macOS vs. Ubuntu

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
macOS
Score 9.2 out of 10
N/A
macOS is the graphical operating system for Apple desktop devices.N/A
Ubuntu
Score 8.8 out of 10
N/A
Ubuntu Linux is a Linux-based operating system for personal computers, tablets and smartphones. There is also a Server version which is used on physical or virtual servers in the data center.N/A
Pricing
macOSUbuntu
Editions & Modules
No answers on this topic
No answers on this topic
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
macOSUbuntu
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
macOSUbuntu
Considered Both Products
macOS
Chose macOS
macOS just makes sense to me. Each OS has its pros and cons.. macOS works for me. It's well designed, intuitive, and efficient. But it's not cheap... well, macOS is basically free, but you need the hardware to run it, and the hardware isn't cheap. Pick the right tool for the …
Ubuntu

No answer on this topic

Best Alternatives
macOSUbuntu
Small Businesses
Ubuntu
Ubuntu
Score 8.8 out of 10
Android
Android
Score 8.5 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
macOSUbuntu
Likelihood to Recommend
9.0
(4 ratings)
9.2
(47 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
-
(0 ratings)
6.0
(2 ratings)
Usability
9.7
(3 ratings)
9.5
(2 ratings)
Support Rating
-
(0 ratings)
8.6
(6 ratings)
Implementation Rating
-
(0 ratings)
9.0
(1 ratings)
User Testimonials
macOSUbuntu
Likelihood to Recommend
Apple
For the longevity of a product and intuitive design. But it is a matter of opinion, and if you are more comfortable with Windows, then stay with Windows.
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Canonical Ltd
If somebody whishes to be an IT professional, learning the basics of Linux is amust. Ubuntu [Linux] is one of the most beginner-friendly, widely supported, easy-to-use-relative-to-the-fact-that-its-still-linux OS on the market. As somebody who learned the basics of UNIX/LINUX on Ubuntu, it was a very good experience. It is customizable, has a lot of improvements over the years, and live up to be a viable alternative to any modern OS in 2021 as well.
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Pros
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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Canonical Ltd
  • PACKAGE MANAGEMENT. You can update everything - OS installed software, you name it with either a few clicks in a GUI or a single command.
  • No bloatware.
  • No need for antivirus software.
  • Certainly the price is right.
  • My 83 year old grandmother has been using it - and because of this I rarely need to provide tech support. But I still visit my grandmother.
  • You can choose from a variety of user interfaces or rock it in the terminal.
  • Generally speaking, Ubuntu is as polished an OS as any you might pay for.
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Cons
Apple
  • Visual studio discontinued
  • Installing software only available to windows
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Canonical Ltd
  • The repository system could be a little better, as some of the software needed is not easily available there.
  • Ubuntu sometimes does not play nicely or easily with some modern firmwares.
  • Some people report slow responses with newer versions of Ubuntu, although we have not experienced any.
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Likelihood to Renew
Apple
No answers on this topic
Canonical Ltd
While it works, we're finding that SNAP is getting more and more annoying, so we're probably going to migrate to Debian.
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Usability
Apple
Most users find macOS logical and user friendly
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Canonical Ltd
I gave it 10 out of 10 because it allows me to do the work I need on a server, such as running a website and database, and making developments. In addition, thanks to its easy and useful interface during installation, it can be easily installed. In addition, thanks to its easily accessible documents, when a problem occurs, it can be solved easily and quickly.
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Support Rating
Apple
No answers on this topic
Canonical Ltd
We did not use the managed commercial support, but instead relied on community forums and official documentation. Ubuntu is very well documented across both instructional documentation from the developers themselves as well as informal support forums [ServerFault, YCombinator, Reddit]. It's easy enough to find an answer to any question you may have
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Implementation Rating
Apple
No answers on this topic
Canonical Ltd
It was all pretty much automatic for our use cases. It integrates nicely with Laravel Forge, which is our primary use case.
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Alternatives Considered
Apple
macOS just makes sense to me. Each OS has its pros and cons.. macOS works for me. It's well designed, intuitive, and efficient. But it's not cheap... well, macOS is basically free, but you need the hardware to run it, and the hardware isn't cheap. Pick the right tool for the job and for you. And even though macOS may not be thought of in an enterprise environment, it works remarkably well if configured properly. Tools like DEP and ABM from Apple enable device management and lock them to the company. Use an MDM like Jamf to push policies and packages. Jamf can also manage accounts and authentication. JumpCloud is another great product for account management. Although it might not be all included in the box, with the right knowledge, you can build a robust and versatile enterprise Mac infrastructure. You can even do zero-touch deployment in most cases with the correct setup. And Apple employs engineers to help you get it set up right.
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Canonical Ltd
Windows 10: Expensive, with more security problems, more difficult to keep updated and less variety of free / open source applications. Its use encourages bad information security practices. OpenSuse Linux: A different distribution at source (Suse Linux), use of rpm packages (with fewer repositories and incompatible with Ubuntu Linux dpkg packages), and whose main objective is to be a "testing ground" for its paid version / professional, SUSE enterprise Linux.
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Return on Investment
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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Canonical Ltd
  • Systems administration with Ubuntu is easy with little deep knowledge about it. Docs and community publications are great resources for any task you need to perform on any Ubuntu server and the organization can save several salaries of specialized sys admins in favor of more active roles.
  • Having been an Ubuntu user for many years personally, setting up new Ubuntu servers on my organization came with zero cost for me. I just deployed one instance from my hosting/cloud provider and started working right after it was running, no need to ask support or hire new staff for these tasks.
  • Replacing paid options with Ubuntu have also saved thousands of dollars on Windows Server licenses. I've migrated Windows/SQL Server based systems to Ubuntu/MySQL/PostgreSQL several times during my career and saved about USD 5000/year in licenses to many of them.
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ScreenShots