Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

AlmaLinux VS Fedora

Compare AlmaLinux VS Fedora and see what are their differences

AlmaLinux logo AlmaLinux

An open-source RHEL fork built by the team at CloudLinux, inspired by the community.

Fedora logo Fedora

Fedora creates an innovative, free, and open source platform for hardware, clouds, and containers that enables software developers and community members to build tailored solutions for their users.
  • AlmaLinux Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-09-23
  • Fedora Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-06-11

AlmaLinux features and specs

  • RHEL Compatibility
    AlmaLinux is binary-compatible with Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL), allowing users to leverage a stable and secure enterprise-grade environment without the associated costs.
  • Community Driven
    As a community-driven project, AlmaLinux is developed and maintained by a vibrant community, contributing to a diverse array of features and improvements.
  • Free to Use
    Being open-source and free, AlmaLinux offers a cost-effective solution for enterprises and individual users seeking a reliable operating system.
  • Frequent Updates
    The project provides frequent updates and a regular release schedule, ensuring that users have access to the latest security and software updates.
  • Long-Term Support
    AlmaLinux offers long-term support with each release, providing a predictable lifecycle for users who require stability over long periods.

Possible disadvantages of AlmaLinux

  • Less Corporate Support
    Unlike RHEL, AlmaLinux lacks direct corporate support offerings, which might be a drawback for businesses that need guaranteed enterprise-level assistance.
  • Smaller Community
    While growing, the AlmaLinux community is smaller compared to other major distributions like Ubuntu or Fedora, potentially affecting the availability of niche-use-case resources.
  • Transition Challenges
    Existing users of CentOS or other distributions may face challenges and require effort to transition smoothly to AlmaLinux, especially without direct commercial support.
  • Newness
    As a relatively new project, AlmaLinux's ecosystem and repository offerings might still lack some of the maturity and established integrations found in older distributions.

Fedora features and specs

  • Cutting-edge Software
    Fedora is known for its bleeding-edge updates, incorporating the latest software versions, kernel updates, and features soon after they are released. This makes it ideal for users who want the newest technology.
  • Strong Security
    Fedora includes strong security features, such as SELinux (Security Enhanced Linux) by default, which provides advanced security policies and mitigates various types of attacks.
  • Developer Friendly
    Fedora offers a rich array of developer tools and software, making it a preferred choice for developers. It supports a wide range of programming languages and development environments.
  • Red Hat Sponsorship
    Fedora is backed by Red Hat, which adds a level of reliability, professionalism, and a stable foundation that many Linux distributions do not have.
  • Community Support
    Fedora has a robust community of users and developers who contribute to its development and provide assistance through forums, mailing lists, and other forms of support.
  • Modularity
    Fedora's modular repository allows users to choose different versions of software packages, accommodating the specific needs of various users and use cases.
  • Workstation Edition
    Fedora offers a Workstation edition that is specifically tailored for personal computers, offering a polished and user-friendly desktop environment.

Possible disadvantages of Fedora

  • Frequent Updates
    The cutting-edge nature of Fedora means frequent updates, which can be overwhelming for users who prefer a more stable and less frequently changing system.
  • Short Life Cycle
    Fedora has a relatively short life cycle of approximately 13 months for each release, meaning users need to upgrade more frequently compared to some other distributions.
  • Software Compatibility
    Due to its focus on free and open-source software, Fedora may not include some proprietary drivers and codecs by default, which may require additional setup to install.
  • Learning Curve
    While Fedora is user-friendly, it might have a steeper learning curve for new Linux users compared to more beginner-oriented distributions like Ubuntu.
  • Limited Corporate Support
    Unlike Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL), Fedora does not come with official corporate support, which can be a drawback for business users who require enterprise-level technical support.
  • Hardware Compatibility
    Some users might experience hardware compatibility issues, especially with very new hardware, due to the rapid pace of updates and the lack of proprietary drivers.

AlmaLinux videos

First Look: AlmaLinux

Fedora videos

omplete Guide: How to Download, Install and Review Fedora 38 Linux on VirtualBox 2023

More videos:

  • Review - Fedora 31 Workstation Review & Gnome 3.34.1 Walkthrough - Linux Distro Reviews
  • Review - Fedora 31 Review | Should You Use It? Find Out!
  • Review - Fedora Workstation 31 Full Review
  • Review - Fedora 34 Reviewed: A Great GNOME distro that's worth checking out!
  • Review - Fedora 34 | This is the ABSOLUTE Best Linux Distro of 2021 Yet (NEW RELEASE!)
  • Review - Review - Fedora Workstation 33 (and why you should avoid it)

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to AlmaLinux and Fedora)
Linux
11 11%
89% 89
Operating Systems
10 10%
90% 90
Linux Distribution
11 11%
89% 89
Open Source
100 100%
0% 0

User comments

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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare AlmaLinux and Fedora

AlmaLinux Reviews

Finding the Best Linux Distro for Your Organization
AlmaLinux is a community-driven, open source Linux distro created as a direct alternative to CentOS Linux. Like Rocky Linux, it was created in response to the EOL announcement for CentOS and community move to CentOS Stream. AlmaLinux aims to provide a reliable – it's not bug-for-bug compatible, rather application binary-compatible distro – enabling it to make applications...
The best Linux distributions (operating systems)
AlmaLinux is a user-friendly successor to CentOS and was developed as a fork of RHEL. The relatively new system is considered stable. It is aimed at those who enjoyed working with its well-known predecessor. Plenty of CentOS packages can still be used within AlmaLinux.
Source: www.ionos.com

