StackShareStackShare
Follow on
StackShare

Discover and share technology stacks from companies around the world.

Follow on

© 2025 StackShare. All rights reserved.

Product

  • Stacks
  • Tools
  • Feed

Company

  • About
  • Contact

Legal

  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Service
  1. Stackups
  2. Application & Data
  3. Infrastructure as a Service
  4. Operating Systems
  5. Centos vs Gentoo Linux

Centos vs Gentoo Linux

OverviewDecisionsComparisonAlternatives

Overview

CentOS
CentOS
Stacks13.8K
Followers9.0K
Votes53
Gentoo Linux
Gentoo Linux
Stacks64
Followers78
Votes41

Centos vs Gentoo Linux: What are the differences?

Introduction

Centos (Community Enterprise Operating System) and Gentoo Linux are both popular Linux distributions used in server environments. While they have many similarities, there are several key differences between Centos and Gentoo Linux that set them apart.

  1. Package Management: Centos uses the YUM (Yellowdog Updater, Modified) package manager, which provides easy installation and management of software packages. On the other hand, Gentoo Linux uses Portage, a powerful package management system that allows users to compile software from source code, giving them more control and customization options.

  2. Release Model: Centos follows a fixed release model, where a new version is released approximately every two years and is supported for a long period of time. In contrast, Gentoo Linux follows a rolling release model, where updates and new releases are constantly pushed out, ensuring that users always have access to the latest software packages and security updates.

  3. Community Involvement: Centos is developed and maintained by the CentOS Project, with contributions from a large community of users and developers. Gentoo Linux, on the other hand, has a highly active and involved community, with users actively participating in the development and maintenance of the distribution.

  4. Installation Process: Centos has a relatively straightforward installation process, with a user-friendly installer that guides users through the setup. Gentoo Linux, on the other hand, requires a more hands-on approach, with users needing to manually configure and compile software during the installation process, making it more suitable for advanced users.

  5. System Optimization: Gentoo Linux is known for its focus on system optimization and customization. It allows users to specify compile-time options for software packages, optimizing them for their specific hardware and needs. Centos, on the other hand, focuses more on stability and security, providing a reliable and secure environment for server applications.

  6. Community Support: Both Centos and Gentoo Linux have active and supportive communities. However, Centos has a larger user base and a more established support infrastructure, making it easier for users to find help and resources. Gentoo Linux, on the other hand, has a tight-knit community that is known for its helpfulness and willingness to assist fellow users.

In summary, Centos and Gentoo Linux differ in their package management systems, release models, level of community involvement, installation processes, system optimization focus, and community support infrastructure.

Share your Stack

Help developers discover the tools you use. Get visibility for your team's tech choices and contribute to the community's knowledge.

View Docs
CLI (Node.js)
or
Manual

Advice on CentOS, Gentoo Linux

Jerome/Zen
Jerome/Zen

Software Engineer

Aug 2, 2020

Decided

Global familiarity, free, widely used, and as a debian distro feels more comfortable when rapidly switching between local macOS and remote command lines.

CentOS does boast quite a few security/stability improvements, however as a RHEL-based distro, differs quite significantly in the command line and suffers from slightly less frequent package updates. (Could be a good or bad thing depending on your use-case and if it is public facing)

271k views271k
Comments

Detailed Comparison

CentOS
CentOS
Gentoo Linux
Gentoo Linux

The CentOS Project is a community-driven free software effort focused on delivering a robust open source ecosystem. For users, we offer a consistent manageable platform that suits a wide variety of deployments. For open source communities, we offer a solid, predictable base to build upon, along with extensive resources to build, test, release, and maintain their code.

It is a free operating system based on either Linux or FreeBSD that can be automatically optimized and customized for just about any application or need.

-
Development made easy;Cross-compilation made easy;High performance;Great support of hardware;High availability of modern packages;System consistency;Modular init system
Statistics
Stacks
13.8K
Stacks
64
Followers
9.0K
Followers
78
Votes
53
Votes
41
Pros & Cons
Pros
  • 16
    Stable
  • 9
    Free to use
  • 9
    Reliable
  • 6
    Good support
  • 6
    Has epel packages
Cons
  • 1
    Yum is a horrible package manager
Pros
  • 3
    Control
  • 3
    Portage package manager
  • 3
    OpenRC or systemd init
  • 2
    Compile time optimizations
  • 2
    Flexibility
Cons
  • 2
    Circular dependancy conflicts
  • 2
    No guided installation
  • 2
    Dated documentation
  • 1
    Complexity
  • 1
    System maintenance
Integrations
No integrations available
Microsoft Azure
Microsoft Azure
Jenkins
Jenkins
Hyper
Hyper

What are some alternatives to CentOS, Gentoo Linux?

Ubuntu

Ubuntu

Ubuntu is an ancient African word meaning ‘humanity to others’. It also means ‘I am what I am because of who we all are’. The Ubuntu operating system brings the spirit of Ubuntu to the world of computers.

Debian

Debian

Debian systems currently use the Linux kernel or the FreeBSD kernel. Linux is a piece of software started by Linus Torvalds and supported by thousands of programmers worldwide. FreeBSD is an operating system including a kernel and other software.

Arch Linux

Arch Linux

A lightweight and flexible Linux distribution that tries to Keep It Simple.

Fedora

Fedora

Fedora is a Linux-based operating system that provides users with access to the latest free and open source software, in a stable, secure and easy to manage form. Fedora is the largest of many free software creations of the Fedora Project. Because of its predominance, the word "Fedora" is often used interchangeably to mean both the Fedora Project and the Fedora operating system.

Linux Mint

Linux Mint

The purpose of Linux Mint is to produce a modern, elegant and comfortable operating system which is both powerful and easy to use.

Linux

Linux

A clone of the operating system Unix, written from scratch by Linus Torvalds with assistance from a loosely-knit team of hackers across the Net. It aims towards POSIX and Single UNIX Specification compliance.

CoreOS

CoreOS

It is designed for security, consistency, and reliability. Instead of installing packages via yum or apt, it uses Linux containers to manage your services at a higher level of abstraction. A single service's code and all dependencies are packaged within a container that can be run on one or many machines.

Alpine Linux

Alpine Linux

Alpine Linux is a security-oriented, lightweight Linux distribution based on musl libc and busybox.

Manjaro

Manjaro

It is an accessible, friendly, open-source Linux distribution and community. Based on Arch Linux, it provides all the benefits of cutting-edge software combined with a focus on getting started quickly, automated tools to require less manual intervention, and help readily available when needed.

FreeBSD

FreeBSD

An operating system for a variety of platforms which focuses on features, speed, and stability. It is derived from BSD, the version of UNIX® developed at the University of California, Berkeley. It is developed and maintained by a large community.

Related Comparisons

Bootstrap
Materialize

Bootstrap vs Materialize

Laravel
Django

Django vs Laravel vs Node.js

Bootstrap
Foundation

Bootstrap vs Foundation vs Material UI

Node.js
Spring Boot

Node.js vs Spring-Boot

Liquibase
Flyway

Flyway vs Liquibase