Perhaps your question is too generic? It all boils down to "right tool for the job". If you need support for latest hardware (as a Desktop OS) you will have bet

Perhaps your question is too generic? It all boils down to "right tool for the job". If you need support for latest hardware (as a Desktop OS) you will have better luck with Linux than the BSDs. On the other hand if you want a free, rock solid UNIX OS to run a network/file server, look no further. Also, ZFS & Jails (before Docker was cool).