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ZDNET Key Takeaways
- The Linux desktop continues its slow growth.
- Linux is benefiting in a big way because of the mistakes of Microsoft Windows.
- Users and governments are losing trust in Windows and Microsoft.
My colleague Jack Wallen and I have been telling you for some time that you should switch from a Windows to a Linux desktop. Looks like some of you are listening.
Evidence of the pudding comes from a variety of sources. First, as Windows 10 is nearing the end of its supported life, we asked you to consider switching from Windows to a Linux distribution like Linux Mint or another Windows 10 distribution. What will we get now?
Too: The most beautiful Linux distributions for 2025
Zorin OS, an excellent Linux desktop, reports that its latest release, “Zorin OS 18, has earned 1 million downloads in just one month since its release.” What makes this particularly interesting is that “over 78% of these downloads came from Windows” users.
Now, this is what got my attention… 780,000 Windows users don’t download a 3.5 gigabyte Linux desktop distribution if they aren’t seriously considering it. Linux desktop fans download different distros all the time. It is a hobby for him.
For Windows users? You have to think they’re considering making a Linux switch.
real top dog operating system
Many people are already taking the leap. By May 2025, StatCounter data showed that Linux desktops had grown from a 1.5% global desktop share in 2020 to above 4% in 2024, and to a new US high of above 5% by 2025.
In StatCounter’s latest US data, which covers October, Linux shows up at only 3.49%. But if you look closer, “unknown” is 4.21%. Allow me to make an educated guess here: I suspect that those unknown desktops are actually running Linux. What else could it be? FreeBSD? Unix? OS/2? Unlikely.
Too: What Linus Torvalds really thinks about AI and software development may surprise you
Additionally, ChromeOS comes in at 3.67%, which I find very low. Other than that, ChromeOS is a Linux version. It uses only the Chrome web browser for its interface instead of KDE Plasma, Cinnamon or any other Linux desktop environment. Put it all together, and you get 11.37% of the Linux desktop market share. now we’re talking.
If you want to explore the broader world of end-user operating systems, including phones and tablets, Linux proves to be even better. In the US, where we love our Apple iPhones, Android – yes, another Linux distro – claims 41.71% of market share, according to the latest data from StatCounter. However, globally, Android rules 72.55% of the market.
Yes, that’s right, if you expand the Linux end-user operating system metric to include PCs, tablets, and smartphones, you can make a reasonable argument that Linux, not Windows, is already the top dog operating system. Take that, Redmond!
view from dap
Now, of course, as Ed Bot pointed out, StatCounter’s numbers have their own problems. So I also looked at my favorite data source for operating system numbers: the US federal government’s Digital Analytics Program (DAP).
Too: Inside Canonical’s plan to make Ubuntu 26.04 the Linux desktop that finally hits the mainstream
This site provides running numbers and analysis of US government website visits. There has been an average of 1.6 billion sessions over the past 30 days, with millions of users per day. In short, DApps provide detailed information about what people use without massaging the data.
DAP gets its raw data from a Google Analytics account. The DApp has open-sourced the code that exposes data and its data-collection code to the web. You can download its data in JavaScript Object Notation (JSON) format so you can analyze the raw numbers yourself.
According to DAP’s calculations, Linux desktops now have 5.8% market share. This may not sound impressive, but when I started looking at dApp statistics a decade ago, Linux desktop share was a mere 0.67%. We have come a long way.
If you add Chrome OS (1.7%) and Android (15.8%), Linux users account for 23.3% of all people accessing US government websites. The user-facing footprint of the Linux kernel is much larger than the “Desktop Linux” label suggests.
Too: 5 factors that continue to fuel Linux’s desktop growth
I’ll also note that although Windows 10 should be headed for retirement by now, DAP numbers show it’s still the most popular version of Windows, with 16.9% compared to Windows 11’s 13.5%. However, StatCounter has Windows 11 leading in the US with 64.83% of all Windows users, while Windows 10 is close behind with 31.92%.
There are still many Windows 10 users taking risks with their security.
But wait, there’s more data. According to Lanceweeper, an IT asset discovery and inventory company, in an analysis of more than 15 million identified consumer desktop operating systems, Linux desktops currently account for just over 6% of PC market share.
