CentOS vs Ubuntu – Which One to Choose for Your Web Server

by do son · February 21, 2022

Today we are going to compare which OS is better to choose for your server – CentOS or Ubuntu. Both CentOS and Ubuntu are some of the most popular OS for servers today. But the right choice depends on your needs and goals. In this article, we are going to analyze the advantages and disadvantages of each OS to help you choose the best OS for your server.

What is CentOS

CentOS is a free non-commercial open-source distribution for Linux which is based on RHEL (Red Hat Enterprise Linux). It was developed in 2004 by Gregory Kurtzer. It is considered a reliable and efficient OS, having numerous advantages of RHEL, but unlike the latter, it’s completely free. It is also characterized by lower resource consumption, which makes it best for servers aimed at hosting a huge internet portal or deploying a software development platform. It has as well an extensive community of users and developers which provides guaranteed support. It is considered quite stable because of seldom updates.

As for the advantages of CentOS for dedicated servers, these are the following:

A very high-security level with a developed set of tools for adjusting access for every single account.
The OS is completely free, saving you extensive expenses on licensing.
CentOS is easy to install and adjust according to your needs.
A high level of stability, ideal for round-the-clock work on projects.
A large friendly community is always ready to help you solve any problems.

All this makes CentOS one of the most popular and often chosen systems for dedicated servers and VPS.

However, if you are a novice user, handling CentOS may turn out rather difficult, as it was originally developed for commercial projects. There aren’t many manuals and documentation available, so an entry-level sysadmin may face significant difficulties, especially if their English isn’t fluent yet. In addition to it, the CentOS team announced that the CentOS version released in November 2021 is final, so there will be no more support for the distribution.

What is Ubuntu

Ubuntu is a Debian-based Linux distribution that was developed by Canonical company. To help users handle the complexity of Linux, Debian was developed as an open-source OS with an extensive developers community. Unlike CentOS, Ubuntu is regularly updated – every six months, providing the users with new opportunities, as well as bugs and errors fixed. Moreover, Mark Shuttleworth and his team released a security update for the OS for another 9 months. LTS builds for the system are updated every two years with support for another 5 years.

Since the system has been created for beginners, it will be much easier for service administration.

Among the advantages of Ubuntu for servers, we want to underline the following:

Open-source code, providing the possibility of changing the code on your own, according to your needs and goals. The open-source distributions can be also easily examined by developers and security specialists to check for hidden espionage mechanisms.
Long support cycle – five years, applying to all Ubuntu distributions.
Support of most popular apps – Firefox, GIMP, Spotify, Shortcut, VLC Player, etc.
The distribution is also well-known for its stability and fault tolerance, which makes it much better than for example Windows server.
Built-in tools for data backup with numerous configuration options.
Ubuntu is well optimized, with reduced resource consumption, which makes Ubuntu perfect for low-cost VPS and dedicated servers.
Lots of software, available on repositories, can be used for various purposes, ranging from security to software development.

The disadvantages of Ubuntu aren’t as numerous and impressive as its advantages. Among them:

Users, who are used to the Windows Server interface, may find the one of Ubuntu a bit unusual.
There aren’t too many means of migration for the OS.
Novice system administrators will need some time to adapt and set up the system, which is the case with all Linux distributions.

CentOS vs. Ubuntu: Comparison

What’s in common

What CentOS and Ubuntu have in common is that both are completely free. Both of them are quite versatile, so they will suit various projects and applications.

However, there are many differences between them as well.

What’s different

Releases and support. As mentioned above, Ubuntu still enjoys regular updates – every 6 months, with 5 years support and 10 years support as a paid option, whereas the support for the last version of CentOS – CentOS 8 – has already been terminated.

Repositories. Ubuntu supports a large number of repositories – around 40 000 apps. CentOS has a comparatively much smaller number of repositories, many of which are already outdated. However, CentOS repositories are generally more stable.

Work with OS. Ubuntu is considered a much easier system to handle, especially for inexperienced system administrators.

Manuals and documentation. Compared to CentOS, Ubuntu provides a far vaster quantity of documentation as well as technical support for users. CentOS provides a rather small number of manuals, which are in turn aimed at users who already have some experience with Linux.

Compatibility with control panels. In this regard, CentOS turns out to be more functional. For example, it supports a popular Cpanel, unlike Ubuntu. Ubuntu, however, supports popular alternatives like Webmin/Virtualmin or VestaCP.

Installation. The installation of Ubuntu may be faster and easier, again due to numerous guides and manuals available on the Internet. However, for experienced users, there is no significant difference between them.

Conclusion

The choice of the OS for your server is up to you. It’s recommended to choose the one you are more familiar with. If you are a beginner or support and updates are important for you, Ubuntu on VPS will be a wise choice. If you already have experience with Linux or with CentOS itself and a stable settled down system is what you want, CentOS on VPS will be a good option as well.