Red Hat’s decision to end CentOS is forcing most developers and companies to find an alternative OS. In this guide, learn about the top competitors’ features.
- • Best for large enterprises: Red Hat Enterprise Linux
- • Best for IT and software development companies: Oracle Linux
- • Best for die-hard CentOS fans: Rocky Linux
- • Best for those familiar with CentOS: AlmaLinux
- • Best for programming and rolling release distribution: Fedora
CentOS Linux 7, the popular free and open-source Linux distribution based on Red Hat Enterprise Linux, has been discontinued as of July 2024. The enterprise operating system, loved by scientists, businesses, and developers for its reliability, stability, and security, has been abandoned by Red Hat so it could shift its full investment to CentOS Stream.
CentOS Linux updates and releases were discontinued between 2021 and 2024, finishing when CentOS Linux 7 reached end-of-life on June 30 this year. It had been a leading technology for web hosting, cloud computing, storage servers, networks, and software development for 10 years.
As users consider whether to migrate to CentOS Stream 9, a new upstream distribution that is designed to be a rolling release of Red Hat Enterprise Linux and is not considered a replacement for CentOS, other competitors stand out as good alternatives.