Fedora Reviews

10 Most Popular Linux Distros of the Year 2023
It is available in different editions: Workstations for everyday use, CoreOS for container-focused OS, Server for server-related systems, Fedora Cloud for private and public clouds, and IoT for IoT-related work. Fedora is good for desktop users or developers who want RPM Linux with the latest features.
12 Best Linux Distros You Should Use
And since Fedora is open-source, it also has a few community versions called Spins. Some of the popular spins are Plasma, Xfce, LXQT, MATE, and Cinnamon. Overall, Fedora might not be the best option for absolute beginners, but it’s great for those who know their way around Linux. Besides, Fedora’s got one of the most active distro communities on Reddit. Hence, if something...
Source: beebom.com
Finding the Best Linux Distro for Your Organization
Fedora is a popular, community-driven Linux distro known for its emphasis on new features and technologies, open source collaboration, and strong ties to the upstream software development communities (RHEL). It aims to provide a platform for both desktop and server users, offering the latest software while maintaining a balance between innovation and stability. Fedora users...
The best Linux distributions (operating systems)
Fedora is a free alternative to RHEL but does not provide long-term support. The focus of the operating system is primarily on up-to-dateness, which may come at the expense of stability. Fedora is equally suitable for servers and desktops and uses RPM (known from Red Hat) for package management.
Source: www.ionos.com
6 Best Free Alternatives to Windows for Advanced Users
Considering all this, Fedora is not intimidating to beginners and could be a great first-time Linux experience.
Source: techcult.com

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Fedora should be more popular than AlmaLinux. It has been mentiond 124 times since March 2021. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

AlmaLinux mentions (24)

  • Ubuntu Security Updates Are a Confusing Mess
    I've heard good things about AlmaLinux but I haven't used it personally. https://almalinux.org. - Source: Hacker News / 10 months ago
  • CentOS Linux 7 will reach EOL on Sunday
    Some people have actually had good luck with Oracle Linux but that’s very much an individual (or corporate) choice to consider. Aside from that, Rocky Linux also seems like a great choice for many: https://rockylinux.org/ Some also say that AlmaLinux is pretty good: https://almalinux.org/ Personally, I found RPM distros to be quite stable but have largely moved over to Ubuntu LTS for servers (technically Debian... - Source: Hacker News / 11 months ago
  • June 30th, 2024, will bring the End of Life (EOL) of CentOS Linux
    Another suitable option, which has handled the situation of Red Hat source RPM releases[1] quite a bit better imo, is Alma Linux. https://almalinux.org/ Similar goal, but is working more directly upstream with Red Hat[2] as opposed to the (as I last had read) undisclosed and non-open approach that Rocky Linux has taken. 1: https://www.redhat.com/en/blog/furthering-evolution-centos-stream 2:... - Source: Hacker News / over 1 year ago
  • Keeping Open Source Open: Rocky Linux
    Https://almalinux.org (At the bottom, "Backed By"). Source: almost 2 years ago
  • what is the typical size of Linux updates?
    This might be a good use case for RHEL family distribution (such as CentOS Stream or AlmaLinux) or Debian. These are much longer lived distributions, and provide fewer update churn over time than other distributions. Source: almost 2 years ago
View more

Fedora mentions (124)

  • what are some good laptops to buy?
    I am using HP Omen. I easily open it, clean it and change the thermal paste every 3 months (they have detailed guides on YouTube). My laptop had another SSD slot and I upgraded it with a new Samsung 1TB SSD and I am looking to upgrade the RAM from 16 GB to 64GB soon. Since I do not like Windows, I have installed Fedora on it. If I want I can turn in into a Hackintosh and install macOS too. The possibilities are... Source: almost 2 years ago
  • How do I remove this Ubuntu Pro ad from apt?
    You can find the solution at https://getfedora.org /s. Source: about 2 years ago
  • Fedora Project has a new website!
    It looks.. Awesome way better than getfedora.org kudos to the website developers. Source: about 2 years ago
  • Telemetr(ule)y
    Install Fedora (or one of it's spins. Source: about 2 years ago
  • Quick question about Fedora website
    Fedoraproject.org is it a legit website or is getfedora.org the only website ? Source: about 2 years ago
View more

What are some alternatives?

When comparing AlmaLinux and Fedora, you can also consider the following products

Rocky Linux - A new enterprise ready OS to carry the torch after the recent CentOS announcement.

Linux Mint - Linux Mint is one of the most popular desktop Linux distributions and used by millions of people.

Ubuntu - Ubuntu is a Debian Linux-based open source operating system for desktop computers.

Arch Linux - You've reached the website for Arch Linux, a lightweight and flexible Linux® distribution that tries to Keep It Simple. Currently we have official packages optimized for the x86-64 architecture.

Manjaro - Manjaro Linux is a linux distribution which is based on arch linux. It uses the PACMAN package manager.

Debian - Debian is a free distribution of the GNU/Linux operating system.