I like the consistency with Red Hat Enterprise Linux and appreciate Linux as a stable operating system. RPM is a decent package manager which helps in teaching system administration tasks where students learn to add and manage packages. CentOS provides a good way for students to gain experience with Red Hat, helping them when they go into the industry. The initial setup of CentOS was easy for me due to experience with Red Hat, and we haven't encountered any issues with students installing CentOS from USB. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

The only problem I've noticed is that we sometimes have issues with NVIDIA drivers. They don't update properly with respect to the GPUs, forcing students to have to reboot the machine, which we try to teach them not to do. On Linux boxes, especially enterprise production servers, you try not to reboot at all. I'm not sure if it's really just CentOS or Red Hat in general. This would be one thing that could be improved, to have a better way of diagnosing why particular packages fail and why drivers, low level drivers, are not consistent. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

CentOS is very stable, secure, and reliable, making it ideal for servers and long-term use. It is easy to set up and integrates well with tools like Apache, MySQL, and Docker. Another major advantage is that it provides enterprise-level performance similar to Red Hat Enterprise Linux without any cost, which makes it very valuable for both learning and production environments. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

CentOS has a slower update cycle, so software packages can become outdated compared to other distributions. This can be limiting when you need the latest features or newer technologies. Additionally, the shift to CentOS Stream makes it less predictable for production environments, and official support is more limited compared to paid enterprise solutions. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

CentOS has become a test platform for RHEL. Since it exists upstream from RHEL it is a sneak preview of what is coming later from Red Hat. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

I dislike that CentOS moved upstream from RHEL. It was a good free alternative to RHEL when it was a clone of RHEL, but since moving upstream it is no longer appropriate for production use. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

I like the stability and reliability of CentOS, given that there are no system crashes or updates that compromise the server's operation. I appreciate the controlled and predictable updates, designed for enterprise environments and systems active 24/7, which means they don't come as a surprise and don't change the behavior of the operating system, focusing on security fixes. The initial installation process was simple thanks to a very intuitive wizard. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

The community is less oriented towards novices, CentOS is designed more for sysadmins and DevOps. It would be useful to better explain the features, commands, and administration tools. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

I appreciate CentOS's ability to eliminate exorbitant proprietary enterprise OS licensing costs without sacrificing RHEL-grade reliability. This cuts our enterprise OS licensing costs by over 80% while maintaining stability, security, and patch management for our mission-critical workloads. I love the rock-solid, predictable enterprise stability that CentOS offers, especially since it results in zero unplanned downtime for production workloads. CentOS being built from RHEL’s stable source code and following a long-term support model with minimal breaking changes is a big strength for us. Additionally, I enjoy the robust, natively integrated security tooling that aligns with global enterprise compliance. The initial setup of CentOS is straightforward and accessible, making it convenient to get started. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

I find the slow adoption of modern cloud-native and DevOps features in CentOS to be a downside. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

What I like best about CentOS is its stability and reliability. It’s very close to Red Hat Enterprise Linux, so you get enterprise-grade performance without the licensing cost. Once it’s set up, it runs for long periods with minimal issues, which makes it ideal for servers and production environments. It’s also well supported by the community, and most hosting providers and server tools work seamlessly with it. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

What I dislike about CentOS is that updates and newer software versions can be quite slow, which makes it less ideal if you need the latest features or packages. After the shift from CentOS Linux to CentOS Stream, there’s also some uncertainty for users who prefer a strictly stable, long-term production OS. Additionally, troubleshooting can sometimes be challenging for beginners due to limited official documentation compared to some more user-friendly distributions. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

1. Enterprise Grade Stability.

2. Binary Compatable with RHEL.

3. Security and Update.

4. Familiar Server Ecosystem like Redhat Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

1. Centos EOL and Centos Stream Instability Risk.

2. Limited formal Support.

3. GUI and Multimedia Limitations Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

I like CentOS because it's very easy to use and configure. It's user-friendly, which is great. Most of the applications are configured on CentOS, making it a reliable choice for application hosting. The initial setup was easy for us since we were familiar with the OS. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

CentOS could be improved by offering more stronger native user administration features, and simpler network configuration for enterprise environments. 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.

Stability and reliability are key strengths here. This platform offers a consistent, enterprise-grade environment that is ideal for servers. Its extended support cycles, robust security features, and compatibility with RHEL make it a strong option for production systems. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

As a hosting provider, my main concern with CentOS is the uncertainty that arose after the transition to CentOS Stream. Moving away from a stable, fixed-release model to a rolling-release system has made it more difficult to plan for the long term and maintain predictable server management. For production environments that demand consistent stability, this change has forced us to spend extra time evaluating other options and rethinking our infrastructure strategy. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.