IME, the learning curve for Linux (post-installation, at least) is waaaay less steep than Windows. When I went off to college and got tired of my Dad calling me every few days with another question or concern about his Windows computer, I switched him to Linux Mint and haven't been bugged since. It's too much to expect of the average user to use a Windows computer: constant fears of malware, a system tray polluted with two dozen startup programs that they didn't consent to, frankly idiotic design decisions like "Let's install updates and refuse to turn off for ten minutes, regardless of whether this laptop needs to be shoved into a backpack right now".
The main difficulty in desktop Linux is hardware compatibility stuff, but IME that mostly boils down to a couple careful decisions right at the beginning. I've had something like four Thinkpads over the last ~10 years and I've yet to have hardware problems of any significance. People occasionally comment that it's ridiculous to have to constrain one's hardware choices based on the OS they want to use, but that's pretty much exactly what many people do for Macs, so I don't think it's all that weird (and certainly worth it).
The Linux desktop is different than Windows 10 or the MacOS, but it isn't harder, IMO.