Competitive Comparison
Ubuntu Pro vs OSSeva
Ubuntu Pro costs $25 per workstation or $500 per server a year, plus $300 to $3,400 for 24/7 support, on Canonical's pricing page, 30 October 2026. It extends security fixes across the Ubuntu archive, Main and Universe, for up to 10 years. OSSeva patches application versions the archive lacks, such as PostgreSQL 13 or Kafka 3.6, on any operating system.
Checked 30 October 2026 against ubuntu.com/pricing/pro, ubuntu.com/pro, ubuntu.com/security/esm, Canonical's Ubuntu Pro description and the Ubuntu Pro FAQ, plus the Ubuntu archive on Launchpad. Every Canonical statement on this page comes from those sources; confirm with Canonical before you buy. Next review by 23 November 2026.
Where OSSeva is stronger
- ✓PostgreSQL 11 to 14, MySQL 5.7 and 8.0, Redis, Kafka, RabbitMQ and MongoDB patched as signed builds. The Ubuntu archive carries one PostgreSQL major per release (12, 14 or 16) and no Kafka package at all
- ✓Critical CVEs patched within 48 hours and High within 7 days. Canonical's service description states no time to fix and says ESM does not guarantee a fix for every High or Critical CVE
- ✓Not tied to Ubuntu: the same terms apply on any operating system the DEB, RPM, tarball or container-image builds run on
- ✓One contract for the application layer, priced per cluster rather than per machine
Where Ubuntu Pro is stronger
- →The operating system itself: security fixes for Main and Universe, 10 years per LTS and 15 with the Legacy add-on, from the vendor that builds Ubuntu
- →Kernel Livepatch, FIPS crypto modules and CIS and DISA-STIG profiles, all included in a Pro subscription
- →A $25 workstation price, hourly metering on public clouds and a free tier for up to 5 personal machines
- →If your PostgreSQL or MySQL is the version Ubuntu packages for your release, Pro already covers it
Trusted globally by enterprises
Ubuntu Pro prices, checked 30 October 2026
Canonical sells Ubuntu Pro per machine per year. These are the figures on its pricing page. Canonical does not publish a price for the infra-only subscription that covers Main packages alone.
| Subscription or add-on | Price (USD) | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| Ubuntu Pro, workstation | $25 | Per machine per year |
| Ubuntu Pro, server with unlimited VMs | $500 | Per machine per year |
| 24/7 support, workstation | $300 | Per machine per year, on top of the subscription |
| 24/7 infra support, server | $1,775 | Per machine per year |
| 24/7 full support, server | $3,400 | Per machine per year |
| Weekday support | Half the 24/7 price | Per machine per year |
| Legacy add-on (15 years in total) | 50% more | Than the Ubuntu Pro subscription price |
| Public cloud | Typically 3 to 4.5% of list price | Metered hourly on the cloud provider's bill |
| Personal use | Free | Up to 5 machines; 50 for Ubuntu Community members |
Source: ubuntu.com/pricing/pro and ubuntu.com/pro, read 30 October 2026. List prices as published; Canonical sets the terms of any quote.
What Ubuntu Pro covers, and for how long
Canonical's Ubuntu Pro description says Pro and Pro (Infra-only) cover packages in the Main repository between the end of standard support and the end of Ubuntu Pro support. Only full Pro covers Universe. ESM provides fixes for high and critical CVEs and selected medium CVEs, and it does not guarantee a fix for every High or Critical CVE. Break-fix support for Main packages applies when they are installed using official sources.
| Ubuntu LTS | End of standard support | End of Ubuntu Pro support | End of Legacy add-on |
|---|---|---|---|
| 18.04 | May 2023 | May 2028 | May 2033 |
| 20.04 | May 2025 | May 2030 | May 2035 |
| 22.04 | May 2027 | May 2032 | May 2037 |
| 24.04 | May 2029 | May 2034 | May 2039 |
| 26.04 | May 2031 | May 2036 | May 2041 |
Source: ubuntu.com/security/esm, security maintenance schedule, read 30 October 2026.
Gaps for application components
Pro follows the archive, and the archive carries one version of each application per release. The table shows what the Ubuntu archive publishes in its security and updates pockets for the three most-used LTS releases. Where the version here is the one you run, Pro is the first quote to get. Where you run a different version, or the application has no archive package, Canonical's pages do not describe coverage.
| Package | Ubuntu 20.04 LTS | Ubuntu 22.04 LTS | Ubuntu 24.04 LTS |
|---|---|---|---|
| PostgreSQL | 12 (Main) | 14 (Main) | 16 (Main) |
| MySQL | 8.0 (Main) | 8.0 (Main) | 8.0 (Main) |
| MariaDB | 10.3 (Universe) | 10.6 (Universe) | 10.11 (Universe) |
| Redis | 5.0 (Universe) | 6.0 (Universe) | 7.0 (Universe) |
| RabbitMQ | 3.8 (Main) | 3.9 (Main) | 3.12 (Main) |
| ZooKeeper | 3.4 (Universe) | 3.4 (Universe) | 3.9 (Universe) |
| MongoDB | 3.6 (Universe) | None | None |
| Kafka, Elasticsearch | None | None | None |
Source: Ubuntu archive via the Launchpad API (getPublishedSources, Release, Security and Updates pockets), read 30 October 2026. The component in brackets is where Canonical files the package.
