Rocky Linux vs AlmaLinux: Which One Better for VPS?

Rocky Linux vs AlmaLinux: short answer

For almost every server, Rocky Linux vs AlmaLinux na choice wey no get wrong answer. Both projects rebuild the same Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) source code, so dem release the same packages with the same ten year support lifecycle. The differences dey real, but dem dey for governance and small number of edge cases, no be for the daily work of running server.

Two things dey decide am when e no be coin flip. AlmaLinux 10 still release build for processors wey older pass Intel Haswell, but Rocky Linux 10 no do am. This matter for cheaper or older VPS (virtual private server) hardware. AlmaLinux also promise ABI compatibility instead of identical behaviour. This matter if you dey run vendor product wey get strict support matrix.

Wetin both distributions come from

On 8 December 2020, CentOS project announce say CentOS Linux 8, wey be rebuild of RHEL 8, go end for end of 2021. Dem originally publish am with end date for 2029. The project future na CentOS Stream. The same announcement describe am as branch wey dey just ahead of current RHEL release and dey serve as upstream development branch for RHEL. CentOS Linux 7 keep im original schedule and reach end of life on 30 June 2024.

The problem no be CentOS Stream by itself. The problem be say lifecycle wey suppose end for 2029 shift forward by eight years with about one year notice, for machines wey don already install am. Rocky Linux and AlmaLinux both exist because of this. Both show for 2021, and both target the same work: free rebuild of RHEL wey operator fit install, then leave am alone for ten years.

Wetin Rocky Linux and AlmaLinux get in common

Start from here, because na this shared part make up most of the picture. Both rebuild from the same upstream RHEL sources, so both give you the same package versions, the same dnf package manager, the same SELinux (security enhanced Linux) policy, the same firewalld front end, and the same systemd unit layout. Configuration files dey the same paths. Guide wey dem write for one go work for the other after you change the name.

Both dey follow RHEL minor releases closely. AlmaLinux 10.2 release on 26 May 2026, and Rocky Linux 10.2 on 28 May 2026. The 9 series move for the same week: AlmaLinux 9.8 on 26 May 2026, and Rocky Linux 9.8 on 27 May 2026. Before, the gap dey wider. AlmaLinux 10.0 arrive on 27 May 2025, and Rocky Linux 10.0 on 11 June 2025.

That gap concern minor release media, e no concern security. Both projects dey publish errata continuously between minor releases, and each one dey use its own errata service. If .2 image show up two weeks later, e no mean say patches no dey for two weeks.

Both still get the ten year lifecycle model wey dem inherit from RHEL: roughly five years of active support, then five years of security-only maintenance. The 10 series for both go reach 2035.

Wetin dey behind each project?

Rocky Linux belong to Rocky Enterprise Software Foundation (RESF), wey be Delaware public benefit corporation wey Gregory Kurtzer create; na him be one of the co-founders of CentOS. For November 2022, RESF ratify bylaws and charter wey move control comot from the founder hand enter that written structure. CIQ, wey Kurtzer also found, na the founding sponsor and e dey sell commercial support for Rocky Linux.

AlmaLinux belong to AlmaLinux OS Foundation, wey be 501(c)(6) non profit incorporated for Delaware and founded for March 2021. Foundation members dey elect its board for staggered four-year terms. Dem dey publish meeting minutes within fourteen days. One bylaw no allow any single employer to get more than one voting board seat, no matter how much the employer sponsor. CloudLinux start the project and renew platinum sponsorship for October 2024 wey worth one million dollars every year. Its TuxCare division dey sell the commercial support.

Dem build both structures so no single company fit repeat wetin happen to CentOS Linux 8, and none of the two dey obviously safer pass the other. The thing wey you fit actually check na the same for both: you fit read the bylaws, and you fit identify the organisation wey dey write the cheques.

Wetin change for 2023, and e still matter?

For 21 June 2023, Red Hat announce say CentOS Stream go become the only repository for public RHEL source code releases. Before that, RHEL package sources dey show for git.centos.org, na from there rebuilds dey collect dem. Removing that feed no stop the rebuilds. But e make each project explain publicly how e go get the sources.

Rocky answer for 29 June 2023. E dey get RHEL sources from Universal Base Image (UBI) container images and from pay per use public cloud instances. The reason be say "nobody fit prevent redistribution of GPL software". For August 2023, CIQ, Oracle and SUSE create Open Enterprise Linux Association (OpenELA). OpenELA dey publish the sources wey bug for bug compatible Enterprise Linux rebuild need. AlmaLinux no be member.

AlmaLinux answer for 13 July 2023, but na change of goal be the answer. The project drop 1:1 bug for bug compatibility and adopt ABI compatibility instead. For the project own words, "we no go again follow bug-for-bug compatibility with Red Hat as strict rule, and this mean say we fit now accept bug fixes outside Red Hat release cycle". The same post tell users make dem expect "very little change" for daily use.

