# QNX Neutrino RTOS 47 Hacker News commenters recommended QNX Neutrino RTOS and 12 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 12 of 13 months; owners who said how long report a median of 10 years (3 owners). It meets the Hacker Approved badge rule. **Verdict:** Recommended for hard real-time latency guarantees, a microkernel that keeps device drivers from crashing the system, and fast, stable performance. Critics point to high licensing and per-driver costs. ## Why people recommend it - Full desktop fits on a floppy (7 comments): "it was an amazing feat to have a whole graphical desktop with apps all fit on a 1.44mb floppy disc" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50116807)) "The floppy disk was pretty impressive, fitting an OS and programs including a browser in 1.44mb." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49844701)) "It booted straight into a full blown window manager and had a basic web browser." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46866785)) - Hard real-time latency guarantees (4 comments): "Hard real time (so latency guarantees), microkernel (and they actually mean it, so your device drivers can't hose your system)" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46400063)) "QNX is hard realtime. At one point, its kernel had O(1) guarantees for message passing and process switching." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46399356)) "pretty exciting being real time and with a microkernel and such" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46179881)) - Stable, fast, consistent performance (4 comments): "QnX stands heads and shoulders above the competition. The consistency of the implementation is extremely impressive." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46400046)) "way more performant and stable compared to Linux or anything else back in the day" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48622399)) "QNX was equally fast too on the same machine, if not faster." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50115966)) - Microkernel isolates device drivers (3 comments): "Hard real time (so latency guarantees), microkernel (and they actually mean it, so your device drivers can't hose your system)" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46400063)) "The reduction in scope is really gold, it makes it so much easier just to have a small defined interface per program." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46415146)) "QNX independently pioneered many of the concepts that define successful microkernels." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48008276)) ## What people warn about - Expensive licensing and per-driver fees (5 comments): "apparently good but mainly focused on real-time stuff, and cost more than the casual could afford" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45963329)) "They were expensive too. You had to pay for each device driver you used." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46184078)) "Licensing, and QNX missed a consumer launch window by around 17 years." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46175101)) - Closed source, hard to view (2 comments): "QNX is still a thing, but closed source yadda yadda." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50199262)) "people can pass through hoops to view source" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48979041)) - Poor commercial management, missed market (2 comments): "Licensing, and QNX missed a consumer launch window by around 17 years." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46175101)) "In general QnX was commercially mismanaged and technically excellent." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46400517)) - Impractical and incompatible with others (2 comments): "While very impressive, it seemed impractical for my use-cases." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49421795)) "it wasn't really compatible with anything else" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48622834)) ## Alternatives hackers recommend - [Zephyr RTOS](https://hackerapproved.com/p/zephyr-rtos.md): 14 recommend - [FreeRTOS](https://hackerapproved.com/p/freertos.md): 9 recommend - [Hubris RTOS](https://hackerapproved.com/p/hubris.md): 6 recommend - [MicroPythonOS](https://hackerapproved.com/p/micropythonos.md): 6 recommend - [VxWorks](https://hackerapproved.com/p/vxworks.md): 5 recommend ## Where to get it - [Visit the official site](https://qnx.software/en) ## Cite as Hacker Approved, "QNX Neutrino RTOS", https://hackerapproved.com/p/qnx/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).