Microsoft Windows vs. Ubuntu

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Microsoft Windows
Score 8.5 out of 10
N/A
Windows is an operating system with editions to support business workstations.N/A
Ubuntu
Score 9.0 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
Microsoft WindowsUbuntu
Editions & Modules
No answers on this topic
No answers on this topic
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
Microsoft WindowsUbuntu
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
Microsoft WindowsUbuntu
Considered Both Products
Microsoft Windows
Chose Microsoft Windows
Because of its compatibility with third-party software requirements.
Ubuntu
Chose Ubuntu
Ubuntu Linux has the best packages useful to develop projects that require high data processing and agility
Top Pros
Top Cons
Best Alternatives
Microsoft WindowsUbuntu
Small Businesses
Ubuntu
Ubuntu
Score 9.0 out of 10
Android
Android
Score 8.3 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
Microsoft WindowsUbuntu
Likelihood to Recommend
9.2
(5 ratings)
8.3
(44 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
10.0
(1 ratings)
10.0
(1 ratings)
Usability
7.7
(2 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Support Rating
8.0
(1 ratings)
8.6
(6 ratings)
Implementation Rating
8.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
Microsoft WindowsUbuntu
Likelihood to Recommend
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.
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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
Microsoft
  • Smooth operating system
  • Intuitive user interface
  • Easy integration of other Microsoft products
  • System encryption
  • Very secure
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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
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
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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
Microsoft
No answers on this topic
Canonical Ltd
Experience with other Distributions.
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Usability
Microsoft
Works fine until it stops working, then hard to troubleshoot and fix!
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Canonical Ltd
No answers on this topic
Support Rating
Microsoft
support remains spotty, researching online articles are a pain
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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
Microsoft
MDT helped deploy OS to users machines via PXE boot.
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Canonical Ltd
No answers on this topic
Alternatives Considered
Microsoft
Because of its compatibility with third-party software requirements.
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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
Microsoft
  • Increased productivity
  • Intuitive interface
  • Quick operation
  • Minimal interruption from system processes
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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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