Feature Comparison of AlmaLinux 9 and 10

This page provides a detailed comparison of the core features and differences between AlmaLinux 9 and AlmaLinux 10, helping users choose the version that suits them.

Version Overview

Feature	AlmaLinux 9	AlmaLinux 10
Release date	May 2022	May 2025
Latest version	9.8 (May 2026)	10.2 (May 2026)
Kernel version	Linux 5.14	Linux 6.12
RHEL compatible version	RHEL 9.x	RHEL 10.x
Security support until	May 2032	May 2035
Default Python version	Python 3.9	Python 3.12
GCC version	GCC 11	GCC 14

Core System Features

AlmaLinux 9 Core Features

1. Kernel and System

# Check the kernel version
uname -r
# Example output: 5.14.0-70.el9.x86_64

# Check the system version
cat /etc/almalinux-release
# Output: AlmaLinux release 9.1 (Lime Lynx)

2. Security Enhancements

• Enhanced SELinux: more fine-grained permission control
• System encryption: LUKS2 disk encryption support
• Secure Boot: UEFI Secure Boot support

3. Containers and Virtualization

• Podman 4.x: daemonless container engine
• Buildah: container image building tool
• QEMU/KVM: enhanced virtualization support

AlmaLinux 10 New Features

1. Modern Kernel

# New features brought by the Linux 6.12 kernel
# - Better hardware support
# - Improved file system performance (Btrfs supported from 10.1)
# - Enhanced network stack

2. Development Toolchain Upgrades

• GCC 14: the latest compiler support
• Python 3.12: significant performance improvements
• Node.js 20+: the latest JavaScript runtime

3. Cloud-Native Enhancements

• Enhanced container support: better OCI compatibility
• Kubernetes integration: native support for the latest K8s versions
• Cloud-init improvements: better cloud platform initialization

Development Environment Comparison

Programming Language Support

Language	AlmaLinux 9	AlmaLinux 10
Python	3.9.x	3.12.x
Java	OpenJDK 11/17	OpenJDK 17/21
Node.js	16.x/18.x	18.x/20.x
Go	1.18+	1.21+
Rust	1.62+	1.75+

Database Support

Database	AlmaLinux 9	AlmaLinux 10
PostgreSQL	13/14/15	15/16/17
MariaDB	10.5/10.9/10.11	10.11/11.x
MySQL	8.0	8.0/8.4
Redis	6.x/7.x	7.x/7.2+

Container Ecosystem Comparison

AlmaLinux 9 Container Features

# Install Podman
sudo dnf install -y podman buildah skopeo

# Verify the installation
podman --version
# Output: podman version 4.2.0

# Pull the AlmaLinux 9 container image
podman pull almalinux:9

AlmaLinux 10 Container Enhancements

# Enhanced Podman support
# - Faster image building
# - Improved network management
# - Better resource isolation

# Official container image optimizations
podman pull almalinux:10-minimal
# Smaller image size and faster startup time

Cloud Platform Compatibility

Cloud Service Provider Support

Platform	AlmaLinux 9	AlmaLinux 10
AWS	✅ Official image	✅ Official image
Azure	✅ Official image	✅ Official image
Alibaba Cloud	✅ Community image	✅ Community image
Tencent Cloud	✅ Community image	✅ Community image
Huawei Cloud	✅ Community image	✅ Community image

Cloud-init Configuration Example

# AlmaLinux 9/10 cloud-init configuration
#cloud-config
package_update: true
package_upgrade: true

packages:
  - vim
  - git
  - htop
  - podman

users:
  - name: admin
    groups: wheel
    sudo: ALL=(ALL) NOPASSWD:ALL
    ssh_authorized_keys:
      - ssh-rsa YOUR_SSH_PUBLIC_KEY

runcmd:
  - systemctl enable --now podman
  - firewall-cmd --permanent --add-service=ssh
  - firewall-cmd --reload

Performance and Areas of Improvement

AlmaLinux 10 is based on the newer Linux 6.12 kernel and an upgraded toolchain (GCC 14, glibc, etc.), and it offers improvements over the 9 series in areas such as hardware support, file systems, network stack, and container runtime. Actual performance depends on the workload, hardware platform, and configuration, so we recommend conducting real benchmarks in your own environment before drawing conclusions.

Key areas of improvement include:

• Kernel and hardware support: the 6.12 kernel brings broader support for new hardware along with scheduling and I/O optimizations
• File systems: Btrfs support was introduced starting in 10.1, providing more storage options
• Container runtime: components such as Podman 5.x were refreshed, improving image building and resource isolation
• Toolchain: frame pointers are enabled by default, facilitating system-level performance analysis and tracing

Upgrade Path

Upgrading from AlmaLinux 9 to 10

# AlmaLinux provides the ELevate tool (based on leapp) for in-place upgrades across major versions
# Before upgrading, validate in a test environment and confirm the target version is supported by ELevate

# 1. Back up important data
sudo tar -czf /backup/system-config.tar.gz /etc /home

# 2. Perform an in-place upgrade using the ELevate tool
# Install the ELevate repository (the source system is AlmaLinux 9, so use the el9 RPM)
sudo dnf install -y http://repo.almalinux.org/elevate/elevate-release-latest-el9.noarch.rpm
sudo dnf install -y leapp-upgrade leapp-data-almalinux
sudo leapp preupgrade --target almalinux10
sudo leapp upgrade --target almalinux10

# 3. Reboot and verify the upgrade result
sudo reboot
cat /etc/almalinux-release

Selection Recommendations

When to Choose AlmaLinux 9

• Production environments: when you need a stable and mature system
• Legacy applications: when you depend on specific package versions
• Enterprise deployments: when you need a long-supported and validated system

When to Choose AlmaLinux 10

• New project development: to take advantage of the latest development tools and features
• Cloud-native applications: when you need the latest container and Kubernetes support
• Modernization upgrades: for new deployments migrating from older systems

---

Next step: learn about the history of AlmaLinux