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Kali Linux vs Windows 10 comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Aug 7, 2024

Review summaries and opinions

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

Categories and Ranking

Kali Linux
Ranking in Operating Systems (OS) for Business
11th
Average Rating
8.8
Reviews Sentiment
7.7
Number of Reviews
13
Ranking in other categories
AWS Marketplace (5th)
Windows 10
Ranking in Operating Systems (OS) for Business
8th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
5.2
Number of Reviews
271
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of March 2025, in the Operating Systems (OS) for Business category, the mindshare of Kali Linux is 1.9%, up from 0.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Windows 10 is 3.1%, down from 4.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Operating Systems (OS) for Business
 

Featured Reviews

GurpreetSingh4 - PeerSpot reviewer
Has small footprint and low maintenance cycles
Pre-installed tools can provide basic training and security measures, which is helpful. However, these tools may not be sufficient to secure your workload fully. That's why it's important to complement them with other specialized security tools to enhance your overall security. Before using Kali Linux, make sure you know its pros and cons. It's a good system to learn because it's the best choice for some situations. It has default firewall settings that block everything by default. It's up to the user to decide how much they want to open up. Learning Kali Linux takes time because it relies on command-line tasks instead of graphical interfaces. Practice is key to becoming comfortable with it.
Akos Szirmai - PeerSpot reviewer
Easy installation and the initial setup time is reasonable
Stability can be an issue. I have to restart it every two days. And the boot time is quite long. My laptop's old, has no SSD, and is just a traditional Winchester. Had desktops with Windows 11 and SSDs, much better performance. But hardware limitations on my current laptop lead to stability and response issues. It's more like the whole reinstall every two years thing. It makes cleaning a pain. Performance improves significantly after a fresh install, then slowly deteriorates as I add more programs. But my biggest concern with Windows 10 is actually bigger than my situation. I'm replacing my laptop anyway, but I read that Windows 10 support ends in a year or so. And with hardware limitations, many other computers won't run Windows 11. So it's not just me. A lot of people with decent, still-working Windows 10 machines will lose support and be unable to switch to 11. This will be a significant problem for individuals and institutions. Large companies with thousands of computers don't replace them every three years, and they might face issues with many computers unable to run Windows 11 and lacking support for 10.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"We use the product for open-source intelligence and identifying vulnerabilities."
"Additionally, it now includes comprehensive migration analytics and reporting capabilities."
"I'm mostly using for the web security web application, so end map and the troubleshoot will it's my price, and it's available in ColliNX."
"The tools available in Kali Linux are incredibly effective for conducting security assessments."
"The interface is good and straightforward to use."
"The solution's most valuable feature is that it is very easy to use."
"Kali Linux is much better than other OS because it gives you a good set of tools. It is preferred for vulnerability assessments and cybersecurity."
"The solution's stability is very good."
"The solution is easy to use."
"I've used different Windows releases for many years, so it's the preferred operating system that I'm used to. I don't use the tiled interface that Microsoft introduced to unify laptop and mobile interfaces, but I find it inconvenient on laptops. I prefer the more classical, conservative interface like Windows 7 and XP."
"The usability is satisfactory."
"As a Microsoft Tester, I like enabling the Microsoft Hyper-V and running the Virtual Machines for testing purposes."
"We have found the solution to be stable."
"The features that I have found most valuable are that it is user-friendly."
"We have more than 20,000 endpoint users for Windows 10 at our company."
"When comparing Windows 10 to Windows XP, Windows 10 is much better. The appearance is very good."
 

Cons

"The product should improve its security features."
"Any new user or someone without deep expertise won't be able to understand how to scale or manage it"
"The tool is already stable and well-developed, so there's minimal feedback for enhancement or change. However, it should improve security, which is crucial, especially with the increasing use of Kali Linux in cloud environments."
"Unfortunately, my current tool runs on Windows 10, and its use is restricted to enterprise versions. Integrating this tool or similar functionalities into Kali Linux for non-enterprise users would be incredibly valuable."
"I would like for them to offer more features for the free version in order for users to test them in their internal environment before purchasing."
"There can be some lagging issues because the product gets stuck at times, making it an area of concern where improvements are required."
"The product should integrate AI and GPT capabilities."
"The installation process of Kali Linux can be slow, particularly when installing and upgrading packages within virtualized environments."
"The update cycle could use some improvement."
"The on-premise product is costly."
"In general, the price could always be cheaper."
"Sometimes, I need to reboot it when it slows down."
"After some time it becomes slower. The performance seems to be affected after a while."
"When there are updates, the system should automatically identify and remove any unnecessary previous features that are no longer needed, ensuring that they don't take up space on the storage media during this period."
"The security could be improved. I have had colleagues who have gotten their files corrupted somehow."
"The interface could be more user-friendly."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"I use it free of charge."
"It is an open-source tool."
"Kali Linux offers a perpetual license, meaning you pay for it once and can use it. While free versions of Linux are available, Kali Linux, being an enterprise edition, usually comes with a perpetual license. I rate its pricing a five out of ten."
"Kali Linux is open source."
"The tool is open-source."
"There is no need to make any payments towards the licensing costs since it is a solution that is available for free."
"The price is good because Kali Linux already provides a good bundle of tools."
"The licensing fee is expensive compared to other products."
"We pay Microsoft a yearly license fee."
"Microsoft charges a lot for every license, but they don't provide by default support with it."
"The organisation where I work they provide me with the licensed version of Windows 10 but personally I have used the pilot advance version."
"There is an annual license and the price of the solution is a little expensive and could be reduced."
"Microsoft supports free upgrades from Windows 10 to Windows 11."
"We need to pay for the licensing through Microsoft partner. We benefit from an education license in the Philippines, which provides us with a better deal compared to Windows licenses for retail stores."
"The product's commercial pricing is high."
"We already have a license for Windows 10 in our role as Microsoft partners."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
14%
Comms Service Provider
14%
University
11%
Educational Organization
11%
Computer Software Company
12%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Financial Services Firm
9%
University
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Kali Linux?
I use the tool with Nmap to perform network audits. We use it to find vulnerabilities in our network through attacks. It's for those who want to launch or create viruses or perform attacks on syste...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Kali Linux?
Kali Linux offers a perpetual license, meaning you pay for it once and can use it. While free versions of Linux are available, Kali Linux, being an enterprise edition, usually comes with a perpetua...
What needs improvement with Kali Linux?
The tool is already stable and well-developed, so there's minimal feedback for enhancement or change. However, it should improve security, which is crucial, especially with the increasing use of Ka...
What needs improvement with Windows 10?
I do not have notes for improvement.
What is your primary use case for Windows 10?
In my case, I would mostly say it's because of security reasons. At least for the typical use cases that I generally rely on Windows for, there didn't seem to be a noticeable performance difference...
 

Comparisons

 

Overview

Find out what your peers are saying about Kali Linux vs. Windows 10 and other solutions. Updated: January 2025.
841,004 professionals have used our research since 2012.