Compared are these different operating systems:
Source: eylenburg.github.io
Last updated: November 2023
Windows | macOS | iOS/iPadOS | Android | Chrome OS | GNU/Linux | FreeBSD | NetBSD | OpenBSD | DragonFly BSD | Illumos | Haiku | ArcaOS | RISC OS | AmigaOS 4 | MorphOS | AROS | OpenVMS | |
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General information | ||||||||||||||||||
Developer | Microsoft | Apple | Apple | Linux kernel developers + distributors | The FreeBSD Project | The NetBSD Project | The OpenBSD Project | The DragonFly BSD Project | Illumos Foundation | Haiku, Inc. | Arca Noae, LLC | RISC OS Developments Ltd. & RISC OS Open Ltd. | Hyperion Entertainment | MorphOS Development Team | AROS Development Team | VMS Software Inc. | ||
History | First release in 1985. Early versions were based on MS-DOS (1981-2000). Current versions ("NT") started as a fork of OS/2 (1987-2001). | Early versions (1984-2002) were an independent OS. Now based on Darwin (Mach, BSD, and NeXTSTEP code), hence lineage going back to the original UNIX from 1971. | First release in 2007. Based on Darwin (like macOS), hence lineage going back to the original UNIX from 1971. | First release in 2008. Based on Linux. Typically bundled with Google services. Google-free forks include FireOS, LineageOS, or GrapheneOS. | First release in 2011. Based on Linux. A free and open source version called Chromium OS exists. | First release in 1991. Typically bundled with GNU software. Various distributions exist, e.g. OpenSUSE, Debian, Ubuntu, Fedora, RHEL, and Arch. | First release in 1993. Forked from the Berkeley Software Distribution (1978-1995). Lineage going back to the original UNIX from 1971. Various derivatives e.g. GhostBSD and HardenedBSD. | First release in 1993. Forked from the Berkeley Software Distribution (1978-1995). Lineage going back to the original UNIX from 1971. | First release in 1996. Forked from NetBSD. Lineage going back to the original UNIX from 1971. | First release in 2004. Forked from FreeBSD. Lineage going back to the original UNIX from 1971. | First release in 2010. Forked from Solaris (1993-today). Lineage going back to the original UNIX from 1971. Various distributions exist, e.g. OpenIndiana, Tribblix, and OmniOS. | First release in 2002. Started as a reimplementation of BeOS/ZETA (1995-2007). Independent OS with some original BeOS code (e.g. file manager & desktop). | First release in 2017. Based on the last release of OS/2 (1987-2001). | First release in 1987. Independent OS. Open source since 2018. | First release in 1985. Independent OS. | First release in 2000. Independent OS. Started as a reimplementation of AmigaOS (1985-today). | First release in 1995. Independent OS. Started as a reimplementation of AmigaOS (1985-today). Various distributions exist, e.g. Icaros Desktop and AROS One. | First release in 1978. Independent OS. |
OS group | VMS-like | Unix-like | Unix-like | Unix-like | Unix-like | Unix-like | Unix-like | Unix-like | Unix-like | Unix-like | Unix-like | BeOS-like | VMS-like | n/a | AmigaOS-like | AmigaOS-like | AmigaOS-like | VMS-like |
Kernel | Windows NT | XNU | XNU | Linux | Linux | Linux | FreeBSD | NetBSD | OpenBSD | DragonFly BSD | Illumos | Haiku | OS/2 | RISC OS | Exec | Quark | AROS | OpenVMS |
Kernel type | Hybrid | Hybrid | Hybrid | Monolithic | Monolithic | Monolithic | Monolithic | Monolithic | Monolithic | Hybrid | Monolithic | Hybrid | Hybrid | Monolithic | Microkernel | Microkernel | Microkernel | Monolithic |
Availability | ||||||||||||||||||
Target devices ("workstation" = desktop/laptop) |
Workstations, tablets, servers, embedded | Workstations | Phones, tablets, embedded | Phones, tablets, embedded | Workstations | Workstations, tablets, phones, servers, embedded | Workstations, servers, embedded | Workstations, servers, embedded | Workstations, servers, embedded | Workstations, servers, embedded | Workstations, servers, embedded | Workstations | Workstations, servers, embedded | Workstations | Workstations | Workstations | Workstations | Workstations, servers |
Pre-installed on laptops/desktops? | Most devices | Apple Mac | No | Niche vendors | Chromebooks | Some devices | Niche vendors | No | No | No | No | No | No | Niche vendors | Niche vendors | No | No | No |
Pre-installed on smartphones? | No | No | Apple iPhone | Most devices | No | Niche vendors | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No |
