Operating systems are the basis of every device we own nowadays. Everything has an operating system, whether it’s a mobile phone, game console, personal computer, or even a fridge. Best operating systems are often regarded for their complexity and stability, but in this world - it’s all about the time. If something takes more than a few seconds to open - we’re out of there. So, here, we will be looking for the best operating system on the market. We’ll compare the most popular ones and put them to the test - let the best one win!

The most obvious definition of the operating system is that it is software that governs all your apps. You can compare it to the canvas you can paint or a notebook on which you can write a novel. The basic concept is simple - it uses your hardware to let you use the computer.

In the beginning, there was darkness. Then, first computers appeared, and everything changed. The first advanced software on the market came from a little-known at the time company called Microsoft. Windows operating system allowed users to freely juggle between the tasks with a simple trick called, well, windows. You could put different tasks into different windows on the screen, and by doing so, you could do many of them simultaneously.

Parallelly, Apple created its operating system to support its products. And those vary a lot. As the whole company was built on the idea of creating something fast and easy to use, they made separate operating systems for each device they produced. On MacBooks, you got Mac OS that was similar to the Microsoft Product. On iPhones, you had iOS, which is something completely different. You also got one on iPods, but it didn’t stand the test of time with Apple phones coming into play.

Other operating systems were also used for different tasks. For example - free to use Linux kernel. It looks like a modern mobile operating system, and it’s for a reason. Linux is a Unix-based operating system, and the same goes for Apple products. It’s the old and gold standard from the 60s/70s that was created around the idea of making a system that lets you do one thing efficiently at a time. Linux may not be popular in everyday use, but data centers around the world still use it.

Windows users frowned upon that but in the end, they also tried this one. However, the Windows Mobile system was run into the ground by Android. To be honest, Android killed many systems, with Symbian for Nokia phones and Blackberry being two of the more important ones.

With that in mind, let’s explain a little bit about what will limit the scope of our investigation. Doing so in the beginning is vital as it may become tricky in the end.

We will not point you to the REAL fastest operating system in the world. Why? Well, you will probably never use it. Not even probably - most surely, you will never even see the name of the fastest operating system in the world. Why? The answer is simple - there is no reason for you to use it. 

The fastest computer operating system on the market is something called Server OS. It’s a general name for many systems. They connect hundreds, thousands, and millions of users at the same time, have an enormous memory capacity, and can run multiple “computers” simultaneously. It’s built for the network.

Your everyday operating system really does not need something so big and expansive. You’ll mostly need to check your mail, use a web browser and play some games from time to time. Building a server OS for such use would be a similar overkill to killing an ant with an atomic bomb. It’s not worth it.

As you may have guessed from our introduction, it really cannot be stressed enough that there is no simple answer to the question - what is the fastest operating system? It is based on so many different factors to take into account that a simple answer is nowhere to be seen, to be honest. 

You would have to make a separate list for different devices like mobile phones, tablets, personal computers, laptops (with differentiation between all access laptops and MacBooks), different hardware specifications like faster and slower processors, better or worse graphics cards, etc. What we can do, though is to show you every system and explain what it’s the best use of this particular system and how it plays out generally among the nearest competitors. With that in mind, let’s see what the fastest operating system (considering the circumstances) is!

Windows operating systems have a long and winding history in the world of personal computers. It is the single most popular operating system in the world, used by billions of people today. We can straight up tell you that you will never regret getting a Windows. 

It is, indeed, one of the fastest operating systems as well. It’s also the most universal among all of the others. You can use it for running apps on it, writing, working, playing games, listening to or creating music, and videos, literally - anything you can imagine a computer can do - you can do it on Windows OS.

It’s also one of the most reliable operating systems in the world, with a Windows server ready to support your system and help you out in times of need. 

And - we probably don’t even need to tell you that, if you ever used a computer in your life, you probably used one of the many Windows operating systems. It’s easy to use, safe and, as we said before - really fast. 

How does it play out next to its closest competitor - MacOS? Well, it’s more or less the same with Mac being a little faster on their own devices as you may imagine. It’s something like 1-2 seconds of starting time. Does it matter? Well, in the grand scheme of things - no. You can use Windows on multiple devices while managing multiple databases and tasks. And that is something you cannot do on a Mac, even if you want to. The best on the market are the two latest ones - Windows 10 and Windows 11. All benchmarks tell the same story - it’s an upgrade from the not-so-great and a little bit mobile-ish system of Windows 8. 

