Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

GhostBSD VS NomadBSD

Compare GhostBSD VS NomadBSD and see what are their differences

GhostBSD logo GhostBSD

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

NomadBSD logo NomadBSD

NomadBSD is a persistent live system for USB flash drives, based on FreeBSD.
  • GhostBSD Landing page
    Landing page //
    2022-07-23
  • NomadBSD Landing page
    Landing page //
    2022-07-03

GhostBSD features and specs

  • User-Friendly Interface
    GhostBSD offers a user-friendly interface that is ideal for those who are new to the BSD operating systems, making the transition smoother for users familiar with Linux or Windows.
  • Based on FreeBSD
    Being based on FreeBSD, GhostBSD inherits its robustness, security features, and advanced networking capabilities, providing a stable and reliable operating system.
  • Pre-installed Applications
    GhostBSD comes with a variety of pre-installed applications that cover basic needs such as web browsing, multimedia, and productivity, reducing the setup time for new installations.
  • Community Support
    The GhostBSD community offers support through forums and documentation, which can be helpful for troubleshooting or learning more about the system.
  • Rolling Release Model
    GhostBSD uses a rolling release model, which means users receive continuous updates and new features as soon as they are available.

Possible disadvantages of GhostBSD

  • Limited Software Availability
    Compared to more popular operating systems like Linux, GhostBSD may have limited availability of software packages and applications.
  • Hardware Compatibility
    Like many BSD-based systems, GhostBSD can have compatibility issues with certain hardware, which might require additional troubleshooting or alternative drivers.
  • Smaller Community
    The community supporting GhostBSD is smaller compared to more mainstream operating systems like Ubuntu or Fedora, potentially making it harder to find help for specific issues.
  • Lack of Enterprise Features
    GhostBSD might lack some of the enterprise-level features and support that are offered by more established operating systems, making it less ideal for business use.
  • Resource Intensive
    Although relatively lightweight, GhostBSD can be more resource-intensive compared to some other BSD variants, impacting performance on older hardware.

NomadBSD features and specs

  • Portability
    NomadBSD is designed as a live system for USB flash drives, making it highly portable and easy to carry around. You can boot it on different machines without installation.
  • Ease of Use
    NomadBSD offers a user-friendly experience out of the box with pre-installed software, making it suitable even for users who are new to the BSD system.
  • Persistence
    Unlike many live systems, NomadBSD allows you to save your data and changes directly to the USB drive, providing a persistent working environment.
  • Customizability
    Being based on FreeBSD, NomadBSD inherits a highly customizable system with access to a wide range of software packages through its package manager.
  • Hardware Compatibility
    NomadBSD includes drivers and configurations that enhance its compatibility with a variety of hardware setups.

Possible disadvantages of NomadBSD

  • Performance Limitations
    Running from a USB flash drive can be slower than a standard installation, which may affect performance for resource-intensive applications.
  • Limited Storage
    The storage capacity is limited to the size of the USB drive, which may be restrictive for users needing large amounts of data or applications.
  • Hardware Support
    While it offers good compatibility, there may still be cases where specific hardware components are not supported or require manual configuration.
  • Learning Curve
    Even though it is user-friendly, users not familiar with BSD systems might face a learning curve compared to more commonly used operating systems like Windows or Linux.
  • Update Process
    Updating the system can be less straightforward compared to fixed installations, potentially requiring more steps to maintain the live USB environment.

GhostBSD videos

GhostBSD 20.08.04 Install & Review

More videos:

  • Review - GhostBSD 20.02 w/Mate Overview | Distro Delves S2:Ep14
  • Review - GhostBSD First Impression Install and Review

NomadBSD videos

NomadBSD | Installation & First Impressions

More videos:

  • Review - NomadBSD: Persistent Live USB OS
  • Review - Quick Look At The NomadBSD Live System

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to GhostBSD and NomadBSD)
Operating Systems
60 60%
40% 40
Linux
58 58%
42% 42
Linux Distribution
58 58%
42% 42
BSD
50 50%
50% 50

User comments

Share your experience with using GhostBSD and NomadBSD. For example, how are they different and which one is better?
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Social recommendations and mentions

NomadBSD might be a bit more popular than GhostBSD. We know about 15 links to it since March 2021 and only 13 links to GhostBSD. 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.

GhostBSD mentions (13)

  • GhostBSD June 1, 2023 release available https://ghostbsd.org/download
    Robonuggie Video Don't give up the Ghost(BSD)ghostbsd.org. Source: almost 2 years ago
  • Can SGI’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 / almost 2 years ago
  • Suspicious content on GhostBSD's website
    There's a number of dubious looking websites listed at the bottom of https://ghostbsd.org (life insurance, "how to game", etc). Source: about 2 years ago
  • Microsoft provides The DirectX Shader Compiler binaries for Linux
    It will work for BSD Unix also. I will test it on ChostBSD, but I don't know about support AMD RX 6500 XT at the present time. After replacing RX 560 I can't start X11 :(. Source: over 2 years ago
  • Would you recommend FreeBSD to a home user/enthusiast?
    Though I'm not a UNIX desktop guy, when I do want FreeBSD I like to use GhostBSD, since it's well maintained and saves me some time with setup. You might want to start there. Source: over 2 years ago
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NomadBSD mentions (15)

  • FreeBSD: How Can We Make It More Attractive to New Users?
    I'm not sure if NomadBSD offers a "live" desktop experience, but like GhostBSD, it is another attempt at a complete FreeBSD desktop: https://nomadbsd.org/. - Source: Hacker News / 7 months ago
  • how to read content from an old freebsd HD?
    Try with NomadBSD - it's based on Free and has automount feature. Source: almost 2 years ago
  • Its possible to install FreeBSD ina External USB HDD?
    Yes. You can check https://nomadbsd.org/ It allow You to install in an external device with persistence. Best regards. Source: almost 2 years ago
  • About Installing Ubunto to USB on MBR
    I know this is about unbuntu, but I use a BSD distro made to run permanently from a USB. It's called Nomad BSD https://nomadbsd.org/ it's pretty fun. It comes with the XFCE desktop and can run Linux apps. Source: almost 2 years ago
  • I2p on Tails OS?
    Go to https://nomadbsd.org/ and flash it just like you would with Tails. Its not meant to be a anonymous, private or secure OS, but its very easy to use, based on FreeBSD (which is decently secure already), and should work very well out of the box. Source: over 2 years ago
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What are some alternatives?

When comparing GhostBSD and NomadBSD, you can also consider the following products

FreeBSD - FreeBSD is an advanced operating system for x86 compatible (including Pentium® and Athlon™)...

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

MidnightBSD - MidnightBSD is a new BSD-derived operating system developed with desktop users in mind.

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

NetBSD - PowerPC, Alpha, SPARC, MIPS, SH3, ARM, amd64, i386, m68k, VAX: Of course it runs NetBSD.

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