Having a Windows and Linux PC doesn’t mean you need entirely different toolsets for each platform. Many apps offer seamless cross-platform experiences, ensuring productivity without the hassle of relearning software. Here are seven apps that work smoothly on both Windows and Linux.

7
Steam

Steam is the largest digital game distribution platform available for both Windows and Linux. Now, if you’re wondering, “isn’t gaming terrible on Linux,” I should mention that the Steam Deck is powered by Linux. This means, any game that’s compatible on the Steam Deck will also work on any Linux PC, as long as it has the necessary hardware.

In case you don’t know what games are available on the Steam Deck, you can check out ProtonDB. Many titles (including AAA ones) that are Windows exclusive run on Steam Deck, and thus Linux, using the Proton compatibility layer. A growing number of games offer native level support for Linux, too.

Using the same Steam account on both Windows and Linux ensures your game library is shared between your two systems. Also, if the game supports Steam Cloud, the game’s saved files will sync between both devices. That said, for titles without Steam Cloud support, you can manually transfer the saved files to continue your gaming progress. Just ensure you’re copy-pasting the saved files into the correct directory because the file structure on Linux is different from Windows.

6
Discord

Discord is a feature-packed communication platform where you create and join communities (servers) organized around specific topics or interests. It was originally designed for gamers, but currently, it’s a general-purpose platform where all sorts of communities thrive, from startups to hobbyists and more.

One of the best things about Discord is that you can potentially broadcast what games you’re playing and what songs you are listening to. This can encourage spontaneous connection with other users who share your taste in media. You can even use Discord to host watch parties with your friends.

Windows and Linux users get virtually the same user experience on both platforms, though we should point out that properly screensharing on Linux can take some extra tweaks. Other than that, your conversations carry over seamlessly between your Windows and Linux systems.

5
Signal

Speaking of communication, if you’re dealing with sensitive information or want enhanced privacy, then Signal is your best bet! It offers end-to-end encrypted messaging, calls, and file sharing. Also, if you want the community experience, Signal also lets you create a group with up to 1000 users.

Now, Signal is fully cross-platform, and you’d ideally be using it on your phone (Android or iPhone). However, if you want to take the conversations to the desktop, maybe you need to type out a long message or share a file from your PC, then you also have access to fully featured desktop apps for both Windows and Linux. You can connect and sync the same account across all your devices, and your conversation history, privacy features, and notification settings will stay perfectly in sync.

4
Spotify

Spotify is one of, if not the best, cross-platform music streaming service. It’s available on both Windows and Linux, not to mention your phone, smartwatch, gaming console, smart speakers, and more. If you want to listen to some music, specifically discover new music, Spotify has got you covered no matter where you are.

All your liked songs and customized playlists seamlessly synchronize with your Linux and Windows systems, and you also get the same functionality and user experience. Spotify can also detect all connected devices and then let you control the music streaming on all your devices. That means you can start a song on your Linux PC from your Windows PC and vice versa as long as Spotify is already running on that device. I’d recommend setting up Spotify to autostart with the system for a seamless experience.

3
GIMP

GIMP is an open-source image manipulation app and one of the best free alternatives for Adobe Photoshop. In spite of being free, GIMP is a professional-grade tool riddled with tons of awesome features, making it a worthy competitor to Photoshop. It is capable of handling almost all your basic to intermediate image editing needs with a breeze.

Now, being a Free and Open Source (FOSS) tool, GIMP is native to almost all Linux distros and usually comes installed by default. If not, you can install it from the distro’s official software store. On Windows, installation is as straightforward as any other app, and you can expect a pretty much identical user experience. Occasional differences in system libraries or fonts might crop up, but they rarely interfere with core functionality, so you can focus on creativity rather than troubleshooting.

2
Obsidian

Obsidian is a powerful cross-platform note-taking app. It is free to use and saves all your notes locally. You can quickly take notes using Markdown format, interlink notes with other notes to create connections, and potentially create your own Wikipedia of interconnected notes—a second brain, if you will.

One of the coolest things about Obsidian is that you can make it as light or feature-heavy as you want it to be. This is thanks to its massive collection of plugins and themes that you can use to add new functionalities and change how your note-taking app looks with just a few clicks.

Now, the core Obsidian experience is the same between your Windows and Linux PC. If you want to sync your settings and your notes’ database, you can do that using the Obsidian Sync plan, which is a paid service. Alternatively, you can use Syncthing as a free workaround, but it requires some technical tinkering to set it up.

1
Almost All Web Browsers

Most users open their operating system just to access their web browsers—as all the tools you use are essentially web tools. If that’s you, then you should be happy to note that almost all web browsers available on Windows work flawlessly on Linux—yes, even Microsoft Edge works on Linux. The main exceptions would be the Arc browser and of course Safari.

Now, all the major browsers, like Chrome, Firefox, or Edge, let you set up browser profiles. You can use this to sync all your settings, including your browser history, passwords, bookmarks, extensions, and themes, between your Windows and Linux PC. That said, in some rare cases, an extension might be Windows-specific and not work as intended on Linux, or vice versa.

These seven apps prove you don’t need separate workflows when switching between Windows and Linux. Whether you’re gaming, chatting, taking notes, or browsing the web, these tools ensure a consistent experience across both operating systems.