You’ve probably heard someone online say Linux can replace Windows, and you’ve probably also heard someone else say that’s completely wrong—and honestly, they’re both right. Whether Linux makes sense for you has nothing to do with which OS is “better” and everything to do with what you actually use your computer for. If you’ve been on the fence about Linux, or just wondering what all the fuss is about, this breakdown will actually help answer that question.

Why Linux isn’t necessarily ‘better’ than Windows

They’re different operating systems—neither is better than the other

When we say X is better than Y, we generally mean that X can do everything Y can—and then some. In practice, though, we can’t compare Linux and Windows this way. It’s a bit like comparing apples and oranges.

Yes, you’ll find dozens of Linux distros described as “Windows replacements” or “Windows-like” all over the internet. What that generally means is that the basic interface and day-to-day experience mirror the familiar Windows workflow. As such, these distros are targeted at Linux newcomers, so they’re not completely thrown off when trying to open a file manager, launch apps, or browse the web.

That said, these distros are “Windows-like” only on the surface. If you’re a Windows power user—someone who regularly opens Device Manager, edits the registry, uses Task Scheduler, or relies on Power Automate—Linux is going to feel completely alien. Linux also can’t run many popular apps that are the industry standard—like Microsoft Office and Adobe Creative Cloud. In fact, software incompatibility is one of the main reasons Windows users don’t switch to Linux.

I should also point out that Linux can do many things that Windows can’t. In fact, there are many apps that work better (or exclusively) on Linux than they do on Windows.

The mistake is treating Windows and Linux like competing products where one has to win. Windows is a general-purpose mainstream OS built for mass adoption. Linux is built around freedom, privacy, and developer-oriented workflows. They’re tools designed to solve different problems, and comparing them as if one is supposed to replace the other misses the point entirely.

Yes, modern Linux is capable enough that most everyday Windows users would get along fine—especially if all they really do is open a browser. But if you rely on something Windows-specific, Linux won’t cover that—just like macOS won’t either.

Windows users aren’t switching because Linux is better

They’re switching because Windows got worse

Credit: Lucas Gouveia / Jerome Thomas / How-To Geek

A lot of people use Windows not because they chose it, but because it came preinstalled on their computer. It was the default, so that’s what they used. Most people never had a reason to think about it.

But at some point, Windows starts showing its cracks—the bloat, the ads in the Start menu, the forced updates, the telemetry you can’t fully opt out of. Now, if you’re really in the Windows ecosystem, you might be willing to put up with these drawbacks because it’s the only OS where your apps and games work—and that’s completely valid.

However, if you’re not using Windows’ assets, it doesn’t make sense to put up with its liabilities. And here are the three main ways that using Windows becomes such a big liability and a headache, that folks just decided to jump ship and move to Linux.

Linux revives old hardware that Windows won’t run on

Linux is a healer

Credit: Lucas Gouveia/How-To Geek | taniascamera/Shutterstock

Regardless of what the official minimum specs say, from practical experience I can tell you that you at least need a quad-core CPU and 8GB of RAM to run Windows 11 without it feeling unusable. And even that is barely-scraping-by territory. For a smooth experience, you’re looking at 16GB of RAM and an SSD at minimum.

For a lot of people, that means their perfectly functional older machine is now dead weight—not because anything broke, but because Windows got bloated.

On the flip side, Linux runs comfortably on dual-core processors with 4GB of RAM, and it can boot off a hard drive without drama. If all you’re doing on that old machine is browsing the web, reading email, and watching videos, Linux will handle all of that just fine—and suddenly that old PC just got a new life.

Linux offers better privacy and security

Linux is a protector

Credit: Lucas Gouveia/How-To Geek | MZinchenko/Shutterstock

Technically speaking, Linux isn’t more secure than Windows—it has its own share of bugs and vulnerabilities. But the way security works on Linux is different, and in practice, following basic hygiene (installing packages from the official repos, checking before installing third-party packages, having a strong sudo password) keeps you safe the vast majority of the time.

In comparison, Windows requires constant vigilance. The way most Windows users install software—downloading EXE files from random websites—is one of the easiest ways to end up with malware. And because Windows is so dominant, it’s a much bigger target for attackers.

Privacy is another issue.

Windows collects a significant amount of telemetry, and while Microsoft probably (hopefully) isn’t doing anything sinister with it, what if they get hacked and your data become compromised? You might not have anything to hide, but that’s not really the point—the question is whether you want your data out there, outside your control and ownership, where someone else can potentially get to it.

With Linux, you don’t have to worry about this. None of the mainstream distros are sending your activity anywhere. Yes, some distros like Ubuntu do collect some randomized telemetry, but that’s opt-in and off by default.

Linux can actually be better than Windows for specific workflows

Linux is a specialist

Credit: Lucas Gouveia/How-To Geek

While Windows might be the better OS for running proprietary apps and gaming (though that’s debatable right now)—Linux also has it’s strong suits. The biggest one is programming and development. Installing binaries and software packages from the terminal with a package manager is just faster and cleaner than the Windows equivalent. And if your work involves a lot of open source tooling, Linux is where it all lives natively. Furthermore, most servers run Linux, so if you’re deploying or testing apps on Linux, your dev environment is already closer to production.

The other big one is customization. If you’ve spent any time on r/unixporn, you know what I’m talking about—setups that look genuinely gorgeous without adding meaningful system overhead. But beyond aesthetics, Linux customization extends to actual workflow optimization. Keyboard shortcuts, bash scripting, window managers, automation—you can shape the OS to work exactly the way your brain works. While Windows customization does exist, it’s not as clean and tends to cost you RAM and stability.

Switching to Linux doesn’t have to mean leaving Windows

Credit: RIch Hein/Howtogeek.com

You don’t have to nuke your Windows installation to try Linux. The lowest-commitment option is installing it as a virtual machine using something like VirtualBox. This way you get a real Linux environment without touching your existing setup.

If you like it, dual booting is the natural next step. Your Windows partition stays intact and you pick which OS to load at startup. In fact, I’ve been dual booting Linux and Windows for about ten years now. I use Linux for my personal computing needs because it’s private, secure, and I can tweak it and try out new, unique layouts and workflows. Meanwhile, I use Windows for my work—because I need all the apps I use professionally to work.

At the end of the day, both Windows and Linux are just tools, and some tools are better suited for certain jobs. As such, if your workflow demands apps that are Windows-specific, then you should use Windows. However, if you’re a user with basic computing needs—or a developer—Linux is the better OS with its lower overhead and more optimized infrastructure.

8/10

Operating System

Kubuntu 24.04 LTS

CPU

Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX (2.7GHz up to 5.4GHz)

This laptop is purpose-built for developers and professionals who want a Kubuntu Linux-powered portable workstation and gaming platform. It features an Intel processor capable of hitting 5.4GHz and both integrated graphics and a dedicated NVIDIA 5070 Ti GPU for when you need extra power for machine learning or games.