You’ve got two tabs open. One has a 14-inch MacBook Pro for €2,349, the other a Dell XPS 14 with the same memory for €6 less. Ask a friend about MacBook vs Windows and you get fans yelling from the bleachers.
But if you work or study on it, every hiccup costs you time and the focus you need to finish things. Along the way you’ll see what a five-year-old MacBook is worth today, and at the end, the question to ask before you pay.
In the MacBook vs Windows match-up, at the same price, the MacBook usually costs less per year, because it lasts longer and resells better. But if you need software that only runs on Windows, or you’re a gamer, the choice is already made.
MacBook vs Windows? First ask what you’ll use it for
If everything you do on your computer could also be done on your phone, almost anything will work. Windows, macOS, Linux, even ChromeOS. In that case the bottleneck isn’t the machine, it’s the way you use it.
In the MacBook vs Windows debate, there are also cases where the discussion ends right away. If you need Windows for work, because you use business software, industrial tools or a locked-down corporate setup, that’s it. There, the ROI, meaning how much you get back compared to what you put in, comes down to compatibility.
Same goes if you’re a gamer. In Steam’s September 2026 survey 95.03% of players use Windows.
You might not know this, but on Steam more people play on Linux than on a Mac, 3.05% versus 1.92%.
So from here on, I’ll assume a specific scenario. You use your computer for serious work or study, and you’re free to choose. At that point a laptop is money you put on ice for years, and you need some math that almost nobody does.
How much does a MacBook really cost per year?
This is where MacBook vs Windows stops being a matter of taste and becomes a matter of numbers. Today’s price only matters up to a point. What matters is the yearly cost, once you take off what you get back when you sell it.
The formula is simple. Cost per year = (price − resale) ÷ years of use.
Prices are from Apple’s and Dell’s Italian stores in early November 2026, for two laptops with 16 GB of memory and 1 TB of storage. The new 14-inch MacBook Pro with the M6 chip costs €2,349. The Dell XPS 14 with Intel Core Ultra 7 costs €2,343.
| MacBook Pro 14 (M6) | Dell XPS 14 | |
|---|---|---|
| Price with 16 GB and 1 TB | €2,349 | €2,343 |
| Estimated years of use | 5 | 4 |
| Estimated resale | €900 | €600 |
| Cost per year | €290 | €436 |
I’m leaving extended warranties out, because in the EU you always get at least a two-year legal guarantee on both.
And right here one popular story falls apart. “Macs cost more” is often true at checkout, but not in the real cost. Today the two cost the same, yet the Mac costs you about €146 less every year.
But it all rests on two estimates, the years and the resale. And the second one can be checked.
Why does a MacBook resell better?
Take the 2021 14-inch MacBook Pro, the one with the M1 Pro chip. It cost €2,349 and today it starts at €904 refurbished, 62% less after five years. That’s the same launch price as today’s model, which comes with twice the storage. So the €900 estimate holds up, even if a private buyer will pay you a bit less.
And it still gets the latest system, macOS 27, which runs on every Apple silicon Mac.
In the MacBook vs Windows comparison, though, Windows laptops lose value faster. Swappa is an American marketplace for used tech. By its estimates, after three years an Apple silicon MacBook keeps 40 to 60% of its value, a business laptop from Dell, HP or Lenovo 25 to 40%. So €600 after four years, about a quarter of the price, is far from a harsh estimate.
What if I told you a 2020 MacBook Air resells for more than a 2022 Dell Latitude? On Swappa the first goes for about $387, the second for about $352.
Mind you, out-of-warranty repairs on a Mac are expensive, and I know a thing or two about that. And so far we’ve only counted money. The biggest number is a different one.
MacBook vs Windows, how much is your time worth?
This is the part that, in my opinion, changes the way you judge any tech purchase. If a computer saves you time, that time is worth something. Even if you don’t bill by the hour, it’s worth something because it gives you back mental energy. And mental energy is the currency you pay for everything else with.
Think of the hassles you never budget for. An update that breaks something, a driver that does its own thing, the crash at the worst possible moment. What weighs on you is the sum of interruptions that break your flow.
Ever wondered what an interruption really costs? Gloria Mark, an informatics professor at UC Irvine, found that getting back to an interrupted task takes an average of 23 minutes and 15 seconds.
So imagine the Mac saves you two hours a month. If your time is worth €40 an hour, that’s €960 a year. Over five years that’s 120 hours, three full 40-hour work weeks.
The time you win back is worth more than six times the yearly cost difference.
It works the other way around too, though. If your job runs on Windows, the Mac takes those two hours away, and the MacBook vs Windows math flips. It’s the same principle behind resolutions that fail because of lost focus, not a lack of willpower. What counts is how much friction surrounds you.
And if you pick the Mac, there’s one decision you’ll never be able to undo.
What can’t you change after you buy?
On Apple silicon Macs it’s simple. Memory can’t be upgraded after purchase, and neither can the storage, which is soldered. When you choose the configuration, you’re basically also deciding part of your future ROI.
On many Windows laptops, on the other hand, you can still swap something. The Dell XPS 14 uses an M.2 drive, a card with its own connector, so you can replace it.
So if you picked the Mac in the MacBook vs Windows debate, most of your ROI is decided at the configuration stage.
- Office work, studying and light coding, the base model is fine.
- Development with Docker or local AI, you need more RAM, and this is where people get it wrong most often.
- Serious video editing, a Pro or Max chip with RAM to match.
The CPU ages better than you think. RAM, on the other hand, makes you suffer from day one, and you can never upgrade it.
And don’t overbuy. Plenty of people buy a MacBook Pro and use it like an Air, which starts at €1,449. If you’re not pushing the machine, you’re paying for power you’ll never use. And if you’re buying it because you’re an Apple fan? Totally fine, but let’s call it passion, not ROI.
Which leaves the questions everyone asks.
MacBook vs Windows, frequently asked questions
MacBook vs Windows for college?
For notes, writing and research, both are fine. In the MacBook vs Windows choice for college, the difference comes from your courses’ software. If one of them only runs on Windows, the choice is already made. Otherwise look at the cost per year, because that laptop has to make it to graduation.
MacBook vs Windows for work?
If your job runs on Windows-only software or a locked-down company setup, the answer is Windows. If stability, lifespan and resale matter more, the math in this article favors the MacBook, at about €146 less per year.
Does a MacBook really last longer?
In this article’s estimate, yes, five years versus four. The 2021 MacBook Pro, for example, still gets macOS 27. But RAM and storage can’t be upgraded, so you only get to choose the configuration once.
Can a Mac get viruses?
Yes, a Mac can get malware too. That’s why macOS has built-in antivirus called XProtect. It spots malicious software by its signatures, the same method you’ll find in why computer viruses are called viruses. And Apple updates those signatures on its own, even without a system update.
So what about those two tabs?
Back to the two tabs. In the MacBook vs Windows showdown it’s a tie at checkout, but the Mac costs you about €146 less a year. If you need Windows, though, compatibility settles it.
Before you pay, look up what the five-year-old model costs refurbished today, like that 2021 MacBook Pro. Then ask yourself one thing. Is this choice earning me, or saving me, more than it costs me?
And if you’re wondering how to protect it, start with who has too much access. It applies to the account you use on your own laptop too.
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Byeee.
