close
Image
ImageImageImageImageImageImageImageImage   Image
 • Home Page, Headlines
 • DW Weekly, Comments
 • Packages, Package Management
 • Glossary, FAQ, Mobile Site
 • Search, Sitemap
 • Major Distributions
 • Submit Distribution
 • Upcoming Releases
 • About DistroWatch
 • Beginner's Guide
 • Torrents, Page Hit Ranking
 • Advertise

FreeBSD RSS Feed DistroWatch.com: FreeBSD

FreeBSD


Last Update: 2026-08-08 03:45 UTC


freebsd-15.0 (more screenshots in our gallery)  
Image FreeBSD is a UNIX-like operating system for the i386, amd64, IA-64, arm, MIPS, powerpc, ppc64, PC-98 and UltraSPARC platforms based on U.C. Berkeley's "4.4BSD-Lite" release, with some "4.4BSD-Lite2" enhancements. It is also based indirectly on William Jolitz's port of U.C. Berkeley's "Net/2" to the i386, known as "386BSD", though very little of the 386BSD code remains. FreeBSD is used by companies, Internet Service Providers, researchers, computer professionals, students and home users all over the world in their work, education and recreation. FreeBSD comes with over 20,000 packages (pre-compiled software that is bundled for easy installation), covering a wide range of areas: from server software, databases and web servers, to desktop software, games, web browsers and business software - all free and easy to install.

Popularity (hits per day): 12 months: 26 (407), 6 months: 25 (407), 3 months: 24 (376), 4 weeks: 38 (273), 1 week: 58 (250)

Average visitor rating: 8.7/10 from 84 review(s).


FreeBSD Summary
Distribution FreeBSD
Home Page https://www.freebsd.org/
Mailing Lists https://www.freebsd.org/community/mailinglists.html
User Forums https://forums.freebsd.org/
Alternative User Forums UnitedBSD
Documentation https://www.freebsd.org/docs/https://wiki.freebsd.org/
Screenshots  
Screencasts
Download Mirrors https://docs.freebsd.org/en/books/handbook/mirrors/
Bug Tracker https://www.freebsd.org/support/bugreports.html
Related Websites The FreeBSD DiaryThe FreeBSD MallFreeBSD for Raspberry PiFreshPortsFreeBSD PortsFreeBSD System Administration TrainingBSD JumpstartDaemonForumsBSDNexusThe FreeBSD FoundationManual PagesWikipediaBSDForen.de (German) • BSDGuru (Polish)
Reviews 15.x: DistroWatch
13.x: The Register
12.x: ArstechnicaDistroWatch
11.x: Pro-Linux (German) • DistroWatch
10.x: DistroWatch
9.x: OSNewsDistroWatch
8.x: O'Reilly BroadcastLWN
7.x: Wordpress
6.x: BlogspotServerWatchabout LinuxTuxmachines
5.x: DistroWatchOSNews
4.x: OSNews
Where To Donate, Buy or Try https://freebsdfoundation.org/donate/

Recent Related News and Releases
  Releases announcements with download links and checksums:
 • 2026-06-16: BSD Release: FreeBSD 15.1
 • 2026-03-10: BSD Release: FreeBSD 14.4
 • 2025-12-02: BSD Release: FreeBSD 15.0
 • 2025-11-17: Development Release: FreeBSD 15.0-RC1
 • 2025-10-12: Development Release: FreeBSD 15.0-BETA1
 • 2025-06-10: BSD Release: FreeBSD 14.3
 • 2025-05-10: Development Release: FreeBSD 14.3-BETA2
 • 2025-03-11: BSD Release: FreeBSD 13.5
 • 2025-02-15: Development Release: FreeBSD 13.5-BETA2
 • 2024-12-03: BSD Release: FreeBSD 14.2
 • 2024-11-09: Development Release: FreeBSD 14.2-BETA2
 • 2024-09-17: BSD Release: FreeBSD 13.4
 • More FreeBSD releases...

