11 Reasons Why Linux Is Better Than Windows

Last updated September 21, 2020 By Ankush Das 586 Comments

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.

Like what you read? Please share it with others.

Ubuntu vs Windows: Which Is Better for Your Computer? [Clone Disk]

By Linda | Follow | Last Updated November 26, 2020

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Summary :

Do you know the differences between Ubuntu and Windows? MiniTool shows you Ubuntu vs Windows from 8 aspects. Keep reading to learn them and you can decide whether to use Ubuntu or keep using Windows.

Quick Navigation :

Brief Introduction to Windows and Ubuntu

Windows is an operating environment developed by Microsoft and introduced on November 20, 1985. After years of development and perfection, this software is relatively mature and stable, and is still the mainstream operating system of current personal computers.

It has good man-machine interaction, supports much application software, and has strong hardware adaptability. Currently, its flagship product is Windows 10, released on July 15, 2015.

Ubuntu, released by Canonical Ltd., is an open-source operating system based on Debian GNU/Linux. It was first introduced in October 2004 and was rated the best Linux distribution in 2005. Its latest release is Ubuntu 19.04.

Many people want to know the differences between Ubuntu and Windows. This post will show you Ubuntu vs Windows in detail. In addition, if you want to know Linux vs Windows, you also need to read this post. After all, Ubuntu is the best Linux distribution.

Ubuntu vs Windows

When we talk about Ubuntu vs Windows, we can’t just say one’s advantages and don’t mention the other’s advantages. Therefore, in this part, I will introduce Ubuntu’s advantages and Windows advantages (equivalent to Ubuntu’s defects) as well.

1. Cost

Ubuntu is an open-source operating system, whose source code can be obtained arbitrarily. It means that you can get it for free. In addition, you can go through Ubuntu’s source code to learn about the inner workings of a cool OS. At the same time, it also allows you to innovate and modify it. In this way, you can make the best contributions you can to it.

As for Windows, it is closed-source and not free. If you build your computer by yourself, you should pay for Windows. If your computer is running an old version of Windows and you want to upgrade it to Windows 10, you should also pay for Windows 10 because the free upgrade that Microsoft offered a couple of years ago has run out.

Windows 10 will cost you $119.99 for the Home edition and $199.99 for the Professional edition. However, there is a case exception: if you plan to buy a new computer, this computer will come with Windows 10. But, to some extent, we still can’t say it is totally free.

2. Hardware Requirement and Compatibility

In this part, I will touch upon two factors: hardware compatibility and hardware requirement.

Apparently, Windows has wider hardware compatibility, because it has the largest group of computer users. However, newer versions of Windows may be not compatible with older device drivers, resulting in that it always forces you to update your hardware.

Some users said that their computer run very slow and asked: what should I upgrade on my pc? This post will tell you how to upgrade computer for maximum performance.

Different from Windows, Ubuntu, relying on the Linux kernel, adheres to the principle that compatibility should never be broken. Therefore, if a hardware device was working once on a Linux-based operating system, it will work forever.

As for Windows vs Ubuntu hardware requirement, please see the following chart.

The required hardware to run Ubuntu or Windows is quite similar, but there are lightweight alternatives (Lubuntu and Xubuntu) that use fewer resources. However, these lightweight versions will lack some features compared to Ubuntu.

3. Software

In this part, I mainly focus on software compatibility and software resource usage.

In general, Windows has wider software compatibility. For example, Microsoft Office and Visual Studio can’t work well in Ubuntu; only a small part of games is available for Ubuntu.

Of course, you can find alternatives for those applications you are used to in Windows. For example, you can use LibreOffice to substitute Microsoft Office, GIMP to substitute Photoshop, etc.

However, as for gaming, it is still the area where Windows is definitely better than Ubuntu. Although you can still play games on Ubuntu, these games are unlikely to run faster in Ubuntu than in Windows. In addition, it’s highly unlikely that a new popular game will support Ubuntu.

This article provides 11 methods to make PC games run faster. It includes four strategies.

As for resource usage, Windows will use more resources than Ubuntu. For example, Windows 10 may use almost double the amount of RAM as Ubuntu. This may be vital if your computer has low RAM.

When the OS uses small resource, more resource will be released to run programs. Therefore, apart from games, almost every software runs faster in Ubuntu.

This article explains what high memory usage is and how to check it. It also gives 11 methods to fix Windows 10 high memory usage caused by most common reasons.

4. UI Customization

Ubuntu is customizable from the moment you install it. It has more customizable options than Windows.

Windows 10 allows you to change the color theme, the cursor and icon themes, the wallpaper, and start menu colors. However, Ubuntu allows you to personalize virtually every single element of your UI/UX, from your notification sounds, popup style, fonts, system animations, and workspaces.

In Windows 10, Microsoft just provides you some modes from which you can choose and personalize your computer. However, in Ubuntu, you can personalize your computer without restriction. For example, the position and the items in the taskbar can be rearranged; the Start menu button can also be removed from taskbar; and the font family in Ubuntu is awesome.

5. Security

In general, Ubuntu is more secure than Windows for the following three reasons:

(1) Ubuntu’s user community is smaller than Windows’s. The more popular the operating system is the more people are interested in writing malicious software for it, because the attackers can profit more when their viruses penetrate a greater number of PCs.

(2) User accounts within Ubuntu have far fewer permissions than in Windows. If you want to make a change to Ubuntu such as installing an application, you need to enter your password to do it, which makes it much more difficult to execute malware or a virus inside Ubuntu.

