Linux desktop marketshare has grown for three consecutive months

Well, I don't want to look pessimistic here, but always remember to take these statistics with a grain of salt. These variations could literally be anything, and I highly doubt their algorithms are optimized for Linux detection/discrimination.

No, the real goal is 100% (maybe a little less if we leave room for our other BSD/Mach/Hurd/Haiku/whatever -including mac). I might consider 50% as a good sign too :)
Until then... No mercy <insert pirate emoticon here>.

But just remember not to trust these statistics, they are really biased in a lot of ways. And there is no way to tell if they over or under estimate the numbers.

Hmmm . . . Looking at the previous couple years on that site, on one hand the numbers wobble around a lot--rather more IMO than could possibly represent real shifts in Linux use. So this could just be a big blip.
On the other hand, the wobbling up to now was always within a certain range. Never before Feb 2016 do I see it going over 1.74%. I see a low of 1.25% with a typical range between 1.4something and 1.6something.
So a sudden ramp-up (accelerating, from the look of it) all the way up to 2.33% looks like something different. Maybe Windows 10 effect. Maybe Chrome OS. Maybe the Chinese government just got serious about security and did a big roll-out; they've been talking about going Linux for a while. Maybe all of the above.

Some examples of other websites that confirm this data:

https://clicky.com/marketshare/global/operating-systems/linux/

... shows a growth for Linux that is very similar to that shown by Netmarketshare.

http://www.w3schools.com/browsers/browsers_os.asp

... shows Linux near the highest share ever.

https://www.w3counter.com/globalstats.php?year=2016&month=6

... did put Linux at 2.48% in June. Unfortunately we didn't make the list in July due to iOS 8 taking our spot.

The only major web statistics site known to me, that doesn't confirm the trend, is Statcounter. Statcounter's data suggests our market share is stable.


Last edited by dmantione on 3 August 2016 at 6:40 pm UTC

Quoting: GuestI switched to Linux few months back because of Malware 10 and the shady Microsoft tactics. I've gotten 3 more people to install Linux since and I'm planning to keep doing that. There are quite a few people who ask me for computer advice.
I doubt that I'm the only one doing this.

Yup, I've been responsible for deploying Mint into a few different homes. Doubtful that hobbyists have much sway but with the exception of graphics drivers, distros as polished as Mint are ready for prime time with the average user.

We all would like to see Linux to have a greater market share, and grow faster, but their statistics seem to be legit. They claim to collect the data from websites that use their analytics service, and there is no reason to believe that these random websites are in any way biased towards users of any one particular platform. It is also more or less consistent with the Steam survey. There is no reason to believe that Linux users somehow mask their presence online by using user agent switchers and such.

On a brighter note, Linux has really liberated me from all the free tech support for my buddies and relatives, because "I don't know anything about Windows". :)

As these data are not a true picture of reality, it seems that there is a small and steady increase in the use of Linux, it will be interesting to follow this data to the end of the year and see if the high trend will keep ...I want to be optimistic :)

I see many of you speculating if this has anything to do with win10 but looking at win and mac percentages it rather looks more like we've taken users from Mac, not Windows...(!)


Last edited by Beamboom on 3 August 2016 at 7:56 pm UTC

Quoting: Purple Library GuyMaybe Chrome OS. Maybe the Chinese government just got serious about security and did a big roll-out; they've been talking about going Linux for a while. Maybe all of the above.

Looking at the links dmantione shared, it seems Chrome OS keeps steady (or decreasing) globally since May. China has a spike since May, but so does for instance the UK and the US.

Clicky shows that Ubuntu goes up a bit, which maybe is a Windows 8/10 effect. I do think Ubuntu and other well-known distributions would see the increase from users moving from Windows.

But interestingly it's the unknown Linux distribution numbers that rises. W3Schools doesn't see a Linux increase. I'm hoping this is an indication of SteamOS usage. Users of SteamOS would hardly use it to visit W3Schools but may very well be using to visit other sides that netmarketshare and Clicky monitor.

Hi all,

I think these results are accurate and are showing a positive trend and I point the finger directly at windows 10. I think that now the windows 10 free upgrade has ended along with the new anniversary update forcing Cortana to remain on at all times will only encourage more to leave Microsoft.

I have only been a Linux user for about 3-6 months now and my motivation to join the Linux community was the windows 10 forced upgrade initiative. I got so fed up with the constant nagging that I decided to try Linux Mint. I could not believe my eyes when it booted up and everything just worked. Its taken a few months to learn the command line basics and adding PPA's etc but I now cannot go back to windows and I now game exclusively on the steam Linux platform.

My initial Linux experience tells me that this may just be the beginning.

Following this website by keeping up with the latest releases has also given me the courage to stick with Linux so would like to say thank you for this awesome site.

Sorry if I went a little off topic.

Quoting: BeamboomI see many of you speculating if this has anything to do with win10 but looking at win and mac percentages it rather looks more like we've taken users from Mac, not Windows...(!)

Hmmm...according to the site data shown in the article, in January Windows had 90.61% and in July it had 89.79%, Mac OS had in January 7.68% and in July it had 7.87%, then considering only NetMarketShare data, Window had a slight drop and Linux had a small increase. But I do not I analyzed the data from the other sites mentioned in the posts.