Every article tag can be clicked to get a list of all articles in that category. Every article tag also has an RSS feed! You can customize an RSS feed too!
We do often include affiliate links to earn us some pennies. See more here.

Another month, another record. Linux market share has now hit 3.37% according to the netmarketshare website.

Funny, I said last time "we may hit ~3% (and hopefully stay above it) by the end of 2018.", I guess I was wrong there then?

It's worth noting that all ways of tracking it come with their own flaws. Nothing is perfect. To be honest, I don't put a massive amount of faith in them myself.

Year of the netmarketshare Linux desktop!

Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
Tags: Misc
26 Likes
About the author -
author picture
I am the owner of GamingOnLinux. After discovering Linux back in the days of Mandrake in 2003, I constantly came back to check on the progress of Linux until Ubuntu appeared on the scene and it helped me to really love it. You can reach me easily by emailing GamingOnLinux directly. Find me on Mastodon.
See more from me
The comments on this article are closed.
52 comments
Page: «2/6»
  Go to:

Areso Sep 1, 2017
I don't think GNU\Linux has grown 33% in one month. I see the table with data above, but I assume they could change their algoritmhs, and thus change the percentage.
Kimyrielle Sep 1, 2017
Not sure how we were supposed to grow by THAT much in one month, indeed. Chromebooks are indeed getting quite popular here, but I doubt that millions of people bought them all of a sudden last month. One should expect a more gradual increase. Let's see if the number is getting confirmed by more measurements in the coming months, otherwise I'd guess it to be an outlier.
Quoting: Areso
Quoting: Power-Metal-GamesI will not count all the problems I experienced with Windows, but I will just describe the worst of all of them: when I finaly stoped using it and decided to switch to Linux I done it because CPU usage on my computer started growing last months every time by some prcent and finaly riched 99%...
Sorry, but it could be solved via re-installing OS after formatting system drive.
Still, I glad you came to GNU\Linux.

Emphasis on the "it could be solved" and nevertheless: one has to repeat that re-installation every few months to keep it "fresh" / getting everything as it was prior.. At worst takes couple of days, right. Fun all the way XD
stretch611 Sep 1, 2017
Quoting: finaldestNice to see Linux continuing to pick up more users. I did make a prediction that Linux would reach 5% by the end of this year. Hopefully.

I have Just got a steam survey in wine GRRR so I logged out without accepting and loaded native steam and got no survey. I then logged back into wine steam to play a windows game and the survey popped up again.

I believe I triggered a survey as I have just received my roccat sova today.

Actually, I just got my first ever Steam Hardware survey last night. I never use windows (or steam on WINE). I have had a steam account for 4.5 years now.
Idesmi Sep 1, 2017
I think most of Linux users aren't seen as that. Using a VPN or an anonymizing proxy your http user agent may be Windows or whatever.
compsci101 Sep 1, 2017
If the numbers can be attributed to Chromebooks, it's almost certainly because school is starting back up and students, more and more, are using personal Chromebooks in the classroom.

It would definitely make sense for a big spike in the last month.
Shmerl Sep 1, 2017
Growth of Chromebooks should be good for Linux gaming, since it's possible to run regular Linux games on ChromeOS (from chroot for instance), but it requires some extra steps. Google should just use the opportunity, and make the process easier and out of the box comfortable.


Last edited by Shmerl on 1 September 2017 at 4:14 pm UTC
Power-Metal-Games Sep 1, 2017
Quoting: AnxiousInfusionWhat hardware was this on? I've noticed that happens easily to laptops that are either older and have been upraped to Windows 10 or that are just very low end machines. If not that, could have been malware... perhaps even somebody mining cryptocurrency on your dollar.

Not a laptop. Desktop computer with 6700K and gtx1080. First thing I thought was malware and mining cryptocurrency, but virus scanner found nothing.

And no, I'm not entirely new Linux user. I switched about 2 years ago maybe, but I still feel a little like I'm new here.

Yes, reinstalling os would resolve everything maybe, but is that a solution you want as the only solution to every problem?
Nyamiou Sep 1, 2017
Quoting: LeopardFlaw in here is , Chromebook's counts as Linux.

Where did you get that information? Chrome OS user agent string report it as CrOS, all other major Linux distro report as Linux. Why would they put them together, it's not the market share of kernels.
FredO Sep 1, 2017
I made the comment last month about the German Linux market share reaching 4% according to Statcounter. Now one month later it's at 4.9%, so something moved last month. Statcounter also count ChromeOS separately.

http://gs.statcounter.com/os-market-share/desktop/germany/#monthly-201608-201708
While you're here, please consider supporting GamingOnLinux on:

Reward Tiers: Patreon. Plain Donations: PayPal.

This ensures all of our main content remains totally free for everyone! Patreon supporters can also remove all adverts and sponsors! Supporting us helps bring good, fresh content. Without your continued support, we simply could not continue!

You can find even more ways to support us on this dedicated page any time. If you already are, thank you!
The comments on this article are closed.