Linux's market share in North America has breached 10% for the first time, says StatCounter

Published Aug 2, 2026, 3:18 AM EDT Simon is a Computer Science BSc graduate who has been writing about technology since 2014, and using Windows machines since 3.1. After working for an indie game studio and acting as the family's go-to technician for all computer issues, he found his passion for writing and decided to use his skill set to write about all things tech. Since beginning his writing career, he has written for many different publications such as WorldStart, Listverse, and MakeTechEasier. However, after finding his home at MakeUseOf in February 2019, he would eventually move on to its sister site, XDA, to bring the latest and greatest in Windows, Linux, and DIY electronics. Sign in to your XDA account Summary Linux hits 10.61% on StatCounter, crossing into double-digit territory for the first time. Linux's gain largely came from Windows' market share loss, which fell from 64.66% to 57.63%. The spike might be driven by bots; the fabled "year of Linux" may not be here yet, but it is promising. While there's no definitive, 100% accurate way to measure how many people use which operating system, we often turn to StatCounter to get a rough idea. According to the website, Linux usage has been growing since May and has now managed to cross over into the double-digit levels of market share. And while it's always important to take these readings with a grain of salt, it does sound promising for Team Tux. Here's hoping things continue like this Credit: StatCounter From the chart above and via the StatCounter website, you can see just how much Linux has spiked in North American usage. It seems like a pretty drastic jump, with the OS starting at 3.56% in May 2026 and ending at 10.61% in June 2026. So, which market shares did Linux take from? Well, Windows went from 64.66% to 57.63% in the same time period, and while OS X did take a tumble from June to July, it did see a small increase between May and July. As such, the vast majority of the market share Linux got came at the expense of Windows' share. Does this mean that the fabled "year of Linux" is upon us? Well, it's not clear-cut. For starters, we don't know how many of those new Linux users are actually human. In fact, with such a huge jump, I wouldn't be surprised if this is measuring bot activity and that people have moved over to Linux to power them. However, it's still nice to see Linux taking double digits on StatCounter.