FreeBSD vs. macOS

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
FreeBSD
Score 7.0 out of 10
N/A
FreeBSD is an operating system used to power modern servers, desktops, and embedded platforms. A large community has continually developed it for more than thirty years. Its advanced networking, security, and storage features have made FreeBSD the platform of choice for many of the busiest web sites and most pervasive embedded networking and storage devices.N/A
macOS
Score 8.1 out of 10
N/A
macOS is the graphical operating system for Apple desktop devices.N/A
Pricing
FreeBSDmacOS
Editions & Modules
No answers on this topic
No answers on this topic
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
FreeBSDmacOS
Free Trial
NoNo
Free/Freemium Version
NoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional Details
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
FreeBSDmacOS
Top Pros
Top Cons

No answers on this topic

Best Alternatives
FreeBSDmacOS
Small Businesses
Ubuntu
Ubuntu
Score 9.0 out of 10
Ubuntu
Ubuntu
Score 9.0 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL)
Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL)
Score 9.2 out of 10
Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL)
Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL)
Score 9.2 out of 10
Enterprises
Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL)
Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL)
Score 9.2 out of 10
Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL)
Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL)
Score 9.2 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
FreeBSDmacOS
Likelihood to Recommend
10.0
(1 ratings)
10.0
(1 ratings)
User Testimonials
FreeBSDmacOS
Likelihood to Recommend
Open Source
FreeBSD is an excellent choice to continue using older hardware and have it perform, it is a great choice for a UNIX based development environment. Although I haven't used it as a server, it is most suited for this - it would make an excellent, secure and robust server for and I would love to start using it for this as well.
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Apple
Anyone with an iPhone or iPad would benefit from having a macOS-based computer. Additionally, the learning curve for a new user is much less steep than for a Windows computer. Apple has updated its OS for 20+ years, however, still maintains the same basic functionality (turn on/off, open/close apps, etc), the same cannot be said for Windows (Windows Vista, 8, 8.1, 11).
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Pros
Open Source
  • Performs really well, even on older hardware
  • Secure
  • Robust
  • Package manager (pkg) is excellent
  • Large collection of ported software from Linux
  • Documentation is excellent (FreeBSD Handbook)
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Apple
  • Integrates with other apple devices seamlessly
  • Information passed between those devices is encrypted end to end (understanding that apple has the keys in some cases)
  • Compact design
  • Aesthetically pleasing
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Cons
Open Source
  • Installation can be tricky for first timers
  • You need to be comfortable using a command line terminal most of the time
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Apple
  • Integration within a windows environment does require more work.
  • Does not play well with PCL based network printers that do not also support PS.
  • Dongles for everything
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Alternatives Considered
Open Source
FreeBSD was the only operating system out of many I tried to install easily on older hardware and to run in a very performant way. For example, I had a lot of trouble trying to get Ubuntu to install on older hardware and when it did, it was too slow to use. FreeBSD installed quite easily and even after installing a desktop such as XFCE - it still run surprisingly fast. I was very impressed with it's performance, which it seems is a goal of the FreeBSD project.
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Apple
No answers on this topic
Return on Investment
Open Source
  • As FreeBSD is free - the ROI is at least the cost of some commercial Linux or Windows based OS (which can be very expensive)
  • Allowed the re-use of older hardware that would have otherwise been disposed
  • No cost development environment
  • Opportunity for a no cost server setup also
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Apple
  • Apple supports their hardware longer than most manufacturers, which is good.
  • Apple's hardware is more expensive than similar equipment competition, which is bad but offset somewhat by its longevity.
  • Apple in an Apple world works great.
  • Apple in a Windows world has some work to do to get things talking.
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ScreenShots