--- title: Amazon Linux 2 Reviews meta_title: 'Amazon Linux 2 Reviews 2026: Details, Pricing, & Features | G2' meta_description: Filter 64 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: 64 scale: '5' date_modified: '2026-07-22' parent_category: name: IT Infrastructure url: https://www.g2.com/categories/it-infrastructure --- # Amazon Linux 2 Reviews **Vendor:** TJ CLOUD NEXUS 365 TECHNOLOGY CO.,LTD. **Category:** [Operating Systems](https://www.g2.com/categories/operating-system) **Average Rating:** 4.5/5.0 **Total Reviews:** 64 ## 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 appreciate the **seamless integration with AWS services** , enhancing efficiency and stability for cloud workloads. (5 reviews) - Users value the **long-term support** of Amazon Linux 2, ensuring stability without frequent updates in production environments. (4 reviews) - Users appreciate the **stability** of Amazon Linux 2, benefiting from its long-term support and consistent performance in production. (4 reviews) - Users appreciate the **regular updates** from Amazon Linux 2, ensuring security and stability for their AWS environments. (3 reviews) - Users value the **lightweight and secure environment** of Amazon Linux 2, optimized for seamless AWS integration. (3 reviews) - Users value the **fast and optimized performance** of Amazon Linux 2, especially in AWS environments. (3 reviews) - Users value the **compatibility** of Amazon Linux 2, benefiting from its updated packages and resilience. (2 reviews) - Users appreciate the **lightweight size** of Amazon Linux 2, ensuring fast performance and easy integration with AWS services. (2 reviews) - Command Line Interface (CLI) (1 reviews) - Hardware Compatibility (1 reviews) **What users dislike:** - Users note the **limited apps/store** , as default repositories often lag, requiring manual installations for newer tools. (4 reviews) - Users note the **limited software support** and package availability, making certain features harder to access on Amazon Linux 2. (3 reviews) - Users experience **limited support** for third-party software and find fewer applicable resources for troubleshooting. (2 reviews) - Users find the **limited customization** of Amazon Linux 2 restrictive, necessitating manual installations for certain tools. (1 reviews) - Users face **OS incompatibility** issues with swap partition mounting, leading to boot problems due to lack of documentation. (1 reviews) - Outdated Technology (1 reviews) - Time-Consuming (1 reviews) ## Amazon Linux 2 Reviews ### 1. Great for EC2 and AWS Integrations, but Packages Can Feel Outdated **Rating:** 3.5/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Ritik S. | Student, Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** April 29, 2026 **What do you like best about Amazon Linux 2?** Amazon Linux is lightweight, secure, and optimized for AWS out of the box. No more tweaking generic distros—everything just works. Updates come fast, and the integration with Systems Manager and CloudWatch is seamless. We cut our deployment times in half. If you run on EC2, this is the only choice. **What do you dislike about Amazon Linux 2?** Amazon Linux prioritizes stability over currency, which means you’ll spend hours fighting ancient versions of Python, Node, or Git. Even with amazon-linux-extras, you often get minor releases that are years behind. For modern development, I end up installing everything from source or switching to Fedora / Ubuntu. **What problems is Amazon Linux 2 solving and how is that benefiting you?** Outdated packages, AWS lock‑in, poor local dev support, sparse community docs, and painful major version upgrades (e.g., AL2 to AL2023 breaks workflows). Great inside AWS, but a headache elsewhere. ### 2. A reliable AWS-optimized OS for our EC2 workloads **Rating:** 3.5/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Verified User in Telecommunications | Enterprise (> 1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** May 12, 2026 **What do you like best about Amazon Linux 2?** Amazon Linux 2 has been rock solid for our EC2 workloads. The tight integration with AWS services like CloudWatch agent, SSM, and IAM roles makes provisioning servers really painless. Long-term support and regular security patches give us peace of mind, and the kernel live patching feature has saved us multiple maintenance windows. Performance on Graviton instances is excellent and yum/extras repos make installing the right versions of Python, Docker, and nginx straightforward. **What do you dislike about Amazon Linux 2?** The biggest downside is the end-of-life timeline since AL2 standard support ends in June 2025, which pushed us into a migration planning effort to AL2023. Package versions in the default repos can also feel dated compared to upstream distros, so we sometimes need amazon-linux-extras or third-party repos to get newer software. Documentation around extras topics could be clearer, and using it outside of AWS feels awkward. **What problems is Amazon Linux 2 solving and how is that benefiting you?