Software Alternatives & Startups

Outbrain VS CloudLinux

Compare Outbrain VS CloudLinux and see what are their differences

Outbrain

Outbrain is the world's leading performance-driven discovery and native advertising platform. We help advertisers get discovered on leading publishers websites.

Rating
0 reviews
CloudLinux

Making Linux secure, stable, and profitable for thousands of hosting providers and data centers worldwide.

Rating
0 reviews
Pricing
Open source
Note: These products don't have any matching categories. If you think this is a mistake, please edit the details of one of the products and suggest appropriate categories.

Which is more popular?

Based on our record, Outbrain seems to be more popular. It has been mentioned 3 times since March 2021.

social mentions
3 vs 0
Advertising popularity
100% vs 0%

Base details

Website, pricing, platforms and company facts side by side.

Outbrain
CloudLinux
Website outbrain.com cloudlinux.com
Pricing —
Open source
Listed in

Features and specs

What each product offers, as listed by its team.

Outbrain 5 features
CloudLinux 5 features
  • Global Reach
    Outbrain has partnerships with a variety of major publications worldwide, allowing you to reach a broad and diverse audience.
  • Targeting Options
    Outbrain offers advanced targeting features including geo-targeting, interest targeting, and behavioral targeting, which helps in reaching the right audience.
  • Engagement Metrics
    Provides detailed metrics and insights into how users are interacting with your content, allowing for data-driven decisions.
  • Ease of Use
    The platform is user-friendly and offers a streamlined process for setting up and managing campaigns.
  • Content Amplification
    Helps in amplifying your content and driving high-quality traffic to your website or blog.

Possible disadvantages

  • Cost
    Outbrain can be expensive compared to other content recommendation platforms, especially for small businesses.
  • Content Approval
    The content approval process can be stringent and time-consuming, potentially delaying campaigns.
  • Mixed Quality Traffic
    Not all the traffic driven by Outbrain may be of high quality, potentially resulting in lower conversion rates.
  • Ad Fatigue
    Frequent displays of the same content recommendations can lead to ad fatigue among users, thereby reducing effectiveness over time.
  • Limited Control
    While the targeting options are robust, there is still limited control over where exactly your content will appear, which could impact brand safety.
  • Enhanced Server Stability
    CloudLinux uses its lightweight virtualization technology (LVE) to isolate each tenant on a shared hosting server, preventing any single user from consuming excessive resources and crashing the server for everyone else. This ensures consistent uptime and performance.
  • Improved Security with HardenedPHP and KernelCare
    CloudLinux offers HardenedPHP, which patches old and unsupported PHP versions against known vulnerabilities, and KernelCare, which provides live kernel patching without requiring server reboots. These features significantly enhance server security posture.
  • Resource Limit Management
    Administrators can set granular resource limits (CPU, memory, I/O, number of processes, etc.) per user account using LVE Manager. This makes it easy to manage shared hosting environments and ensure fair resource distribution among tenants.
  • CageFS File System Virtualization
    CageFS creates a virtualized file system for each user, preventing them from seeing other users on the server, viewing sensitive configuration files, or exploiting server vulnerabilities. This adds an important layer of isolation and security.
  • Wide Compatibility with Hosting Panels
    CloudLinux integrates seamlessly with popular hosting control panels such as cPanel, Plesk, and DirectAdmin, making it straightforward for hosting providers to adopt without overhauling their existing infrastructure or workflows.

Possible disadvantages

  • Additional Licensing Cost
    CloudLinux requires a paid monthly or annual license on top of the base server cost. For smaller hosting providers or individual server owners, this additional expense can add up and may not always be justifiable compared to free alternatives.
  • Limited to CentOS/RHEL-Based Systems
    CloudLinux is built on top of RHEL/CentOS and does not support other Linux distributions like Ubuntu or Debian. This limits its adoption for hosting providers who prefer or already run non-RHEL-based environments.
  • Learning Curve for Configuration
    While CloudLinux provides powerful resource management tools, properly configuring LVE limits, CageFS, PHP Selector, and other features requires a solid understanding of the platform. Misconfiguration can lead to users being unnecessarily restricted or resources being poorly allocated.
  • Potential Performance Overhead
    The additional layers of virtualization, resource monitoring, and file system isolation introduced by CloudLinux can impose a slight performance overhead on the server compared to running a bare, unmodified Linux distribution without these controls.
  • Dependency on CloudLinux Ecosystem
    Adopting CloudLinux means relying on their ecosystem for kernel updates, PHP patches, and security fixes. If the company experiences delays in releasing patches or changes its pricing/licensing model, hosting providers may find themselves locked into a dependency that is difficult to migrate away from.

