Rising Demand for Linux-Based Laptops in Russia: A Shift from Windows

In the first quarter of 2025, 43% of corporate laptops were sold without an operating system, compared to 31% the previous year and just 17% in 2021, according to the publication «Vedomosti,» citing the distributor company OCS.

Across all segments—corporate, government, and consumer—the share of laptops lacking an OS reached 44%, totaling approximately 371,000 devices, as reported by GfK. According to Marvel Distribution, the corporate sector accounts for 30–40% of overall sales, translating to between 260,000 and 350,000 laptops.

Demand in the B2B segment is growing faster than in retail and the public sector. Marvel Distribution indicates that from the beginning of 2021 to early 2025, the percentage of OS-less laptops in corporate procurement surged from 25% to over 60%, increasing by 5–10 percentage points within a year.

In the first quarter of 2025, slightly less than 40% of corporate laptops came with pre-installed Windows. The remaining units featured Russian operating systems such as Alt Linux, Astra Linux, and «Red OS.»

The rise in demand for OS-less devices began in 2022 when Microsoft halted official sales and support for Windows in Russia, explained OCS Vice President Olga Dorovskaya.

According to Holodilnik.ru, from January to August 2023, the share of laptops without an OS across the market increased by 2.6 times, reaching 24%.

As reported by «M.Video-Eldorado,» in the first quarter of 2025, the retail share of laptops without an OS stood at 42.4%, a rise of 0.5 percentage points compared to the first quarter of 2024. From January to March 2025, Russian consumers purchased 882,000 laptops, with the market volume totaling 53.5 billion rubles.

Sales of OS-less laptops on Wildberries increased by 79% in the first quarter of 2025 compared to the same period in 2024, accounting for about 11% of all laptops sold.

Most of the laptops sold without an OS are of Chinese brands, with Huawei, Honor, and Lenovo being the most popular in the corporate segment, as reported by Evgeny Perov from Compass. Among American brands, Apple leads, with MacBook being favored by engineers and developers.

In retail during the first quarter of 2025, Asus laptops were the most frequently purchased, while Apple ranked second in revenue. Huawei, MSI, and Lenovo also made it to the top five.

The primary driver behind this growth is cost savings. The price difference between laptops with and without Windows ranges from 10,000 to 20,000 rubles, which is significant for bulk purchases, noted Alexander Chyorny from Rexoft Consulting.

Some companies are acquiring Russian OS separately under existing contracts, while others utilize previously purchased licenses for Windows 10/11. It is also possible to install pirated versions, as reported by Timofey Khoroshev from DRT.

Evgeny Kharitonov from Ferra.ru pointed out that companies often transfer older Windows 10/11 licenses to new laptops and occasionally purchase separate Enterprise versions that aren’t available in retail.

According to OCS’s Olga Dorovskaya, the rising sales of laptops without OS present an opportunity for Russian developers, as it broadens software choices and lowers the risk of malware from pre-installed software.

Alexander Sysoev from «Krok» believes that OS-less laptops offer flexibility for installing necessary solutions, but growth may be hindered by Chinese brands, which continue to supply devices with Windows despite sanctions. She emphasized that replacing Windows through imports will take time.

The company «Inferit Technology» (part of the Softline Group) sells laptops with the Russian OS «MSVSphera,» which provides a ready-to-use and independent environment, stated Andrei Ilyichev. In the first quarter of 2025, laptop sales by «Inferit» in the corporate sector «significantly increased,» with sales growing «exponentially» since 2021. The company did not disclose specific figures.