  Headlines:
 • 2026-07-27 FreeBSD publishes second quarterly status report of 2026
 • 2026-07-24 FreeBSD temporarily freezes ports tree
 • 2026-07-15 FreeBSD removes last GPL code from base system
 • 2026-04-22 FreeBSD publishes first Status Report of 2026
 • 2026-04-13 FreeBSD improves laptop compatibility
 • 2026-03-30 FreeBSD team responds to forum hack
 • 2026-02-21 FreeBSD publishes fourth quarter status report for 2025
 • 2025-12-22 FreeBSD Foundation reports progress in quest to better support laptops
 • 2025-11-30 FreeBSD publishes third quarter Status Report
 • 2025-11-09 FreeBSD makes progress with reproducible builds
 • More FreeBSD headlines...

Table Notes and Explanations

(Please refer to the table below.)
  • Select view:
  • To compare the software in this project to the software available in other distributions, please see our Compare Packages page.
  • Notes: In case where multiple versions of a package are shipped with a distribution, only the default version appears in the table. For indication about the GNOME version, please check the "nautilus" and "gnome-shell" packages. The Apache web server is listed as "httpd" and the Linux kernel is listed as "linux". The KDE desktop is represented by the "plasma-desktop" package and the Xfce desktop by the "xfdesktop" package.
  • Colour scheme: green text = latest stable version, red text = development or beta version. The function determining beta versions is not 100% reliable due to a wide variety of versioning schemes.
TUXEDO
TUXEDO Computers

TUXEDO Computers - Linux Hardware in a tailor made suite
Choose from a wide range of laptops and PCs in various sizes and shapes at TUXEDOComputers.com. Every machine comes pre-installed and ready-to-run with Linux. Full 24 months of warranty and lifetime support included!

Learn more about our full service package and all benefits from buying at TUXEDO.

NovaCustom
NovaCustom PrivacyGuard Laptop

NovaCustom PrivacyGuard Laptops - Escape from Big Tech

The NovaCustom PrivacyGuard Laptop is ideal for anyone who prioritizes privacy. Comes with Dasharo coreboot open source firmware and Zorin OS Pro, free from influence of Big Tech.

Star Labs

Star Labs Systems | Laptops designed for Linux

Star Labs - Laptops built for Linux.
View our range including the highly anticipated StarFighter. Available with coreboot open-source firmware and a choice of Ubuntu, elementary, Manjaro and more. Visit Star Labs for information, to buy and get support.