Capability comparison
Comparison based on Canonical's published pricing, ESM and service description pages and OSSeva's service pages, read 30 October 2026. Verify current terms with Canonical.
| Capability | OSSeva | Ubuntu Pro |
|---|---|---|
| Operating system and kernel security fixes | Main and Universe | |
| Kernel Livepatch | ||
| FIPS, CIS and DISA-STIG profiles | Included (FIPS pending for 24.04 LTS) | |
| PostgreSQL 11, 12, 13 and 14 | Only the version in the archive: 12, 14 or 16 | |
| Kafka, MongoDB 4.2 to 6.0, Elasticsearch | No archive package | |
| Time to patch | Critical 48 hours, High 7 days | None stated; no guarantee for every High or Critical CVE |
| Runs on | Any OS the builds install on | Ubuntu LTS |
| Support hours | Assure: 24/7 reactive. Operate: 24/7 operations, 15-minute P1 | 24/7 or weekday add-on |
| Free tier | Up to 5 personal machines | |
| Pricing basis | Per cluster | Per machine per year; hourly on public clouds |
Ubuntu Pro pricing: how it is billed
What Canonical states on its pricing and ESM pages:
- Billing unit
- Per machine per year. The server price covers unlimited VMs on that machine. Public cloud instances are billed hourly through the cloud provider.
- Support
- Priced separately: 24/7 or weekday, with infra-only or full scope for servers. Weekday support is half the 24/7 price.
- Infra-only
- A lower-cost subscription covers Main packages only. Canonical's ESM page mentions it without a price.
- Legacy
- An add-on that raises the total to 15 years, at 50% more than the Ubuntu Pro subscription price.
- Free use
- Up to 5 machines for personal use, or 50 for Ubuntu Community members.
Sources: Ubuntu Pro pricing, Ubuntu Pro, Expanded Security Maintenance, Ubuntu Pro description, Ubuntu Pro FAQ. OSSeva is priced per cluster across the Patch, Assure and Operate tiers; contact us for a quote.
Which do you need?
| What you run | Start with | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Ubuntu 22.04 with the archive's PostgreSQL 14 or MySQL 8.0 | Ubuntu Pro | The package is in Main, so Canonical's schedule applies to May 2032. |
| PostgreSQL 13 or 11 from the PostgreSQL project's repository | OSSeva Patch | Not an archive package, and past community end of life. |
| Kafka, MongoDB 4.4 to 6.0 or Elasticsearch 7.x | OSSeva Patch | No archive package to cover. |
| Kernel or OpenSSL findings on Ubuntu hosts | Ubuntu Pro | Operating system layer; OSSeva does not patch it. |
| End-of-life Ubuntu or CentOS itself | An OS-layer vendor | See the TuxCare and OpenLogic comparisons below. |
For operating-system coverage beyond Ubuntu, see OSSeva compared with TuxCare and with OpenLogic, which list end-of-life Linux distributions.
Cover what Ubuntu Pro does not
OSSeva Patch backports fixes into the application version you run and delivers a signed build with an SBOM, VEX statements and a CVE record per release. Critical CVEs are patched within 48 hours and High within 7 days. A quote is priced per cluster.
Why teams choose OSSeva
Application versions the archive does not carry
Canonical describes Ubuntu Pro coverage as packages in the Ubuntu Main and Universe repositories. The archive holds one PostgreSQL major per release, and teams routinely run another: PostgreSQL 13 from the PostgreSQL project's own repository, or 11 on a server that has outlived its application. Canonical's pages do not say Pro extends to packages from other repositories, upstream tarballs or container images that Canonical does not build. OSSeva patches PostgreSQL 11 to 14, MySQL 5.7 and 8.0, Redis 6.2 to 7.2, Kafka 2.8 to 3.9, RabbitMQ 3.8 to 3.13 and MongoDB 4.2 to 6.0 as signed DEB, RPM, tarball and image builds, whatever installed them.
