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DragonFly BSD VS FreeBSD

Compare DragonFly BSD VS FreeBSD and see what are their differences

DragonFly BSD logo DragonFly BSD

DragonFly belongs to the same class of operating systems as other BSD-derived systems and Linux.

FreeBSD logo FreeBSD

FreeBSD is an advanced operating system for x86 compatible (including Pentiumยฎ and Athlonโ„ข)...
  • DragonFly BSD Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-04-04
  • FreeBSD Landing page
    Landing page //
    2018-09-29

DragonFly BSD features and specs

  • Performance
    DragonFly BSD is designed to provide excellent performance, especially for multi-core systems. Its focus on scalability and parallelism can lead to improved performance in certain workloads.
  • HAMMER File System
    The HAMMER file system offers advanced features like built-in snapshots, fine-grained history retention, and file system mirroring, which can enhance data reliability and recovery.
  • Lightweight
    The operating system is relatively lightweight and can run efficiently on older hardware, making it a suitable option for users with resource-constrained systems.
  • Focus on Simplicity
    DragonFly BSD emphasizes a simpler system structure and maintenance, which can be beneficial for system administrators seeking ease of management.
  • Open Source
    Being open-source, DragonFly BSD encourages community involvement and transparency in development, allowing users to view and modify the source code.

Possible disadvantages of DragonFly BSD

  • Limited Hardware Support
    Compared to other operating systems, DragonFly BSD may have less hardware support, potentially causing issues with newer or less common components.
  • Smaller User Community
    The community around DragonFly BSD is smaller, which may result in fewer resources, forums, and third-party support options for troubleshooting or learning.
  • Software Compatibility
    There may be limited software compatibility and availability compared to more mainstream operating systems, requiring users to rely more on manual ports or alternatives.
  • Niche Focus
    The niche focus on certain performance aspects may not appeal to all users, particularly those looking for a more generalized operating system experience.
  • Learning Curve
    Users who are new to BSD systems might encounter a steeper learning curve, especially if they are more familiar with Linux or Windows environments.

FreeBSD features and specs

  • Stability
    FreeBSD is known for its robustness and reliability, making it a preferred choice for servers and critical applications that require high uptime.
  • Advanced Networking
    It offers advanced networking features and performance, suitable for heavy network-related usage such as routers, firewalls, and servers.
  • ZFS File System
    FreeBSD includes support for the ZFS file system, which provides high data integrity, advanced snapshot capabilities, and efficient data management.
  • Ports Collection
    The FreeBSD Ports Collection offers a vast selection of pre-packaged software that eases the installation of applications and their dependencies.
  • Security Features
    FreeBSD is known for its strong security features, such as jails for process separation and Capsicum, a capability-based security framework.

Possible disadvantages of FreeBSD

  • Hardware Compatibility
    FreeBSD may have limited support for certain hardware devices compared to other operating systems like Windows or Linux.
  • Learning Curve
    The system can be complex for new users, requiring a significant amount of time and effort to become proficient, especially if they are accustomed to more user-friendly environments.
  • Smaller Community
    Compared to Linux, FreeBSD has a smaller user and developer community, which might result in less community-driven support and fewer available resources.
  • Limited Desktop Support
    While FreeBSD can be used on desktop systems, it is primarily optimized for servers and might not offer the same level of convenience or support for desktop applications and environments as Linux distros.
  • Software Availability
    Although it has a vast Ports Collection, some software might not be available or can be more challenging to compile and maintain than on Linux.

Analysis of FreeBSD

Overall verdict

  • Yes, FreeBSD is considered a good operating system, particularly for users seeking stability, security, and high performance. It is highly respected in the open-source community and widely used in various applications, from web hosting to advanced networking solutions.

Why this product is good

  • FreeBSD is well-regarded for its advanced networking, performance, and security features. It offers a robust and flexible system that is ideal for building servers, embedded systems, and desktops. The operating system is known for its strong adherence to UNIX principles, its permissive licensing, and its extensive documentation. Additionally, FreeBSD provides a Ports collection with thousands of applications and a supportive community.