Can be installed by user? | Yes | ProhibitedCan be installed on normal x86 PCs ("Hackintosh") but this is against Apple's EULA and is a legal grey zone. | No | Yes | Some devices"Chrome OS Flex", some features are missing or limited | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
CPU compatibility - official & current | ||||||||||||||||||
x86 (x86/i386, amd64/x86_64/x64) | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes (32-bit mode) | No | No | No | Yes | Yes |
ARM (aarch32/arm32, aarch64/arm64) | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | No | only aarch32 | No | No | only aarch32 | No |
Power (ppc32, ppc64(le)) | No | No | No | No | No | Yes | Yes | only ppc32 | Yes | No | No | No | No | No | only ppc32 | only ppc32 | only ppc32 | No |
RISC-V (riscv64) | No | No | No | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No |
Other current ISAs | loong64, s390(x)z/Architecture for IBM mainframes, sparc64, othersarc, csky, hexagon, microblaze, nios2, openrisc | sparc64 | sparc64 | |||||||||||||||
Legacy ISAs | alpha, m68k, mips, pa-risc, superh | alpha, m68k, mips, pa-risc, superh, vax | alpha, m88k, mips, superh | m68k | ||||||||||||||
General features | ||||||||||||||||||
Pre-emptive multitasking | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Memory protection | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | LimitedOnly in Qbox (used for low-level tasks), but not in Abox (in which all applications are running). Necessary for backwards compatibility with AmigaOS applications. | LimitedSee AROS Wiki | Yes |
Symmetric multiprocessing (SMP) | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | LimitedOnly in Qbox (used for low-level tasks), but not in Abox (in which all applications are running). Necessary for backwards compatibility with AmigaOS applications. | Yes | Yes |
64-bit kernel | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | No | Yes | Yes |
Support for GUID Partition Tables (GPT) | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | Yes |
GUI/Desktop available | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Optional | Optional | Optional | Optional | Optional | Optional | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Optional |
Multiple users | Yes | Yes | Deployments"Shared iPad", only for Education or Enterprise deployments | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | No | No | No | Yes |
Native IPv6 support | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | 3rd-party app | No | No | No | Yes |
Hosting virtual machines | Hyper-V | Hypervisor | if jailbrokencan install an app such as UTM to host VMs | KVM | KVM | KVM | bhyve | NVMM | VMMCurrently only supports OpenBSD and Linux guests, no graphics output | NVMM | KVM & bhyve | w/ qemuUnofficial port of Qemu without hardware acceleration, has to be installed separately. | w/ VirtualboxUnofficial (and outdated) port of Virtualbox without hardware acceleration, has to be installed separately. | No | No | No | No | No |
OS-level virtualisation | Containers | No | No | No | No | LXC | jails | No | No | jails | Zones | No | No | No | No | No | No | No |
File system support | Only shown if supported by the base install without any third-party packages. |
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Default | NTFS | APFS | APFS | ext4 | Btrfs | ext4, Btrfs, XFS | UFS2, ZFS | FFS2 (UFS) | FFS2 (UFS) | HAMMER2 | ZFS, UFS | OpenBFS | JFS | ADFS | AFFS | SFS | SFS | Files-11 |
exFAT | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | No | No | Read-only | No | No | No | No | No | No |
NTFS | Yes | Read-only | No | No | Yes | Yes | No | Read-only | Read-only | Read-only | No | Yes | No | No | No | Read-only | No | No |
APFS | No | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No |
ext4 | No | No | No | Yes | No | Yes | Experimental | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | Read-only | No | No |
ZFS | No | No | No | No | No | Some distrosFor example, Ubuntu provides a kernel module | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes | No | No | No | No | No | No | No |
Connectivity |
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USB | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Ethernet (wired networking) | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
