System differences between upgrading two versions or skipping a version

[GoGrater]

Greetings,
With my classic Mac Pro, I used to do clean installs of macOS for a fresh start. However, with my M1 Mac Studio, I’m going to upgrade from Monterey 12.7.6 to either Ventura or Sonoma. This is mostly because I don't have the time.

Although many people have success skipping a version, I’m wondering whether upgrading one version at a time has advantages since it’s the standard upgrade path. Perhaps Apple has tested this method more thoroughly than skipping a version???

My main 3rd party apps (Adobe Photoshop and Lightroom) and all my Epson printers are supported on both versions. If I upgrade to Ventura and don't upgrade to Sonoma for awhile, I am OK not having some of the newer features.

My questions are:

1. If I upgrade to Ventura now and then Sonoma later (e.g. 6 months), will the outcome (system, performance, settings, etc.) be the same as upgrading directly to Sonoma now? e.g. I’d really like my System Preferences to be carried forward into System Settings.
2. Or is skipping Ventura and going straight to Sonoma equally as trouble-free (not saying life is perfect) and equally "clean" (although not squeaky) as two upgrades?

There's probably a bunch of things I've overlooked, but I hope some of you will help me see the light. Thanks.

 

[Gregg2]

I routinely skipped versions before it became free to upgrade the OS. That never caused a problem for any of my apps. I did "brick" an old Mini trying to upgrade, but it was just too old to handle the newest OS at the time. What you're describing sounds fine to me, but let some others weigh in with their experiences before you decide what you're going to do.

 

[GoGrater]

I routinely skipped versions before it became free to upgrade the OS. That never caused a problem for any of my apps. I did "brick" an old Mini trying to upgrade, but it was just too old to handle the newest OS at the time. What you're describing sounds fine to me, but let some others weigh in with their experiences before you decide what you're going to do.

Thanks for sharing your positive experience. It's reassuring and is a +1 for Sonoma.