AlmaLinux or Rocky Linux on a VPS: what differs

Log in to a fresh server of either and you'd struggle to tell them apart, since dnf install pulls the same PHP, Node.js and PostgreSQL versions from both. The differences sit around the code. They're in how far each project strays from Red Hat, which upgrade tools work, cPanel, how old each project's starting image is, and who pays for each. DreamHost's VPS pages start both on version 10, and you can pick version 9 of either instead.

Where the two differ

From each project's own pages and repositories, endoflife.date and cPanel's docs, read October 19, 2026. RHEL is Red Hat Enterprise Linux, the distribution both rebuild. Rocky's release notes date AMD's x86-64-v3 support from its Excavator chips, and DreamHost's plans run on the later AMD EPYC, so the x86 row only matters on older hardware.

Same software on both

We read the package lists from each distro's BaseOS and AppStream repositories on October 19, 2026, and every major version below matched.

The minor numbers will move over time, since each version gets fixes within its own line. Version 10 has no module streams. It ships newer versions as separate packages, such as php8.4 or postgresql18-server, next to the defaults. So if you install PHP 8.4, match every extension package to it. Rocky's 10.2 release notes advise exactly that, and AlmaLinux packages PHP the same way.

For anything the base repos don't carry, EPEL works the same way on both.

You turn on the CRB repository and run dnf install epel-release. The AlmaLinux wiki shows both steps (its examples are for versions 8 and 9, and the same commands worked on 10 in our test), and the release package also sits in Rocky's own extras repository. Remi's PHP repository and PostgreSQL's own repository both build for Enterprise Linux 10. Docker's install page lists RHEL 8, 9 and 10 but names neither rebuild, so its RHEL steps are the closest documented path on both. We didn't test Docker. Our AlmaLinux 9 guide covers version 9 in more depth.

What a fresh server runs on day one

The updates row is about image age. AlmaLinux's newest cloud image was eight days old when we ran it and had 18 updates waiting. Rocky's newest is from May and had 130. DreamHost provisions its own images, with their own build dates, so run dnf upgrade before you install anything, on either one.

The used row hides the bigger memory difference. Rocky used about 28 MiB less. But its kernel reported about 256 MiB less total memory on the same 4 GB VM, so it left about 228 MiB less free for your apps. Rocky's image runs kdump, a crash-dump service that sets memory aside at boot. We think that's the reason, though we didn't capture the boot settings to prove it. With the same web stack running (nginx, PHP-FPM 8.4, MariaDB, PostgreSQL 18, Python 3.14, Node.js 24 and Valkey), every service started on both, and each used about half a gigabyte (513 MiB on AlmaLinux, 495 MiB on Rocky Linux), and Rocky still left about 240 MiB less available. If a DreamHost image set aside the same 256 MiB, that would be about 3% of Stack 8's 8 GB.

AlmaLinux's image has CRB on already, so EPEL is one command there. In Rocky's own image, Cockpit's web service is installed with its socket turned on. DreamHost's Rocky Linux page says Cockpit ships in its image and you switch the console on when you want it. Neither image installs dnf-automatic, so automatic updates are a step you add on both.

How we tested

DreamHost ran both images on October 20, 2026. Each ran in its own Lima virtual machine on an Apple M2 Mac (arm64) with 2 vCPU and 4 GB of memory, the shape of Stack 4. We used each project's newest published aarch64 cloud image. These are the projects' own images, which can differ from DreamHost's, and the VMs aren't DreamHost servers. We counted waiting updates before touching dnf. Then we took 12 memory samples after a 10-minute settle on the fresh image and again after a 7-minute settle with the stack, which came from BaseOS and AppStream only and served no traffic.

It's one VM per OS, so the run doesn't cover x86 servers like DreamHost's AMD EPYC plans, version 9 or Docker. It says nothing about speed either, because install times on a shared Mac mostly measure the download mirrors.

How far each one moves from Red Hat

After Red Hat made CentOS Stream the only public repository for RHEL-related source in June 2023, the two projects took different routes. AlmaLinux dropped its aim to be a 1:1 copy and moved to ABI compatibility instead. Rocky kept its bug-for-bug aim and gets RHEL's own source packages through UBI container images and cloud instances.

You can see the result in the repositories. In version 10, 92 of AlmaLinux's 2,075 source packages carry an .alma tag in at least one build. Rocky has 36 of 2,065 with .rocky. On version 9 the counts are 53 and 37. We counted them from each repository's own package metadata, adding up BaseOS and AppStream, the same way for both. A tag marks a rebuild with a project change, but it doesn't show how big the change is, and some changes on both sides are just branding.

AlmaLinux uses the freedom ABI compatibility gives it. Its 10.2 release adds Btrfs and re-enables drivers for older hardware that Red Hat's build turned off. And 9.8 shipped a kernel fix for excess CPU use before RHEL did. AlmaLinux's own 2023 post admits the tradeoff runs both ways, since some users may hit bugs that RHEL doesn't have while others get fixes RHEL hasn't shipped yet.

Rocky's home page promises the other thing, 100% bug-for-bug compatible with RHEL. That matters most when a vendor certifies its software against RHEL itself. If you depend on one, look for the rebuild by name on the vendor's supported-OS list before you order.

Who runs and pays for each

From each project's own pages, read October 19, 2026.

AlmaLinux's foundation page calls this a structure no single sponsor can capture, though money still weighs in elections at 50 votes to 1. The RESF's FAQ is just as direct about its own setup. Kurtzer owns the legal entity and handed control to elected boards, and CIQ is the founding backer that the RESF says doesn't own Rocky. Both documents can be amended, and the AlmaLinux bylaws were amended in April 2026.

Upgrading and switching later

AlmaLinux moves to its next major version in place with ELevate, which keeps your data, apps and settings and takes two reboots. Rocky doesn't support in-place major upgrades, so you install the new version and restore your data. ELevate dropped Rocky Linux in its November 3, 2025 update, because the migration data it needs hasn't been contributed.

Switching distros later is easier in one direction. almalinux-deploy converts Rocky Linux 8, 9 and 10 to AlmaLinux in place. Going the other way, migrate2rocky handles AlmaLinux 8 and 9 but not version 10 yet.

If you're still on CentOS 7, that guide compares rebuilding, converting in place and paying for extended support. For Ubuntu and Debian in the same picture, see which Linux to run on a VPS, and if you've narrowed it to those two, our Ubuntu or Debian for a VPS comparison covers them the same way.

cPanel

If cPanel is on your list, the choice is made for you. AlmaLinux 10 takes cPanel from version 132, and AlmaLinux 9 from 114. Rocky Linux lost cPanel support, even for existing installs. Because cPanel only tests official AlmaLinux releases, run a trial install on a fresh server before moving client sites over. If you're weighing a panel at all, our guide to leaving cPanel compares the options.

AlmaLinux or Rocky Linux FAQs