* Licensing: macOS is a proprietary system like Windows. It's only officially available on Apple devices (where it's preinstalled) and users can't buy a license separately.
* User Interface: Apple is known for its attention to UI/UX and macOS is widely considered to have the best UI. On the other hand, the macOS interface is very opinionated and users have to download third-party apps to customize it.
* File System: macOS uses a hierarchical file system like Linux, but by default only a small set of folders is visible. Some of these, like Applications, are virtual directories that don't actually exist in the file system. Users can't modify the content of the System folder.
* Command Line Interface: As a variant of the BSD operating system, macOS has a Unix-like shell similar to Linux. There is no official CLI package manager and users need to install Homebrew (a third-party package manager) for more command line tools.
* Software Availability: Lots of popular software like Steam, Firefox, Blender, Photoshop or Ableton Live has native macOS versions. Apple's software like Pro Tools or Xcode is exclusive to macOS. Windows programs can run through compatibility layers like CrossOver or Parallels.
* Security: macOS is considered more secure than Windows and equal to most Linux distributions. All apps run in a sandbox where they aren't allowed to read or modify files without the user's permission. Only the user themself can install apps and those not signed by Apple require additional approval (a Gatekeeper override).
* Compatibility: macOS can only run Windows software through a compatibility layer, which doesn't always work (for example, Adobe AIR apps don't run in CrossOver). Non-Apple hardware is not officially supported and these "Hackintosh" installations are prone to breakage.
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