Mac vs. Windows vs. Linux: which should you get?

Where they came from

macOS and Linux are both in the Unix family. Unix was built at Bell Labs in 1969, and its ideas, a tree of folders, users and permissions, small tools you type commands to, spread everywhere. macOS is built on a Unix base, and Linux was written in 1991 to work like Unix. Android and ChromeOS run on Linux.

Windows grew on its own branch, from Microsoft’s DOS in the early 1980s and a newer core Microsoft built in the 1990s.

What each one is good at

• Windows

  Runs on computers from hundreds of makers at every price, and runs the most games and business software. The variety means more setup and more preinstalled junk to watch for.

• Mac

  Apple makes the hardware and software together, so things fit, last and work smoothly with an iPhone. It costs more up front and only runs on Apple’s computers.

• Linux

  Free, open source and fast on old hardware, with beginner-friendly versions like Linux Mint and Ubuntu. Some popular apps and games aren’t made for it.

• ChromeOS

  The browser is the computer: simple, quick and very hard to break. Google’s free ChromeOS Flex can bring an old PC back for web-based use.

If your computer can’t run Windows 11

Windows 11 needs a fairly recent processor and a security chip many older PCs don’t have. Windows 10’s regular support ended October 14, 2025, and free security updates for home users run through October 12, 2027. If your computer works but can’t upgrade, a beginner-friendly Linux or ChromeOS Flex keeps it supported for free. Check that your apps run first, which for browser, email and video calls they almost always do.

How to pick

• Your apps

  List the five things you do most. If one only runs on one system, that decides it.

• Your hardware

  macOS only runs on Macs. Windows 11 needs newer hardware. Linux and ChromeOS Flex run on almost anything.

• How much you like to tinker

  Linux rewards curiosity. ChromeOS rewards not wanting to think about it.