Rocky Linux vs AlmaLinux 2026

The CentOS Void

When Red Hat ended CentOS as a RHEL rebuild in 2021, two projects emerged to fill the gap: Rocky Linux (founded by CentOS co-creator Gregory Kurtzer) and AlmaLinux (backed by CloudLinux). Both aim to be free, community-driven RHEL alternatives.

In 2026, both are mature, stable, and widely adopted. But there are differences worth knowing.

Binary Compatibility

Both distros aim for RHEL compatibility, but their approaches have diverged since Red Hat restricted source access in 2023:

• Rocky Linux uses a combination of CentOS Stream, RHEL UBI containers, and other sources to maintain compatibility
• AlmaLinux shifted to ABI (Application Binary Interface) compatibility rather than strict 1:1 bug-for-bug rebuilds

In practice, both run RHEL workloads without issues. If your software is certified for RHEL, it runs on both.

Package Management

Identical — both use dnf:

# Works the same on both
sudo dnf install httpd mariadb-server php
sudo systemctl enable --now httpd mariadb

# Enable EPEL for extra packages
sudo dnf install epel-release
sudo dnf install htop tmux

Support Lifecycle

Both follow RHEL's 10-year lifecycle:

• Rocky Linux 9 — supported until May 2032
• AlmaLinux 9 — supported until May 2032

Security updates arrive within hours of RHEL's releases on both distros.

Community and Governance

Rocky Linux is governed by the Rocky Enterprise Software Foundation (RESF), a Public Benefit Corporation. Gregory Kurtzer's involvement gives it strong community credibility.

AlmaLinux transitioned to a community-owned model under the AlmaLinux OS Foundation. While initially CloudLinux-funded, governance is now independent with an elected board.

Migration Tools

Both offer tools to migrate from CentOS or each other:

# Migrate to Rocky Linux from CentOS/AlmaLinux
curl -O https://raw.githubusercontent.com/rocky-linux/rocky-tools/main/migrate2rocky/migrate2rocky.sh
sudo bash migrate2rocky.sh -r

# Migrate to AlmaLinux from CentOS/Rocky
curl -O https://raw.githubusercontent.com/AlmaLinux/almalinux-deploy/master/almalinux-deploy.sh
sudo bash almalinux-deploy.sh

Cloud Support

Both are available on major cloud providers:

• AWS — official AMIs for both
• Azure — both available in marketplace
• GCP — both available
• DigitalOcean — both available as base images

Which Should You Choose?

Honestly? Either one. The differences are minor:

Pick Rocky if you want the closest RHEL rebuild. Pick AlmaLinux if ABI compatibility is enough and you like their governance model. Both are safe choices.

The Bottom Line

The CentOS situation created two solid alternatives. Competition between Rocky and AlmaLinux has been good for the ecosystem — both are well-maintained, well-supported, and production-ready. You can't go wrong with either.

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