Linux Market Share Hits New High
For the first time, the Linux market share has reached a new high for desktops, and the trend looks like it will continue.
According to Statcounter, Linux desktop market share has reached an all-time high of 4.44 percent in July. This is up from 4.04 percent in June, which was an increase from May at 3.77 percent. In fact, the Linux market share has been slowly creeping upward and that trajectory should continue to rise. At its lowest point in 2023, Linux was at 3.12 percent (July). Before July 2024, the peak was December at 3.83 percent.
Compare that to macOS and you see a completely different trend, where Apple's OS peaked at 21.01 percent in November 2023 and has steadily fallen to 14.92 percent in July 2024.
There are several possible reasons for this change. First is the growing frustration with Windows 11 (such as forced ads and AI). As for macOS, the continued rising cost of Apple hardware makes using the OS a challenge for many people. Also, the popularity of the Steam Deck (which is powered by Linux) has given the open source OS a considerable bump in popularity.
It doesn't hurt that just about any recent version of Linux is viable, even for new users.
If this trend continues, it's not out of the realm of possibility that Linux will hit 5 percent by the end of 2024 and could even inch closer to double digits by the end of 2025. The possibility of Linux finally surpassing macOS's market share has become a reality (as macOS continues to drop and Linux continues to rise).
It's also important to understand that the 4.44 percent could be an underestimate of Linux usage, as Statcounter depends on website trackers to collect data. Since many Linux users go to great lengths to retain their privacy, it's possible several thousands of Linux instances aren't being registered. That number could already be at or over 5 percent.
Keep checking Statcounter to see how this trend continues.
Subscribe to our Linux Newsletters
Find Linux and Open Source Jobs
Subscribe to our ADMIN Newsletters
Support Our Work
Linux Magazine content is made possible with support from readers like you. Please consider contributing when you’ve found an article to be beneficial.
News
-
Red Hat Releases RHEL 10 Early
Red Hat quietly rolled out the official release of RHEL 10.0 a bit early.
-
openSUSE Joins End of 10
openSUSE has decided to not only join the End of 10 movement but it also will no longer support the Deepin Desktop Environment.
-
New Version of Flatpak Released
Flatpak 1.16.1 is now available as the latest, stable version with various improvements.
-
IBM Announces Powerhouse Linux Server
IBM has unleashed a seriously powerful Linux server with the LinuxONE Emperor 5.
-
Plasma Ends LTS Releases
The KDE Plasma development team is doing away with the LTS releases for a good reason.
-
Arch Linux Available for Windows Subsystem for Linux
If you've ever wanted to use a rolling release distribution with WSL, now's your chance.
-
System76 Releases COSMIC Alpha 7
With scores of bug fixes and a really cool workspaces feature, COSMIC is looking to soon migrate from alpha to beta.
-
OpenMandriva Lx 6.0 Available for Installation
The latest release of OpenMandriva has arrived with a new kernel, an updated Plasma desktop, and a server edition.
-
TrueNAS 25.04 Arrives with Thousands of Changes
One of the most popular Linux-based NAS solutions has rolled out the latest edition, based on Ubuntu 25.04.
-
Fedora 42 Available with Two New Spins
The latest release from the Fedora Project includes the usual updates, a new kernel, an official KDE Plasma spin, and a new System76 spin.