Which one is better linux or windows

11 Reasons Why Linux Is Better Than Windows

Brief: Are you wondering if Linux is better than Windows? Don’t wonder. Linux is better than Windows and in this article, we’ll see the advantages of Linux over Windows.

If you are not a power user, it might seem that “Windows” OS is a better (or easier) choice when compared to Linux. In either case, if you are not enjoying using a Linux distro then Windows would be your obvious choice.

However, in reality, we tend to experience something different, which lets us jump to the conclusion where Linux gets the edge over Windows OS.

Advantages of Linux over Windows

In this article, we will take a look at 11 of the compelling reasons why Linux is better than Windows. Some of the points mentioned here are already discussed in our earlier article on why switch to Linux.

1. Open Source Nature

What is it like when you buy a car, but you cannot see what’s under the hood? Similar is the case with when you use a Windows-powered system.

However, in contrast, Linux is completely an open source project. You can have a look at the source code of a Linux OS, which is a plus.

I know, most people don’t care about this openness of Linux, but to me, this is the most important feature of using GNU/Linux.

2. Secure

Let’s face it; Windows OS is vulnerable to different types of attacks (or hacks). However, Linux is not as vulnerable as Windows. It sure isn’t invulnerable, but it is a lot more secure. Although, there’s no rocket science in it.

It is just the way Linux works that makes it a secure operating system. Overall, the process of package management, the concept of repositories, and a couple more features makes it possible for Linux to be more secure than Windows.

When you have Windows installed, you need to download/purchase an Antivirus program to keep your computer safe from hackers and malware. However, Linux does not require the use of such Anti-Virus programs. Of course, a couple of software tools still exist to help you keep your system free from threats, but it is often unnecessary when you have a Linux system.

Being secure by nature would make things easier for you and save money as well because you will not have to get a premium Antivirus software!

3. Can revive older computers

As the operating systems evolve, so do their hardware requirements increase exponentially. For instance, if you purchase a genuine copy of Windows 10, you will have to meet the minimum hardware requirements to run it successfully, and you cannot run it on just about any low-end system.

Nevertheless, with Linux, you could even utilize one of your oldest computer systems to achieve a task. However, that does not mean that every Linux distribution would work with 256 MB of RAM coupled with an outdated processor. However, there are options which you can install on such low-end systems as well (such as Puppy Linux).

So, being an efficient OS, Linux distributions could be fitted to a range of systems (low-end or high-end). In contrast, Windows operating system has a higher hardware requirement.

Overall, even if you compare a high-end Linux system and a high-end Windows-powered system, the Linux distribution would take the edge. Well, that is the reason most of the servers across the world prefer to run on Linux than on a Windows hosting environment.

4. Perfect For Programmers

Linux supports almost all of the major programming languages (Python, C/C++, Java, Perl, Ruby, etc.). Moreover, it offers a vast range of applications useful for programming purposes.

The Linux terminal is superior to use over Window’s command line for developers. You would find many libraries developed natively for Linux. Also, a lot of programmers point out that the package manager on Linux helps them get things done easily.

Interestingly, the ability of bash scripting is also one of the most compelling reasons why programmers prefer using Linux OS.

Linux also brings in native support for SSH, which would help you manage your servers quickly. You could include things like apt commands which further makes Linux one of the most popular choices of the programmers.

5. Software Updates

Microsoft pushes a software update when it receives a set of problems or if something major needs to be fixed. And, for this reason — your system potentially breaks with an update or you end up waiting for an update to fix your issue for a significant amount of time.

I’m sure if you have a Windows-powered system for a long time, you may have encountered issues with every update.

However, with Linux, you would observe software updates to address every little bug and most of which isn’t system-breaking if you’re using an LTS version of a distribution.

So, with Linux, you will notice more effective and faster updates to fix the problems you might be facing. That’s not the case with Windows.

6. Customization

One major advantage of using Linux instead of Windows is customization. If you like tweaking your system’s looks, Linux is just perfect for you.

Apart from installing themes, you have tons of beautiful icon themes. In addition to that, you can use Conky to display system information on the desktop in the coolest way possible. Needless to say that you can do a lot around Wallpapers in Linux.

7. Variety Of Distributions

There are no flavors of Windows. Yes, you may have different plans & packages which differ in licensing terms, the period of activation, packaged features, and price.

In contrast, you will find tons of Linux distributions catered for a different set of needs. So, you can choose to install any of the available Linux distros according to your requirements.

For example, there are Linux distributions for hackers, there are Linux distributions for programmers, there are Linux distributions for extremely old computers, and the list goes on. There is a Linux for everyone.