** Amazon Linux 2 gives us a consistent, AWS-optimized base image for running our microservices, web servers, and batch jobs on EC2 and ECS. It reduces operational overhead because patches and AMIs are managed by AWS, and it gives our team confidence that the OS is tuned for the underlying hypervisor. We use it to host containerized Node and Python applications behind ALBs, and we have seen lower boot times and better observability via the bundled SSM and CloudWatch agents. ### 3. Amazon Linux 2: optimized performance and great integration with AWS EC2 **Rating:** 4.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Verified User in Health, Wellness and Fitness | Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** February 03, 2026 **What do you like best about Amazon Linux 2?** Amazon Linux 2 is excellent for applications on AWS EC2. Optimized performance, fast security updates, and full compatibility with the AWS ecosystem. Low overhead, based on CentOS but with better integration. Extended support until 2025 is very valuable. Ideal for containers, microservices, and automation in cloud infrastructure. **What do you dislike about Amazon Linux 2?** Limited documentation compared to Ubuntu/CentOS. Some packages are not in official repositories. Smaller community, less third-party support. Rapid changes between versions can break dependencies. Does not have 10-year support like Enterprise Linux. **What problems is Amazon Linux 2 solving and how is that benefiting you?** Solve the compatibility and performance issue in AWS infrastructure. It benefits me by providing an OS optimized for EC2 with quick security updates without management complications. Ideal for containerized applications, microservices, and automation with IaC. It reduces infrastructure costs, improves performance compared to traditional instances, and provides extended support until 2025 for critical projects. ### 4. Stable, Secure, and AWS-Optimized: Amazon Linux 2 at Its Best **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Chetan P. | System engineer, Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** April 08, 2026 **What do you like best about Amazon Linux 2?** I like its stability and long-term support the most. Amazon Linux 2 is optimized for AWS, has regular security updates, and integrates well with cloud services, making deployments reliable and efficient. **What do you dislike about Amazon Linux 2?** Its main drawbacks are limited software availability compared to other Linux distributions and slower updates for some packages. This can make it less flexible for certain development needs outside the AWS ecosystem. **What problems is Amazon Linux 2 solving and how is that benefiting you?** Amazon Linux 2 solves compatibility and security challenges for cloud workloads. It provides a stable, optimized environment for AWS services, with long-term support and regular security updates. This reduces maintenance effort, improves performance, and ensures reliable deployments in the cloud. ### 5. Lightweight and Well-Optimized for AWS, with Reliable Long-Term Support **Rating:** 4.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Divyanshi B. | DevOps Engineer, Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** April 28, 2026 **What do you like best about Amazon Linux 2?** Extremely well optimized for AWS Environments. It's lightweight and comes with long term support which is very helpful for production workloads. **What do you dislike about Amazon Linux 2?** Amazon Linux 2 has limited usage outside AWS. Some packages are outdated or not available so it becomes necessary to install manually. **What problems is Amazon Linux 2 solving and how is that benefiting you?** It helps by providing a stable, well optimized OS which is secure so I don't have to spend time on setup and compatibility problems. Its benefiting me because deployments are faster and systems stay reliable with minimum maintanence. ### 6. Tight AWS Integration, Strong Security Defaults, and Stable Performance **Rating:** 4.5/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Verified User in Financial Services | Enterprise (> 1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** March 25, 2026 **What do you like best about Amazon Linux 2?** Stands out for its tight AWS integration , long-term support, and strong security defaults. it delivers stable performance with an EC2 - optimized kernel while still offering access to newer software through the extras repository, making it ideal for production workloads on AWS **What do you dislike about Amazon Linux 2?** limiting on-prem or multi-cloud environments. package availability lag behind, often requiring extrac configuration or workarounds and the smaller community means fewer thrid party resources and tutorials **What problems is Amazon Linux 2 solving and how is that benefiting you?** its porviding stable, Long-term platform for regulated workloads. simplified cloud operations and automations. Also improved cloud reliability and reducing operational risk ### 7. Stable, Secure, AWS-Optimized OS with Excellent Performance **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Manish K. | Managerial, Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** April 28, 2026 **What do you like best about Amazon Linux 2?