Key Features:

• A friendly user interface, easy to navigate, and familiar.
• Built-in virus protection software and multifactor authentication technology.
• If your computer is strong enough, you can juggle between many workspaces at the same time; the sole operating system can do it easily if there is a memory to do so.
• It’s just the best operating system on the market for personal use.

…if you don’t have an Apple product. And - a lot of need to use many things at once. As we’ve stated before, macOS is a Unix-based operating system that has one thing in mind - KISS. Keep it simple stupid. It means that the programs must be easy to use at the core and do one thing at a time perfectly. 

At first, it was created not solely for experience purposes but because of the lack of memory that the first computers had. With time though, it evolved into a principle of companies such as Apple. With Windows being concerned about doing everything at once, all the time, Apple decided to do one thing at a time with style. 

And so - the macOS is considered one of the most ergonomic and easy-to-use systems in the whole world. And with that - it’s extremely quick, as it is integrated with the hardware from Apple. You don’t need drivers or anything in between - your macOS is a finished product connected to everything inside your computer. 

That is why it seems like it’s faster than your everyday Windows with 100 tasks at hand. Additionally - you can get this system completely free on any of your devices if you want. 

Key Features:

• Fast, reliable, and always ready to use.
• The desktop allows you to organize your files extremely efficiently.
• Connection to other Apple devices makes it almost seamless to send and receive files between them.
• Apps for Mac are often really polished and suited for the OS, and many times, they seem much better than their Windows counterparts.
• MacBooks have one of the safest operating systems on the market, especially when it comes to the spying aspect; similarly to the iOS, it can tell you if someone is trying to hack your phone, even if it’s your own government.

For Linux-based systems, here we have - Ubuntu. It’s free, pretty efficient, and - you have probably never heard of it. It is also the most streamlined Linux operating system and open source operating system as well. 

You can freely use it and send it to others, change something in it, create a new Ubuntu for yourself, and many, many more. The word itself comes from the Nguni philosophy of ubuntu and it means “humanity to others.” And - this correlates with - I am who I am because of all of us, which is the idea behind Ubuntu. 

This one is the most supported of many Linux distros (operating systems based on the Linux kernel). You get an update every six months and are provided a firewall to protect your data.

The idea is really cool, as it is, indeed - from people for the people after all, without the “big corporation” middle man (on the first glance, on the second - it’s a British company Canonical). The only concern is that it may not be compatible with all the apps, as they are mostly created with Windows/macOS in mind. But - if there is a will, there is a method and Ubuntu users created lots and lots of ports to use that…well, slow down the use and accessibility of the computer, unfortunately. It makes the whole experience a little worse, to be honest. It’s also the slowest of the first three operating systems on this list. Just keep in mind that - it’s not bad, it’s just free.

Key Features:

• Open Source software, free of charge for anyone who wants it, with support and firewall included.
• You can get it in 50 languages.
• It’s good if you don’t have alternatives.

Another one on our top operating systems list is also another Linux-based OS - Chrome OS, straight from Google! As the alternative operating systems go, this has to be feared by the competition, as it may still be a lightweight operating system, but with the support from such a giant - you will never know.

So, now it’s…pretty basic, to be honest. You can mostly use it for some multimedia applications; for that, it’s extremely fast, but it can do just this one thing. 

The graphical interface may be similar as it is, indeed - Chrome, but that’s all there is to say. We’re looking forward to how it develops and hope that with another big player on the market, the fight may rise anew!

Key Features:

• Great for multimedia usage.
• Cool Chrome-based interface.
• Obvious performance weaknesses appear while doing more complicated tasks.
• Compatible with all Android apps.
• It’s a modern desktop environment from one of the most popular operating systems’ browser.

And with that in mind, let’s get into one of the most popular operating systems on the planet - Android. It is a highly flexible operating system with a robust user interface and great memory management (it’s really a shame that they didn’t include this technology in Google Chrome). When it comes to the sheer numbers - it’s the fastest operating system in the world.

But - you can use it only on mobile devices (tablets and TVs included). It can do a lot in a really short time, but it lacks the complexity of advanced desktop computers’ systems. 

Android operating system is a very advanced one, for sure. It’s no surprise, it’s one of the most used ones. With over 2,000,000 apps available and people using it every day for hours, you have a database to work on that no other system will give you.