Recommended for

  • System administrators interested in building reliable and secure servers
  • Developers and users who appreciate a UNIX-like environment
  • Organizations seeking customizable and high-performance networking solutions
  • Anyone interested in contributing to or learning from a well-documented open-source project
  • Users who prefer permissive licensing for software redistribution

DragonFly BSD videos

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FreeBSD videos

FreeBSD 12 Review - Used as my daily OS

More videos:

  • Review - A Look and brief introduction to FreeBSD 12.1
  • Review - I tried FreeBSD! - here's what I think of it

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to DragonFly BSD and FreeBSD)
Linux Distribution
24 24%
76% 76
Linux
21 21%
79% 79
Operating Systems
22 22%
78% 78
BSD
100 100%
0% 0

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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare DragonFly BSD and FreeBSD

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FreeBSD Reviews

Best free Linuxย router and firewall distributions of 2023
OpenBSD and FreeBSD are actively developed and are very capable, but these systems require a high level of understanding of operating system internals and low-level networking to be used as routers.
Source: teklager.se
Avoid The Hack: 11 Best Privacy Friendly Operating Systems (Desktops)
With "Linuxulator," FreeBSD has compatibility with Linux binaries. Linuxulator can run unmodified Linux binaries without using virtual machines or emulation. Additionally, FreeBSD has tens of thousands ported libraries and applications.

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, FreeBSD seems to be a lot more popular than DragonFly BSD. While we know about 22 links to FreeBSD, we've tracked only 2 mentions of DragonFly BSD. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

DragonFly BSD mentions (2)

  • Can SGIโ€™s Enthusiast Community Bring IRIX Back to Life?
    People are still actively working on Illumos. The last change was yesterday morning. * https://illumos.org People are still actively working on MirBSD. There's a CVS commit account that can be followed on the FediVerse. * http://www.mirbsd.org It's DragonFly BSD, not Dragon BSD, and the irony of that is that you missed FreeBSD, which is of course still going. * https://dragonflybsd.org * https://freebsd.org As... - Source: Hacker News / over 2 years ago
  • Firefox on Unix is moving away from X11-based remote control (dbus)
    Maybe people donโ€™t recognize that DragonFly (https://dragonflybsd.org) is a BSD? Thatโ€™s my guess. ๐Ÿคทโ€โ™€๏ธ. Source: almost 4 years ago

FreeBSD mentions (22)

  • Why do we need DNSSEC?
    Optional, alternative standards don't have visibility and don't get used. Without a way to measure, nothing happens. There was once a few, UX-hostile DNSSEC & DANE browser extensions but these never worked well and were discontinued. Purveyors of functional DNSSEC: https://freebsd.org. - Source: Hacker News / 4 months ago
  • I've never used FreeBSD and have some questions
    Aside from being UNIX based, what similarities does it share with Linux? Both have monolithic kernels. Source based build systems are offered (ports, which are like the portage system on Gentoo) as well as binary build systems (pkg, which is like apt, yum, pacman, etc.) Both offer a lot of free software, though more licenses are compatible with FreeBSD like CDDL, which is not compatible Linux. Both let you... Source: almost 2 years ago
  • FreeBSD turns 30 today!
    There's no mention of a birthday on their site, and its footer says 1995-2023. That must be just the site, because Wikipedia tells me FreeBSD's initial release was indeed, but not quite, 30 years ago, November 1st 1993. Still no birthday. Source: over 2 years ago
  • Computer
    I'm not the right person to ask this -- I just run it on whatever I happen to have. But I think sleep and wifi (for example) have issues with different hardware, so you'd have to do your homework. The FreeBSD handbook on freebsd.org is always very helpful to me. You can try it out with a live cd / thumbdrive to see how much supported hardware you've got. My Lenovo X1 from a couple years ago works for what I... Source: over 2 years ago
  • Can SGIโ€™s Enthusiast Community Bring IRIX Back to Life?
    People are still actively working on Illumos. The last change was yesterday morning. * https://illumos.org People are still actively working on MirBSD. There's a CVS commit account that can be followed on the FediVerse. * http://www.mirbsd.org It's DragonFly BSD, not Dragon BSD, and the irony of that is that you missed FreeBSD, which is of course still going. * https://dragonflybsd.org * https://freebsd.org As... - Source: Hacker News / over 2 years ago
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What are some alternatives?

When comparing DragonFly BSD and FreeBSD, you can also consider the following products

GhostBSD - GhostBSD is a user friendly desktop operating system based on ...

Ubuntu - Ubuntu is a Debian Linux-based open source operating system for desktop computers.

OpenBSD - FREE, multi-platform 4.4BSD-based UNIX-like operating system

Arch Linux - You've reached the website for Arch Linux, a lightweight and flexible Linuxยฎ distribution that tries to Keep It Simple. Currently we have official packages optimized for the x86-64 architecture.

Linux Mint - Linux Mint is one of the most popular desktop Linux distributions and used by millions of people.

NomadBSD - NomadBSD is a persistent live system for USB flash drives, based on FreeBSD.