WLAN (wireless networking, "Wi-fi") | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | 3rd-party app | 3rd-party app | Yes | Yes | No |
WWAN (e.g. mobile/cellular Internet) | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No |
Bluetooth | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | No | Yes | No | No | No | LimitedUSB emulation only (e.g. for using bluetooth mouse or keyboard) | No | No |
Security | ||||||||||||||||||
Built-in firewall | Yes | Yes | No | requires root | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | NoRISC OS 6 had a firewall, however RISC OS 6 development has stopped; the currently developed version is confusingly called RISC OS 5 | No | No | No | No |
Full disk encryption | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | No | No | No | No |
Secure/verified boot | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No |
Per-app hardware access permissions | UWP apps | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Flatpak/Snap | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No |
Sandboxing of apps by default | UWP apps | AppStore apps | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Capsicumnot supported by all applications | No | pledge/unveilnot supported by all applications | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No |
VPN support (OpenVPN/Wireguard/IPsec) | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | No | No | No | Yes |
Openness | ||||||||||||||||||
Software license | Proprietary | Proprietary | Proprietary | Apache, GPL | Proprietary | GPL | BSD | BSD | BSD | BSD | CDDL | MIT | Proprietary | Apache | Proprietary | Proprietary | AROS Public | Proprietary |
Allows app "sideloading" | Yes | Yes | Up to 7 daysInstallations are only allowed from the App Store, except for apps transferred as IPA files from a macOS or Windows devices, but they expire after 7 days | Yes | via ADBthrough Linux subsystem | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Allows apps licensed under GNU GPL | Yes | Yes | No (App Store)App Store policies are incompatible with freedoms guaranteed by the GNU GPL, and Apple only allows installation of apps from the App Store | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Can be used without online account | Not officiallySetting up "local accounts" is hidden during setup, needs undocumented workarounds such as entering bogus account details | No App Storecannot use App Store if not logged in with Apple account, but can still install apps from other sources | Very limitede.g. cannot use App Store (and "sideloading" is not permitted on iOS!) or use iMessage if not logged in with Apple account | No Play Storecannot use Play Store if not logged in with Google account, but can still install apps from other sources | Noexcept guest accounts | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yesbut need to purchase a license key to use the OS | Yes | Yesbut need to purchase a license key to use the OS | Yesbut need to purchase a license key to use the OS | Yes | Yesbut need to purchase a license key to use the OS |
No advertising ID (used for tracking) | Advertising ID | Advertising ID | Advertising ID | Not on AOSPWhile included in almost all devices, the Advertising ID is technically not part of Android but of Google Mobile Services | Advertising ID | None | None | None | None | None | None | None | None | None | None | None | None | None |
Unlimited OS update supportWill the OS receive feature and/or security updates forever, as long as hardware requirements are met? Or is update support tied to the specific device (i.e. planned obsolescence) - and if so, how long are devices typically supplied with updates? | Yes | No (6-11 yrs) | No (6-8 yrs) | No (2-8 yrs)Depends on device manufacturer. User-installed ROMs such as LineageOS may increase device lifespan to ~10 years | No (10 yrs)Chromebooks (with Chrome OS preinstalled) have a limited lifespan in terms of updates. Chrome OS Flex runs on other laptops as well, but Google only officially supports the installation on "certified" devices, and certification of devices may end after which it is not recommended to install updates. | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes (paid) | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes (paid) |
Native application support | ||||||||||||||||||
