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Kali Linux vs Windows 11 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
8.5
Kali Linux provided cost-effective vulnerability testing, enhancing system security and efficiency, while integrating with DevOps and facilitating faster learning.
Sentiment score
5.4
Windows 11 offers 30%-90% ROI, praised for stability and efficiency; however, pricing and incentives need improvement for some users.
Integrating Kali Linux with DevOps tools has resulted in reduced operational costs due to automated test cases, making it a worthwhile investment with significant returns by decreasing the attack surface area and the frequency of attack incidents.
If we had installed it on-premises or through other means, it would have incurred significant money and effort to create the VMs, deploy it on machines, and then delete and format it after use.
I have saved time by avoiding the lag I sometimes face on the TryHackMe in-built machine, and I have learned more efficiently.
Windows 11 is more stable compared to its earlier versions.
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
4.6
Kali Linux support relies on active community forums, offering reliable guidance and documentation, with limited traditional support.
Sentiment score
5.4
Windows 11 technical support varies, with mixed reviews on Microsoft's access and effectiveness, but enterprise users often resolve issues independently.
Since most of the tools and other things are community-based, the documentation and other community support are very good.
Everything should work perfectly if you have new hardware that matches the Windows 11 requirements.
For issues that require level three or level four support, they initiate a process with Microsoft to address the problem.
The technical support team’s response time is very slow.
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.0
Kali Linux offers strong scalability, efficiently supporting single to multiple users for both personal and professional environments.
Sentiment score
5.3
Windows 11 is praised for scalability and ease of installation, despite some hardware integration challenges.
The system is used to control the whole site and the air traffic in every city.
We faced challenges integrating it in multi-app environments, requiring complex API setups.
The solution's scalability is good because it allows you to run a large number of virtual machines.
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
7.8
Kali Linux is highly praised for its stability and reliability, particularly in virtualization, despite occasional system-specific issues.
Sentiment score
5.9
Windows 11 is stable for basic applications but has performance issues, with some users preferring Windows 10 for reliability.
With the tool, we are able to control airplane traffic.
The solution's high level of stability ensures that the machine doesn't go down multiple times.
The stability can be influenced by the status and specifications of our company PCs.
 

Room For Improvement

Kali Linux needs better automation, AI integration, user interfaces, security, and community engagement for improved user experience and compatibility.
Windows 11 needs improvements in stability, compatibility, performance, security, personalization, integration, and user interface for optimal user experience.
If real-time customized port scanning can be added, for example, instead of a default port such as 8080 or 443, if we can use a customized port such as 9876, that capability would be great.
Making Kali Linux more customizable would allow users to personalize it to their style.
It's still advertised as a Linux distro used only for security testing, and many of the tools run as root by default or with the highest privileges.
For a better experience, Windows 11 should be improved to take fewer resources.
Enhancements in the firewall's capabilities would elevate the overall security of the system.
The product should focus more on security, particularly Outlook.
 

Setup Cost

Kali Linux is free and open-source, offering cost-effective tools without licensing fees, except for potential setup costs.
Enterprise buyers have mixed views on Windows 11 pricing, with costs mitigated by flexible licensing and free upgrades.
Kali Linux is free software, an operating system that's available to download without any cost or licensing fees.
My experience with pricing, setup costs, and licensing for Kali Linux has been positive, as it operates under an open-source model.
The pricing and the deployment, resource usage are all spot on and clearly defined, making it helpful and useful for me to deploy and calculate costs.
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.
The tool is expensive.
I have a university license, so I do not pay anything for Windows 11.
 

Valuable Features

Kali Linux offers robust tools, security, scalability, and efficiency, enhancing penetration testing and reducing cybersecurity threats effectively.
Windows 11 is praised for its user-friendly design, robust performance, seamless integration with Microsoft services, and AI support.
Kali Linux has positively impacted my organization by improving efficiency in penetration testing; its open-source nature permits extensive customization and inclusion of numerous comprehensive pre-installed tools, contributing to a secure network environment with effective monitoring of network applications.
Kali Linux has the capability of real-time data scanning for vulnerability assessment for backend services.
The overall focus on security in Kali Linux is what I find most useful.
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.
Windows is one of the best operating systems an enterprise or user can use.
 

Categories and Ranking

Kali Linux
Ranking in Operating Systems (OS) for Business
11th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
17
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Windows 11
Ranking in Operating Systems (OS) for Business
7th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.3
Number of Reviews
48
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of October 2025, in the Operating Systems (OS) for Business category, the mindshare of Kali Linux is 3.0%, up from 0.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Windows 11 is 8.0%, up from 2.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Operating Systems (OS) for Business Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Windows 118.0%
Kali Linux3.0%
Other89.0%
Operating Systems (OS) for Business
 

Featured Reviews

Aditya Pillai - PeerSpot reviewer
Has helped me learn penetration testing through hands-on tasks and faster workflows
It would be helpful if Kali Linux could be involved in more systems or laptops. Windows is a standard for many laptops and comes pre-installed on many devices available in the market. If Kali Linux could do the same and increase their reach to better areas, it would be beneficial. They could improve Kali Linux's UI/UX. They have been following a standard UI/UX. They could add more options, similar to how CachyOS distro of Arch Linux has many different UI options to select from. Making Kali Linux more customizable would allow users to personalize it to their style. Many users utilize Kali Linux through virtual machines. Sometimes Kali Linux has issues detecting hardware such as inbuilt or external Wi-Fi adapters. Improving device detection would be beneficial.
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…
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Comms Service Provider
13%
Computer Software Company
12%
University
12%
Educational Organization
11%
Comms Service Provider
12%
Computer Software Company
11%
University
9%
Manufacturing Company
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business9
Midsize Enterprise1
Large Enterprise8
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business12
Midsize Enterprise12
Large Enterprise24
 

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?
My experience with pricing, setup costs, and licensing for Kali Linux has been positive, as it operates under an open-source model with setup costs primarily related to hardware and virtual machine...
What needs improvement with Kali Linux?
There are areas for improvement in Kali Linux, particularly regarding its use of the Linux kernel, which requires external additional patching, and the fact that network services are disabled by de...
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?
It is very difficult to say the price for Windows 11. I mean, what do you say about the Windows price? Everybody wants it cheaper, and if you get it cheap, then you still want it cheaper.
What needs improvement with Windows 11?
I wouldn't say I particularly enjoy Windows 11 because I've been so used to using it, I'm fine with using Windows 11. Comparing Windows 11 with a Mac, it's smoother to operate on the Mac OS. The Ma...
 

Comparisons

 

Overview

Find out what your peers are saying about Kali Linux vs. Windows 11 and other solutions. Updated: September 2025.
872,706 professionals have used our research since 2012.