What are the top 3 CentOS al­ter­na­tives?

With support having ended in summer, users need a CentOS al­ter­na­tive. Three par­tic­u­lar­ly effective options are RHEL, Rocky Linux, and AlmaLinux.

What are the con­se­quences for CentOS: End of support

It’s official, CentOS 7 EOL has reached its End of Life (EOL). The popular Linux dis­tri­b­u­tion was dis­con­tin­ued on June 30, 2024, which means that users will have to look for an al­ter­na­tive to CentOS as soon as possible. Launched in 2004, CentOS was created by the CentOS project as a binary-com­pat­i­ble clone of Red Hat En­ter­prise Linux (RHEL). The team used RHEL’s source packages to create a free version that mimics the paid platform’s func­tion­al­i­ty, minus the costly support contracts.

After initial disputes, Red Hat and CentOS merged in 2014 to jointly develop the free al­ter­na­tive. However, this col­lab­o­ra­tion has ended. Since summer 2023, Red Hat no longer provides its source code for free, and support for RHEL 7 is also ending. This means no further updates or security patches will be available, making the OS insecure to use. If you’ve been using CentOS, it’s time to migrate to another operating system. We outline the ad­van­tages and dis­ad­van­tages of the top CentOS al­ter­na­tives.

RHEL: the pro­pri­etary CentOS al­ter­na­tive

The most obvious al­ter­na­tive to CentOS is its “original”, Red Hat En­ter­prise Linux (RHEL). Launched in 2002, RHEL was built on Red Hat Linux to provide a stable Linux OS for business customers. Today, it leads the com­mer­cial Linux dis­tri­b­u­tion market and is used by high-profile or­ga­ni­za­tions, including the In­ter­na­tion­al Space Station (ISS) and the US De­part­ment of Defense.

Ad­van­tages

• Stability and security: RHEL has always been regarded as a par­tic­u­lar­ly stable Linux dis­tri­b­u­tion. Ap­pli­ca­tions and updates undergo thorough and rigorous testing, supported by a robust security ar­chi­tec­ture. Ad­di­tion­al­ly, its extended main­te­nance cycles offer extra security and re­li­a­bil­i­ty for the system.
• Areas of ap­pli­ca­tion: Whether you’re looking for a solution for desktop, server, cloud computing or container vir­tu­al­iza­tion, RHEL provides a custom-fit platform with all struc­tures, programs and in­di­vid­ual support.
• Com­pat­i­bil­i­ty: RHEL’s ver­sa­til­i­ty extends to both software and hardware support. Many de­vel­op­ment companies col­lab­o­rate closely with RHEL, ensuring smooth in­te­gra­tion, and leading server man­u­fac­tur­ers also provide robust support for the system.
• Package man­age­ment: Red Hat En­ter­prise Linux features two powerful package man­age­ment tools: RPM and YUM. These tools enable quick and seamless in­stal­la­tion, con­fig­u­ra­tion, and updating of software.
• User-friend­li­ness: From the initial setup to daily use, RHEL works in­tu­itive­ly. This means that even users without much prior knowledge can work with the operating system. You can find out how to install RHEL 9 in our Digital Guide.
• Support: Red Hat provides extensive training, doc­u­men­ta­tion, and expert support for its En­ter­prise version, along with long-term support that includes regular security patches and updates. Each version is supported for up to twelve years.

Dis­ad­van­tages

• Licensing: The main drawback of Red Hat’s al­ter­na­tive compared to CentOS is its cost. RHEL requires a paid sub­scrip­tion and support contracts, which can be pro­hib­i­tive­ly expensive for small companies or private in­di­vid­u­als.

Rocky Linux: an un­of­fi­cial successor

Following the an­nounce­ment of CentOS’s end, co-founder Gregory Kurtzer revealed an un­of­fi­cial successor called Rocky Linux. This al­ter­na­tive aims to replicate the func­tion­al­i­ty of the original CentOS Linux OS.

Ad­van­tages

• Com­pat­i­bil­i­ty: Like CentOS, Rocky Linux is binary com­pat­i­ble with RHEL, ensuring it functions similarly to both the paid version and its pre­de­ces­sor. It’s also suitable for cloud-based ap­pli­ca­tions. The tran­si­tion from CentOS is stream­lined with the migrate2rocky tool.
• Open source: Rocky Linux is entirely free and will be developed long-term by a dedicated community, including former CentOS team members. They’re committed to main­tain­ing the original CentOS approach.
• Stability: Rocky Linux pri­or­i­tizes stability, ensuring reliable data and system per­for­mance. Updates undergo thorough vetting, min­i­miz­ing as­so­ci­at­ed risks.

Dis­ad­van­tages

• Ex­pe­ri­ence: As a rel­a­tive­ly new dis­tri­b­u­tion, Rocky Linux has limited doc­u­men­ta­tion, and its future updates or versions remain uncertain. While initial de­vel­op­ments are promising, the lack of ex­pe­ri­ence may concern busi­ness­es.
• Bumpy start: Red Hat’s move to stop providing its source code impacted Rocky Linux, which had relied on it. Although a workaround has been es­tab­lished, this situation high­light­ed Rocky Linux’s initial de­pen­den­cy on Red Hat.

AlmaLinux: simple migration, smaller offering

The history of AlmaLinux is com­pa­ra­ble to that of Rocky Linux. After Red Hat announced the end of CentOS, CloudLin­ux developed a CentOS al­ter­na­tive, which first saw a stable release in 2021. AlmaLinux is now main­tained by the non-profit AlmaLinux OS Foun­da­tion.

Ad­van­tages

• Open Source: Just like CentOS, AlmaLinux is also free and open source. A dedicated community con­tin­u­ous­ly develops the dis­tri­b­u­tion and offers all packages and updates at no cost.
• Migration: Designed ex­plic­it­ly as a CentOS successor, AlmaLinux sim­pli­fies migration. Existing CentOS in­stal­la­tions can be easily trans­ferred, and usage remains largely con­sis­tent with its pre­de­ces­sor.
• Stability: AlmaLinux pri­or­i­tizes stability, with updates rig­or­ous­ly tested before in­stal­la­tion. It also features robust security tools to ensure strong pro­tec­tion.

Dis­ad­van­tages

• Package offer: Compared to many other options, AlmaLinux has a somewhat smaller package offer. However, there are now more and more options.
• Up-to-dateness: Updates and new features are rolled out rel­a­tive­ly slowly, meaning the system may not always be up to date with the latest de­vel­op­ments.