Advertisement


Feature 15-CURRENT 14-STABLE 15.0 14.4 13.5 12.4 11.3 10.4 9.3 8.2 7.4 6.4 5.5 4.11 3.5 2.2.8 Feature
Release Date 2026-08-08 2026-08-08 2025-12-02 2026-03-10 2025-03-11 2022-12-05 2018-07-08 2017-10-03 2014-07-15 2013-06-09 2011-02-24 2008-11-28 2006-05-25 2005-01-25 2000-06-24 1998-11-29 Release Date
End Of Life 2029-12-31 2028-11-30 2029-12 2025-09-30 2026-04-30 2024-06 2021-09 2018-10 2016-12 2015-08             End Of Life
Price (US$) Free Free Free Free Free Free Free Free Free Free Free Free Free Free Free Free Price (US$)
Image Size (MB)     200-4300 200-4300 200-3800 200-3200 200-3200 200-2900 100-1700               Image Size (MB)
Free Download Ports Ports ISO ISO ISO ISO ISO ISO ISO ISO ISO ISO ISO ISO ISO ISO Free Download
Installation Text mode Text mode Text mode Text mode Text mode Text mode Text mode Text mode Text mode Text mode Text mode Text mode Text mode Text mode Text mode Text mode Installation
Default Desktop                                 Default Desktop
Default Browser                                 Default Browser
Package Format txz txz txz txz txz txz txz txz txz txz tbz tbz tbz tgz tgz tgz Package Format
Package Management                                 Package Management
Release Model Rolling Semi Fixed Fixed Fixed Fixed Fixed Fixed Fixed Fixed Fixed Fixed Fixed Fixed Fixed Fixed Release Model
Office Suite Calligra, GOffice, LibreOffice Calligra, GOffice, LibreOffice Calligra, GOffice, LibreOffice Calligra, GOffice, LibreOffice Calligra, GOffice, LibreOffice Calligra, GOffice, LibreOffice Calligra, GOffice, LibreOffice Calligra, GOffice, LibreOffice Calligra, GOffice, LibreOffice GOffice, KOffice, OO.o GOffice, KOffice, OO.o GOffice, KOffice, OO.o GOffice, KOffice, OO.o GOffice, KOffice, OO.o GOffice -- Office Suite
Processor Architecture aarch64, amd64, armv6, powerpc, powerpc64, sparc64 aarch64, amd64, armv6, i486, powerpc, powerpc64, sparc64 aarch64, amd64, armv6, i486, powerpc, powerpc64, sparc64 aarch64, amd64, armv6, i486, powerpc, powerpc64, sparc64 aarch64, amd64, armv6, i486, powerpc, powerpc64, sparc64 aarch64, amd64, armv6, i486, powerpc, powerpc64, sparc64 aarch64, amd64, armv6, i386, powerpc, powerpc64, sparc64 amd64, i386, ia64, powerpc, powerpc64, sparc64 amd64, i386, ia64, powerpc, powerpc64, sparc64 amd64, arm, armel, i386, ia64, mips, mipsel, pc98, powerpc, sparc64, xbox amd64, arm, armel, i386, ia64, mips, mipsel, pc98, powerpc, sparc64, xbox alpha, amd64, i386, ia64, pc98, powerpc, sparc64, xbox alpha, amd64, i386, ia64, pc98, powerpc, sparc64 alpha, i386 alpha, i386 alpha, i386 Processor Architecture
Init Software RC RC RC RC RC RC RC RC RC RC RC RC RC RC RC RC Init Software
Journaled File Systems UFS2 SU+J UFS2 + gjournal, ZFS UFS2 + gjournal, ZFS UFS2 + gjournal, ZFS UFS2 + gjournal, ZFS UFS2 + gjournal, ZFS UFS2 + gjournal UFS2 + gjournal UFS2 + gjournal UFS2 + gjournal UFS2 + gjournal           Journaled File Systems
Multilingual Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Multilingual
Full Package List 15-current 14-stable 15.0 14.4 13.5 12.4 11.3 10.4 9.3 8.2 7.4 6.4 5.5 4.11 3.5 2.2.8 Full Package List
Package 15-CURRENT 14-STABLE 15.0 14.4 13.5 12.4 11.3 10.4 9.3 8.2 7.4 6.4 5.5 4.11 3.5 2.2.8 Package