Analysis

An editorial look at what each product does well and who it suits.

Outbrain
CloudLinux

Overall verdict

  • Outbrain is generally considered good for businesses and marketers looking to increase content visibility and drive traffic. Its effectiveness, however, can depend on specific marketing goals, target audience, and content strategy. Some users appreciate its wide reach and engagement capabilities, while others may find the costs challenging without a clear ROI.

Why this product is good

  • Outbrain is a content discovery platform that helps publishers and marketers reach a larger audience by promoting their content across a network of high-quality sites. It is known for its advanced targeting options, which allow businesses to reach specific demographics, and its native advertising approach, which aims to better engage users compared to traditional ads.

Recommended for

  • Content Marketers
  • Digital Advertisers
  • Companies aiming to increase brand awareness
  • Publishers looking to monetize their websites

Overall verdict

  • CloudLinux is a well-regarded, mature Linux OS distribution and toolset specifically designed for shared hosting and multi-tenant server environments, offering strong isolation, resource management, and security features that make it a solid choice for hosting providers.

Why this product is good

  • Provides LVE (Lightweight Virtual Environment) technology for per-tenant resource isolation, preventing 'bad neighbor' effects on shared servers
  • Enhances server stability and security by isolating users so that one account's issues (crashes, resource spikes) don't affect others
  • Offers extended lifecycle support (longer than standard CentOS/RHEL support windows), which is valuable for legacy systems
  • Includes tools like CloudLinux OS Shield, Imunify360 integration, and hardened kernel options for improved security
  • Compatible with popular control panels like cPanel and Plesk, making it easy to integrate into existing hosting stacks
  • Backed by an established company with a long track record in the hosting industry and responsive support
  • Offers granular control over CPU, memory, I/O, and other resources per user account
  • Provides PHP Selector and multiple PHP version support, useful for hosting providers serving diverse client needs

Recommended for

  • Web hosting companies running shared or reseller hosting environments
  • Hosting providers needing to isolate customer accounts on the same physical server
  • Businesses requiring extended OS support lifecycles beyond standard RHEL/CentOS EOL dates
  • Enterprises using cPanel or Plesk that want tighter security and resource control
  • Hosting companies looking to reduce support tickets caused by noisy-neighbor resource contention
  • IT teams managing multi-tenant infrastructure who need governance and monitoring tools built into the OS layer

Videos

Walkthroughs and reviews on video.

Outbrain 3 videos + Add
CloudLinux 3 videos + Add

OUTBRAIN Amplify PUBLISHER Review | Underground Targeted Traffic Source

More videos

  • - Should You Be Using Outbrain or Taboola? | Ep. #233
  • - Outbrain Adsense Reviews: for Publisher | Earn High Revenue with Outrain For Blogger & Websites

When To Use Cloudlinux On Your Virtual Private Server (VPS)

More videos

  • - CloudLinux OS+ in a minute: Explore Features
  • - How CloudLinux Plans to Keep CentOS 6 Alive

Category popularity

How often each product is chosen within a category, 0–100% relative to the other.

Score bands 0–20 21–40 41–50 51–60 61–100
Outbrain
CloudLinux
100% 100%
0% 0%
0% 0%
100% 100%
100% 100%
0% 0%
0% 0%
100% 100%

User comments

Share your experience with using Outbrain and CloudLinux. For example, how are they different and which one is better?

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Reviews and articles

External articles and on-site reviews we used to compare the two products.

Outbrain no reviews yet
CloudLinux no reviews yet

We have no reviews of CloudLinux yet. Be the first one to post

Social recommendations and mentions

Recommendations tracked on public social media and blogs since March 2021.

Outbrain 3 mentions
CloudLinux 0 mentions
  • Newbie question on HTML
    Or it's related to the site's ad campaign. You see the first link is for outbrain.com which is an affiliate program. Those sites listed might be affiliates OR they are sites that Soulframe is refusing to give affiliate money to for links. Source: over 4 years ago
  • I get 4.5 million page views a month on my content, how do I get advertising?
    Additionally, I have become aware of services such as outbrain.com and taboola.com that pay publishers in a variety of ways for integrating ads onto content that has high page views. However, I don't know the correct course as... Source: almost 5 years ago
  • Ask HN: Who is hiring? (September 2021)
    Outbrain | Israel, Half-Remote | Full-Time | Experienced Algorithm/ML Engineer | https://outbrain.com Our team is developing machine learning algorithmic solutions that improve outcomes for our advertisers. It is part of Outbrain’s... - Source: Hacker News / about 5 years ago

Tracking CloudLinux since Mar 2021.

Alternatives to Outbrain and CloudLinux

When comparing Outbrain and CloudLinux, you can also consider the following products.