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Windows 11 vs Windows Server 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:
 

ROI

Sentiment score
8.6
Windows 11 users report a positive ROI, appreciating free upgrades, user-friendliness, stability, and benefits in academic settings.
Sentiment score
1.4
Windows Server boosts efficiency, stability, and system performance, offering business value despite challenges in quantifying financial benefits and ROI.
Windows 11 is more stable compared to its earlier versions.
our environment is more efficient with Windows 10 installed
We're very competitive commercially and technically because of it.
We've seen value in Windows Server because the systems work smoothly without any problems.
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
8.8
Windows 11 customer service varies, with some users satisfied, but many experience slow responses and turn to self-help solutions.
Sentiment score
6.3
Customers experience mixed support from Windows Server, with some praising promptness and others noting delays and varying service quality.
They are very quick and knowledgeable about their product.
Sometimes they won't even respond.
Everything should work perfectly if you have new hardware that matches the Windows 11 requirements.
I had the need to contact Microsoft customer support on a matter, and their engineer was able to remotely assume control of the screen (with my permission and after following instructions) and in a few minutes had resolved the problem.
When we get the support from Microsoft's Shanghai division, the support is very good.
There have been cases where the problem is too complicated to easily correct over the phone, so they sent a local technical from their support team to assist us in troubleshooting.
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
6.4
Windows 11 is praised for scalability, ease of installation, virtual machine support, but faces hardware requirement challenges.
Sentiment score
8.2
Windows Server is praised for scalability and flexibility, efficiently supporting diverse environments despite some complex environment challenges.
With various products available, such as those integrated with Active Directory, you can streamline and automate the process for a thousand users or more.
I would rate the scalability of Windows 11 a ten out of ten.
I would rate the product's scalability a nine out of ten and my company has about 2000 users for Windows 9 and Windows 10.
In general, it is scalable and manageable.
It works for any size of organization from small to large.
I'm on a 16GB system with a 500GB SSD and I can run multiple VM's on VirtualBox, client sessions, multiple displays and so forth without any issues at all.
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
7.1
Windows 11 is generally stable with good performance, though some users experience occasional crashes and prefer Windows 10.
Sentiment score
7.9
Windows Server is praised for stability and reliability improvements but faces challenges with updates, heavy load, and security concerns.
I would rate the stability a nine out of ten.
I rate the stability a nine and a half out of ten.
With the tool, we are able to control airplane traffic.
The solution is quite stable.
There aren't really bugs or glitches.
It's very reliable and the performance is good.
 

Room For Improvement

Windows 11 must improve security, stability, and user interface while addressing compatibility, pricing, and integration concerns to satisfy users.
Windows Server needs enhanced security, lower pricing, better integration, simplified management, intuitive UI, and improved performance and technical support.
In terms of security, implementing easier remote access to laptops and providing more mature patching options would be beneficial.
It should also improve security which includes patching the vulnerabilities.
Windows 11's pricing needs improvement.
This tool simplifies the control and monitoring of all servers.
Microsoft should expand to integrate the Windows Server with Azure and Linux distribution to provide a simple container environment for running dockerized applications.
If the service could be better integrated with the Azure Cloud, I think it would be a plus for Windows.
 

Setup Cost

Enterprise feedback shows mixed perceptions on Windows 11 pricing, with value depending on purchase method and license bundling.
Windows Server licensing is complex and costly, with varying pricing models that often require detailed assessment and clearer structures.
Windows 11 is not an expensive solution.
I rate its pricing a nine out of ten.
On a scale from one to ten, where one is cheap and ten is expensive, I rate the solution's pricing a nine out of ten.
Some of our customers have spent approximately $12,000 a year on the operating system license.
Some competitors are offering their operating systems for free.
It's a bit expensive if you were to compare it to Linux.
 

Valuable Features

Windows 11 is favored for its user-friendly interface, strong performance, multitasking features, and robust security, enhancing productivity.
Windows Server offers robust features, scalability, and security with easy integration, enhancing performance and supporting diverse enterprise needs.
One of the most valuable features of Windows 11 is its ability to provide detailed statistics about the laptop's performance, including battery usage, CPU performance, and network performance.
The standout feature, known as the Linux App System Forwarded, enables the use of Linux commands within the Windows environment.
The tool's most valuable feature is its stability.
I love using it for the DHCP server, DNS services, and using a computer to map sites on our domain.
The most valuable feature of this solution is the ESRP that is used with the Windows Platform.
Integration with other Microsoft solutions like Exchange and System Center Configuration Manager has the great ability to manage all of the different features on system support, like upgrading, securing, and troubleshooting different Windows systems for clients.
 

Categories and Ranking

Windows 11
Ranking in Operating Systems (OS) for Business
10th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.4
Number of Reviews
43
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Windows Server
Ranking in Operating Systems (OS) for Business
4th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.5
Number of Reviews
184
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of December 2024, in the Operating Systems (OS) for Business category, the mindshare of Windows 11 is 3.9%, up from 0.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Windows Server is 9.4%, up from 9.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Operating Systems (OS) for Business
 

Featured Reviews

Pmurki@Micron.Com Praveen - PeerSpot reviewer
Easy to use, stable product and improve productivity
We use our laptops with Windows only. We use it for everything. For the last 20 years, my entire career, I've been using Windows only. Office 365 will be extensively used, along with other tools from Office 365 Everything is good. It's easy to use. It supports AI initiatives. Like we use…
NirajSingh - PeerSpot reviewer
User-friendly platform streamlining client connectivity
We are using Windows Server to connect our client software. We use it to access client systems and work on SQL databases Rather than purchasing and setting up infrastructure, we are using Windows Server, which obviously saves some costs. Windows Server is fulfilling our daily work-life purposes.…
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
17%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Comms Service Provider
8%
University
7%
Computer Software Company
13%
Government
10%
Educational Organization
9%
Financial Services Firm
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Windows 11?
We use Windows 11 for our workstation’s daily operations.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Windows 11?
The licensing is expensive, but it's value for money. Many people need it for deployment in Windows environments. It's very much required at this time.
What needs improvement with Windows Server?
Sometimes the performance goes down, which might be due to the stability zone or network issues. It can also depend on our network.
What is your primary use case for Windows Server?
We are using Windows Server to connect our client software. We use it to access client systems and work on SQL databases.
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Information Not Available
Rakuten, Rackspace, Tyco
Find out what your peers are saying about Windows 11 vs. Windows Server and other solutions. Updated: December 2024.
824,053 professionals have used our research since 2012.