Why is Linux rising?
Earlier this year, I identified five drivers for people switching from Windows to Linux. These are: Microsoft’s shift in focus from Windows as a product to Microsoft 365 and cloud services, the increased feasibility of gaming through Steam and Proton, significantly improved ease of use in mainstream distros, broader hardware support, and growing concerns about privacy and data control.
Three more have since emerged. One is that many companies and users still have perfectly good Windows 10 machines that cannot “upgrade” to Windows 11. ControlUp, a company that would love to help you migrate to Windows 11, has found that approximately 25% of consumer and business Windows 10 PCs cannot be migrated to Windows 11.
Also: How to upgrade your ‘incompatible’ Windows 10 PC to Windows 11 for free – today
This hardware lockout is a major reason why many users plan to run Windows 10 even after support ends rather than paying for a new machine to meet Microsoft’s specifications.
The second thing is that many people don’t really want to move to Windows 11. A UK survey by consumer group Which? September 2025 found that 26% of respondents intended to continue using Windows 10 after updates were discontinued. Interestingly, 6% of people are planning to switch to an alternative operating system like Linux.
Why so stubborn? Well, besides the desire to save money, surveys and vendor analyzes consistently mention three main reasons users hesitate: Windows 10 is “good enough”, Windows 11 is not seen as meaningfully better, and they don’t like forced interface changes (for example, centered Start menu, context menu, default app behavior, and CoPilot integration).
Too: Linux’s remarkable journey from a developer’s hobby to 40 million lines of code – and counting
Gaming users also fear that Windows 11 will slow down their games or come with compatibility bugs. For example, Windows 11’s October update came with a bug that hurt gaming performance on some NVIDIA-equipped gaming PCs.
Finally, not everyone is thrilled with Windows 11 turning into an AI-agentic operating system. Despite all the hype about AI, some people don’t want AI second-guessing their every move or reporting their work to Microsoft.
When Microsoft President Pavan Davulur tweeted on November 10 that “Windows is evolving into an agentic OS, connecting devices, cloud, and AI to unlock intelligent productivity and secure work anywhere,” he probably expected Windows users to be happy with this approach. They were not.
Too: Can’t upgrade to Windows 11? This Linux distro is the best choice for your Windows 10 PC
Instead, the top reaction from one person on exactly so. If you want a traditional desktop where you can control everything that’s on your PC without an AI Big Brother, Linux will almost be your only choice going forward.
Don’t forget digital sovereignty
My last reason for people looking at Linux from Windows may not mean much to users in the US, but it matters a lot to people outside the US. You see, European Union (EU) governments do not trust Microsoft to deliver on its service promises under potential US political pressure.
This has resulted in the rise of digital sovereignty initiatives, where EU companies are seen as more trustworthy rather than US tech giants. As a result, many EU states have dropped Microsoft programs and switched to open-source software.
Too: Yet another European government is abandoning Microsoft for Linux – here’s why
This also includes desktop. Actually, an EU group has created EU OS. It is a proof-of-concept Linux desktop for a Fedora-based distro that uses the KDE Plasma desktop environment.
It’s not just the EU. The UK also no longer trusts Microsoft with its data. A 2024 Computer Weekly report revealed that Microsoft told Scottish police that it could not guarantee that data in Microsoft 365 and Azure would remain in the UK.
Nicky Stewart, former head of the UK Cabinet Office ICT, told Computer Weekly at the time: “You may have seen Microsoft promoting what they describe as a sovereign cloud, but what do they mean by sovereign… because in reality sovereign data will not be offshored under any circumstances.”
With Windows 11 data potentially being sent back and forth across US data centers, more and more governments will be cautious about trusting Windows.
Too: As the digital sovereignty movement gains momentum, another European agency steps away from Big Tech
Overall, all these changes make Linux less exclusive and a more practical option for those who want to get off the Windows upgrade treadmill or subscription model.
Desktop Linux is moving from perennial underdog to a small but meaningful part of everyday computing, especially among technically inclined users, non-US public sector agencies, and general consumer and business users who want cheaper, more reliable desktops.
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