A patch time in the contract
Canonical's service description says ESM provides fixes for high and critical CVEs and selected medium ones, and does not guarantee a fix for every High or Critical CVE. It states no time to fix. OSSeva Patch commits to Critical CVEs (CVSS 9.0 or higher) within 48 hours and High within 7 days, for every technology on the supported versions list. An auditor can test that against a dated CVE record.
The same terms on every operating system
A fleet that mixes Ubuntu, RHEL-family and Debian hosts needs one answer for the database or broker on each. OSSeva delivers the same patched build for the application whichever OS runs it. It does not patch the operating system or the kernel, so it sits beside an OS subscription, not in place of one.
Why teams choose Ubuntu Pro
The operating system, for a decade or more
Canonical's schedule gives Ubuntu 22.04 LTS standard security maintenance to May 2027, Ubuntu Pro support to May 2032 and the Legacy add-on to May 2037. Pro covers Main and Universe, so it reaches far more packages than any application-level contract. If your exposure is OpenSSL, glibc, the kernel or a utility package, this is the right layer.
Kernel and compliance tooling
Livepatch patches high and critical kernel vulnerabilities while the system runs. A Pro subscription includes FIPS crypto modules (pending for Ubuntu 24.04 LTS), CIS and DISA-STIG hardening profiles, and the Ubuntu Assurance Program with support. OSSeva has no equivalent for the operating system.
Price and simplicity for the OS layer
At $25 per workstation or $500 per server a year, with hourly metering on AWS, Azure and Google Cloud, the OS layer is cheap to cover and simple to buy. Canonical also covers Main packages such as PostgreSQL and MySQL when you run the version the archive ships and install it from official sources.
Which is right for your situation?
Choose OSSeva when…
You run PostgreSQL, MySQL, Redis, Kafka, RabbitMQ or MongoDB at a version the Ubuntu archive does not carry, or past its community end of life, or your fleet is not all Ubuntu, and you want a patch time written into the contract.
Talk to an engineerConsider Ubuntu Pro when…
Your exposure is the Ubuntu operating system or kernel, you need Livepatch or FIPS and CIS profiles, or the application you run is exactly the version Ubuntu packages for your release. Some estates buy both.
Ubuntu Pro covers packages in the Ubuntu archive on LTS releases. OSSeva covers PostgreSQL, MySQL, MariaDB, Redis, Kafka, RabbitMQ, MongoDB and other application versions, not the operating system.
Frequently asked questions
How much is Ubuntu Pro?
On Canonical's pricing page, read 30 October 2026, Ubuntu Pro is $25 per workstation per year and $500 per server per year, the server price covering unlimited VMs. 24/7 support adds $300 per workstation, $1,775 per server for infra support or $3,400 per server for full support, and weekday support is half the 24/7 price. The Legacy add-on, which takes coverage to 15 years, costs 50% more. On AWS, Azure and Google Cloud it is metered hourly, typically 3 to 4.5% of the list price.
Is Ubuntu Pro free?
For personal use. Canonical's pro page says it is free on up to 5 physical machines, or 50 machines for official Ubuntu Community members. Business use is paid.
Does Ubuntu Pro patch PostgreSQL?
It covers the PostgreSQL package Ubuntu ships for your release: 12 in Main on Ubuntu 20.04 LTS, 14 on 22.04 and 16 on 24.04, read from the archive on 30 October 2026. Canonical's pages describe coverage by archive package and do not say it extends to PostgreSQL installed from another repository, a tarball or a container image that Canonical does not build. For PostgreSQL 11, 13 or any version outside the archive, OSSeva Patch ships backported builds. Confirm your case with Canonical in writing.
What does Ubuntu Pro Expanded Security Maintenance cover?
Per Canonical's service description, ESM covers packages in the Ubuntu Main repository between the end of standard support and the end of Ubuntu Pro support, and Pro (not Infra-only) also covers Universe. It provides fixes for high and critical CVEs and selected medium ones, with no guarantee that every High or Critical CVE is fixed.
How long does Ubuntu Pro cover an LTS release?
Ten years for Main and Universe, 15 with the Legacy add-on. For Ubuntu 22.04 LTS, Canonical's schedule shows standard support to May 2027, Ubuntu Pro support to May 2032 and Legacy coverage to May 2037.
Does Ubuntu Pro cover Kafka or MongoDB?
The Ubuntu archive has no Kafka package, and its last MongoDB package is 3.6 on Ubuntu 20.04 LTS, so Canonical's archive-based description gives you nothing to rely on for current versions. OSSeva patches Kafka 2.8 to 3.9 and MongoDB 4.2 to 6.0.
Do I need both Ubuntu Pro and OSSeva?
Often. Pro keeps the operating system and kernel patched; OSSeva keeps the database or broker on top patched when its version is past end of life or outside the archive. The layers do not overlap much, so the contracts do not compete.
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