Modern, up-to-date browserusing Blink, WebKit, or Gecko engines | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Unofficiale.g. Firefox, Chromium, GNOME Web | Unofficiale.g. Firefox, GNOME Web | Unofficiale.g. Firefox, Chromium, GNOME Web | Unofficiale.g. Firefox, Chromium, GNOME Web | Unofficiale.g. Firefox | Niche browserse.g. WebPositive, GNOME Web, Falkon | Niche browserse.g. Dooble, Otter | Niche browserse.g. Iris | Niche browserse.g. Odyssey | Niche browserse.g. Wayfarer | Niche browserse.g. Odyssey | No |
Microsoft Office core apps (offline)Excel, Onenote, Outlook, Powerpoint, Word | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No |
LibreOffice or CollaboraOffice (offline) | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Unofficial | Unofficial | Unofficial | Unofficial | Unofficial | Unofficial | No | No | No | No | No | No |
Adobe Creative Cloud core appsAfter Effects, Animate, Audition, Dreamweaver, Illustrator, InDesign, Lightroom, Photoshop, Premiere Pro | Yes | Yes | LimitedOnly Animate, Lightroom, and Photoshop | NoOnly Lightroom | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No |
Autodesk core apps3ds Max, AutoCAD, Fusion 360, Inventor, Maya, Revit | Yes | LimitedOnly AutoCAD, Fusion 360, and Maya | NoOnly mobile version of AutoCAD | NoOnly mobile version of AutoCAD | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No |
EU/UK banking appsPSD2 regulations requires 2-Factor Authorization to log in to online banking and to confirm payments. Most banks have stopped authorization via text messages or printed TAN lists and instead require the use of of their app or a specific hardware device. | No | No | Yes | Not on AOSPBanking apps will most likely only work on the original, unmodified Android ROM that was pre-installed on the device and includes the necessary Google components. | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No |
AAA-category video games | Most | Some | Few | Few | No | Some | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No |
WhatsApp (native version, not web client) | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No |
Signal | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No |
Dropbox | Yes | Yes | Yes (no sync)Mobile app doesn't support real-time sync or folder pair sync, only camera upload and "offline files" are supported | Yes (no sync)Mobile app doesn't support real-time sync or folder pair sync, only camera upload and "offline files" are supported | No | Yes | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No |
OneDrive | Yes | Yes | Yes (no sync)Mobile app doesn't support real-time sync or folder pair sync, only camera upload and "offline files" are supported | Yes (no sync)Mobile app doesn't support real-time sync or folder pair sync, only camera upload and "offline files" are supported | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No |
Web server (built-in, Apache, nginx) | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Old (2006)Apache 1.3.34 | Old (2006)Apache 1.3.34 | No | Yes |
Mail server (built-in, Dovecot, Exchange) | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | No | No | Yes |
Nextcloud Server | No | No | No | No | No | Yes | Unofficial | Unofficial | Unofficial | Unofficial | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No |
Can run other OS's apps? |
Linux, Android |
iOSon ARM Macs, Windowsvia CrossOver (third-party app) |
Windowsvia Wine (third-party app) |
Linux, Android, Windowsvia CrossOver (third-party app) |
Windowsvia Wine or CrossOver (third-party app), Androidvia Anbox or WayDroid (third-party app), macOSvia Darling (third-party apps) - experimental support only! |
Linux, Windowsvia Wine (third-party app) |
Linux, Windowsvia Wine (third-party app) - Unofficial |
Windowsvia Wine (third-party app) - Unofficial, LinuxLX Zones, available in SmartOS and OmniOS |
Windowsvia Wine (third-party app) - Unofficial BeOS |
Windowsonly 16-bit apps as well as 32-bit apps via Odin32 (third-party app) DOS |
AmigaOS |
AmigaOS |
There are of course many more operating systems, for an extensive list see here. I have not included the following:
The below assumes that you're running Qemu, Virtualbox, or VMWare Workstation Player on a x86_64 (Intel/AMD) PC. Colour guide: possible emulation impossible need to pay
Click here to show the estimated historical market shares of operating systems across personal devices (from 2019, will not be updated anymore)