Considering Moving From Windows to Linux? Pros, Cons & Guide

There’s a lot of talk recently around making the move away from Windows. Users are upset by the high hardware demands of Windows 11, or concerned about excessive AI integration, or have privacy issues. Whatever your particular reason may be, you might be wondering if a switch to an open-source OS like Linux might be for you.

We’re going to weigh up the pros and cons of moving from Windows to Linux and show you where and how to start.

Moving From Windows to Linux: For and Against

Let’s break down the key reasons you might want to make the switch of moving to Linux from Windows and what you’ll be sacrificing, too:

The Pros

Let’s start positively with everything you stand to gain from making the move:

• Life in the fast lane – Almost always, the first major benefit you’ll hear about when moving to Linux is the increased speed. There’s far less bloat, telemetry, background processes, and other add-ons hogging your RAM. In addition, leaner kernel speeds and more efficient resource management make even a decade-old laptop feel brand new.
• All the savings – Linux is open source, and so are many of the most popular programs users tend to run on it. Besides the operating system itself, there’s guaranteed to be an effective, fast, and free alternative to nearly all your favorite apps running on Windows.
• Deep or Simple – Linux is supremely flexible to your needs. This can make casual users a bit apprehensive, but there are many stable builds out there that look and function like Windows. If you want to lose the guardrails and get deep into the coding and formatting weeds, you can. Linux has come a long way from its expert-only days, but this broader appeal doesn’t mean restrictions on what you can do.
• Control – Don’t want bloatware forced on you? No problem. Want to keep a particular software version. That’s fine too. Have complete control over what you install, and choose when, what, and where you want to update, and do it all knowing Linux isn’t monitoring your private data.

The Cons

Of course, moving to Linux doesn’t mean there aren’t some sacrifices:

• More Alone – A parent company like Microsoft can be useful when it comes to seeking help for problems. With Linux, you have plenty of different iterations and a lot more freedom. This can be daunting, especially when having to seek help for specific issues from online forums and guides.
• Familiar Won’t Work – The apps you’ve grown used to on Windows might not work on Linux, such as Office Suite. What’s more, you won’t have the luxury of the Microsoft Store making app downloads easy. Finding Linux alternatives will take time and adjustment.
• Gaming – Although Linux gaming compatibility has made some enormous strides over the past few years (especially with Steam), the sad truth is that many older games might not run on the open-source OS.
• Relearning Everything – For such an open OS as Linux, you’ll need to spend a lot of time relearning the ropes, support, and capabilities. It won’t be easy, so be sure you’re up to the challenge.

Where to Next?

So, if you’ve decided you still want to move to Linux, what’s next? Well, here’s a quick rundown:

• You’ll first need to choose a version of Linux (a distro) and grab an ISO. Linux Mint, Zorin, or Elementary are the closest to Windows.
• Install these files on a bootable USB and boot your PC to format it. You can also partition your hard drive to run both OS’s.
• The installation wizard will take you through the steps.

This is a very bare-bones guide, but there are plenty of other resources online to help you out.