Also, it’s basically Linux distros as well, so you get all the additional features because of that in the package. And, as we remember, the Linux system is the go-to with big data, so keep that in mind.

You can customize it freely, it works great on embedded devices, and as far as the fast operating system goes - you can’t find anything even close to it. Definitely a top choice for mobile devices.

Key Features:

• Android OS is one of the most popular mobile device operating systems in the world.
• Also - probably the fastest operating system in the world.
• A great number of apps and customization available for users.
• It’s open source so you can create your own version of it.
• Android Mobile Security is one of the best on the market.
• It’s a robust operating system with millions of active users.

With Android out of the way, we just have to mention iOS. Although it may feel a little redundant, as we’ve written about macOS, it wouldn’t feel right if we didn’t include the second “greatest” mobile operating system.

This one really comes down to preference. In honesty, we could rewrite everything from this article's Android part and sprinkle some macOS over it. With Mac App Store/iOS store offering the same high quality, it really is very similar indeed.

The main difference is - it is even faster than all of the above, as it combines the compact version of the operating system with a hardware-software combination that we all know from Apple. Android has this problem; it differs in what kind of device you use it. 

And if you have some high-quality Samsung - you can just go as fast as any iPhone can, even better in some cases. But the mean is pretty slow overall with some Redmi or Oppo phones not really suited for high-quality performance.

With that in mind - it has the same problem as the other Linux OS based lightweight operating systems. It really likes to do one thing at a time. It’s great at it, but it suffers the consequences of it. Of course, Android is the other Linux OS, but it goes more into what makes Windows so great: complexity and multitasking.

Key Features:

• The “other” fastest operating system in the world.
• Looks incredibly good.
• User interfaces have never been the same after iOS.
• It has advanced security features that can even alarm you when someone tries to hack your phone.

For a very lightweight Linux distribution (regarding the system requirements), here we introduce Linux Mint. It’s a nicely operating system with a tiny core Linux OS and mini server. It works on most computer hardware. 

Of course, it has classic Linux games and you don’t need any particular computer-related skills to be incredible at Linux Mint. It’s a free, open-source OS that’s easy to use and highly stable, so you can go either way with it. Other systems based on Linux are really just free software – this is a full system for Linux computers to use. 

This operating system works on user apps, has a user-friendly interface, and just a whole bunch of user attention to detail. For many years it has been a staple for Linux-based programs, and with the latest version coming out in March 2022, you can be sure that they will not abandon it.

It’s surprisingly fast, and for one of the most used Linux appropriation - it’s also very fresh! But, as always, it suffers from the lack of support, so if you want to get it - keep that in mind. Every port stops you from getting to what you need, and not all the apps run on Linux. Installing chat messaging programs isn’t the coolest thing to do when downloading an operating system.

Key Features:

• Free, open-source operating system.
• It’s one of the most stable operating systems in the world.
• As usual - Linux is very secure.
• You can pretty much change it as you want and interfere with the source code.

Computer systems are really complex. Mac OSX, Windows, Linux - every one of the listed operating systems have something that makes it stand out from the rest. Whether it’s a unique file system, or it’s an ultra-lightweight OS that doesn’t need much attention after installation, or a dynamic desktop that just looks cool - every single one of them is worth something for someone. With so many operating systems on the market, we feel like there is something for everyone.

But, we were looking for the fastest one there is so we need to make some choices. So, if you need a good desktop operating system, you really cannot go wrong with Windows. Whether it’s Windows 10, 11, or anything in between - you will always have one of the fastest and most advanced programs there is. 

Of course, you could argue that Apple systems are superior when it comes to the quickness of creating a Pages file or opening something from a USB but those split-second differences do not even compare to the vast amount of tasks a Windows user can do at the same time. The same goes for Android. Even though you can perform single tasks faster on iOS, the sheer amount of things you can do simultaneously on Android is just too great to overlook.

So - here are our choices, feel free to agree or disagree with us!

As usual, thanks for checking out this article. We hope that we could help you with some choices regarding finding the best operating system for your computer’s hardware. Of course, we had to miss out on some of the systems, as in every list, but we did our best to include the most important ones that you can find on the market. 

As usual, be sure to check out our other articles if you need something software based to compare (or maybe you’re looking for some cool games to play?) and recommend us to your friends, family or relatives. It really helps a lot!