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Debian vs Windows 10 comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 14, 2025

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

ROI

Sentiment score
6.5
Debian users save money through no license costs, reduced maintenance, and efficiency, with some saving up to 60%.
Sentiment score
1.3
Windows 10 increases efficiency with fewer crashes, better security, and user-friendly features, achieving ROI within 18 months.
There were direct cost savings since Debian has no licensing fees, and we did not require paid support, so it saved us considerable money.
Embedded Linux / BSP Engineer at Veethree
We were able to save a substantial amount by using Linux instead of Windows and spending a lot of money on Windows licenses.
Cybersecurity Engineer at a tech consulting company with 51-200 employees
I have seen a return on investment; specifically, the cost is around zero because there is no need for a license, and since my whole team uses Debian, we are fine with the number of employees needed.
DevOps Technology Lead at TriStratus Ltd
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
6.7
Debian's community support effectively aids users through forums and documentation, minimizing the need for official customer service.
Sentiment score
4.8
Windows 10 users often prefer online resources over Microsoft support, despite its helpfulness and knowledgeable staff, due to faster solutions.
We rely on community resources for support, such as documentation, forums, and asking questions online.
Cybersecurity Engineer at a tech consulting company with 51-200 employees
Whenever I had a query, I used Google to search for it and found very helpful information from public platforms.
Cloud Engineer at a consultancy with 11-50 employees
While it does not have traditional paid customer support like some commercial distributions, the Debian community and documentation are very strong.
Embedded Linux / BSP Engineer at Veethree
We have informed Microsoft, but the issue is still there, and it has been more than three to four months.
Technology\Cloud Architect | IT Infrastructure Security & Compliance at IDFC Bank
The customer service and support from Microsoft are quite responsive and generally good.
Senior Manager at Morgan Stanley
The Office 365 support is good, it takes a while sometimes to point to the problem, but they're good.
IT Administrator at a university with 51-200 employees
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.1
Debian offers scalability and stability, ideal for cloud environments, with open-source benefits and effective management of high traffic.
Sentiment score
5.4
Windows 10 is adaptable and scalable for diverse organizations, offering seamless expansion and cross-device compatibility with regular updates.
We don't spin up new Debian instances arbitrarily.
Cybersecurity Engineer at a tech consulting company with 51-200 employees
As the growth of our infrastructure is required, we can host many Debian servers.
Cloud Engineer at a consultancy with 11-50 employees
We decided to use Debian because we needed a more stable and predictable base, especially for long-running systems where frequent changes or upgrades could cause issues.
Embedded Linux / BSP Engineer at Veethree
We can focus fully on our work without pressure or concerns about issues on our own PCs.
Software Engineer at a tech vendor with 201-500 employees
For scalability, I would rate it a nine or ten because performance-wise, Windows 10 has never given me those issues.
Senior Engagement Manager at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
I can increase the licensing amount easily when there is company growth or when new people join.
Assistant Vice President at a financial services firm with 51-200 employees
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
8.5
Debian is valued for stability and reliability, ideal for developers prioritizing long-term support over rapid updates.
Sentiment score
6.5
Windows 10 is appreciated for stability and reliability, despite occasional update issues and third-party software compatibility challenges.
I rate Debian an eight out of ten because it excels in stability, reliability, and package management, which are very important for long-running production systems.
Embedded Linux / BSP Engineer at Veethree
That long-term support has helped me and my customers by being stable and running well.
Embedded Developer at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
In my experience, Debian is very stable.
Cybersecurity Engineer at a tech consulting company with 51-200 employees
The challenges were related to third-party agents and their supportability.
Technology\Cloud Architect | IT Infrastructure Security & Compliance at IDFC Bank
Windows 10 is stable for my daily development work, providing frequent security updates and user-friendly updates, which are excellent.
Software Engineer at a tech vendor with 201-500 employees
I would rate the stability of the product an eight.
Senior Engagement Manager at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
 

Room For Improvement

Debian needs improvements in package management, installer, cloud integration, hardware support, GUI updates, and contributor support for better usability.
Windows 10 requires improvements in updates, security, user interface, stability, resource usage, pricing, and compatibility for better user experience.
I believe security on Debian is top-notch due to its long history and the many individuals and organizations that rely on it, meaning there are many eyes on it.
Founder at a media company with 1-10 employees
If Debian had a memory-based distribution, similar to Alpine, that would be great, as we could get benefits in terms of memory or embedded systems.
DevOps Technology Lead at TriStratus Ltd
Debian was easy to set up.
Cloud Engineer at a consultancy with 11-50 employees
Microsoft can improve their Teams product because everybody uses Teams, and it's very clunky and unfriendly in terms of scrolling back, downloading files, and moving back and forth within the different teams.
Senior Engagement Manager at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
Investment in Windows 10 may not be ideal as the world is changing with advancing technology in the AI age.
DevOps Engineer at CipherTV Corp.
The transitions within Teams are not smooth, and call quality in meetings is not great.
Senior Manager at Morgan Stanley
 

