Amazon Linux vs Fedora Linux
| Amazon Linux | Fedora Linux | |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | No | Yes |
| Free trial | No | No |
| Paid from | — | Free |
| Open source | No | No |
| Platforms | Linux | Linux, self-hosted |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Device types | EC2 instances; Docker container workloads | Desktop computers, laptops, servers, cloud virtual machines, IoT devices |
| CPU architectures | x86-64 (x86-64v2); 64-bit ARM (aarch64, ARMv8.2+crypto; Graviton2 or later on EC2) | x86_64, aarch64; Fedora CoreOS also supports s390x |
| Support lifecycle | AL2023 supported until June 30, 2029; standard support through June 30, 2027, then maintenance support. Individual LTS kernels are supported for four years. | Fedora Workstation versions are updated for approximately 13 months; each release is maintained until one month after two subsequent releases. |
| Built-in management | DNF package manager; versioned repositories; AWS Systems Manager for fleet kernel update management | DNF package management; PackageKit update notifications; automatic update capability |
| App compatibility | RPM packages from AL2023 repositories; Docker-compatible container image; 32-bit userspace compatibility retained but deprecated | Install applications from Fedora repositories, Flathub, or other sources; RPM package management |
| Deployment models | Amazon EC2 AMIs; Docker/container images usable in any environment, including local development | Physical device installation, live USB testing, cloud images, and container base images |
Both are listed in Best Operating Systems. On Freedom251, Fedora Linux scores higher on our published basis.