faster and performance can be improved further **What problems is Amazon Linux 2 solving and how is that benefiting you?** Web applications ### 19. Does what is expected **Rating:** 3.5/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Verified User in Computer Software | Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** November 09, 2021 **What do you like best about Amazon Linux 2?** Standandard linux distribution, good for servers does what needs to do **What do you dislike about Amazon Linux 2?** I didn't find so far any issues while using it. **What problems is Amazon Linux 2 solving and how is that benefiting you?** We use it for some of our servers. It works as it should be, quite stable good updates and easy to install stuff. ### 20. Integrates with majority of the softwares **Rating:** 3.5/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Verified User in Information Technology and Services | Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** December 05, 2021 **What do you like best about Amazon Linux 2?** 1. AwS integration is very interesting 2. Secure configuration is simply awesome **What do you dislike about Amazon Linux 2?** 1. Pricing could be reduced a bit. 2. Could be more competitive like Unbantu. **Recommendations to others considering Amazon Linux 2:** 1. AwS support is very good and it's very light when we install it. **What problems is Amazon Linux 2 solving and how is that benefiting you?** 1. Integration services to ingest data for modern data platforms. ### 21. Amazon Linux2 **Rating:** 4.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Verified User in Information Technology and Services | Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** November 05, 2021 **What do you like best about Amazon Linux 2?** Small footprint, frequent updates and patches **What do you dislike about Amazon Linux 2?** Some missing fonts and libraries for Phantom PDF for example **What problems is Amazon Linux 2 solving and how is that benefiting you?** Part of our CI docker builds ## Amazon Linux 2 Discussions - [What are the differences between Amazon Linux 2 and Amazon Linux 2022](https://www.g2.com/discussions/what-are-the-differences-between-amazon-linux-2-and-amazon-linux-2022) - 1 upvote - [sdasd](https://www.g2.com/discussions/sdasd) - [View Amazon Linux 2 pricing details and edition comparison](https://www.g2.com/products/amazon-linux-2/reviews?filters%5Bnps_score%5D%5B%5D=4§ion=pricing&secure%5Bexpires_at%5D=2026-08-08+11%3A57%3A09+-0500&secure%5Bsession_id%5D=c8d124db-fe4a-47aa-91f5-bcecd46fec1e&secure%5Btoken%5D=077b94368328582f0b73305d2a23c657dc2a35c941afcb9c65fbeed5d5ce1b26&format=llm_user) ## Amazon Linux 2 Integrations - [Amazon EC2](https://www.g2.com/products/amazon-ec2/reviews) - [Amazon Elastic Container Service (Amazon ECS)](https://www.g2.com/products/amazon-elastic-container-service-amazon-ecs/reviews) - [Amazon S3 Glacier](https://www.g2.com/products/amazon-s3-glacier/reviews) - [Amazon Virtual Private Cloud (Amazon VPC)](https://www.g2.com/products/amazon-virtual-private-cloud-amazon-vpc/reviews) - [Apache HTTP Server Project](https://www.g2.com/products/apache-http-server-project/reviews) - [AWS Cloud Development Kit (AWS CDK)](https://www.g2.com/products/aws-cloud-development-kit-aws-cdk/reviews) - [AWS CloudFormation](https://www.g2.com/products/aws-aws-cloudformation/reviews) - [AWS Lambda](https://www.g2.com/products/aws-lambda/reviews) - [Docker](https://www.g2.com/products/docker-inc-docker/reviews) - [F5 NGINX](https://www.g2.com/products/f5-nginx/reviews) - [F5 NGINX Management Suite](https://www.g2.com/products/f5-nginx-management-suite/reviews) - [NodeJS Web Stack](https://www.g2.com/products/nodejs-web-stack/reviews) - [PostgreSQL](https://www.g2.com/products/postgresql/reviews) - [Prometheus](https://www.g2.com/products/prometheus/reviews) ## Amazon Linux 2 Features **Memory Management - Operating System** - RAM management - App Management - File Management **Device Management - Operating System** - I/O management **Backup and Recovery - Operating System** - Data backup **Error Detection - Operating System** - System operations monitoring **Additional Functionality** - Generative AI - Data Security - User Interface - Resource Allocation - System Updates - For Developers - AI Copilot - Desktop Interface ## Top Amazon Linux 2 Alternatives - [Red Hat Enterprise Linux](https://www.g2.com/products/red-hat-enterprise-linux/reviews) - 4.6/5.0 (933 reviews) - [Oracle Linux](https://www.g2.com/products/oracle-linux/reviews) - 4.4/5.0 (330 reviews) - [Debian](https://www.g2.com/products/debian/reviews) - 4.6/5.0 (221 reviews)