Likewise, to do damage on Linux-based operating systems, an attacker needs to gain root privilege.

(3) It is an open-source software. Since the majority of the source code that is being executed is freely available, there are a lot of advanced users who will try to patch the vulnerabilities just a few minutes after it is announced.

Is antivirus necessary for Windows 10/8/7 to keep your PC safe? Read this post to get the answer, and you can also know some ways to prevent malware.

6. Privacy

As for privacy, Ubuntu is far more privacy-focused than Windows 10. Most Linux distributions will not collect your data at all. Even if there are some features with privacy risks, for example, sending your search queries to Amazon in an attempt to show relative shopping data, you can disable it.

In addition, because the source code of the operating system is freely available, it can be freely reviewed on the user’s behalf. In a word, the free will of the user in an open-source software is far greater than that in a closed-source software.

As for Windows, it doesn’t take privacy seriously. In Windows, the majority of privacy-intrusive behavior cannot be disabled, even though there are plenty of options available to be turned on and off on the user’s behalf.

Of course, it cannot be said that the above privacy settings are completely unfavorable. For example, the keystrokes on the keyboard are recorded to improve the spelling and other grammar-related things; Cortana learns about the way you talk and sends usage data to Microsoft so that they can use this data to improve the way Cortana works.

Anyway, Ubuntu is far more respectful to its users’ privacy.

Microsoft Compatibility Telemetry is a technology related to privacy. Click the following post to know how to disable it and to fix the high disk usage problem caused by it.

This article introduces Microsoft Compatibility Telemetry. It also teaches you how to disable Microsoft Compatibility Telemetry and how to solve Microsoft Compatibility Telemetry high disk problem.

7. Operating Habits

In Windows, ordinary users are basically operating under the pure graphical interface, relying on the mouse and keyboard to complete all operations. Therefore, the user is easy to get started. Besides, its user community is mainly ordinary user and game player.

While in Ubuntu, all operations can be done with just the keyboard, because it has both the graphical interface operations (requiring a distribution with a desktop environment) and the full command line operations.

Therefore, getting started is more difficult and requires some learning and guidance. After installing Ubuntu, you should learn how to use Ubuntu in forums. But once skilled, it is extremely efficient. Its user community is mainly programmers who have pursued the UI, researchers, and technical personnel.

Another reason why you may like Ubuntu lies in its updating way. Unlike Windows always popping up annoying updates messages, Ubuntu will not pop up these annoying messages when you launch an application, because Ubuntu fetches the updated versions of the operating system itself and every other installed application as a scheduled task.

On the other hand, Ubuntu has no forced updates like Windows has and no automatic restarts after updates like Windows has.

8. Support

When you have a problem with Windows, you can get critical support and services provided by Microsoft, get help online or from a local PC repair shop.

If you have a problem with Ubuntu, you should go to be seeking out help online. There are dozens of forums, hundreds of chat rooms and even more websites dedicated to helping people learn and understand Linux. You can find Linux support easily.

When it comes to Ubuntu vs Windows, many people would like to mention live CD feature of Ubuntu and think it as Ubuntu’s advantages.

Ubuntu live CD allows you to load a complete Ubuntu version from a CD or a USB drive, rather than loading from a hard disk drive. With this feature, you can take Ubuntu with you everywhere, try out Ubuntu before installing it, and troubleshoot Windows PCs.

However, there is a similar feature in Windows — Windows to go. Windows to go allows you to install Windows into a USB drive and boot it from the USB drive.

Compared with Windows to go, Ubuntu live CD has only one advantage: it is free. Windows to go feature is only built into Windows 8/8.1 Enterprise, as well as Windows 10 Enterprise, Education, and Professional.

Some Tips on Using Ubuntu or Windows

After reading the comparison, you can decide whether to use Ubuntu or Windows. Of course, some of you may want to use both of them. No matter what decision you make, here are some tips for you.

1. WSL or Dual Boot

If you want to use both Ubuntu and Windows, you can try Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) or dual boot.

WSL provides a Linux-compatible kernel interface developed by Microsoft (without Linux code), on which user-mode binaries from Ubuntu can run. It allows you to use Ubuntu on Windows 10 like an app.

This feature is better than emulating Ubuntu with a virtual machine. But it still needs a high-performance computer and it can’t run all Linux software, such as those graphical user interfaces.

If your computer performance is not very good, you can consider dual boot of Ubuntu and Windows.

2. Back up Computer and Manage Disk

If you want to use WSL or set up dual boot, you should back up computer regularly in case of computer crash or other data loss situations. If you want to switch from Windows to Ubuntu, you should also back up your computer.

As for disk clone software, MiniTool Partition Wizard is recommended. You can use its Copy Disk feature.

In addition, MiniTool Partition Wizard can also help you manage partitions better to speed up computer performance, especially when you decide to make a dual boot.

Ubuntu is a popular distribution of Linux operating system. This post will show you how to resize Ubuntu partition under Windows if you dual boot Ubuntu with Windows.

Bottom Line

Do you have any problems with Ubuntu vs. Windows? Do you have problems in backing up computer? If so, please leave a comment below or email us at [email protected] . We will reply to you as soon as possible.

Ubuntu vs Windows FAQ

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Position: Columnist

Author Linda has been working as an editor at MiniTool for 1 year. As a fresh man in IT field, she is curious about computer knowledge and learns it crazily. Maybe due to this point, her articles are simple and easy to understand. Even people who do not understand computer can gain something.

By the way, her special focuses are data recovery, partition management, disk clone, and OS migration.