CentOS Stream vs Gentoo Linux
| CentOS Stream | Gentoo Linux | |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | Yes | No |
| Free trial | No | No |
| Paid from | Free | — |
| Open source | No | No |
| Platforms | Linux, self-hosted | Linux |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Device types | Servers, workstations, cloud instances, and containers | desktop PCs, servers, embedded and small systems, single-board computers |
| CPU architectures | CentOS Stream 10: AMD/Intel 64-bit (x86_64_v3), ARM 64-bit (ARMv8.0-A), IBM Power (POWER9), IBM Z (z14) | Alpha, AMD64 (x86_64), ARM, ARM64, HPPA (PA-RISC), IA64, MIPS, PPC, PPC64, RISC-V 64-bit, SPARC64, x86 (i486/i686) |
| Support lifecycle | CentOS Stream 10 maintained until 2030; roughly five-year lifecycle. CentOS Stream 9 end-of-life: 2027-05-31. | — |
| Built-in management | DNF repositories and package management | Portage/emerge package installation and updates; repository synchronization; profile and USE flag configuration |
| App compatibility | BaseOS and AppStream repositories; RPM packages; Xwayland compatibility layer for legacy X11 applications | Gentoo ebuild repository; source builds and binary package installation |
| Deployment models | Physical-device installation media; cloud images; container images; Vagrant boxes | physical computer installation; embedded and single-board computer installation |
Both are listed in Best Operating Systems. On Inferse, CentOS Stream scores higher on our published basis.