** Stable, secure, AWS-optimized OS with long-term support and excellent performance. **What do you dislike about Amazon Linux 2?** Outdated packages, slower updates, limited repos, and weaker community support vs mainstream distros. **What problems is Amazon Linux 2 solving and how is that benefiting you?** Amazon Linux 2 solves cloud workload consistency, security patching, and AWS integration. It provides a stable, optimized runtime with long-term support, reducing operational overhead, improving reliability, and speeding up deployment on AWS infrastructure. ### 8. Lightweight, Stable, and Seamless on AWS **Rating:** 4.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Verified User in Financial Services | Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** April 08, 2026 **What do you like best about Amazon Linux 2?** It’s lightweight, stable, and works really well on AWS. Setup is simple, it gets regular security updates, and it integrates smoothly with other AWS services, which makes managing servers much easier. **What do you dislike about Amazon Linux 2?** Package versions can feel outdated sometimes, and compared to Ubuntu, there’s less community support and fewer ready-made guides. Also, some tools/libraries aren’t available by default, so setup can take extra effort. **What problems is Amazon Linux 2 solving and how is that benefiting you?** Amazon Linux 2 gives a stable and secure OS that’s optimized for AWS, so we don’t have to worry much about compatibility or performance issues. It simplifies server setup, patching, and scaling, which saves time and reduces operational effort. ### 9. Optimized for AWS, But Outdated Repos Add Complexity **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Abdul Z. | Aws DevOps Engineer, Information Technology and Services, Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** October 18, 2025 **What do you like best about Amazon Linux 2?** Amazon Linux 2 is built and tuned specifically for AWS services and infrastructure. It boots fast, runs efficiently on EC2, and comes preconfigured for common AWS use cases — making it ideal for cloud-native workloads. **What do you dislike about Amazon Linux 2?** The default repositories often lag behind current versions for tools like Python, Node.js, Git, etc. Sometimes you have to manually build or use external repos (e.g., EPEL or source builds), which adds complexity. **What problems is Amazon Linux 2 solving and how is that benefiting you?** It’s specifically built to run efficiently on AWS infrastructure, with optimizations for EC2 performance, boot time, and resource usage. Benefit to me: I get faster instance launches, better runtime performance, and smoother integration with AWS services — saving time and cost. ### 10. Lightweight, Fast, Secure, **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** TANMAY B. | Associate Technical Consultant, Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** April 24, 2026 **What do you like best about Amazon Linux 2?** like best about Amazon Linux 2 is its tight integration with AWS services combined with its lightweight, stable, and secure-by-default design. **What do you dislike about Amazon Linux 2?** Far fewer tutorials, guides, and community resources compared to Ubuntu or RHEL **What problems is Amazon Linux 2 solving and how is that benefiting you?** Pre-installed AWS CLI, cloud-init, Systems Manager, CloudWatch agents; seamless EBS, S3, EFS integration ## Amazon Linux 2 Discussions - [Where Can I find](https://www.g2.com/discussions/where-can-i-find) - 4 comments, 1 upvote - [Is Amazon Linux 2 also available outside AWS?](https://www.g2.com/discussions/is-amazon-linux-2-also-available-outside-aws) - 1 comment, 1 upvote - [View Amazon Linux 2 pricing details and edition comparison](https://www.g2.com/products/tj-cloud-nexus-365-technology-co-ltd-amazon-linux-2/reviews/amazon-linux-2-review-7879729?section=pricing&secure%5Bexpires_at%5D=2026-07-24+04%3A23%3A37+-0500&secure%5Bsession_id%5D=0db779b0-5f6c-4c8c-a7d6-03503f0c3180&secure%5Btoken%5D=0f7074f47456ce8d3303b762fa1b3e2c8abc31dfb989dd47436d4f5784145055&format=llm_user) ## Amazon Linux 2 Integrations - [Amazon EC2](https://www.g2.com/products/amazon-ec2/reviews) - [AWS Fargate](https://www.g2.com/products/aws-fargate/reviews) - [Docker](https://www.g2.com/products/docker-inc-docker/reviews) - [GitHub](https://www.g2.com/products/github/reviews) - [Jenkins](https://www.g2.com/products/jenkins/reviews) ## Amazon Linux 2 Features **Memory Management - Operating System** - RAM management **Device Management - Operating System** - I/O management **Backup and Recovery - Operating System** - Data backup **Error Detection - Operating System** - System operations monitoring ## Top Amazon Linux 2 Alternatives - [Debian](https://www.g2.com/products/debian/reviews) - 4.6/5.0 (220 reviews) - [CentOS](https://www.g2.com/products/centos/reviews) - 4.4/5.0 (409 reviews) - [Red Hat Enterprise Linux](https://www.g2.com/products/red-hat-enterprise-linux/reviews) - 4.6/5.0 (933 reviews)