🆚 Linux vs. Windows
Compare technologies based on real-world usage data *- 📈 Linux is twice as popular as Windows.
- 🌎 Linux is more popular in the United States, Germany, and Italy.
- 🌍 Windows is more popular in China, Turkey, and Denmark.
Linux
WindowsType
Operating system
Operating system
About
Linux is a family of open-source, Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel.
Windows is a family of proprietary operating systems from Microsoft.
Headquarters
San Francisco, California, United States
Redmond, Washington, United States
Pricing
Free ✔️Open source
Windows Server 2025
Standard edition$1,176
Datacenter edition$6,771
Categories
Operating Systems › Rank #1
Operating Systems › Rank #2
Popularity
Determined by the number of sites using each technology.
The Linux operating system is 2.1 times more popular than Windows.
Total websites
Market share
Operating Systems
Popularity by country
Determined by the number of sites detected from each country.
Linux is more popular in the United States, Germany, and Italy, while Windows is more popular in China, Turkey, and Denmark.
United States
Germany
China
Italy
United Kingdom
Netherlands
Spain
France
Japan
Australia
Awards
- 🥇 Most popular in the United States in the Operating Systems category.
- 🥇 Most popular in Germany in the Operating Systems category.
- 🥇 Most popular in Spain in the Operating Systems category.
- 🥇 Most popular in Italy in the Operating Systems category.
- 🥇 Most popular in the Netherlands in the Operating Systems category.
- 🥇 Most popular in China in the Operating Systems category.
- 🥇 Most popular in Turkey in the Operating Systems category.
- 🥇 Most popular in Hong Kong in the Operating Systems category.
- 🥇 Most popular in Denmark in the Operating Systems category.
- 🥇 Most popular in Vietnam in the Operating Systems category.
Popularity by domain category
Determined by the number of sites in each category.
Linux is more popular among sites focused on business, marketing and merchandising, and education and reference, while Windows is more commonly used on government and military, real estate, and finance and banking sites.
Business
Marketing/Merchandising
Education/Reference
Online Shopping
Internet Services
Travel
Blogs/Wiki
Entertainment
Health
Sports
Top sites
Top-ranked sites that use these technologies.
Name
Rank
#128
#355
#496
#534
Compare alternatives
Technologies with similar characteristics.
Linux Kernel Organization company profileData updated
* According to recent studies, many of online reviews are fake.
When making your decision, it is better to rely on data that cannot be falsified.
Our service evaluates the popularity of technologies by the number of websites using them.
When interpreting and using the results, please read our methodology and disclaimer.