Three years later, the source question don settle for practical use. Both projects don release every RHEL minor release since then, with similar schedules. Wetin remain from the argument na the difference for wetin each project promise.

Bug for bug or ABI compatible: wetin be the difference?

Rocky Linux homepage still describe the distribution as something wey dem design to be 100% bug for bug compatible with RHEL. Bug for bug mean say the rebuild reproduce RHEL behaviour, including the defects. If package for RHEL get bug, the same package for Rocky Linux go get am too, so workaround from Red Hat knowledge base article go apply without translation.

ABI compatibility narrow and more precise. ABI, or application binary interface, na the binary contract wey compiled program depend on: symbol names, structure layouts, calling conventions, and library versions. As long as dem keep that contract stable, binary wey dem build against RHEL go load and run. The promise no mean say e must match RHEL bugs.

The result easy to explain. AlmaLinux fit fix bug before Red Hat do, and e fit keep driver wey Red Hat remove. Both actions move the behaviour away from RHEL intentionally. Rocky Linux no go do any of dem, by design, so e remain predictable in the exact way certification dey require.

So the question na which promise you need. You need the server to behave exactly like RHEL, or you need software wey dem build for RHEL to run for am? Almost everybody need the second one.

Vendor packages wey dem build for RHEL go install for both?

Yes. An RPM wey dem build for RHEL 9 or RHEL 10 go install and run for both, because the ABI match and both distributions present demself to tooling as Red Hat family systems. The file wey dey do this presentation na /etc/os-release.

NAME="AlmaLinux"
ID="almalinux"
ID_LIKE="rhel centos fedora"

Rocky Linux own copy get the same shape with NAME="Rocky Linux" and ID="rocky", and e list rhel inside ID_LIKE too. Installer script wey read ID_LIKE, find rhel, then use the Red Hat path go work for both. Script wey only compare ID against hard coded list of rhel, centos and fedora go fail for both, and e go fail the same way for each one, with unsupported distribution message. Na bug for the script, no be difference between the two systems.

The real exception na commercial matter, no be technical matter. Support matrix na business document. Vendor package fit install and run perfectly for distribution wey the matrix no mention, and the vendor still fit refuse to help you when e break. If you dey pay for that support, read the matrix and make e choose for you. Na this one case decision dey made for you.

Which one still dey run for older CPUs?

RHEL 10 raise the baseline x86-64 microarchitecture level go x86-64-v3. That level match Intel Haswell generation and AMD Excavator, and e require instruction set extensions like AVX2. Rocky Linux 10 follow RHEL for this matter. The documentation talk say x86-64-v3 na the baseline, and say v2 level plus anything older no dey supported again.

AlmaLinux 10 ship v3 build as default and add separate x86-64-v2 build. As dem explain, the reason na to let users with that older hardware continue to receive security updates for another ten years. AlmaLinux also rebuild EPEL packages for that architecture, because third party RHEL 10 packages target v3. Na this catch you need know before you depend on am: v2 build fit work with the default package set plus AlmaLinux own v2 EPEL, but you go need rebuild anything else for v2 by yourself.

This matter pass for VPS than for hardware wey belong to you, because you no dey choose the host processor. For older or cheaper hosts, or where hypervisor show conservative CPU model to the guest, the virtual machine fit no expose AVX2 even when the physical chip get am. Packages wey dem build for v3 go try use instructions wey the processor no get, so dem go fail. Check wetin your instance actually expose before you commit plenty machines to the 10 series. The 9 series for both distributions still dey run for v2 level. For ARM instances instead of x86 instances, this question no come up, because microarchitecture levels na x86-64 concept.

The same freedom dey show for other parts of AlmaLinux 10. The project enable support again for more than 150 devices wey upstream remove, including PCI IDs for older RAID and iSCSI controllers, and e enable SPICE again for both server and client use. Frame pointers dey on by default, and na this make system-wide profiling work. A bug-for-bug promise no allow any of these changes, so the 2023 decision na wetin give dem room to make them.

How you fit migrate existing CentOS or RHEL server?

Rocky Linux dey publish conversion scripts for its rocky-tools repository. migrate2rocky.sh dey convert Enterprise Linux 8 system go Rocky Linux 8, while migrate2rocky9.sh dey do the same thing for 9 series. Each one dey work inside one major version only. As of August 2026, repository no get equivalent script for Enterprise Linux 10, so to move go Rocky Linux 10, you need reinstall.

