Last updated on Jul 28, 2026
Information about CentOS pricing, plan availability, and costs is not listed on G2 by the vendor. Buyers typically need to engage directly with the vendor to understand pricing options. Final cost negotiations to purchase CentOS must be conducted with the seller.
*Pricing information is supplied by the software provider or retrieved from publicly accessible pricing materials. Final cost negotiations must be conducted with the seller.
Averages based on real user reviews.
No. According to G2 data, CentOS does not offer a free plan or free trial. Users need to purchase a paid plan to access the product. Visit the seller's official pricing page for current pricing details and plan options.
According to G2 reviewers, CentOS's pricing — free — makes it best suited for organizations with in-house Linux expertise that want RHEL compatibility without subscription costs. Mid-market companies in IT services, financial services, education, and telecommunications appear frequently among G2 reviewers, using CentOS for web servers, databases, ERP systems, and CI/CD pipelines. Enterprise reviewers in higher education and IT use CentOS to train staff on RHEL-equivalent environments. Small businesses running LAMP stacks and web applications also feature prominently. G2 data on CentOS's pricing suggests it is least suited for organizations requiring vendor-backed support SLAs or teams without dedicated Linux administration capability.
CentOS is entirely free with no paid tiers — there is no premium version of CentOS itself. G2 reviewers consistently confirm zero licensing cost as CentOS's core value proposition. The meaningful comparison G2 users draw is between CentOS and Red Hat Enterprise Linux: RHEL adds official commercial support, certified administrators, and vendor-backed SLAs, while CentOS relies solely on community support. Several G2 reviewers note that organizations needing formal support contracts or guaranteed security patching SLAs must either pay for RHEL or engage third-party support vendors. Custom enterprise quotes are available for organizations requiring structured support arrangements around CentOS deployments.
CentOS delivers exceptional value because its pricing is zero — it is entirely free and open source. G2 reviewers consistently highlight this as a defining strength, with multiple users reporting over 80% reduction in enterprise OS licensing costs compared to Red Hat Enterprise Linux. Reviewers across small businesses, mid-market, and enterprise segments confirm that CentOS provides RHEL-grade stability, SELinux security, and RPM package management at no cost. The primary trade-off G2 users cite is the absence of official commercial support and the EOL/CentOS Stream transition uncertainty, but the overwhelming consensus is that for budget-conscious organizations with capable Linux teams, CentOS's pricing represents unmatched value.
The following is a quick overview of editions offered by other Operating Systems
| Product | Price | Features |
|---|---|---|
 Oracle Linux Free Download |
Free Unlimited |
Free Download Link: http://yum.oracle.com/oracle-linux-isos.html
|
Various alternatives pricing & plans
Stability is solid, and updates are thoroughly vetted, so you don’t wake up to broken package dependencies. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.
There’s a noticeable gap in tutorials compared with the massive Ubuntu ecosystem. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.
Stability is undoubtedly the most striking feature of CentOS. In a production environment, several factors are important, but the main ones are stability and security. CentOS is an operating system that brings both, allowing us to focus on our business without needing a large team to take care of stability. The initial installation and configuration process was very smooth and simple, with excellent documentation and community support as well. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.
The biggest problem with CentOS is that it was discontinued in 2024, replaced by CentOS Stream, which caused a disruption in the stability and philosophy of the original project. I would also like critical package updates to be maintained for a few more years. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.