If you’re curious, you might want to learn what is Linux to know why there are 100s of Linux distributions.

8. Free to Use

Linux is accessible to the public for free! However, that is not the case with Windows!

You will not have to pay 100-250 USD to get your hands on a genuine copy of a Linux distro (such as Ubuntu, Fedora). So, it is entirely free.

If something is free but useful, it is always the best thing one could expect. With the money you just saved, you can consider enhancing your system (just saying, you can go to Starbucks as well!)

9. Better Community Support

You do not need to hire an expert to solve a problem you are facing on your Linux system. You just need to search for a similar thread on the web for a solution or post a thread to let others solve the problem.

Within minutes of posting a thread on any of the Linux forums, you may expect a reply along with a detailed solution which would finally help resolve your problem at no cost! Not to forget, you should find solutions to most of the common problems in the forums properly explained without needing to do a lot of research.

There are a lot of active Linux users who are always ready to respond to a relevant thread one might have created. The number of community users active on such forums is more than the number of active members on any Windows-focused forum.

However, the community response might vary depending on the Linux distribution being used. You can also reach out for help through our community forum.

10. Reliability

Windows, as we know it, becomes sluggish day after day. You will want to re-install Windows after a while when you encounter crashes or slowdowns on your system.

If you are using Linux, you will not have to worry about re-installing it just to experience a faster and a smoother system. Linux helps your system run smooth for a longer period (in fact, much longer!).

Also, with Windows, you will have to adapt to a habit where you keep on rebooting the system for just about everything.

• If you just installed software, reboot!
• If you recently uninstalled software, reboot!
• If you just installed a Windows update, reboot!
• If the system seems to slow down, reboot!

However, in the case of Linux, you will not have to reboot for the situations mentioned above. You can comfortably continue with your work, and Linux will not bother you.

Another fact that proves Linux to be reliable are the web servers. You could observe that most of the Internet giants like Google and Facebook run on Linux. Even almost all of the supercomputers run on Linux.

So, Why isn’t Windows preferred over Linux for mission-critical tasks? It is because Linux is far more reliable than Windows OS. Period.

Of course, it doesn’t mean Linux does not have issues. But, if we look at the bigger picture, Linux is reliable by design. If you consider trying any of the Linux distribution for your computer, you might want to try Pop OS (my personal favorite) or any of the best Linux distributions we have listed.

11. Privacy

Microsoft certainly tries to anonymize the data collected from every user. However, it does not look convincing with Microsoft’s latest Windows 10. It has already received an enormous amount of criticism of how it collects data, what it should collect and what it should not.

If you have ever used Windows 10, you could only head into the privacy settings to know that everything is enabled by default. Even if you opt out to send Microsoft information about your data, it is still being collected. Of course, Microsoft will not bother revealing it officially with a press statement, but it surely does. So, you would need a set of tools to disable the spying modules of Windows.

In contrast, Linux would be the perfect solution for a privacy buff. First of all, Linux distributions do not collect much data (or none). Moreover, you will not be needing additional tools to protect your privacy.

Do you also think Linux is better than Windows?

Now that you know the advantages of using Linux instead of Windows, what do you think?

If you’re still going to keep using Windows as your primary OS, what reason could you think of choosing it over Linux? If you’ve already made the switch, and using Linux, what more benefits do you observe?

Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.

A passionate technophile who also happens to be a Computer Science graduate. You will usually see cats dancing to the beautiful tunes sung by him.

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I think it unrealistic and disenguous to say that problems with Linux can be taken to user forums and that they will be willing to help. My experience is that they expect you to be a programmer such as they are, and this really is not helpful.

Windows “slows” down over time? Yes, up to Windows 7. If your Windows “slows down” on versions after that, you’re doing something wrong. This is common knowledge among Windows techs.

Another reason: Windows is very slow to clean disk, about one hour to clean my disk, and restarting for updates take a lot of time.

