Windows 11
ProprietaryUse the Media Creation Tool, or write the ISO to a USB drive with Rufus / Ventoy, then boot from it.
Official download ↗Operating systems are installed from bootable media rather than a package command. Each card links to the official download and shows the recommended way to create install media. Always double-check the target device (/dev/sdX) before running dd — it overwrites the whole drive.
Use the Media Creation Tool, or write the ISO to a USB drive with Rufus / Ventoy, then boot from it.
Official download ↗Only installable on Apple hardware. Download from the App Store, then build install media with createinstallmedia.
sudo /Applications/Install\ macOS\ Sonoma.app/Contents/Resources/createinstallmedia --volume /Volumes/MyUSBWrite the ISO to a USB drive (Ventoy, Rufus, balenaEtcher) and boot it. On Linux you can use dd directly.
sudo dd if=ubuntu-24.04-desktop-amd64.iso of=/dev/sdX bs=4M status=progress oflag=syncDownload the netinst or full ISO and write it to a USB drive, then boot from it.
sudo dd if=debian-12-amd64-netinst.iso of=/dev/sdX bs=4M status=progress oflag=syncUse Fedora Media Writer (recommended) or write the ISO to a USB drive with dd.
sudo dd if=Fedora-Workstation-Live-x86_64.iso of=/dev/sdX bs=4M status=progress oflag=syncWrite the ISO to a USB drive, boot it, and follow the guided archinstall script or the manual install guide.
sudo dd if=archlinux-x86_64.iso of=/dev/sdX bs=4M status=progress oflag=syncDownload the memstick image and write it to a USB drive, then boot the installer (bsdinstall).
sudo dd if=FreeBSD-14.0-RELEASE-amd64-memstick.img of=/dev/sdX bs=4M status=progressCompare desktop operating systems by licensing, package management, and software compatibility.
Note: iOS is excluded (end users cannot self-install it); Android lives with the mobile installers.
| Operating System | Open Source | Kernel | Package Manager | Win Apps | Linux Apps | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Windows 11 | ❌ | Windows NT | winget / Microsoft Store | ✅ | ⚠️ WSL | Paid |
| macOS | ❌ | XNU (Darwin) | Homebrew (3rd-party) | ⚠️ VM | ⚠️ VM | Bundled |
| Ubuntu | ✅ | Linux | APT / Snap | ⚠️ Wine | ✅ | Free |
| Debian | ✅ | Linux | APT | ⚠️ Wine | ✅ | Free |
| Fedora | ✅ | Linux | DNF (rpm) / Flatpak | ⚠️ Wine | ✅ | Free |
| Arch Linux | ✅ | Linux | pacman / AUR | ⚠️ Wine | ✅ | Free |
| FreeBSD | ✅ | FreeBSD | pkg / ports | ❌ | ⚠️ Linuxulator | Free |