Aspect

Linux

Windows

Price Ratio

The majority of Linux variants are available for free or at a much lower price than Microsoft Windows.

Microsoft Windows can run between $50.00 - $150.00 US dollars per each license copy.

Ease of access:

Although the majority Linux variants have improved dramatically in ease of use, Windows is still much easier to use for new computer users.

Microsoft has made several advancements and changes that have made it a much easier to use operating system, and although arguably it may not be the easiest operating system, it is still Easier than Linux.

Reliability:

The majority of Linux variants and versions are notoriously reliable and can often run for months and years without needing to be rebooted.

Although Microsoft Windows has made great improvements in reliability over the last few versions of Windows, it still cannot match the reliability of Linux.

Softwares

Linux has a large variety of available software programs, utilities, and games. However, Windows has a much larger selection of available software.

Because of the large amount of Microsoft Windows users, there is a much larger selection of available software programs, utilities, and games for Windows.

Hardware

Linux companies and hardware manufacturers have made great advancements in hardware support for Linux and today Linux will support most hardware devices. However, many companies still do not offer drivers or support for their hardware in Linux.

Because of the amount of Microsoft Windows users and the broader driver support, Windows has a much larger support for hardware devices and a good majority of hardware manufacturers will support their products in Microsoft Windows.

Open Source:

Many of the Linux variants and many Linux programs are open source and enable users to customize or modify the code however they wish to.

Microsoft Windows is not open source and the majority of Windows programs are not open source.

Security

Linux is and has always been a very secure operating system. Although it still can be attacked when compared to Windows, it much more secure.

Although Microsoft has made great improvements over the years with security on their operating system, their operating system continues to be the most vulnerable to viruses and other attacks.

Support

Although it may be more difficult to find users familiar with all Linux variants, there are vast amounts of available online documentation and help, available books, and support available for Linux.

Microsoft Windows includes its own help section, has vast amount of available online documentation and help, as well as books on each of the versions of Windows.