1. Open Source Nature – Most people don’t care. Few GNU/Linux users have ever seen a line of its source code, let alone could understand why having a look at it would be a plus. Most people also don’t want to look under the hood of their car and wouldn’t know what to do under there anyway.
2. Secure – Maybe. I’ve not had an issue with a virus on Windows in the last few decades. And I don’t install any “premium Antivirus software.” But when you say “It is often unnecessary when you have a Linux system”, this suggests the reality, which is that Linux systems are not impervious to attack.
3. Can revive older computers – Sure. I have two old laptops for the kids in this category.
4. Perfect For Programmers – Nothing is perfect for programmers. There is no perfect language, no perfect tools, no perfect anything. That’s one of the reasons there are so many languages and still more being developed all the time. But just look at your first sentence… “Linux supports almost all of the major programming languages”…. “almost all” != “all”.
And WSL gives programmers the best of both worlds. All the support for native Windows tools and development environment, and a full Linux terminal working seamlessly together. Much closer to perfect for programmers.
5. Software Updates – I have been suffering from bugs and lack of support on Linux since 1995, and while some of those problems are now fixed, many remain. Each update I hope that finally suspend/resume will work without issue, for example, but alas, it remains broken on my desktop for the last 6 years. And some updates make things worse. Linux isn’t immune from human error in software development, or from bugs related to the complexity of it all.
6. Customization – Sure, if you are into that. In my youth I messed around with this stuff too, but now I value sensible defaults and clarity and ease of use.
7. Variety Of Distributions. – This is a two-edged sword. Searching for the endgame Distro is a frustrating and lifelong process of hopping around from one to the next, trying the latest Fedora, then the latest Ubuntu, then the latest Pop_OS, and then after a week or two it’s back to having another go at Arch or Gentoo trying to make it “perfect”. The term “Daily Driver” is not used in Windows land. Those folks just use their computers, and all the time they aren’t spending trying out this and that, they are spending getting stuff done, or just playing games (Windows is better at that). Also, most of the distributions are essentially the same. Programmers, gamers, hackers, music producers etc are all going to be catered for much the same with any of the major distributions.
8. Free to Use – I once believed this. But now I believe that for most people the opposite is true. Most folks buy a laptop and it comes with Windows on it …. included in the cost of the laptop! Sure they can get Chrome OS and there are some laptops that come with Linux, but in all these cases, the OS is included in the cost of the machine. So for most people out there, they have a computer and it has an OS, and that OS will be updated for free for the lifetime of the hardware. Switching to Linux would not save them anything. It would just cost them time and effort at a minimum. IF they also would like ALL the features of their laptop to work, like bluetooth or wifi, they might have to go hunting for a supported card, or buy a USB dongle that has Linux support. Or just put up with it. The track pads on my laptops here are almost unusable with Linux, and the bluetooth and wifi worked only after several hours of hunting for solutions. System builders… sure, they have to buy a Windows licence, but there again, most of these folks are likely to be “power users” who want to get the most out of the system. My desktop runs well under Linux, but the Nvidia GPU support is not perfect, bluetooth doesn’t work at all (and I spent countless hours over the years tinkering with these issues). An outlay of $100 for Windows and all my hardware would work as intended. 5%-10% increase in cost seems reasonable to have 100% supported system. And the confidence to know I can buy pretty much any hardware going forward without having to research first to see if it will “work” on Linux.
Also, on this point of Linux being free…. this is also not true. There are people working hard and giving their time to keep these distros going, updating software, and there are hosting costs etc. Many (perhaps most) distros would appreciate us users paying in something to help keep things going. Many distros have fallen by the wayside over the years, often because of lack of financial support. I think it’s unfortunate that Linux “influencers” seem intent on pushing the expectation to new Linux users, that Linux is a zero cost proposition. So while you say they could use the money they saved to go to Starbucks (gross!), I’d say that if Linux really is better in all the ways you say, then they can use the money they “save” to help support the distribution they settle on, and the “free” software they use.
9. Better Community support – This hasn’t been my experience. “RTFM”, “Post Log, noob!”, etc. Also, there are ample sources of “free” support for Windows. I think it’s untrue to suggest that Windows support is behind a pay wall. But there again, I would happily pay money for Linux support that would actually help me solve my Linux problems. Windows users have access to the vendor support, while most Linux users will not have something like that.
10. Reliability – I mostly run Fedora, and it reboots plenty. Specifically for any system updates. I also have aforementioned Nvidia issues, bluetooth problems, and standby/resume glitching and other issues. I often restart because it only takes 15 seconds to resolve some issues that way rather than messing around stopping and starting services. I still consider Linux to be quite solid, but comparing server Linux to desktop Linux… the desktop presents all manner of challenges that don’t exist in Server land.
11. Privacy – Sure, until you open a web browser and log into your Facebook account, or link your Google and MS accounts, or open Telegram Messenger and scan the QR code with your phone. There are Linux distros that are really focused on privacy, and they are tiresome to use on the modern web. In the end, if Privacy is truely important, then go for it, but again, many people are sharing their lives online, and don’t seem too bothered about Privacy.

I like Linux. But it is not without its problems. Using Linux is going to require compromises. I have no love for MS or Windows, but for nearly everyone, Linux is not the better choice for the desktop.

Okay we understand that you are a Linux Hater. Nobody will buy this here. Clean you mind from negativity then use Linux. Linux is not for all especially narrow and negative minded people. Thanks

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