alsa-lib (1.2.16.1) 1.2.16.1 1.2.16.1 1.2.14 1.2.14 1.2.12 1.2.2 1.1.2 1.1.2 1.0.27.2 1.0.23 1.0.23 1.0.10 -- -- -- -- alsa-lib (1.2.16.1)
amdgpu (25.0.0) 25.0.0 25.0.0 22.0.0 22.0.0 19.1.0 22.0.0 18.1.0 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- amdgpu (25.0.0)
apparmor (5.0.2) -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- apparmor (5.0.2)
apt (3.3.2) -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 0.6.46 0.6.46 0.6.46 -- -- -- -- apt (3.3.2)
bash (5.3) 5.3.15 5.3.15 5.3 5.3 5.2 5.2 5.0 4.4 4.3 4.1 4.1 3.2 3.1 3.0 2.04 2.02.1 bash (5.3)
bind (9.20.26) 9.20.26 9.20.26 9.20.16 9.20.8 9.18.1 9.18.7 9.14.1 9.11.2 9.9.5 9.7.2-P3 9.7.2 9.5.0 9.3.2 9.3.0 -- 8.1.2 bind (9.20.26)
chromium (151.0.7922.108) 150.0.7871.186 -- 140.0.7339.80 145.0.7632.109 131.0.6778.204 -- 73.0.3683.103 60.0.3112.101 35.0.1916.153 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- chromium (151.0.7922.108)
cinnamon (6.6.9) 6.4.13 6.4.13 6.4.10 6.4.13 5.4.9 4.8.6 2.4.6 2.4.6 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- cinnamon (6.6.9)
cups (2.4.19) 2.4.19 2.4.19 2.4.14 2.4.16 2.4.11 2.4.2 2.2.10 2.2.3 1.7.1 1.4.5 1.4.6 1.3.9 1.1.23 1.1.22 -- -- cups (2.4.19)
e2fsprogs (1.47.4) 1.47.4 1.47.4 1.47.3 1.47.3 1.47.1 1.46.5 1.45.2 1.43.4 1.42.9 1.41.13 1.41.14 1.41.0 1.38 1.35 -- -- e2fsprogs (1.47.4)
ffmpeg (9.0) 8.1.2 8.1.2 6.1.2 8.0.1 6.1.2 4.4.3 4.1.3 3.3.3 2.1.1 0.6.1 0.6.1 cvs 0.4.9 0.4.9 -- -- ffmpeg (9.0)
firefox (153.0.3) 153.0.3 153.0.3 145.0.1 140.8.02 128.7.01 106.0.3 67.0.2 55.0.3 28.0.1 3.6.13 3.6.13 3.0.4 1.5.0.1 1.0 -- -- firefox (153.0.3)
flatpak (1.18.0) -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- flatpak (1.18.0)
freetype (2.14.3) 2.14.3 2.14.3 2.13.3 2.14.1 2.13.3 2.12.1 2.9.1 2.8 2.5.3 2.4.4 2.4.4 2.3.7 2.1.10 2.1.7 1.3.1 1.1 freetype (2.14.3)
gcc (16.2.0) 14.2.0 14.2.0 15.2.0 14 13 12.2.0 8.3.0 6.4.0 4.7.3 4.3.4 4.6.0 3.4.6 3.3.6 3.2.3 -- 2.8.1 gcc (16.2.0)
gimp (3.2.4) 2.10.38 2.10.38 2.10.38 2.10.382 2.10.38 2.10.32 2.10.8 2.8.22 2.8.10 2.6.11 2.6.11 2.4.7 2.2.10 2.2.1 -- 1.0.2 gimp (3.2.4)
git (2.55.0) 2.55.0 2.55.0 2.51.0 2.52.0 2.48.1 2.38.1 2.21.0 2.13.5 1.9.0 1.7.3.5 1.7.3.5 1.6.0.1 1.2.2 -- -- -- git (2.55.0)
glibc (2.44) -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- glibc (2.44)
gnome-shell (50.4) 47.10 47.10 47.10 47.10 42.4 42.4 3.28.3 3.18.5 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- gnome-shell (50.4)
grub (2.14) 2.02 -- 2.02 2.02 2.02 2.02 2.00 2.00 2.00 1.98 1.98 -- 0.97 0.95 -- -- grub (2.14)
gtk (4.22.4) 4.20.4 4.20.4 4.18.6 4.18.6 4.16.12 4.8.0 3.22.29 3.22.15 3.8.8 2.22.1 2.22.1 2.12.11 2.8.11 2.4.14 1.2.8 1.0.6 gtk (4.22.4)
httpd (2.4.68) 2.4.68 2.4.68 2.4.65 2.4.66 2.4.62 2.4.54 2.4.39 2.4.27 2.4.9 2.2.17 2.2.17 2.2.9 2.2.0 2.0.52 -- -- httpd (2.4.68)
hyprland (0.56.2) 0.56.1 0.56.1 0.51.1 0.53.1 0.46.2 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- hyprland (0.56.2)
inkscape (1.4.4) 1.4.4 1.4.4 1.4.2 1.4.2 1.4 1.2.1 0.92.3 0.92.1 0.48.4 0.48.0 0.48.0 0.46 0.43 0.38.1 -- -- inkscape (1.4.4)
kmod (34.2) -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- kmod (34.2)
krita (6.0.3) 6.0.3 6.0.3 5.2.13 5.2.14 5.2.6 5.1.1 4.1.8 3.1.2.1 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- krita (6.0.3)
Package 15-CURRENT 14-STABLE 15.0 14.4 13.5 12.4 11.3 10.4 9.3 8.2 7.4 6.4 5.5 4.11 3.5 2.2.8 Package
