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FreeBSD vs. Microsoft Windows

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
Microsoft Windows
Score 8.5 out of 10
N/A
Windows is an operating system with editions to support business workstations.N/A
Pricing
FreeBSDMicrosoft Windows
Editions & Modules
No answers on this topic
No answers on this topic
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
FreeBSDMicrosoft Windows
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
FreeBSDMicrosoft Windows
Top Pros
Top Cons
Best Alternatives
FreeBSDMicrosoft Windows
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
FreeBSDMicrosoft Windows
Likelihood to Recommend
10.0
(1 ratings)
9.2
(5 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
-
(0 ratings)
10.0
(1 ratings)
Usability
-
(0 ratings)
7.7
(2 ratings)
Support Rating
-
(0 ratings)
8.0
(1 ratings)
Implementation Rating
-
(0 ratings)
8.0
(1 ratings)
User Testimonials
FreeBSDMicrosoft Windows
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.
Verified User
Anonymous
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Microsoft
It is well suited in a work environment, being that an organization can set up their system to be specifically work related and only certain users can get access is really helpful. I also like that multiple users can log in on the same device and keep each account seperate without interfering with the other.
MD
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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)
Verified User
Anonymous
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Microsoft
  • Smooth operating system
  • Intuitive user interface
  • Easy integration of other Microsoft products
  • System encryption
  • Very secure
Michal Wyrzykowski | TrustRadius Reviewer
Michal Wyrzykowski
Senior Quality Assurance Engineer
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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
Verified User
Anonymous
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Microsoft
  • confusing at first when shut down is under start menu
  • task bar on 2 displays sometimes won't hide automatically even though set that way
  • not so intuitive to set up 2 displays
Julia Kelly | TrustRadius Reviewer
Julia Kelly
Vice President
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Usability
Open Source
No answers on this topic
Microsoft
Works fine until it stops working, then hard to troubleshoot and fix!
JC
Jonathan Chang
IT Support Engineer
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Support Rating
Open Source
No answers on this topic
Microsoft
support remains spotty, researching online articles are a pain
JC
Jonathan Chang
IT Support Engineer
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Implementation Rating
Open Source
No answers on this topic
Microsoft
MDT helped deploy OS to users machines via PXE boot.
JC
Jonathan Chang
IT Support Engineer
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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.
Verified User
Anonymous
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Microsoft
Because of its compatibility with third-party software requirements.
Verified User
Anonymous
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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
Verified User
Anonymous
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Microsoft
  • Increased productivity
  • Intuitive interface
  • Quick operation
  • Minimal interruption from system processes
Michal Wyrzykowski | TrustRadius Reviewer
Michal Wyrzykowski
Senior Quality Assurance Engineer
Read full review
ScreenShots