FreeBSD

Reader supplied reviews for FreeBSD Average rating 8.7 from 83 review(s) Please specify which version of the distribtion you are reviewing. Please select a rating in the range of 1-10. Please write at least a few sentences about the distribution while limiting your review to 4080 characters. What are your thoughts on FreeBSD? Please include a few pros and a few cons, along with your overall impression of the operating system. Our FAQ page has tips on writing a good mini-review. Version: -- 15-CURRENT14-STABLE15.014.413.512.411.310.49.38.27.46.45.54.113.52.2.8 Rating:    -- 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 out of 10 Your review (minimum 250 words): Past reviews - sort by: DateVotes Version: 15-CURRENT Rating: 9 Date: 2026-07-13 Country: Hungary Votes: 6 Windows and Linux user. Ages ago (around 1999-2000 maybe) I used FreeBSD on my desktop computer with twm for about a year, and now I was curious where it has grown. And for my absolute complete surprise, I managed to install it on my 11" macbook air and on my 13" macbook air within less than one hour each, having fully working Xfce desktop environment, working sound, wifi (with usb wifi dongle :) ), keyboard lighting, all specific buttons set up to manage them. Awesome! I deleted debian from both, now happily using a real Unix environment like in the good old days. A much more polished experience then on linux. Congratulations and thanks for the developers! Was this review helpful? Yes No Version: 14-STABLE Rating: 10 Date: 2026-05-08 Country: Japan Votes: 46 For me, the value of FreeBSD lies in its structural elegance (clean FHS) and its simplicity (no systemd). It’s true that driver support isn’t as broad as Linux, particularly for modern GPUs. However, for those who know how to work around these constraints, it is a rewardingly stable and obedient OS. It’s an OS that respects the user's intent. Furthermore, maintenance has become much easier than in the past; tools like freebsd-update make system upgrades seamless and straightforward. I highly encourage more people to give it a try. If you value a consistent and well-documented system, you might find that FreeBSD is exactly what you’ve been looking for. Was this review helpful? Yes No Version: 15-CURRENT Rating: 10 Date: 2026-04-28 Country: Sweden Votes: 57 FreeBSD saved my desktop experience! Current nouveau drivers in Linux mess up my laptop's screen so I can't use a desktop properly. I tried submitting a bug report at freedesktop or whatever they're called but I grew tired of waiting for months with no response and no action, indeed the bug report still exists without any movement. I thought I was destined to use outdated v.12.x. Debian just to have a desktop that works. I tried new versions of Debian, Mint, you name it, all had the same problem. I tried ancient nvidia drivers (390?) for MX Linux and they worked, but they have tons of security vulns and they black out the virtual terminals so that's no good, plus I would have to continue using an old version of MX Linux which doesn't receive updates anymore - no thanks! So, on a whim, I tried FreeBSD. BEHOLD! My desktop is back and usable again! No, I'm not using nvidia drivers, just whatever FreeBSD provides as an alternative. As I began setting up my system (thanks to "desktop-installer" for a smooth experience installing XFCE!) I was amazed by how simple the whole thing was. Complexity lies within of course, but for the most part, coming from using Linux for years and the command line, it was smooth sailing! My biggest problem was trying to stop typing "dpkg" instead of "pkg!" So many years using Debian, I swear it's ingrained in my system. Thankfully, I could use ifconfig and netstat, while some fool on Linux thought it would be smart to retire net-tools for a lame alternative. Thank you FreeBSD for sanity! I was especially happy that my laptop's speakers didn't make a loud "pop" noise anymore like they used to in 12.x and older versions of FreeBSD. I've fallen in love all over again. While I may still use some Linux distros for niche experiences, FreeBSD is where it's at! Experience it for yourself and join in the romance. Was this review helpful? Yes No See all 83 reader reviews of FreeBSD...