LibreOffice (26.2.5) 26.2.5 26.2.5 25.8.1 25.2.2 24.2.4 7.4.2 6.2.2 5.3.4 4.1.5 -- -- 2.4.1 -- 1.1.3 -- -- LibreOffice (26.2.5)
libselinux (3.11) -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- libselinux (3.11)
linux (7.1.7) -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- linux (7.1.7)
mariadb (12.3.2) 12.3.2 12.3.2 11.8.3 11.4.5 11.4.2 10.6.10 10.3.13 10.2.6 5.5.35 5.2.4 5.2.4 -- -- -- -- -- mariadb (12.3.2)
mate-desktop (1.28.2) 1.28.2 1.28.2 1.28.2 1.28.2 1.28.2 1.26.0 1.20.3 1.12.1 1.6.1 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- mate-desktop (1.28.2)
mesa (26.2.0) -- -- 24.1.7 24.1.7 24.1.7 21.3.8 18.3.2 17.1.4 10.1.0 7.9.1 7.9.1 -- -- -- 3.2 3.0 mesa (26.2.0)
nautilus (50.2.2) 47.6 47.6 47.5 47.5 42.2 42.2 3.28.1 3.18.5 2.32.2.1 2.32.2.1 2.32.2.1 2.22.5.1 2.12.2 2.8.2 -- -- nautilus (50.2.2)
NVIDIA (610.57.04) 595.91.07 595.84 580.95.05 570.124.04 550.54.14 510.60.02 390.87 375.66 331.49 -- 270.18 -- -- -- -- -- NVIDIA (610.57.04)
openjdk (26.0.2) 26.0.2 26.0.2 24.0.2 25.0.1 17.0.1.12.1 17.0.4 12.0.0 8u131 7u51 7b122 7b122 -- -- -- -- -- openjdk (26.0.2)
openssh (10.4p1) 10.4p1 10.4p1 10.0p1 9.9p2 9.7p1 9.0p1 7.9p1 7.5p1 6.6p1 5.4p1 5.2p1 3.6p1 3.6p1 3.6p1 -- -- openssh (10.4p1)
openssl (4.0.1) 4.0.1 4.0.1 3.6.0 3.0.191 3.0.15 1.1.1q 1.1.1b 1.0.2l 1.0.1 1.0.0 1.0.0d 0.9.8h 0.9.8a 0.9.7e -- -- openssl (4.0.1)
perl (5.44.0) 5.42.3 5.42.3 5.42.0 5.40.2 5.36.3 5.36.0 5.28.1 5.24.1 5.16.3 5.12.3 5.12.3 5.8.8 5.8.8 5.8.5 -- 5.005.02 perl (5.44.0)
php (8.5.9) 8.6.0.a3 8.6.0.a3 8.4.13 8.4.5 8.3.8 8.1.12 7.3.6 7.1.8 5.5.10 5.3.5 5.3.5 5.2.6 5.1.2 5.0.3 -- -- php (8.5.9)
plasma-desktop (6.7.4) 6.6.6 6.6.6 6.4.5 6.3.5 6.1.2 5.24.6 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- plasma-desktop (6.7.4)
postfix (3.11.5) 3.11.5 3.11.5 3.10.4 3.10.61 3.9.11 3.7.2 3.3.4 3.2.2 2.11.0 2.8.0 2.8.0 2.5.4 2.2.9 2.1.5 -- -- postfix (3.11.5)
postgresql (18.4) 18.4 18.4 18.1 18.1 -- 14.5 11.3 9.6.4 8.4.21 9.0.3 9.0.3 8.3.3 8.1.3 7.4.6 -- -- postgresql (18.4)
Python (3.14.7) 3.15.0.r1 3.15.0.b2 3.12.11 3.14.3 3.11.11 3.11.0 3.7.3 3.6.1 2.7.6 2.6.6 3.1.3 2.5.2 2.4.2 2.4 1.5.2 1.5.1 Python (3.14.7)
qt (6.11.1) 6.11.1 6.11.1 6.9.3 6.10.1 5.15.5 5.12.1 5.7.1 4.8.5 4.7.1 4.7.1 3.3.8 3.3.5 3.3.3 1.45 1.41 qt (6.11.1)
samba (4.24.5) 4.23.8 4.23.8 4.20.7 4.20.7 4.19.7 4.13.17 4.8.9 4.6.6 4.1.6 3.5.6 3.5.6 3.0.32 3.0.21b 3.0.10 -- 1.9.18.10 samba (4.24.5)
systemd (261.2) -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- systemd (261.2)
thunderbird (153.0.2) 153.0.2 153.0.1 145.0 148.0 128.7.1 102.4.1 60.7.1 52.3.0 24.4.0 3.1.7 3.1.7 2.0.0.16 1.5 1.0 -- -- thunderbird (153.0.2)
vim (9.2) 9.2 9.2 9.1 9.2 9.1 9.0 8.1 8.0 7.4 7.3 7.3 7.2 6.4 6.3 5.6 5.3 vim (9.2)
vlc (3.0.23) 3.0.22 3.0.22 3.0.21 3.0.22 3.0.21 3.0.17.4 3.0.6 2.2.6 2.1.2 1.1.7 1.1.7 0.8.6i 0.8.4a -- -- -- vlc (3.0.23)
wayland (1.26.0) 1.25.0 1.25.0 1.24.0 1.24.0 1.23.1 1.21.0 1.16.0 1.13.0 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- wayland (1.26.0)
xfdesktop (4.20.2) 4.20.2 4.20.2 4.20.1 4.20.1 4.20.0 4.16.1 4.12.4 4.12.3 4.10.2 4.6.2 4.6.2 4.4.2 4.2.3.2 4.0.6 -- -- xfdesktop (4.20.2)
xorg-server (21.1.24) 21.1.24 21.1.24 21.1.18 21.1.201 21.1.14 21.1.4 1.18.4 1.18.4 1.7.7 1.7.5 1.7.5 1.4.2 (6.9.0) -- -- -- xorg-server (21.1.24)