AlmaLinux dey publish almalinux-deploy.sh. E cover Enterprise Linux 8, 9 and 10, and e fit convert from CentOS Stream, Oracle Linux, RHEL, Rocky Linux, MiracleLinux and Virtuozzo Linux, across x86_64, aarch64, ppc64le and s390x. E good make you read the documented limits before you start. Na GRUB2 boot loader dem support for systems wey need one. Custom kernel like Oracle UEK (unbreakable enterprise kernel) no dey remove automatically, and this fit leave the machine unable to boot under Secure Boot.

For jump between major versions, AlmaLinux dey maintain ELevate, wey dem build on Red Hat leapp framework. The documented paths na CentOS 7 to EL8, AlmaLinux 8 or CentOS Stream 8 to EL9, and AlmaLinux 9 or CentOS Stream 9 to EL10. Documentation dey write the target as EL8, EL9 or EL10 instead of naming one distribution, because na you go choose which Enterprise Linux you want land on.

Any of these processes dey rewrite release packages and reinstall large part of the system. Take provider snapshot first. Run the conversion inside screen or tmux, as AlmaLinux own documentation advise, because if SSH connection drop halfway, e go leave the machine for state wey you no want debug from rescue console.

So which one you suppose pick?

For normal VPS work, either one dey okay. Dem install the same packages, and support for both go end for the same year. Pick one, use am for every server wey you run, and stop worrying about am. Consistency better pass the difference between dem, because mixed fleet go double the images and errata feeds wey you need track. This cost dey grow fast once you dey manage several Linux servers at once.

The exceptions no plenty, and something outside your preference dey decide each one.

• If your host processor old pass Haswell, or the hypervisor dey hide AVX2 from the guest, AlmaLinux 10 get x86-64-v2 build. Rocky Linux 10 no get am.
• If vendor wey you dey pay name one distribution for its support matrix, use that one.
• If you need behaviour wey match RHEL exactly for certification or audit, Rocky Linux stated goal na bug-for-bug compatibility, but AlmaLinux stated goal no be that.
• If you dey convert server wey already dey run instead of building fresh one, AlmaLinux tooling currently cover more source distributions and more major versions, including Enterprise Linux 10.

If the real question na Enterprise Linux against something else, na lifecycle model you dey choose. Enterprise Linux distribution give you ten years for one package set without version jumps wey you need plan. Ubuntu long-term support releases give you five years of standard support, with supported upgrade path every two years. Na different arrangement be that, and the comparison of Ubuntu LTS and interim releases explain am. Any one wey you install, the first hour for the machine go look the same. So work through the first ten minutes on a new VPS before you put anything for there.

FAQ

Rocky Linux or AlmaLinux dey closer to Red Hat Enterprise Linux?

Rocky Linux, based on wetin e state as im goal. Im homepage talk say dem design the distribution to be 100% bug for bug compatible with RHEL. This mean say e dey aim to reproduce RHEL behaviour, including the defects wey dey inside am. AlmaLinux announce on 13 July 2023 say e go target ABI (application binary interface) compatibility instead. So software wey build for RHEL go run on am, while the code underneath fit get fixes wey RHEL never release. For normal server software, the two dey equivalent. But for certification wey specifically name RHEL behaviour, this difference na the main point.

I fit switch from Rocky Linux to AlmaLinux without reinstalling?

Yes, for that direction. AlmaLinux's almalinux-deploy.sh list Rocky Linux 8, 9 and 10 among the supported sources, together with CentOS Stream, Oracle Linux, RHEL and MiracleLinux. To go the other direction get more limit: Rocky's rocky-tools repository get conversion scripts for Enterprise Linux 8 and 9 only. So, as of August 2026, no in-place path dey to Rocky Linux 10. Take snapshot before any conversion. Run the conversion from a session wey go survive dropped connection, because the process dey replace the release packages and reinstall plenty parts of the system.

Packages wey build for RHEL go work for both?

Yes, for ordinary RPM packages and third party repositories. Both distributions dey keep the RHEL application binary interface. Both identify themselves with ID_LIKE="rhel centos fedora" inside /etc/os-release. So package or installer script wey check for Red Hat family system go choose the correct path. The exception no be technical matter but commercial matter: vendor fit support only the distributions wey e list for im support matrix, even if the package install and run for both. If you dey pay for that support, make the matrix decide.

Which one I suppose use for low cost VPS wey get older CPU?

AlmaLinux, if you want the 10 series. RHEL 10 raise the x86-64 baseline to v3 microarchitecture level. This one need processor wey reach Intel Haswell or AMD Excavator level, and Rocky Linux 10 follow the same baseline. AlmaLinux 10 release additional x86-64-v2 build for older hardware, with ten years of security updates behind am. Check wetin your instance expose before you commit, because virtual machine dey see the CPU model wey hypervisor give am, and e no always see the host full instruction set. The 9 series for both distributions still dey run for v2 hardware.