Setup Cost

Debian's open-source nature offers cost savings on software, making it a cost-effective alternative to Microsoft Windows and Ubuntu.
Enterprise buyers find Windows 10 licensing flexible but desire clearer pricing and competitive adjustments for better affordability.
My experience with Debian's pricing, setup cost, and licensing has been that it is all free.
IT Support Manager at a educational organization with 5,001-10,000 employees
As long as I remain within the limit of that credit, I can create machines as much as I want without exceeding the monthly limit.
Cybersecurity Engineer at a tech consulting company with 51-200 employees
My experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing is quite favorable; since Debian is totally free, it is one of my first options.
DevOps Technology Lead at TriStratus Ltd
For those buying a Windows license, it might be better to buy a Windows 11 license.
DevOps Engineer at CipherTV Corp.
Windows is considered overpriced, especially given the normal software functionalities.
Design engineer at a construction company with 201-500 employees
Windows 10 is cost-effective when compared to other competitors available such as Mac and Linux.
BI developer at Jubilee Life Insurance Company Ltd
 

Valuable Features

Debian offers stability, flexibility, and efficiency, providing cost-effective operations with strong support and extensive software options for organizations.
Windows 10 is popular for its user-friendly interface, enhanced security, fast performance, and strong application and hardware compatibility.
Debian's stability helps me in my daily work because my work relies on stability; I'm trying to deploy production workloads, and Debian offers that stability for me.
DevOps Technology Lead at TriStratus Ltd
Debian has kept my workflow secure by maintaining system stability with day-to-day or monthly updates with security patches, securing the system from external attacks.
Cloud Engineer at a consultancy with 11-50 employees
Debian has positively impacted my organization primarily in cost-efficiency, with on-premises hardware running faster and cheaper.
IT Support Manager at a educational organization with 5,001-10,000 employees
When using mapping software such as QGIS or ArcGIS, the system remains stable, especially when handling heavy files.
Co-Founder at a consultancy with 51-200 employees
Device encryption is a main priority for us as developers in a FinTech company because we have the most secure user data.
Software Engineer at a tech vendor with 201-500 employees
The configuration management tools, such as SACM, are effective.
Technology\Cloud Architect | IT Infrastructure Security & Compliance at IDFC Bank
 

Categories and Ranking

Debian
Ranking in Operating Systems (OS) for Business
14th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.6
Number of Reviews
12
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Windows 10
Ranking in Operating Systems (OS) for Business
9th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
4.6
Number of Reviews
284
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2026, in the Operating Systems (OS) for Business category, the mindshare of Debian is 5.5%, up from 0.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Windows 10 is 2.9%, down from 3.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Operating Systems (OS) for Business Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Windows 102.9%
Debian5.5%
Other91.6%
Operating Systems (OS) for Business
 

Featured Reviews

Badal Shrivastav - PeerSpot reviewer
Embedded Linux / BSP Engineer at Veethree
Reliable platform has supported long-term on-prem deployments and predictable OTA updates
If I consider how Debian can be improved, it could be more accessible in making newer software versions available for users who need recent features while still maintaining default stable behavior. While backports help, the workflow could be streamlined. The release cycle can feel slow for rapidly evolving tools, and better guidance around mixing stable, backports, and testing would help. Regarding hardware support, Debian can be improved by supporting multiple BSPs, making it more versatile in the embedded domain. Hardware support for new devices can sometimes lag behind, which is understandable given Debian's focus on stability. Clearer guidance on handling newer hardware or firmware would be beneficial.
R Pranavan - PeerSpot reviewer
Software Engineer at a tech vendor with 201-500 employees
Collaborative development has become more secure and efficient for our team
We have faced some issues with Windows OneDrive because if one developer has a folder in a common OneDrive folder, it took some time to show it to others. It becomes somewhat difficult to work, as there is latency on that, so if you update that, it will be more efficient and useful for the developers. My main focus on Windows 10 is the giving of regular updates, so it might take some time to update Windows, which is also mandatory. As a developer, when we are working with Windows 10, if it takes more time to update and restart the PC, it affects our efficiency at work. If we could stop the updates on a regular basis or if they were delivered faster, it would be easier. As a developer, the frequent updates are too annoying for working on it, so it would be better if we stop the frequent updates and only provide the most important ones. Performance issues over time due to background apps and programs piling up and using an SSD instead of a hard disk are also concerns.
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Comms Service Provider
17%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Educational Organization
9%
Computer Software Company
7%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Computer Software Company
8%
Performing Arts
8%
Educational Organization
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business5
Midsize Enterprise2
Large Enterprise4
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business125
Midsize Enterprise64
Large Enterprise120
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Debian?
My experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing seems acceptable. We have also used Ubuntu. Comparing to Ubuntu, Debian is cheaper.
What needs improvement with Debian?
In terms of improvements, I think Debian is fine as it is. I'm not an expert, so for me, it is acceptable.
What is your primary use case for Debian?
I have been using Debian for a while now. My main use case for Debian is running PostgreSQL and related infrastructure. A specific example of an application I'm running on Debian is PostgreSQL.
What needs improvement with Windows 10?
We have faced some issues with Windows OneDrive because if one developer has a folder in a common OneDrive folder, it took some time to show it to others. It becomes somewhat difficult to work, as ...
What is your primary use case for Windows 10?
As a developer, we can work collaboratively, and Windows 10 is also good from a UI perspective. I chose to rate it an eight because I have faced issues when updates come in, which can be annoying. ...
 

Comparisons

 

Also Known As

Debian 12
No data available
 

Overview

Find out what your peers are saying about Debian vs. Windows 10 and other solutions. Updated: December 2025.
881,082 professionals have used our research since 2012.