Reader Ratings
Reader supplied reviews for FreeBSD

Average rating
8.7
from 84 review(s)



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:

Rating:    out of 10

Your review (minimum 250 words):




Past reviews - sort by:

Version: 15-CURRENT
Rating: 5
Date: 2026-08-06
Country: Canada
Votes: 0


Here's a tighter, more natural-sounding version that keeps the same opinion and tone without feeling overly polished:

FreeBSD is fine as a dedicated server OS, but it's just not a great desktop experience.

I've been using it on and off for custom projects for about 20 years, and honestly, its desktop use case hasn't changed much. It's stable as a server, but on the desktop it feels dated and lags behind pretty much everything else. Packages are often old, long-standing issues remain unresolved, and building from ports is still a gamble. If you don't believe it, try building Chromium from ports with the default settings and see how that goes.

It's also missing a lot of basic quality-of-life features. The available Wi-Fi managers are outdated and clunky, the GhostBSD network manager works but isn't great, there's no GParted, and Chrome isn't available—Chromium isn't a full replacement since it lacks several sync features. With FreeBSD, almost everything feels like a compromise.

If you enjoy tweaking configs and fixing things, you'll probably have fun with it. But if you just want your computer to work so you can get things done, FreeBSD quickly becomes more effort than it's worth in the desktop/workstation sector.

And yes, I know Netflix, PlayStation, and plenty of web servers use FreeBSD. That doesn't really mean much for desktop users. Those are heavily customized versions maintained by companies with dedicated engineering teams, not the stock FreeBSD experience.

For desktop use, Linux simply does everything better. It has a much larger software ecosystem, newer packages, faster kernel development, and a far better overall user experience. As a desktop OS, it's really not a close comparison.



Was this review helpful? Yes No
Version: 15-CURRENT
Rating: 9
Date: 2026-07-13
Country: Hungary
Votes: 36


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: 48


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

See all 84 reader reviews of FreeBSD...



Copyright © 2001 - 2026 Atea Ataroa Limited. All rights reserved. All trademarks are the property of their respective owners. Privacy policy. Change privacy settings.

Contact, corrections and suggestions: Jesse Smith

Tips: Image bc1qxes3k2wq3uqzr074tkwwjmwfe63z70gwzfu4lx
Image lnurl1dp68gurn8ghj7ampd3kx2ar0veekzar0wd5xjtnrdakj7tnhv4kxctttdehhwm30d3h82unvwqhhxarpw3jkc7tzw4ex6cfexyfua2nr
Image 86fA3qPTeQtNb2k1vLwEQaAp3XxkvvvXt69gSG5LGunXXikK9koPWZaRQgfFPBPWhMgXjPjccy9LA9xRFchPWQAnPvxh5Le
PayPal.me/distrowPatreon.com/distrowatch