Centos vs Kali Linux

Overview

CentOS

Stacks13.8K

Followers9.0K

Votes53

Kali Linux

Stacks259

Followers381

Votes25

Centos vs Kali Linux: What are the differences?

Introduction:

When it comes to choosing an operating system for your needs, there are various options available in the market. Two popular Linux distributions that are widely used are CentOS and Kali Linux. While both are Linux-based operating systems, they have unique features and target different user bases. In this article, we will explore the key differences between CentOS and Kali Linux to help you make an informed decision.

Package Management: CentOS uses the YUM (Yellowdog Updater Modified) package manager, which allows easy installation, removal, and updating of software packages. On the other hand, Kali Linux uses APT (Advanced Package Tool) package manager, which is more commonly used in Debian-based distributions. APT provides similar functionality but with a different set of commands and package repositories.
Default Software and Tools: CentOS is known for its stability and reliability, making it a popular choice for enterprise use. It comes with a minimalistic installation, providing the essential tools and services required for a server environment. On the contrary, Kali Linux is designed specifically for penetration testing and security auditing. It comes bundled with a wide range of hacking and security tools, making it an ideal choice for cybersecurity professionals.
Target Audience: CentOS targets businesses and organizations that require a stable and secure operating system for their servers. It focuses on providing a reliable platform for hosting various services. Kali Linux, on the other hand, is aimed at cybersecurity professionals, ethical hackers, and penetration testers. It provides a platform for conducting security assessments and vulnerability testing.
Release Cycle and Support: CentOS follows a long-term support release cycle, with each major version being supported for approximately 10 years. This makes it a preferred choice for stability-focused environments that require long-term support and backward compatibility. On the contrary, Kali Linux follows a rolling release model, where the system is constantly updated with the latest software packages and security updates. This makes it ideal for users who want to stay up-to-date with the latest tools and features.
Documentation and Community Support: CentOS has a large and active community that provides extensive documentation and support for users. Being used by businesses and organizations, it has a wide range of resources available online. Kali Linux also has a supportive community; however, it is more focused on the cybersecurity community, providing specific documentation and resources for security-related topics.
Default Desktop Environment: CentOS offers a choice of desktop environments, including GNOME, KDE, and Xfce, giving users the flexibility to choose the environment that suits their preferences. Kali Linux, primarily being a command-line focused distribution, does not emphasize desktop environments. It provides a lightweight Xfce environment by default, focusing more on terminal-based applications.

In Summary, CentOS is a stable and reliable operating system targeting businesses and organizations, providing long-term support and a minimalistic server environment. On the other hand, Kali Linux is a specialized distribution aimed at cybersecurity professionals, offering a wide range of security tools, a rolling release model, and a command-line-focused interface.

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)

Manual

Advice on CentOS, Kali Linux

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	Kali 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 Debian-based Linux distribution aimed at advanced Penetration Testing and Security Auditing. It contains several hundred tools which are geared towards various information security tasks, such as Penetration Testing, Security research, Computer Forensics and Reverse Engineering.
-	Advanced Penetration Testing Distribution; More than 600 penetration testing tools included; FHS compliant; Custom kernel, patched for injection
Statistics
Stacks 13.8K	Stacks 259
Followers 9.0K	Followers 381
Votes 53	Votes 25
Pros & Cons
Pros 16 Stable 9 Reliable 9 Free to use 6 Has epel packages 6 Good support Cons 1 Yum is a horrible package manager	Pros 8 Has many penetration testing tools 8 Penetration testing tools are pre-installed 5 Runs on both x86 and ARM platforms 3 Its just debian so it has better support 1 There's no restrictions Cons 3 Wireless driver issues on some systems 3 Packages are too large in size as compare to alpine 3 Outdated versions of common packages 2 Root GUI setup is a potential security hole
Integrations
No integrations available	VirtualBox MySQL Slack

What are some alternatives to CentOS, Kali Linux?

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 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

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

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

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

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

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.

Gentoo Linux

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.

Alpine Linux

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

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.

Related Comparisons

Centos vs Kali Linux: What are the differences?

Introduction:

Package Management: CentOS uses the YUM (Yellowdog Updater Modified) package manager, which allows easy installation, removal, and updating of software packages. On the other hand, Kali Linux uses APT (Advanced Package Tool) package manager, which is more commonly used in Debian-based distributions. APT provides similar functionality but with a different set of commands and package repositories.
Default Software and Tools: CentOS is known for its stability and reliability, making it a popular choice for enterprise use. It comes with a minimalistic installation, providing the essential tools and services required for a server environment. On the contrary, Kali Linux is designed specifically for penetration testing and security auditing. It comes bundled with a wide range of hacking and security tools, making it an ideal choice for cybersecurity professionals.
Target Audience: CentOS targets businesses and organizations that require a stable and secure operating system for their servers. It focuses on providing a reliable platform for hosting various services. Kali Linux, on the other hand, is aimed at cybersecurity professionals, ethical hackers, and penetration testers. It provides a platform for conducting security assessments and vulnerability testing.
Release Cycle and Support: CentOS follows a long-term support release cycle, with each major version being supported for approximately 10 years. This makes it a preferred choice for stability-focused environments that require long-term support and backward compatibility. On the contrary, Kali Linux follows a rolling release model, where the system is constantly updated with the latest software packages and security updates. This makes it ideal for users who want to stay up-to-date with the latest tools and features.
Documentation and Community Support: CentOS has a large and active community that provides extensive documentation and support for users. Being used by businesses and organizations, it has a wide range of resources available online. Kali Linux also has a supportive community; however, it is more focused on the cybersecurity community, providing specific documentation and resources for security-related topics.
Default Desktop Environment: CentOS offers a choice of desktop environments, including GNOME, KDE, and Xfce, giving users the flexibility to choose the environment that suits their preferences. Kali Linux, primarily being a command-line focused distribution, does not emphasize desktop environments. It provides a lightweight Xfce environment by default, focusing more on terminal-based applications.

Centos vs Kali Linux

Overview