used both. both will get you basic BTC Lightning nodes setup. Umbrel, is a platform that sits on your operating system. it is easier to understand for non tech and has an extensive range of plug and play apps. Start9 OS is definitely more tech oriented. It is an Operating System with some ready to go, plug and play apps but limited number compared to Umbrel. that said those with tech skills and knowledge of docker can load and run others, with reduced risk to system . accessing cli requires shh, which makes it much more hands on. umbrel on linux is due a major update (assuming it hasn't happened). could be a game changer. mac win updates have already run I beleive. If you run a blog, podcast or similar, Start9 offers platforms to do so out of the box. Haven't found these options on Umbrel. Both are run on 2010 laptops (Umbrel on Linux) - and run faultlessly. hope this helps. ditto @Thank you, Sir. give them both a go see best fit for you. good luck.