Which is "better"? Windows or Linux Hosting?

Each side ie linux hosting and windows hosting have its strengths and weaknesses, its advantages and disadvantages. We shall offer a brief review of both for you to decide:-

It's often been said that Linux is more secure and much more stable in general, but that shouldn't be the only reason.

Desktop vs Server - stability

Many people who are just taking their first steps in web hosting assume that, because their computer or the computer that will be used to create the web pages uses Windows, they must look for Windows hosting. That's not true at all. The pages can be created in Windows and hosted on a Linux box and vice versa. There's no problem with that.

Also a confusion / over generalization that is often made is that Windows is unstable and insecure. That may not be totally true in all cases.

Performance

Comparing Windows and Linux, one thing that has been often noted is that Linux handles high numbers of processes running at the same time much better than Windows - that Windows' stability decreases faster when more processes run on the machine.

This in the end means that Linux might be able to squeeze more out of the server, but in the hands of a knowledgeable system administrator, a server will perform very well, regardless of the operating system, may it be Windows or Linux.

Linux is free while Windows is all about the money

This is a very popular view on things. Linux is open source and thrives because of the work of many volunteer programmers. The volume of work they put in and the quality of their work can only be commendable.

Windows, just like Linux, is a product created by the work of many programmers. They however are hired to do a job and they are paid to do it. Microsoft is their employer - a business - and, like any other business, its goal is to make a profit - to make money. That's not seen as a bad thing for any of the small businesses out there, but it is sometimes seen as one when it comes to big companies, especially when the word monopoly comes to be associated with them. Sure, Microsoft did a thing or two do be seen as a "bad guy", but let's not get into that.

Then, which one should you look for?

The decision of going for Windows hosting or Linux hosting should be based on actual needs, not myths. More often than not it should be based on the knowledge that you and/or your staff/business partners/friends have, on the things that you plan do to with your website or on the things you'd prefer to learn.

Making the choice

Windows as a hosting platform has at least one big advantage: full use of ASP and ASP.NET. If your plan to use ASP because your employees know ASP or because it does a better job for your specific application, Windows hosting is the best choice right now
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Good thing is that PHP is not confined to Linux and it works quite well on Windows. If, at a later time, you decide to use PHP for certain things, you can do so without much worry, provided that your host has PHP on that server, of course.

Back to Linux - while it is not yet able to take full advantage of ASP, it is a very popular choice as an operating system for web servers. It is widely acclaimed for its stability and that has to count for something. While Windows' instability, although it might be somewhat anecdotal, is a subject that is often discussed, Linux's stability is almost undisputed.

Price and availability

Mostly it is believed that linux is cheaper than windows, though that may not be true in all cases.

Now, another thing to notice is that most hosts offer Linux based plans, so finding a good Linux hosting company might prove easier. Not that there's a lack of hosts offering Windows hosting. No! There are thousands of hosts out there and there's a serious offer of Windows hosting, just not in the numbers that Linux is.

So, what then?

Personally I would use Linux as the "default option" because of its widespread use, renowned stability, reliability and level of security and - why not mention - lower costs. However, some things are not available on the Linux platform. If your needs cannot be fully met by a Linux server, but they can be by a Windows server, then that's the time when Windows will definitely be the better choice.