Free Windows 7 Alternatives for Windows

There are many alternatives to Windows 7 for Windows and since it's discontinued a lot of people are looking for a replacement. The best free Windows alternative is ReactOS, which is also Open Source. If that doesn't suit you, our users have ranked more than 100 alternatives to Windows 7 and eight of them are free and available for Windows so hopefully you can find a suitable replacement. Other interesting free Windows alternatives to Windows 7 are Revision (ReviOS), HoloISO, MINIX 3 and FreeDOS.

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Alternatives list

  1. ReactOS icon

    ReactOS

     291 likes

    ReactOS™ is a FOSS effort to develop a quality operating system based on the architecture of Microsoft® Windows™ NT family of operating systems, that is compatible with applications and drivers written for it (NT4, 2000, XP, 2003, Vista, 7).

    195 ReactOS alternatives

    Cost / License

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Windows
    • ReactOS
    ReactOS screenshot 1
     
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    4
    ReactOS vs Windows 7 Comments
    KuboFHromoslav
    Positive
    5

    As ReactOS is still in alpha stage and not suitable for everyday use, it is not very good alternative yet. Also, now (2017) React OS makes effort to be compatible up to Windows Server 2003, while Windows Vista is in higher class. But as soon as React OS became more stable (supposedly in version 0.5) it will became more serious alternative for everyday use for usual users.

    liljjh
    Positive
    7

    Although it's in alpha, ReactOS is being built from the ground up to work like Windows. It being FOSS is also a nice touch.

    webzooks
    Negative
    0

    React OS is more like Open Source Windows XP.

    3 of 4 comments
    • ReactOS is Free and Open SourceWindows 7 is Paid and Proprietary
    • ReactOS is LightweightWindows 7 is not according to our users
  5. MINIX 3 icon

    MINIX 3

     10 likes

    MINIX is a POSIX-compliant Unix-like operating system based on a tiny microkernel running in kernel mode with the rest of the operating system running as a number of isolated, protected, processes in user mode.

    151 MINIX 3 alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • BSD
    • Self-Hosted
    MINIX 3 screenshot 1
     
  6. FreeDOS icon

    FreeDOS

     38 likes

    FreeDOS is a complete, free, 100% MS-DOS compatible operating system. Works on old hardware, in DOS emulators, and in embedded systems.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Platforms

    • Windows
    • Linux
    FreeDOS screenshot 1
     
  7. illumos icon

    illumos

     19 likes

    illumos is a free and open-source Unix operating system. It derives from OpenSolaris, which in turn derives from SVR4 UNIX and Berkeley Software Distribution (BSD). illumos comprises a kernel, device drivers, system libraries, and utility software for system administration.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
     
  10. BITS-PyOS icon

    BITS-PyOS

     1 like

    BIOS-Implementation-Test-Suite-Based Python Operating System.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Chrome OS
    Main Menu
     
8 of 8 Windows 7 alternatives